Yankees MILB 5/21: Drew Thorpe: 6 Scoreless Innings

News:

Nothing new to report.

Scranton (21-24) (Lost to Charlotte, 4-2)

CF Estevan Florial1-for-4, HR (9), RBI, RS, BB
Florial has homered in three straight games (6 HR in the last 7 games). He is up to .311/.439/.605.
DH Kole Calhoun:  1-for-5, 3B (1), RS
3B Andres Chaparro: 2-for-5, RBI, K
Chaparro’s first multi-hit game since his 5-for-5 night on 5/9.
LF Elijah Dunham1-for-4, BB, 2 K
Dunham has ten walks in his last ten games.
RF Franchy Cordero2-for-5, 2 2B (7)
He has seven doubles in 15 games since his demotion.
C Rodolfo Duran1-for-4, K
1B Billy McKinney0-for-3, BB, 3 K
2B Jesus Bastidas1-for-4, 2 K, CS (4)
Bastidas’ hitting streak reaches five and he has reached base at least once in all 14 May contests.
SS Wilmer Difo: 1-for-3, HBP, SB (11)
Difo has six stolen bases in his last four games.

RHP Sean Boyle: (L, 2-3) 2.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR
RHP Deivi Garcia1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
4.24 ERA (23.1 IP, 20 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 17 BB, 21 K)
RHP Matt Bowman1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Matt Krook1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
1.17 ERA (15.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 12 BB, 29 K). He should make his MLB debut at some point this season.
RHP Colten Brewer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Greg Weissert0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Somerset (23-15) (Lost to Reading, 3-1)

SS Trey Sweeney1-for-5, RS, 3 K
A little 2-for-23 slump has dropped his line to .246/.386/.352. I think some power will show up as the season goes along.
LF Jasson Dominguez:  1-for-5, 2 K, CS (2)
A little 3-for-21 slump has dropped his line to .197/.360/.393. 
DH Austin Wells1-for-4, RBI, BB, K
In addition to his 7 HR in 14 games at this level, he has also driven home 19 runs and scored 13 runs.
CF Everson Pereira3-for-4, SB (6)
Pereira has two 3-hit games in his last six games played. He is 21-for-67 (.313) in May with four doubles and five home runs. On the season, he is up to .282/.331/.508 in 137 plate appearances. After games of 5/4, he was at .232/.303/.391.
3B Tyler Hardman1-for-4, 2 K
2B Caleb Durbin0-for-3, BB
Durbin has struck out once in 44 plate appearances since his promotion (2.3%)
RF Brandon Lockridge1-for-3, BB
Lockridge is on a 7-game hitting streak (8-for-21; 7 BB)
C Anthony Seigler0-for-3, BB, K
1B Eric Wagaman1-for-4, K

RHP Blane Abeyta: (L, 2-2)  5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
5.79 ERA (32.2 IP, 29 H, 21 R, 21 ER, 3 HR, 21 BB, 30 K). Last 3 starts: 3.57 ERA (17.2 IP, 13 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 18 K)
LHP Michael Giacone1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR
1.96 ERA (18.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 10 BB, 23 K)
RHP Justin Wilson1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Indigo Diaz1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
1.65 ERA (16.1 IP, 14 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 14 BB, 23 K)

Hudson Valley (23-16) (Split a doubleheader with Brooklyn)

Game 1 (Lost, 6-0)

CF Spencer Jones0-for-3, 3 K
SS Alexander Vargas1-for-3, SB (7)
C Antonio Gomez: 1-for-3, K
.208/.286/.274 in 121 plate appearances (4 doubles, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 10 R, 11 BB (9.1%), 41 K (33.9%))
DH Rafael Flores0-for-3, 2 K
1B Spencer Henson0-for-3, K
LF Grant Richardson1-for-2, BB, SB (5)
2B Eduardo Torrealba1-for-3, SB (3)
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-3, K
3B Marcos Cabrera0-for-2, K

RHP Chase Hampton: (L, 1-1) 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
3.10 ERA (29 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 3 HR, 11 BB, 49 K). A 15.21 K/9 works (as does the 40%+ K rate). 
RHP Nick Paciorek0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
2.92 ERA (12.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 15 K)
RHP Jack Neely0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
2.30 ERA (15.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 22 K)
RHP Harold Cortijo0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
3.20 ERA (19.2 IP, 17 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 25 K)

Game 2  (Won, 3-2, in 9 innings)

DH Spencer Jones1-for-4, RS
Jones is hitting .285 with a .882 OPS
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-4, K
LF Aaron Palensky1-for-4, RBI, RS
C Rafael Flores1-for-4, K
He broke up the perfect game in the 5th inning.
1B Spencer Henson: 1-for-4, K
CF Grant Richardson: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
Walk-off RBI single.
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-3, RS, K, SB (9)
3B Ben Cowles0-for-2, SF, RBI, K
2B Luis Santos1-for-3, 2B (1), K

RHP Drew Thorpe6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
3.55 ERA (38 IP, 36 H, 19 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 16 BB, 45 K)
RHP Danny Watson1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
1.69 ERA (21.1 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 9 BB, 35 K). He is having one of the best seasons amongst relievers in the Yankees’ system.
RHP Carlos Gomez: (W, 2-1)  1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Tampa (14-25) (Defeated Dunedin, 9-1)

2B Jared Serna1-for-4, RS, BB
.331/.406/.559 in 143 PA. He is 24-for-69 (.348) in May with all seven of his home runs. 
CF Daury Arias1-for-5, 2 K
C Agustin Ramirez: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
.240/.363/.390 in 124 plate appearances.
DH Anthony Hall: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
.253/.367/.398 in 98 plate appearances. He is 17-for-50 in May with nine walks. I expect him to get to Hudson Valley at some point this season.
SS Brenny Escanio: 2-for-4, 2B (4), SF, RBI, K
RF Nelson Medina0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K
LF Tayler Aguilar1-for-4, 2B (6), RS, 2 K
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, 3 RS, BB
.256/.333/.344 in 103 plate appearances. He now has 7 games at catcher, 10 games at first base, 7 games at third base, and 2 games in left field.
1B Ronny Rojas2-for-4, HR (4), 3 RBI, 2 RS

RHP Tommy Kahnle1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Kahnle hit 96.6 on the gun.
RHP Baron Stuart: (W, 1-2)  3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Stuart’s first professional win – congrats!
RHP Luis Velasquez1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.29 ERA (21 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 22 K). Batters are hitting .101 against him and he owns a 3.56 GO/AO.
RHP Manny Ramirez2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Alex Bustamante: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
2.50 ERA (18 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 22 K). He has yet to allow a home run in 23 professional innings.

Yankees MILB 4/30: A Clinic in Hudson Valley

News:

Not much to report. I wish I could tell you that the second coming of Barry Bonds was ready to come up and save the Yankees, but sorry – not happening.

Scranton (10-17) (Shut down by Worcester (featuring James Paxton), 5-0)

CF Estevan Florial0-for-4, K
.254/.413/.492 in 75 plate appearances.
DH Harrison Bader0-for-4, K
1B Andres Chaparro0-for-4, 3 K
I was intrigued to see what he would do against James Paxton, a left-hander who we know has MLB success on his resume. Chaparro didn’t do well, but it’s one game in a sea of several good ones lately.
LF Elijah Dunham: 2-for-3, 2B (8), BB, K
.247/.373/.376 in 102 plate appearances. His minor-league approach has allowed him to compile his share of doubles. 
2B Jamie Westbrook0-for-4
SS Jesus Bastidas0-for-3, 2 K
RF Michael Hermosillo0-for-3, 2 K
C Mickey Gasper2-for-3
7-game hitting streak (9-for-26)
3B Wilmer Difo0-for-3, K

RHP Ryan Weber: (L, 2-3) 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Barrett Loseke1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
2.61 ERA (10.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 11 K). The Yankees bullpen is doing well so there isn’t much room for a guy like Loseke, but he can at least get himself on the radar.
RHP Michael Gomez: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Somerset (12-8) (Game with Harrisburg was canceled due to rain. It will not be made up)

Some early season numbers:

OF Jasson Dominguez is hitting .140/.380/.340 (114 wRC+) in 71 plate appearances with a 28.2% BB rate and 25.4% K rate. His .161 BABIP will eventually normalize (and you expect the strikeout rate to start to drop somewhat)…OF Everson Pereira (on the 40-man roster) is hitting .246/.317/.421 (109 wRC+) in 51 plate appearances. The triple slash is OK but he will need to normalize the 36.5% K rate…OF Brandon Lockridge is trying to bounce back from a tough 2022. This season, he is hitting .289/.333/.444 (114 wRC+) with ten stolen bases and a nice 19.6% K rate. The defense and speed will play in MLB. It is all about the bat…SS Trey Sweeney is at .234/.342/.344 (101 wRC+) in 76 plate appearances. He is in a bit of a slump recently…C Carlos Narvaez has impressed, hitting .256/.373/.488 in 51 plate appearances. Narvaez didn’t hit for any average last year (.194) but still walked at a 15% clip. If he can even hit in the .230-.240 range with that discipline and some pop, he will make MLB…Veteran utility player Max Burt has a 235 wRC+.

RHP Will Warren owns a 4.15 ERA, thanks mostly to an insane .462 BABIP. His FIP is 1.01 with a 38.7% K and 9.3% BB. He has yet to allow a home run…RHP Richard Fitts is also pitching in some bad luck, as his 5.23 ERA is accompanied by a 3.24 FIP. He owns a 31% K and 6% BB…On the reverse side of the spectrum, RHP Clayton Beeter is the owner of a 1.74 ERA/3.58 FIP (which isn’t exactly bad). I think there are simply a lot of sample size issues going on with these pitchers…

Hudson Valley (14-7) (Destroyed Greenville, 15-2)

SS Alexander Vargas: 3-for-6, 2 HR (4), 2 RBI, 3 RS
First career multi-HR game. Prospects develop at different rates – that said, if Vargas suddenly has things click, it would be quite a nice surprise. While he did set a career-high with eight home runs in 2022, it came with a .203/.271/.311 triple slash. Let’s see how this season evolves.
LF Aaron Palensky: 2-for-4, 2B (3), HR (7), RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB
Palensky has homered in four straight games (five HR in those four games) and has six HR in his last six games. Yeah, he will be all over tomorrow’s leaderboard data dump on Twitter.
3B Caleb Durbin: 1-for-3, RS, BB, K
  PH-3B Luis Santos1-for-2, HR (1), 3 RBI, RS, K
Santos has hit exactly 2 home runs per season between 2019-2022 (remember, 2020 didn’t exist in MILB)
CF Grant Richardson1-for-5, 2B (1), RBI, RS, BB, 3 K
C Antonio Gomez: 2-for-4, 2B (4), 2 RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
Gomez has hit safely in 13 of his 15 games this season. There isn’t much power sprinkled in (three doubles) + only three of the games are multi-hit efforts, but we’ll what we can get from a prospect who is trying to regain some shine.
1B Rafael Flores2-for-5, 2B (5), 2 RBI, RS
Flores is hitting .404 (19-for-47) with five doubles and ten runs batted in. He is 25-for-61 (.410) in his brief career.
DH Anthony Garcia0-for-5, 2 K
2B Ben Cowles: 2-for-5, 2 HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Cowles’ first career multi-HR game. 
RF Aldenis Sanchez1-for-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K

RHP Drew Thorpe: (W, 1-0) 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
2.86 ERA (22 IP, 20 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 9 BB, 29 K). First professional win.
RHP Danny Watson: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, HR
11 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 20 K, 1 HR

Tampa (8-13) (Lost to Jupiter, 8-6)

2B Brenny Escanio2-for-4, 2 RS, BB, K, SB (7)
.250/.358/.309 in 82 plate appearances. Escanio, who was acquired from the Brewers as a part of the J.P. Feyereisen trade, doesn’t show up anywhere on prospect lists. However, the Yankees continue to lead him off which could be a sign of some faith that there is something to tap into.
C Austin Wells0-for-4, K
3-for-17 during his rehab stint (the numbers don’t even matter – it is all about getting his swings in)
 
C Agustin Ramirez1-for-1, RBI
CF Anthony Hall0-for-5, K
DH Nelson Medina1-for-4, 2B (5), RBI, RS, BB, 3 K, SB (2)
.296/.371/.537 in 16 gqmes. I have no information about what his signing bonus was back in 2017, so just assume it was small.
SS Dayro Perez1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
The average has jumped from .078 to .156 over the last three games – hey, you have to start somewhere.
LF Tayler Aguilar0-for-4, K
1B Jesus Rodriguez2-for-4, HR (1), RBI, RS
Rodriguez isn’t a big kid (5’9″) but he has shown off some versatility (including the ability to catch). Offensively, he is hitting .283/.371/.358 in 15 games. He has always hit for average in the short-season leagues.
3B Ronny Rojas1-for-3, HR (3), RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 K
Rojas has homered in three straight games.
RF Felix Negueis0-for-4, 2 K

RHP Baron Stuart: (L, 0-1) 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
Staurt’s professional debut. The Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent (out if Pitt) last season. His college numbers don’t jump out at you (he did have a strikeout boost last year), which is something that fascinates me about scouting. They look beyond the raw numbers to see if there is something interesting about the kid – someone liked him, and here he is.
RHP Shane Gray1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
10.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 15 K. This is his debut season and he throws left-handed – which automatically puts him on the radar.
RHP Luis Velasquez1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
12.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 14 K. This is the 21-year-old’s first taste of full-season ball.