Yankees MILB 6/27: Keiner Delgado Collects 3 Hits

News:

Both RHP Clayton Beeter and OF Spencer Jones are on their way to the Futures Game. The rules state that each organization must be represented and there is a maximum of only two players per organization. Jones’ first-round pedigree and Beeter’s numbers make them both solid choices.

Jones is hitting .268/.327/.496 (121 wRC+) with 19 doubles, ten home runs, and 36 runs batted in. His strikeout rate (33.1%) and ground ball rate (45.6%) are both on the high side, so he has things to work on if he wants to reach his full potential. That is true of all prospects.

Between Somerset and Scranton, Beeter is 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA in 66 innings. He owns a strong K% (29.3%), though he walks a few too many hitters. While he features an array of pitches, there are still those who believe he is a reliever long-term. For now, keep him starting until he proves he can’t.

 Scranton (34-40)

Day off.

Somerset (42-26; they have already clinched a playoff berth courtesy of a first-half title)

Day off

Hudson Valley (39-30; they have already clinched a playoff berth courtesy of a first-half title)

Day off

Tampa (33-36)

Day off

FCL Yankees (10-7) (Rocked Alek Manoah and the Blue Jays, 13-5)

2B Keiner Delgado3-for-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, 3 RS, BB
.328/.451/.607 in 82 plate appearances with a 13-for-15 stolen base rate. He has walked 14 times while striking out only nine times.
SS Roderick Arias1-for-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, RS, BB, K
.224/.357/.379 in 70 plate appearances with a 7-for-8 stolen base rate. Arias has 11 walks and 16 strikeouts (22.9%). Last season, his K% was 32.9%.
CF Willy Montero1-for-5, RBI, K
.311/.371/.410 in 70 PA. 
DH Hans Montero1-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, K
.351/.538/.684 in 80 PA. His 1.222 OPS ranks second in the league behind Luis Baez (1.279). Baez has played in six fewer games.
3B Enmanuel Tejeda1-for-5, RS, K
.304/.494/.500 in 79 PA. He is tied with Hans Montero for most walks in the FCL (20)
RF John Cruz1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, BB, K
Cruz is hitting .217/.324/.467 in 71 PA with 23 RBI, which leads the league.
LF Joel Mendez2-for-5, 2 RBI, RS, K
.346/.387/.538 in only 31 PA.
C Edinson Duran2-for-4, 3 RS, BB, K
.455/.514/.667 in 37 PA with only two strikeouts. He is in the midst of a 9-game hitting streak.
1B Enger Castellano3-for-4, 2B (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
A much-needed effort for the 20-year-old, who is only 8-for-37.

RHP Luis Serna1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
2023 debut for the cousin of infield prospect Jared Serna. Like his cousin, you aren’t looking at a pitcher with great size (listed at 5’11”, 162). He is highly likely to add some weight to his frame (if he hasn’t already)
RHP Zach Greene0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
The rehab stint continues.
LHP Henry Lalane (W, 1-0): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
The tall (6’7″) lefty makes his 2023 debut. Last year, in the DSL, he compiled a 2.98 ERA in 11 starts (48.1 IP) with a 52/14 K/BB.
RHP Carlos Lagrange3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K
As soon as Lalane is taken out, they replace him with a 6’7″ righty! The 20-year-old strikes out his share of hitters and walks his share of hitters – that is the life of bigger pitchers at times.

DSL Bombers (8-9) (Lost to the Tigers, 10-1)

RF Gabriel Lara1-for-3, RBI
.289/.439/.556 in 57 PA with a 6-for-9 stolen base rate.
CF Ramiro Altagracia1-for-3, K
.288/.339/.500 in 56 PA with a pair of home runs.
3B Ovandy Frias1-for-2, BB, SB (5)
Frias is hitting .235/.350/.412 in 40 PA. This is his debut season.

RHP Sunayro Martina2.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

DSL Yankees (13-3) (Destroyed Colorado, 12-5)

DH Brando Mayea0-for-5, RBI, BB, K
.294/.351/.412 in 37 PA.
SS Luis Suarez1-for-3, SF, RBI, RS, HBP, SB (7), CS (1)
.255/.357/.468 in 56 PA. He is 23-for-27 stealing bases in 46 career games.
CF Jose Castro2-for-5, 2B (2), RS, 2 K
.300/.417/.400 in 24 PA. This is the 17-year-old’s debut season.
2B Santiago Gomez: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, K
.341/.508/.568 in 63 PA. The 19-year-old didn’t have a great season here last year (.230/.394/.377) but is hopefully getting on track in 2023.
1B Luis Ogando1-for-2, 2B (5), RBI, RS, 2 BB, 2 CS (3)
.378/.464/.556 in 56 PA. In this league, hitting .378 is enough to rank in 19th place.
LF Jhon Imbert2-for-4, 2B (2), 3 RS, BB, 2 K, SB (4)
10-for-36 with a pair of doubles and 11 runs scored.
RF Andres Lacruz3-for-4, 4 RBI, 3 RS, BB, K, SB (8)
Lacruz (18) is 9-for-41 with ten RBI and 13 runs scored. He is 8-for-9 stealing bases.
3B Anthony Pena3-for-5, 2 2B (2), 4 RBI, RS, K
The 17-year-old is 5-for-19 in his debut season. The 4 RBI are the first RBI in his career.

LHP Pedro Rodriguez (W, 3-0): 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Rodriguez is already 20 and has spent three years down here. Can he still blossom? He’s a pitcher, so of course he can.
RHP Kevin Aparicio1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Aparicio is another 20-year-old hurler. This is his second season.

Yankees MILB 6/12: Brendan Beck Debuts

News:

I don’t have anything to report.

Scranton (29-33)

Day off. The Railriders are currently a whopping 14 games behind Norfolk. The good news? The Triple-A season is being split into two halves, so the Railriders can still win the second-half title.

Somerset (34-22) 

Day off. The Patriots are a half-game behind Portland. Four teams will make the playoffs in the Eastern League – the two division winners in each half.

Hudson Valley (33-24) 

Day off. The Renegades hold a 1-game lead over Greensboro. Same playoff format as Double-A.

Tampa (25-31) 

Day off. The Tarpons are 14.5 games behind Clearwater, so a second-half title is their path to the playoffs.

FCL Yankees (4-2) (Defeated the Blue Jays, 7-0. The pitching staff compiled 18 strikeouts)

2B Keiner Delgado2-for-5, 2 RS, 2 SB (6)
Delgado is 8-for-23 with eight walks and only one strikeout. He is on a 5-game hitting streak.
SS Roderick Arias0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, 2 K, CS (1)
Arias is 5-for-26 (1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 4 BB, 7 K)
CF Willy Montero1-for-3, RBI, BB
Montero is 9-for-18 and has at least one hit in all five games played.
3B Hans Montero0-for-4, RS, BB, K
Montero is 6-for-22 (2 doubles, 2 HR)
RF John Cruz2-for-3, RBI, BB, SB (2)
Cruz’s first two hits of 2023 (.225/.411/.396 in 54 DSL games in 2022). He is 17 years old.

RHP Brendan Beck: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Beck finally makes his debut, two years after being drafted. He has missed time due to Tommy John surgery and should get to Tampa very soon.
RHP Sebastian Keane (W, 1-0): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Keane’s first professional win (2nd appearance). He was drafted in the 18th round last year out of Northeastern.
LHP Allen Facundo2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
The 20-year-old pitched to a 4.25 ERA in 48.2 innings with 84 strikeouts (27 walks) for the DSL squad in 2021. He missed all of 2022.
RHP Nolberto Henriquez0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Already 23, Henriquez pitched to a 4.64 ERA in 21.1 IP at this level in 2022.

DSL Yankees (6-0) (Defeated Miami, 3-0. This was a 7-inning game)

3B Santiago Gomez1-for-3, 2B (3), 2 RS, BB
5-for-19 with 7 walks.
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, RS
5-for-14 with 8 RBI. The 19-year-old is 15-for-60 with 5 doubles, 16 RBI, and 20 walks in 2022-2023.
1B Luis Ogando1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI, 2 K
After hitting .300/.417/.440 at this level in 2022, he is off to a 7-for-19 start in 2023. One has to assume the FCL is going to be home soon.

RHP Christian Zazueta (W, 2-0): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
It isn’t often you see extended appearances like these so early in the season. We do not have pitch count data, etc. Zazueta is an 18-year-old who had a tough time here in 2022 (7.59 ERA in 8 starts) so it is nice to see him get off to a solid start in 2023. Zazueta was a $110,000 signee in 2022.
RHP Pedro Rodriguez (S, 2): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

DSL Bombers (6-0) (Crushed Rangers Red, 16-6)

SS Juan Matheus2-for-4, 2B (1), 2 RBI, 3 RS, 2 BB, K
4-for-16 with 11 walks in five games.
2B Gabriel Terrero2-for-5, 2B (2), HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, K
Terrero’s first career home run (this is his first season as he was signed in January 2023). When researching him, I found a Gabriel Terrero who plays in the Rockies organization.
C Johan Contreras0-for-3, 2 RS, 3 BB, 2 K
3B Kevin Verde2-for-5, RBI, RS
RF Luis Puello3-for-5, 3B (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (3)
Nice game for the 17-year-old. This is his debut season.

RHP Chalniel Arias4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
The 19-year-old has a 3.19 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 42.1 innings at this level.

Yankees MILB 6/8: Jared Serna: 3 Hits, HR

News:

Nothing to report.

Scranton (27-31) (Lost to Norfolk, 5-3)

CF Estevan Florial1-for-4, 2B (10), RS, BB, SB (12)
Florial now has a 14-game hitting streak and a 26-game on-base streak.
3B Oswald Peraza0-for-4, RS, HBP, K, SB (7)
Peraza is in a little 3-for-20 slump. You couldn’t expect him to stay scorching forever.
1B Andres Chaparro: 1-for-4, 2 K
Chaparro has exactly one hit in five straight games (5-for-21). He hasn’t homered in 15 straight games.
LF Elijah Dunham1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, K
DH Rodolfo Duran0-for-4, 2 K
2B Jamie Westbrook1-for-4, RS, K
RF Franchy Cordero1-for-3, RBI, BB, K, SB (3)
C Carlos Narvaez1-for-3, BB, K
SS Jesus Bastidas0-for-3, BB, K

RHP Mitch Spence5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR
Norfolk is very good with a strong offense. Spence held them down nicely. He now owns a 4.21 ERA in 62 IP (59 H, 34 R, 29 ER, 23 BB, 53 K, 12 HR). He was very strong in May (2.21 ERA in 36.1 innings) and keeps it up in his first June appearance.
RHP Michael Gomez1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LHP D.J. Snelten0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Bowman1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Greg Weissert (L, 1-1): 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Weissert hasn’t been as sharp in 2023 as he was in 2022.

Somerset (31-22) (Defeated Hartford, 7-5)

SS Trey Sweeney: 2-for-5, 2B (10)
Sweeney is on a 6-game hitting streak (8-for-28; 2 doubles)
DH Jasson Dominguez1-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
His plate discipline is impressive for a kid his age at this level. He has 46 walks in 49 games.
3B Caleb Durbin1-for-5, 2B (4), RS, K, SB (13)
Durbin’s 28th stolen base between here and Hudson Valley.
CF Brandon Lockridge: 3-for-5, 3 2B (7), 3 RBI, RS
It’s not often you see three RBI doubles in a game.
C Anthony Seigler0-for-4, BB
LF Jeisson Rosario1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
RF Aaron Palensky0-for-2, RS, BB, HBP
1B Eric Wagaman1-for-4, RS, K
2B Max Burt1-for-3, HR (7), 3 RBI, RS, BB, 2 K, CS (2)

RHP Blane Abeyta: (W, 4-3)  6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, HR
Abeyta sets a new personal best for strikeouts.
LHP Lisandro Santos: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Zac Houston (S, 1): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Hudson Valley (30-24) (Swept in a doubleheader against Jersey Shore. The pitching continues to pitch extremely well – but the offense did not show up today)

Game 1 (Lost, 1-0)

CF Spencer Jones0-for-3, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-3
C Josh Breaux0-for-3, K
Breaux is hitting .231/.268/.333 in 41 plate appearances during his rehab stint.
DH Rafael Flores1-for-3, K
1B Spencer Henson1-for-3
2B Ben Cowles1-for-3
RF Grant Richardson0-for-1, HBP
LF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-2, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-2

RHP Zach Messinger (L, 0-4): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
Messinger has pitched better than the record. He now owns a 2.68 ERA in 50.1 IP (42 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 24 BB, 61 K)
RHP Jack Neely1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.64 ERA (22 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 34 K)

Game 2 (Lost, 2-1)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-2, BB, K, SB (13)
.272/.324/.497 in 213 plate appearances (17 doubles, 3 triples, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 30 R, 15 BB, 74 K, 13-for-18 SB)
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-3, 2 K
1B Rafael Flores0-for-3
.310/.368/.374 in 171 plate appearances.
C Antonio Gomez0-for-3
3B Ben Cowles1-for-3, 2 K
.279/.344/.450 in 157 plate appearances. 
DH Grant Richardson0-for-3
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-3, K
2B Luis Santos1-for-2, 2B (2), RS, K
LF Kyle Battle0-for-2

RHP Tyrone Yulie: (L, 1-4)  5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
5.02 ERA (43 IP, 34 H, 32 R, 24 ER, 6 HR, 29 BB, 50 K)
RHP Carlos Gomez0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Tampa (24-30) (Mauled Lakeland, 11-3)

2B Jared Serna: 3-for-6, 2B (10), HR (9), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Whenever Serna seems to go into a little slump, he seems to bounce right out of it. He is listed at 5’6″, yet has 21 doubles and 15 HR in 97 games over the last two seasons. This season, his triple slash is up to .316/.375/.515.
DH Daury Arias1-for-4, RS, 2 BB
CF Anthony Hall: 2-for-4, 2B (6), RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K, CS (4)
Hall increases his hitting streak to 8 and is entering “Does he belong here anymore?” territory. He is 8-for-26 in June after hitting .338/.477/.471 in May.
SS Brenny Escanio2-for-4, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
LF Christopher Familia: 2-for-4, 2B (2), HR (5), 3 RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K, CS (1)
Familia: 5 HR in 7 games. 
C Jesus Rodriguez2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Rodriguez is now on a 7-game hitting streak (three straight multi-hit games)
RF Tayler Aguilar1-for-5, 2 RBI, 4 K
3B Beau Brewer0-for-2, RS, 3 BB
1B Ronny Rojas1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K

LHP Brock Selvidge: (W, 3-3)  5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Selvidge was stretched out to 100 pitches tonight. He is throwing in the mid-90s (hit 96.7 tonight) and generated 19 swing and misses. Season: 3.02 ERA (50.2 IP, 46 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 2 HR, 12 BB, 56 K)
RHP Shane Gray2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
4.28 ERA (27.1 IP, 23 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 35 K)
RHP Alex Bustamante1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

FCL Yankees (2-1) (Defeated the Phillies, 7-1)

DH Keiner Delgado1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K, SB (1), CS (1)
Just like we said with Serna last year: If he taps into some power, his stock will go up. Without power? He still would have a chance because he can play up the middle positions.
SS Roderick Arias2-for-5, 2B (1), RBI, 2 RS, 2 K
If Arias develops to his potential, he will have above-average power for a shortstop. I think the Yankees will be patient with him, but they won’t keep a bonus baby down here any longer than he needs to be.
CF Willy Montero2-for-4, RBI, BB, K, CS (1)
The 18-year-old did enough in the DSL last season (.262/.396/.382; 16-for-20 SB) to earn a shot here in 2023. I don’t see any info on his signing bonus (again, likely an indicator that it wasn’t much) but the fact that he is a CF hitting third in the lineup tells you that the organization is impressed with something.
3B Hans Montero1-for-2, HR (1), RBI, RS, 3 BB
Montero, who was signed for $1.7 million (the highest bonus the Yankees handed out in 2021), struggled badly in the DSL. Now 19, they simply couldn’t throw him back down there for a third season. Something has to start clicking.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda0-for-3, 2 BB, K
Tejeda (18) hit ..289/.463/.493 in 46 DSL games last season. As I keep saying: DSL stats are wacky. However, if you don’t perform down there, you will probably die on the vine (unless you are someone like Montero, who they invested significant money in)
RF Dayro Perez0-for-2, RBI, RS, 2 BB, SB (1)
Perez, signed as an infielder, gets his first career start in the OF. He was given a taste of Low-A earlier this season, where he went 13-for-85 (.153) with a 2-for-3 stolen base rate.

RHP Ryan Harvey4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
A strong professional debut for Harvey. Bobby Milone (on Twitter) pointed out that he was a college reliever so it appears this is another case of the Yankees drafting a relief pitcher and converting him to a starter. It really is not a bad strategy. It isn’t hard to convert them back to the bullpen.
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza (W, 1-0): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Mendoza received some praise from Josh Norris of Baseball America. In 2022, down in the DSL, he pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 55 IP with a 77/19 K/BB ratio. Given that he tossed three innings today, he likely is still seen as a starting pitcher.

DSL Yankees (3-0) and the DSL Bombers (3-0) both won. The Yankees knocked off the Pirates Black, 8-5, while the Bombers knocked off the Mets Orange, 7-6. The Bombers overcame a 6-0 deficit entering the bottom of the 7th.

As I keep saying, DSL stats are insane. The Yankees’ eight runs came on 6 hits and *16* walks. C Josue Gonzalez and DH Luis Escudero each drew three walks while 3B Ovandy Frias doubled home two runs and drew a pair of walks. RHP Jorge Luna went 2.2 innings in his professional debut, allowing no runs on two hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

As for the Bombers, CF Ramiro Altagracia hit his first home run of the season. This is his third season at this level and he has done little of note offensively in his first two years…SS Kevin Verde (17) had one of the biggest knocks in the game: A 2-run double. He made his first professional hit memorable…DH Gabriel Lara (17) went 1-for-3 with an RBI, 2 runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base…