Yankees MILB 6/6: Roderick Arias Hits a Slam

News:

The FCL Yankees and the two DSL squads started their seasons on Monday. I will report on them below, but I don’t typically type up full lineups or anything for those games.

Scranton (27-30)

Their game against Norfolk was postponed due to air quality concerns (due to the fires in Quebec).

Somerset (30-21) (Shut down Hartford, 4-0)

SS Trey Sweeney1-for-3, 2B (9), RS, BB, K, SB (9)
CF Jasson Dominguez0-for-4, K
C Austin Wells1-for-3, 2B (6), BB, K
Wells is 6-for-19 in June with a pair of doubles and 6 RBI.
3B Tyler Hardman0-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B T.J. Rumfield1-for-4, HR (7), RBI, RS
Rumfield has already blown past his personal best for home runs in a season. If he is tapping into some power, there can be something to watch here.
2B Caleb Durbin0-for-3, RS, BB
DH Anthony Seigler2-for-4, 2B (4), K, CS (3)
Seigler has a 5-game hitting streak going (6-for-16)
LF Jeisson Rosario: 1-for-2, SF, RBI, BB
RF Aaron Palensky1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, RS, K
Palensky hit 12 home runs for Hudson Valley earlier this season. He leads the organization in homers.

RHP Clayton Beeter: (W, 4-2) 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K
Beeter has two 11-K games this season. Stats: 2.34 ERA (50 IP, 37 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 3 HR, 28 BB, 63 K)
RHP Alex Mauricio2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
4.40 ERA (14.1 IP, 14 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 14 K)
RHP Steven Jennings1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Hudson Valley (30-22) (Crushed Jersey Shore, 13-1)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-5, RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas1-for-5, 2B (7), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K
DH Josh Breaux0-for-5, BB
1B Rafael Flores2-for-6, RBI, RS, 3 K
Flores is hitting .315. He has 12 multi-hit games.
RF Anthony Garcia2-for-4, 2 RS, 2 BB
C Antonio Gomez1-for-4, 2 RS, HBP, 2 K
Gomez increases his hitting streak to 6 (9-for-21)
2B Ben Cowles3-for-4, HR (6), SF, 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Cowles started the season 4-for-29. He is 33-for-105 (.314) since. This is his first 3-hit game this year.
LF Grant Richardson: 4-for-4, 3 RS, HBP
Richardson is bound to go through a hot streak, given his .200 BABIP entering tonight. This is his second career 4-hit game (6/16/2022)
3B Marcos Cabrera: 2-for-4, 2 2B (6), 5 RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
Bottom of the order thunder! Cabrera sets a new personal best for RBI in a game. He hasn’t done much hitting since his rookie league days. 

LHP Joel Valdez4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K, 5 HB (yes, FIVE)
LHP Josh Maciejewski: (W, 1-0)  1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Maciejewski stranded the bases loaded for Valdez in the 5th.
RHP Mason Vinyard1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Clay Aguilar1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.38 ERA (13.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 9 BB, 20 K)
RHP Harrison Cohen1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Tampa (22-30) (Defeated Lakeland, 7-6, in 11 innings)

2B Jared Serna0-for-6, 2 K
I bet Serna doesn’t have many 0-for-6s on his lifetime resume, going back to when he was 4-5 years old.
RF Anthony Hall1-for-5, K, SB (3)
Hall now has a 7-game hitting streak.
C Agustin Ramirez: 1-for-2, 2 RS, 3 BB, 2 SB (6)
Ramirez has drawn 12 walks in his last six games (including a 5-walk performance)
SS Brenny Escanio: 2-for-5, 3B (2), RBI, RS, K
Escanio can draw walks but hasn’t yet shown that he can hit consistently. This is a nice game for him.
CF Nelson Medina0-for-5, 2 K
DH Christopher Familia2-for-5, 2B (1), HR (3), 2 RBI, 3 RS
Familia has three home runs in five games this season.
LF Tayler Aguilar1-for-5, 2B (9), RBI, 2 K
Doubles account for 50% of Aguilar’s hits this season. You do the math.
3B Jesus Rodriguez2-for-5, RBI
Rodriguez drove home the winning run in the 11th.
1B Omar Martinez1-for-5, HR (5), RBI, RS, 2 K

RHP Hayden Merda5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, HR
Last three starts: 17.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 16 K
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Manny Ramirez0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Cole Ayers1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Yorlin Calderon: (W, 2-1) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
This is what you want to do if you are pitching with the ghost runner on base. Season: 1.95 ERA (27.2 IP, 21 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 35 K). A very impressive stat line. He is 21 years old.

FCL Yankees (1-1) (Defeated the Tigers, 8-6)

SS Roderick Arias2-for-6, HR (1), 5 RBI, RS
The home run was a grand slam and the RBI are a new personal best for Arias. The 18-year-old bonus baby ($4 million) put up a .194/.379/.370 line in 140 plate appearances in the DSL last season.
2B Keiner Delgado2-for-3, 2B (1), 2 RS, 3 BB, K
While Arias had a much-publicized signing bonus, it is much harder to find information on Delgado. He emerged on radars last season when he hit .310/.504/.506 with 34 stolen bases in 52 games in the DSL. Like Jared Serna, Delgado has a short stature which will inevitably lead to Jose Altuve comparisons. I would try to avoid those kinds of comparisons.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda2-for-2, RS, 2 BB, SB (1)
Tejeda homered on Opening Day yesterday. Listed as a SS (he may not play there too much with Arias around), the 18-year-old hit .289/.463/.493 with 41 walks and 25 strikeouts in 46 games for the DSL squad last season.
C Edinson Duran: 1-for-2, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, BB
Duran is a smallish 20-year-old catcher who hit .341/.437/.647 in 29 DSL games last season. If you aren’t yet catching on, DSL statistics can get a little wacky.
RF-CF Jake Palmer0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, KK
Palmer was signed as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA last year. He is already 24 years old.

RHP Carlos Lagrange4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Lagrange is a tall kid (6’7″) who struck out 43 batters in 33 innings for the DSL last season while only allowing ten hits. As you may suspect with a pitcher of his size, he needs to work a bit on control (19 BB last season)
RHP Osiel Rodriguez (S, 1): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Seemingly here forever, Rodriguez is still only 21 years old. After starting four games in 2019, he hasn’t made a start since. Rodriguez had a cup of coffee with Low-A Tampa in 2022.

I have nothing of note to mention about the DSL squads today.

Yesterday, bonus baby Brando Mayea ($4.35 million) doubled in his first at-bat and promptly left the game. He did not play today.

Yankees MILB 5/14: Spencer Jones Continues to Mash

News:

Oswald Peraza is officially on a rehab assignment down in Scranton. I tend to doubt they will activate him back on to the MLB roster when the assignment is over with, as long as everyone is healthy. We’ll see.

Scranton (17-22) (Lost to Omaha, 6-3)

CF Estevan Florial1-for-5, 3 K
SS Oswald Peraza1-for-4, HR (1), RBI, RS
Peraza homered in his first rehab at-bat. I know I sound like a broken record but people get nervous when top prospects are pulled: For as long as I can remember, the Yankees never have players play full games on their first day back from injury. Don’t worry about it unless they tell us otherwise.
  SS Wilmer Difo0-for-1, K
DH Ben Rortvedt0-for-5, K
3B Andres Chaparro1-for-4, BB, K
By trade, Chaparro is a masher. However, he does own an 11.5% BB rate this season. In the majors, that would be considered above league average. He is hitting .268/.353/.543 in 156 PA.
LF Elijah Dunham0-for-3, 2 BB, 3 K, SB (7)
.218/.359/.336 in 145 plate appearances. There is no doubt that it has been a struggle for Dunham (other than showing off some plate discipline). I still believe he will break out of it.
RF Franchy Cordero2-for-4, 2B (5), RS, 2 K
C Rodolfo Duran2-for-4, K, SB (1)
.295/.345/.551 in 84 plate appearances. This is his first stolen base since 8/27/18. He has never stolen two bases in a season.
1B Billy McKinney2-for-3, HR (4), RBI, RS, BB
2B Jesus Bastidas0-for-4, RBI, BB, K

RHP Mitch Spence5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
5.17 ERA (38.1 IP, 39 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 16 BB, 34 K, 9 HR). Last three starts: 18 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 15 K
LHP Matt Krook1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Krook’s first appearance since 4/26 is an impressive one. On the season, he owns a 1.42 ERA in 12.2 IP (4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 9 BB, 26 K)
RHP Colten Brewer1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Deivi Garcia1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
4.29 ERA (21 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 3 HR, 16 BB, 19 K)
LHP D.J. Snelten0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
RHP Barrett Loseke0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Somerset (20-12) (Lost to Portland, 3-1)

SS Trey Sweeney1-for-4, RBI
.268/.410/.392 in 122 plate appearances (6 doubles, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 18 R, 22 BB, 24 K, 6-for-8 SB)
LF Jasson Dominguez0-for-4, 2 K
vs. RHP: 13-for-74 (.176) with 23 walks and 23 strikeouts. All eight of his extra-base hits are off RHP.
vs. LHP: 4-for-16 (.250) with five walks and five strikeouts. 
DH Everson Pereira0-for-4, K
1B T.J. Rumfield2-for-3, BB, K
.210/.320/.407 in 97 PA. 
3B Tyler Hardman1-for-4, K
.230/.324/.471 in 102 PA. Both Rumfield and Hardman are corner infield college bats who can have some use either to the Yankees or in a trade scenario. But both need to hit because the defensive value is limited.
2B Caleb Durbin0-for-4
RF Jeisson Rosario1-for-3, BB, K
C Anthony Seigler0-for-3, BB, K
Seigler has nine walks in eight May games.
CF Brandon Lockridge1-for-2, 2B (4), RS, BB, SB (14)
.300/.366/.457 in 82 plate appearances. Lockridge is 14-for-16 in the stolen base department.

RHP Blane Abeyta: (L, 2-1)  6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Abeyta’s first career 10+ strikeout effort.
RHP Alex Mauricio2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Hudson Valley (21-12) (Defeated Aberdeen, 8-3)

CF Spencer Jones: 3-for-5, 2 2B (11), 2 RBI, 2 RS, SB (9)
Jones has eight hits in three games after missing three games for reasons unknown. He has 20 extra-base hits in 120 plate appearances. He hasn’t drawn a ton of walks, but when you mash like this, why do you have to? I don’t think it is due to a lack of plate discipline.
SS Alexander Vargas1-for-5, HR (6), 2 RBI, RS, 3 K
Vargas is two away from matching his personal best for HR in a season (8 in 100 games last season)
C Antonio Gomez1-for-4, RBI, RS, HBP
1B Rafael Flores1-for-4, BB
Flores increases his hitting streak to five (8-for-21)
LF Aaron Palensky0-for-4, BB, 2 K
Palensky is in a little 2-for-19 slump.
DH Grant Richardson0-for-4, 3 K
2B Ben Cowles: 2-for-4, 2B (4), K
Cowles was hitting .188 after games of 4/28. He is 14-for-36 (.389) since and is now hitting .274.
RF Aldenis Sanchez1-for-4, 3B (3), RS, K
3B Marcos Cabrera3-for-4, RBI, 2 RS
Cabrera’s first 3-hit game since 8/24/19.

RHP Drew Thorpe: (W, 2-1) 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR
4.26 ERA (31.2 IP, 31 H, 19 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 14 BB, 37 K). Strong comeback after a 3.2 IP, 6 R outing last time out.
RHP Carlos Gomez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
5.40 ERA (16.2 IP, 15 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 26 K)
RHP Harrison Cohen: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR

Tampa (11-21) (No-hit by Ft. Myers, 3-0. The Tarpons allowed a pair of unearned runs in addition to their offensive ineptitude. A game you just want to forget about)

DH Jared Serna0-for-4
A bit of a slump (3-for-22) has dropped his line to .327/.407/.519 in 118 plate appearances. Given that triple slash even after this recent slide, you can safely say that he was never going to be able to maintain his early pace. 
CF Anthony Hall0-for-3, 2 K
Hall’s 10-game hitting streak is snapped.
C Agustin Ramirez0-for-3
.222/.369/.370 in 103 plate appearances. In his first two years, he had a 27/67 BB/K ratio in 289 plate appearances. In his last two years, the ratio is 42/45 in 300 plate appearances.
LF Daury Arias0-for-3, 2 K
Arias broke up the perfect game in the 8th inning by reaching first base on a third strike wild pitch. 
SS Brenny Escanio0-for-3, 2 K
RF Nelson Medina0-for-3, K
Medina is 22 and this is his first taste of full-season ball. Ideally, you want to get him to start moving up. Yes, I recognize how the canceled 2020 season impacted the progression of many prospects.
While his triple slash is excellent (.291/.386/.488), you do want to see the 30.7% K rate come down somewhat before you move him along.

1B Jesus Rodriguez0-for-3, K
The 21-year-old has a solid batting average in his minor league career (.309 in 116 games) and is excellent in the BB/K ratio category (57 walks, 62 strikeouts). Power? He only has seven career home runs but does have 31 doubles.
2B Brett Barrera0-for-3, K
3B Ronny Rojas0-for-3

RHP Baron Stuart: (L, 0-2)  4 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
RHP Yorlin Calderon1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
2.40 ERA (15 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 20 K). I don’t know if his permanent role is that of a reliever, but he is doing a solid job this year.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
2.25 ERA (16 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 11 BB, 23 K). 
RHP Matt Keating1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
It is hard to imagine Keating being here for long. His ERA drops to 1.23 with a 23/8 K/BB ratio over 14.2 innings. The walks are high, but seven of them were compiled in April (he walked at least one batter in all six April appearances)