News:
The Yankees have promoted top prospect Jasson Dominguez from Somerset to Scranton for the final month of the season. Remember that the Yankees did the same with Anthony Volpe last season and he took over the shortstop role for the big club in 2023. Can Dominguez make a similar jump? I wouldn’t rule it out. With Harrison Bader a free agent and left field still in shambles (more on that in a second), there can be a path for Dominguez.
Dominguez, who was hitting .198/.341/.343 after games of July 6th, has certainly turned it on since. He is hitting .350/.415/.535 (159 wRC+) in 36 games (176 plate appearances) since that date with a 10.2% BB and 19.9% K. He was first in the Eastern League in runs (83), fourth in RBI (66), third in stolen bases (37), and sixth in BB% (15.2%). The International League is known for its offense, but there could still be an adjustment period for Dominguez. He will be the second 20-year-old to make his debut in the International League this season, joining Tampa prospect Carson Williams. Williams joined the league on August 15th.
Speaking of the left field position, there is another candidate who is going to try to take the job. The Yankees have called up OF Everson Pereira from Triple-A Scranton. The 22-year-old has split time between Somerset and Scranton this season, hitting .300/.373/.548 in 343 plate appearances. Pereira’s BB% is OK (9.3%), but it is the K% we will need to watch. He has a 28.6% rate in 2023 and it has been an issue his entire minor league career. He is aggressive with a lot of power to tap into. I wouldn’t expect that to translate into a .300 hitter in MLB, but he has the bat speed and power to hit 25+ homers. Don’t be surprised if MLB pitchers feed him a steady stream of curves and sliders to see if they can take advantage of his aggressiveness.
Both of these moves make sense. Pereira deserves a chance to get accustomed to MLB pitching, and Dominguez has demonstrated that Double-A pitching is no longer giving him enough of a challenge.
In addition, the Yankees are bringing back IF Oswald Peraza. Everyone who is reading this knows his story so I don’t need to discuss it too much. I thought he was ready in 2022, and he did nothing to disprove that last September. He hasn’t performed at a high level in MLB in 2023, but it is time for him to get a consistent look.
As for others who may appear in 2023, it is hard to say. This is a year where the Yankees probably wish that rosters could expand to more than 28. C Austin Wells will be a talked-about name but I don’t think it is criminal if he sticks in Triple-A. They would need to find a 40-man slot for him, but they need to do that this winter anyway.
Scranton (57-60; 23-20 in the second half)
Day off. The Railriders have a hill to climb if they wish to make the playoffs. They are only four games behind Lehigh Valley for the second-half title, but there are four other teams ahead of them.
Somerset (67-46; 25-20 in the second half)
Day off. Somerset is already in the playoffs, courtesy of their first-half title. That said, the Patriots are in first place in the second half as well. If they pull off the Daily Double, the playoff berth will go to whoever comes in second place in the second half.
Hudson Valley (63-51; 24-24 in the second half)
Day off. Hudson Valley is already in the playoffs, courtesy of their first-half title.
Tampa (55-59; 24-24 in the second half)
Day off. Tampa isn’t going to make the playoffs in 2023, as they are seven games out of first place in the second half.
FCL Yankees (35-21) (Defeated the Blue Jays, 11-9)
2B Keiner Delgado: 3-for-5, HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K, 2 SB (36), CS (7)
The FCL ends this week, so we’ll see if they send Delgado to Tampa after that. He is hitting .294/.415/.490 in 234 PA with 35 walks, 30 strikeouts, and a 36-for-43 stolen base rate. He has 14 stolen bases in August.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, RS, BB, 2 SB (2)
Lombard is 4-for-8 with a pair of stolen bases and four walks. I tend to doubt they will send him to Tampa after this week.
RF Willy Montero: 1-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
1B Dylan Jasso: 2-for-5, 3B (1), HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS
.357/.478/.571 in 69 plate appearances for the 20-year-old. The undrafted free agent is another candidate for Tampa.
LF John Cruz: 4-for-5, 2B (6), RBI
Cruz is on the list of prospects that had little hype entering the season and put himself squarely on the prospect map. He is hitting .297/.381/.541 in 197 PA with ten home runs and 47 runs batted in. He will be 18 on August 29th and could debut in Tampa at that age in 2024.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
3B Hans Montero: 0-for-2, 2 RS, 3 BB, CS (1)
Montero is a bonus baby who is being asked to hit 8th. That is how insanely deep this roster is. He is hitting .264/.428/.416 in 229 plate appearances.
RHP Chalniel Arias: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Since his promotion: 8.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 7 K
RHP Kris Bow (W, 1-0): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
DSL Yankees (33-19) (Split two games with the DSL Marlins)
Game 1 (Lost, 5-3)
CF Brando Mayea: 3-for-3, RS, BB, SB (22), CS (7)
.276/.382/.400 in 170 PA with 22 walks and 27 strikeouts. He has a pair of 3-hit games this month.
C Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-2, BB
.324/.517/.529 in 147 PA with 38 walks and 21 strikeouts.
3B Santiago Gomez: 0-for-1, RS, 2 BB, 2 SB (20)
The 19-year-old is hitting .284/.467/.403 in 184 PA (31 BB, 33 K, 20-for-23 SB)
SS Luis Suarez: 0-for-2, BB, K, SB (22)
RHP Orvis Fernandez: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Game 2 (Won, 4-1)
SS Luis Suarez: 1-for-3, 3B (4), RS, 2 K
.212/.333/.342 in 174 PA (5 doubles, 4 triples, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 31 R, 21 BB, 51 K, 22-for-24 SB)
C Edison Vivas: 2-for-3, 2B (2), RBI, RS
.219/.318/.247 in 85 PA. He is 9-for-28 in August.
3B Anthony Pena: 0-for-1, RS, 2 BB, SB (5)
.247/.344/.383 in 93 PA. He has five doubles and a pair of home runs.
RHP Christian Zazueta: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
3.29 ERA (52 IP, 41 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 6 HR, 16 BB, 50 K). A solid year for the 18-year-old.
RHP Keninson Diaz (W, 5-0): 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
DSL Bombers (27-26) (Squeaked past the Twins, 8-7)
2B Gabriel Terrero: 1-for-3, 2B (9), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K, CS (6)
.299/.407/.533 in 162 PA (9 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 33 R, 22 BB, 35 K, 14-for-20 SB)
C Edgleen Perez: 2-for-4, 2B (8), RS, K, 2 SB (5)
3B Kevin Verde: 2-for-4, 2B (9), HR (4), 4 RBI, 2 RS, K
.258/.316/.433 in 133 PA for the 17-year-old. This is Verde’s debut season and he is certainly holding his own.
RF Ramiro Altagracia: 2-for-4, RS, K
RHP Sunayro Martina: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
3.86 ERA (28 IP, 19 H, 21 R, 12 ER, 1 HR, 23 BB, 34 K). This is a fairly typical DSL line.