News:
RHP Chase Hampton has been promoted to Somerset, where he will start on Sunday.
The 21-year-old is making the rise to Double-A after only nine minor league starts, all at High-A Hudson Valley this year. He produced an impressive 2.68 ERA (2.90 FIP) over 47 innings with a 40.5% K and 8.4% BB. He allowed five home runs, just under 1.0 HR/9. Amongst all MILB pitchers with at least 40 innings, Hampton ranks 3rd in K% and 2nd in K-BB%. Both categories are led by Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott, who is listed as MLB’s 94th-best prospect. Abbott’s stock will rise, and so will Hampton’s. Hampton is currently ranked as the Yankees’ #24 prospect (Pipeline) and could (should?) jump into the Top 5 when they do their next major update.
How far can he take this? Let’s see what happens against advanced hitters. In 2016, James Kaprielian seemed to be on a fast track before an injury crushed his season after three starts. Before him, Joba Chamberlain flew all the way up to MLB in his first professional season to help the big league bullpen (I doubt Hampton will be asked to do that).
Scranton (29-36) (Lost a doubleheader to Rochester)
Game 1 (Lost, 6-3)
CF Estevan Florial: 1-for-4, RBI, K, SB (13)
SS Oswald Peraza: 0-for-3, BB, SB (8)
LF Elijah Dunham: 1-for-4, 2 K
1B Andres Chaparro: 0-for-3
C Rodolfo Duran: 0-for-3, K
DH Franchy Cordero: 1-for-3, HR (5), RBI, RS, K
3B Jamie Westbrook: 1-for-2, RS, BB, K
2B Jesus Bastidas: 2-for-3, 2B (9), RS
RF Michael Hermosillo: 1-for-3, RBI
RHP Randy Vasquez (L, 1-7): 2.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR
Vasquez continues to struggle in Scranton while he pitches well when he is given spot starts in the majors (yes, it is only two MLB Starts!)
RHP Aaron McGarity: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Colten Brewer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Bowman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Game 2 (Lost, 8-7. They bounced back from a 6-2 deficit by scoring two in the 6th and three in the 7th, only for Rochester to win it in the bottom of the 7th)
CF Estevan Florial: 2-for-3, 2 HR (17), SF, 5 RBI, 2 RS
It was Florial who engineered the comeback, with his solo HR in the 6th and 3-run bomb in the 7th. He now owns a 33-game on-base streak and has tied his personal best for HR in a season. This is his third multi-HR game of 2023 and 7th in his career (all since 2021). Oh, and this also ties his personal best for RBI in a game (now done three times).
DH Oswald Peraza: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RS, K
Peraza is hitting .298/.370/.573. Could he be worse than Josh Donaldson? I guess, though that bar is ridiculously low. However, remember that calling up Peraza is also about finishing off his development.
RF Elijah Dunham: 1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, 2 K
Dunham’s last 8 games: 9-for-33 (.273)
3B Andres Chaparro: 0-for-1, SF, RBI, BB, K
Chaparro is down to .240/.314/.433 in 264 PA. He is 8-for-45 in June with only three extra-base hits (all doubles)
C Carlos Narvaez: 0-for-2, BB
1B Franchy Cordero: 0-for-3
LF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-3
SS Jesus Bastidas: 2-for-3, 2B (10), 2 RS
.273/.335/.449 in 209 PA (10 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 30 R, 15 BB, 53 K)
2B Wilmer Difo: 1-for-3, RS
RHP Jhony Brito: 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
Brito’s Triple-A ERA is up to 7.08.
RHP Greg Weissert (L, 1-2): 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
3.60 ERA (20 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 30 K)
Somerset (37-22) (Doubled up Altoona, 6-3. Eric Wagaman drove in all six runs)
SS Trey Sweeney: 1-for-5, 2 K
Sweeney’s hitting streak is up to 12.
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-5, K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-3, BB, K
His home run streak ends at five.
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
2B Caleb Durbin: 1-for-4, RS, K
.260/.330/.375 in 115 PA since his promotion. His K% is 5.2% at this level and 7.1% overall.
C Anthony Seigler: 0-for-2, 2 RS, 2 BB
.190/.342/.250 in 146 PA. He has 28 walks (19.2%), which is something he can build on. Obviously, he needs to hit a little as well.
DH Eric Wagaman: 2-for-4, 2 HR (5), 6 RBI, 2 RS
One of the home runs was an 8th-inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead. He ties his personal best for RBI in a game (he set it in his first professional game back in 2017). This season, he has 16 RBI in 23 games.
RF Jeisson Rosario: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
LF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-2, BB, HBP, K
RHP Yoendrys Gomez: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, HR
Gomez tossed 56 pitches tonight. I have to assume that he will be reaching 75 pitches soon. He owns a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 IP.
LHP Edgar Barclay: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 K
RHP Justin Wilson: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Tanner Myatt: (W, 3-1) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (35-25) (Defeated Rome, 5-4, in ten innings)
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-5, RS, 3 K
I made a note about his slump on Twitter and instantly saw stuff about him being a “bust.” I report slumps because I think it is important to keep everyone up-to-date. However, it isn’t meant to lead to any conclusions about whether a prospect is a bust or not. Jones is a big kid who is going to have his peaks and valleys as he tries to get to MLB.
2B Ben Cowles: 1-for-4, BB, K
C Josh Breaux: 0-for-3, 2 BB, K
DH Rafael Flores: 1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
Flores increases his hitting streak to five (one hit in each game). His average is still over .300 (.301)
1B Spencer Henson: 0-for-4, RBI, HBP, K
A walk-off HBP!
SS Alexander Vargas: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K, SB (9)
A little bit of everything tonight for Vargas…
LF Grant Richardson: 1-for-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
The home run was of the inside-the-park variety. Richardson has been teetering around .200 for a while (now hitting .197).
RF Aldenis Sanchez: 1-for-4, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba: 0-for-3, SF, RBI
RHP Zach Messinger: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
It took Messinger 93 pitches to get through five innings tonight. Season: 2.44 ERA (55.1 IP, 48 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 26 BB, 68 K). After compiling a 4.19 ERA in four May starts, he has a 0.60 ERA in three June starts (15 IP, 12 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 8 BB, 22 K).
RHP Luis Velasquez: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
This is his second appearance since his promotion.
RHP Mason Vinyard: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Carlos Gomez: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
LHP Clay Aguilar: (W, 3-0) 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Tampa (26-33) (Lost to Clearwater, 8-4)
SS Jared Serna: 0-for-4, 2 K
.314/.377/.534 in 247 PA, Serna has yet to have a streak of hitless games longer than two this season (I just jinxed him – sorry)
CF Anthony Hall: 0-for-3, BB
DH Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-4, 3 K
2B Brenny Escanio: 1-for-4, K
RF Matt Pita: 1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, K
RF Daury Arias: 0-for-1, K
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-3, HR (3), RBI, 2 RS, K
.301/.379/.429 in 178 PA and he has eight multi-hit games in June (12 games). One thing Rodriguez has consistently done is hit. In 138 career games, he is hitting .314/.402/.481 in 553 PA (36 doubles, 8 triples, 9 HR, 77 RBI, 100 R, 67 BB (12.1%), 75 K (13.6%), 25-for-33 SB). He is 21 years old and can catch in addition to playing other positions. Will it translate as he moves up? We’ll see.
LF Christopher Familia: 2-for-3, 3B (1), RS, BB
The extra-base hit machine now has 12 (5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR) in 13 games. He is hitting .412/.500/.912 and is riding a 10-game hitting streak.
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, 2 RBI, K
1B Ronny Rojas: 0-for-3, K
LHP Brock Selvidge: (L, 3-4) 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
3.56 ERA (55.2 IP, 52 H, 26 R, 22 ER, 2 HR, 14 BB, 64 K). The Yankees’ organization isn’t filled with a lot of left-handed starter types, so Selvidge does stick out. Tonight, he was victimized by one bad inning.
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.04 ERA (26.2 IP, 22 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 2 HR, 15 BB, 43 K). One has to love his ability to miss bats.
RHP Manny Ramirez: 0 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Adam Stone: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 5 K
RHP Alex Bustamante: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
3.04 ERA (26.2 IP, 14 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 0 HR, 17 BB, 26 K). He has yet to allow a home run in 31.2 career innings.
FCL Yankees (5-3) (Defeated the Tigers, 9-8. They scored three in the 8th and three in the bottom of the 9th to pull off the miracle)
2B Keiner Delgado: 1-for-5, 2B (2), RS, 2 SB (8)
.281/.439/.438 in 41 PA. Delgado is 42-for-51 (82.4%) stealing bases in 60 career games.
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
Arias is 0-for-18 in his last five games (5 BB, 7 K)
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-2, SF, RBI, RS, 2 BB
10-for-25 (.400) with five walks and four strikeouts.
3B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, 2 BB, K
.286/.487/.607 in 39 PA with three doubles and a pair of home runs. It is a small sample size but still an encouraging start.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, 2B (1), 3 RS, 2 BB
RF John Cruz: 2-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, BB
Cruz is only 17. In the DSL last season, he hit five home runs and drove home 24 in 54 games. He did that as a 16-year-old, which is pretty impressive.
C Manuel Palencia: 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
Palencia is 0-for-11, though he has yet to strike out. In 2022, he hit .323/.411/.392 in 39 games down in the DSL.
1B Kelvin Espino: 2-for-3, 2B (2), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K
LF Joel Mendez: 1-for-3, SF, RBI, K
RHP Ryan Harvey: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
2.08 ERA (8.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
The 19-year-old pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 55 IP with a 77/19 K/BB ratio down in the DSL in 2022.
RHP Donys Garcia (W, 1-0): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Garcia is 22, so he will need to pitch well and start moving.
DSL Yankees (8-0) defeated the Bombers (6-2) again, 7-3. This game was a scheduled 7-inning game. Some games in the rookie leagues are seven innings even though they aren’t part of doubleheaders. I am sure there is a reason for that.
Bombers:
3B Gabriel Terrero: 2-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS
This is the debut season for the 17-year-old. He only stands 5’6″ officially.
RF Darwin Castillo: 0-for-2, HBP, K, 2 SB (2)
SS Kevin Verde: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RS
Yankees:
2B Luis Suarez: 0-for-3, BB, K, SB (5)
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB
Gonzalez has driven home at least one run in all five of his games.
DH Anthony Pena: 1-for-3, 2 RS, K, SB (1)
This is Pena’s professional debut.
RF Andry Javier: 2-for-2, RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 SB (4)
Javier is 6-for-20 (7 runs, 3 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K, 4-for-4 SB)
RHP Jerson Alejandro: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, HR
The 17-year-old is listed at 6’6″, 255 pounds. From what I read, he is already dialing it up into the upper 90s (though he doesn’t yet sit there), so who knows how hard he will throw when he is developed? He cost the Yankees over $400,000.