Notes:
Early-season standout Griffin Herring was promoted from Tampa to Hudson Valley.
The Yankees went heavy on SEC pitchers in the 2024 draft, and the left-handed Herring was no exception. Out of LSU, the Yankees drafted him in the 6th round and signed him to an overslot bonus (as a draft-eligible sophomore, he had leverage). He was an instant sensation for Tampa, pitching to a 0.39 ERA in his four April starts.
While no pitcher at any level can keep up that pace forever, Herring came close. In eight starts, he went 4-1 with a 1.21 ERA (2.87 FIP) over 44.2 innings with a 33.3% K and 9.2% BB. The K rate matches what he did for LSU in 2024. As you may suspect from a pitcher with his numbers, there is some luck involved. He owned a whopping 89% strand rate.
At any rate, he joins fellow 2024 SEC draftees Bryce Cunningham (Vanderbilt) and Ben Hess (Alabama) in the Hudson Valley rotation. The rotation also includes Carlos Lagrange, Kyle Carr, Josh Grosz, and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Amongst this group, only Grosz (who has talent) isn’t on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 Yankees Prospects list.
No, I don’t expect them to go with a 7-man rotation. They will either do some piggybacking, or someone is on their way to Somerset.
Scranton (23-27) (Lost to Worcester, 5-4)
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4, SF, RBI
Is he receiving more time at 3B? Four of his last six games have been at third base, including back-to-back games. Before this stretch, he caught three straight games. The not-so-fulfilling answer is that I don’t know, but one thing is showing up this year: They haven’t asked him to play 1B/2B/OF at all (second base was never likely to happen, and he doesn’t really *need* to play first base regularly). I think they want him to get comfortable at third base while showing other organizations what he can do behind the plate.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 1-for-3, 2 BB
.297/.392/.493 in 176 PA. Rumfield is 23-for-61 (.377) with four doubles and a pair of homers in May. He will likely go down the path of Dermis Garcia, Andres Chaparro, and Eric Wagaman – eventually making MLB on squads that can afford them the opportunity.
DH Everson Pereira: 1-for-5, 2 RBI
The long May layoff interrupted what was a good month (.255/.406/.617 with a double and 6 home runs).
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K
LF Jose Rojas: 0-for-5, K
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 2-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
This is Hernandez’s first game since May 7th. If you want to get on the “Rodriguez is playing more 3B!” train, perhaps adding Hernandez back to the roster is a sign for you (the other catcher is Alex Jackson).
CF Ismael Munguia: 0-for-3, R, HBP
SS Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K
2B Jake Gatewood: 0-for-1, R, HBP, 2 BB, K
LHP Brandon Leibrandt: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Scott Effross: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Effross has a 27.00 ERA for Scranton (2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K).
RHP Geoff Hartlieb: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
2.57 ERA (21 IP, 23 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 22 K). It may be hard to remember that Hartlieb was amongst the final spring training cuts.
RHP Leonardo Pestana: (L, 1-2) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
Somerset (22-24) (Lost to Akron, 1-0. The Patriots have scored one run in their last two games.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-5, 2 K
When the leadoff hitter gets five plate appearances in a shutout loss, you know there was some annoyance. In this case, Somerset left ten runners on base and went 1-for-12 with RISP. As for Lombard Jr., I know we have been waiting for the power to show up, and it hasn’t. Patience. He went on an extra-base hit splurge just before his promotion here.
DH Rafael Flores: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
Flores is having a strong season (.300/.355/.533), but it is reasonable to worry about those darn strikeouts (28.9%). You can live with that if a player mashes, but it could limit his upside. By the way, watching the Yankees-Angels last night gave me an interesting comparison: Logan O’Hoppe.
RF Garrett Martin: 0-for-2, HBP, BB
2B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-4, 2 K
.286/.339/.497 in 174 PA.
LF Cole Gabrielson: 2-for-3, SB (10), BB, K
Gabrielson can take walks (.351 career OBP) and steal bases (28-for-35 in 138 career games) but the rest of the tools haven’t shown up (.225/.351/.335 career triple slash).
CF Grant Richardson: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-4, K
3B Alexander Vargas: 1-for-2, SB (9), HBP, K
C Antonio Gomez: 0-for-3, K
RHP Trent Sellers: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
His stay on the inactive list was a short one. Season: 3.19 ERA (36.2 IP, 20 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 4 HR, 16 BB, 47 K)
RHP Danny Watson: (L, 1-2) 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Harrison Cohen: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2.55 ERA (17.2 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 24 K). Cohen has been steady since entering the organization in 2023, compiling a 2.79 ERA over 96.2 IP with only 66 hits allowed and a 120/44 K/BB.
RHP Luis Pacheco: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Kelly Austin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
1.80 ERA (15 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 16 K). He needed a boost to the strikeout rate, and today provided that!
Hudson Valley (30-16) (Defeated Wilmington, 7-1. I love baseball – Somerset turned over the lineup for a fifth time while being shut out. Hudson Valley? Three of their hitters didn’t get to the plate four times in a 7-run effort!)
DH Roc Riggio: 0-for-3, CS (4), BB, 2 K
.246/.434/.614 in 76 PA. He came out of his rehab stint smoking but has settled down (0-for-10 in his last three games). He is 2-for-6 stealing bases after going 27-for-33 in 2024.
CF Jace Avina: 3-for-4, 2 2B (11), HR (4), 2 RBI, 3 R, K
.296/.418/.480 in 158 PA (11 doubles, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 26 R, 14.6% BB, 25.3% K). This is his 4th 3-hit effort this season (the other three were in consecutive games from 4/26 – 4/29).
RF Coby Morales: 2-for-4, RBI, SB (8), 2 K
1B Parks Harber: 0-for-4, K
Since promotion: .333/.389/.540 in 95 PA. He has been feast-or-famine lately (in his last 9 games, he has two 4-hit efforts, one 3-hit effort, one 1-hit effort, and five no-hit efforts)
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
SS Jose Colmenares: 1-for-4, HR (3), RBI, 2 R
3B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2B (9), RBI
LF Luis Durango: 1-for-3, R, K
Durango is 5-for-13 since returning from his rehab stint (3-for-3 SB)
2B Duncan Pastore: 1-for-3, RBI, R, K
RHP Carlos Lagrange (W, 4-2): 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, HR
4.10 ERA (41.2 IP, 31 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 4 HR, 12 BB, 64 K). Other than the hiccup (4 BB in 3.2 innings) in his last start, Lagrange continues to show tremendous growth in that department.
RHP Chris Kean: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.26 ERA (19.1 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 18 K)
RHP Tony Rossi: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Since promotion: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 10 K. Overall: 16.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 22 K
Tampa (24-21) (Tried to play a doubleheader, but rain got in the way. Game 1 was suspended. Game 2 was canceled and will not be made up)
Game 1 (Lead, 2-0, in the 5th inning)
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-1, BB
CF Cam Eden: 1-for-2
His rehab was moved to Tampa.
DH Edgleen Perez: 0-for-1, BB, K
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-2
RF Dillon Lewis: 0-for-2, K
3B Juan Matheus: 1-for-2, R, K
LF Tyler Wilson: 0-for-2, K
2B Austin Green: 1-for-2, HR (3), 2 RBI, R, K
1B Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-2
RHP Carson Coleman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Coleman’s rehab was moved here from the FCL.
RHP Andrew Landry: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
FCL (8-10)
Day off.
DSL (0-0)
Their season starts in June.