Tag: Trystan Vrieling

Yankees MILB 4/19: Trystan Vrieling: 7.2 Hitless Innings

News:

RHP Tanner Myatt was promoted to Scranton today. He entered the game tonight, but it wasn’t his Scranton debut.

IF DJ LeMahieu was supposed to be in Somerset this weekend on a rehab stint but it isn’t happening. Who knows when he will be ready?

Scranton (12-6) (Lost to Lehigh Valley, 9-3)

LF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Lockridge is in a little 0-for-14 slide. 
SS Caleb Durbin: 1-for-2, RS, 2 BB
.303/.440/.485 in 84 PA (7 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 13 R, 16 BB, 8 K, 10-for-10 SB). What is there to dislike in that stat line? 
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-4, 3 K
There has been feast-or-famine in his profile this year. He is hitting .237/.338/.576 in 68 PA, but it comes with a 38.2% K rate.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-4, 2B (2), RBI
Rumfield is 6-for-15 with two doubles since his promotion. The Yankees do not have tremendous first base depth – if anything happens to Anthony Rizzo, Rumfield could find himself in the mix.
C Carlos Narvaez: 0-for-3, BB, K
DH Jose Rojas: 0-for-4, K
3B Jordan Groshans: 0-for-3, BB
2B Josh VanMeter: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RS, BB, K
RF Luis Gonzalez: 1-for-4, RS, 2 K

RHP Clayton Beeter: (L, 1-1) 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Beeter wasn’t throwing hard tonight, maxing at 94.9 and averaging only 91.8.  These are the first runs he has allowed this season (8.1 scoreless here and one scoreless in MLB)
RHP Tanner Myatt: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
When Myatt was drafted, there was talk about how hard he threw. However, injuries have likely sapped him of some of that. He maxed at 92.6 MPH tonight.
RHP Phil Bickford: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Duane Underwood Jr.: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K

Somerset (6-7) (Walked it off against Hartford, 1-0)

1B Ben Rice: 2-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, 2 K
Walk-off homer to break the scoreless tie. Rice has homered in three straight games (7-for-13, double, 3 HR). He is up to .269/.321/.519 in 56 PA. Before these three games, he was hitting .179/.256/.256. Early-season sample sizes!
C Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-3, 2 K
.244/.370/.711 in 54 PA. He needs to hit the ball over the fence because he isn’t having much luck when he doesn’t (.148 BABIP)
CF Elijah Dunham: 1-for-2, CS (1), BB
SS Ben Cowles: 0-for-3
RF Jared Wegner: 1-for-3, K
.250/.302/.525 in 43 PA. 16 of his 32 career hits have gone for extra-bases (.517 SLG). Last year’s 9th-round pick (Arkansas) is 24 years old.
LF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-3, K
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3
3B Alexander Vargas: 0-for-3, K
0-for-11 since his promotion. When you struggle with the bat, a trip to Double-A isn’t often a cure (though pitchers in Double-A tend to have better control/command). 
DH Spencer Henson: 0-for-3, 2 K

RHP Trystan Vrieling: 7.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (100 pitches)
Vrieling was brilliant tonight. His ERA through three starts is 0.48 in 18.2 IP (5 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 18 K). In case you forgot, this is his debut season. The Yankees sent the 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft (he didn’t pitch in 2023) straight to Double-A, which is not something they ever do. They knew what they were doing.
RHP Kevin Stevens (W, 2-0): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 8 K. The 26-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and missed the entire 2023 season.

Hudson Valley (8-4) (Lost to Aberdeen, 6-2)

SS Roc Riggio: 0-for-3. RS, BB
If you haven’t seen his remarkable double play from last night, do it.
2B Jared Serna: 0-for-3, BB
Serna is hitting only .132 (5-for-38) though he does have a 10/6 BB/K.
CF Jace Avina: 2-for-3, HBP
I am intrigued to see if Avina’s bat can develop beyond the power.  From the scouting reports, he should be able to handle all three outfield positions.
C Jose Rodriguez: 0-for-3, HBP, 2 K
RF Garrett Martin: 0-for-3, HBP, K
LF Anthony Hall: 1-for-2, RBI, RS, SB (1), 2 BB, K
Hall entered this game struggling (2-for-27), so it is nice to see him have a good game.
DH Rafael Flores: 0-for-2, HBP, 2 K
1B Kiko Romero: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
3B Beau Brewer: 1-for-4, RBI

RHP Sebastian Keane: (L, 0-2) 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Shrug it off and move on to the next one.
RHP Leonardo Pestana: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
RHP Cole Ayers: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 10 K
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Nice start to his 2024 campaign.

Tampa (4-9) (Lost to St. Lucie, 3-1)

2B George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-4, 2 K
It is rare for Lombard not to reach base. This is only the second time in 26 career games (29 if you include the 2023 playoffs) that he did not reach base.
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 2-for-4, 2B (2), 2 K
He has back-to-back games with a double after compiling zero extra-base hits in his first 11 games. He is hitting .306/.333/.347.
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-3, RS, SB (3), BB, K
.170/.278/.340 in 54 PA. He is taking some time to adjust, which is hardly surprising. He has stolen three bases in his last four games.
1B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-4, 4 K
LF Coby Morales: 1-for-3, 2B (1), RBI, K
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-3, 2 K
C Manuel Palencia: 1-for-3, K
RF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-3, K
DH Edinson Duran: 0-for-3

LHP Allen Facundo: (L, 0-1) 3 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Facundo hit 96.7 MPH with his 4-seamer (averaged 93.3). His control has been an issue but the Yankees likely feel there is something to work with.
RHP Jordy Luciano: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Gabonia threw a 95.5 MPH sinker tonight. After walking 29 in 53.2 innings last season, he has yet to walk anyone in 5.2 (small sample size) innings this year.
RHP Steven Fulgencio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.

DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!

Yankees MILB 4/13: Agustin Ramirez: 6th HR in 7 Games

News:

LHP Josh Maciejewski was designated for assignment by the Yankees. He threw a scoreless inning in his MLB debut a few nights ago.

Unfortunately, this is how baseball works. However, it isn’t all bad for him. If someone claims him, he sticks to a 40-man roster. If not, he goes to Scranton for depth.

The Yankees added Kevin Smith to the MLB roster today. Smith, who replaces the injured Jon Berti, is a .173/.215/.301 career hitter in 333 plate appearances. He is mostly a shortstop/third baseman.

So far this season, the Yankees haven’t shown much faith in Oswaldo Cabrera against LHP. That will need to change as they can’t count on Smith or Jahmai Jones to provide anything offensively. While there is talk that DJ LeMahieu may be back soon, we’ll believe that when he is on the field.

Scranton (9-4) (Defeated Norfolk, 3-0. Even without Jackson Holliday, this lineup is dangerous. Scranton has held them to 12 runs in five games. The Railriders are 5-0 in those games)

CF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-3, CS (1), BB, K
DH Caleb Durbin: 0-for-4
Durbin has run into a little slump (2-for-16).  His strikeout rate has fallen below 5% (4.9).
LF Everson Pereira: 0-for-4, 4 K
Pereira has been hitting better lately but has an unsightly 36.2% K.
C Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Power and walks define his offensive game.
1B Jose Rojas: 1-for-2, 2 BB, K
SS Jeter Downs: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
11-for-34 (.324). 
RF Luis Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 3 K
3B Jordan Groshans: 0-for-4
2B Josh VanMeter: 1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, 2 K

RHP Clayton Beeter: (W, 1-0)  5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
An impressive night for Beeter. The Yankees could have gone with him over Cody Poteet but they likely want Beeter to work down here. There is nothing wrong with that. Once again, he was primarily 4-seam (66%)-slider (28%) while mixing in a handful of changeups. He peaked at 95.7 MPH.
RHP Matt Givin: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
The Yankees signed Givin to a minor league contract last August. This is the 24-year-old’s organizational debut (he never pitched above High-A while in the Marlins organization).
RHP Jake Cousins (S, 2): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Somerset (4-4) (Swept a doubleheader up in New Hampshire)

Game 1 (Won, 10-2)

DH Spencer Jones: 2-for-3, 2B (1), RBI, 3 RS, BB
Jones finally makes his 2024 debut. One of the Yankees’ top prospects (he could be #1 based on who you ask), Jones went 8-for-18 with two doubles and a homer during spring training.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-4, RBI, RS
7-for-23 (.304) with a double, six walks, and four strikeouts.
SS Ben Cowles: 0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
C J.C. Escarra: 0-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, BB
CF Grant Richardson: 0-for-4
RF Jared Wegner: 1-for-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, RS, K
Back-to-back games with a home run.
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-4, RS, K
LF Aaron Palensky: 2-for-3, 2 2B (3), RS, BB, K
5-for-17 with three doubles, five walks, and five strikeouts.
3B Max Burt: 1-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, SB (1), K
Burt reached double digits in home runs and stolen bases in 2022 and 2023.

RHP Bailey Dees: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
Bees tosses 81 pitches in his second start of the season. He is converting from the bullpen, so it’s a process.
RHP Kevin Stevens (W, 1-0): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Game 2 (Won, 3-1)

DH Ben Rice: 1-for-4
.233/.324/.333 in 34 PA. He hit a leadoff HR on Opening Day and hasn’t homered since. Is that a problem? No. It’s the quirks of baseball.
C Agustin Ramirez: 2-for-4, HR (6), RBI, RS
He has homered in six of his seven games this season (and has a 7-game hitting streak that is eight if you go back to 2023). He is hitting .290/.333/.871 in 33 PA.
3B Ben Cowles: 2-for-3, 2B (4), 2 RS, HBP
Cowles is hitting .407/.500/.556 in 32 PA. He has hit safely in seven of his eight games.
RF J.C. Escarra: 1-for-4, 2B (2), RBI, K
Catcher in Game 1, RF in Game 2. That is how a player can keep himself employed.
CF Grant Richardson: 0-for-4, 4 K
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 K
LF Jared Wegner: 1-for-3, SB (2)
Wegner had a solid senior season for Arkansas (.312/.457/.674 with 15 home runs), enough for the Yankees to draft him. While he did play a little CF in college, he likely sticks to the corner OF spots in the pros.
1B Spencer Henson: 0-for-3
Like Jones, this is Henson’s 2024 debut. Last season, for Hudson Valley, the 26-year-old hit .252/.327/.453 with 14 home runs in 339 plate appearances. 
SS Max Burt: 0-for-2, BB, K

RHP Trystan Vrieling: (W, 2-0) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
First two professional starts: 11 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 12 K. Is he this year’s Drew Thorpe? Way too early for that, but you have to be encouraged when a kid is thrown straight into the Double-A fire without any other minor league experience and performs.
RHP Carlos Gomez (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Hudson Valley (4-2) (Defeated Rome, 3-0)

2B Jared Serna: 1-for-5, RS, K
.263/.391/.579 in 23 PA with four walks and three strikeouts. 
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4
I have mentioned his versatility in the past. In his six starts this year, he has played third base three times, catcher twice, and left field once. Last year, he played the same positions along with time at first base.
DH Omar Martinez: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, K
7-for-21 with a triple, home run, two walks, and four strikeouts. There is nice catching depth in the system.
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-3, RS, SB (1), HBP
Martin’s first professional stolen base.
C Rafael Flores: 2-for-4, RS, K
7-for-20 with two doubles and a homer. He will split time between catching and first base.
1B Kiko Romero: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2K
SS Alexander Vargas: 0-for-4, RBI, K
CF Nelson Medina: 0-for-4, 4 K
LF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-3, BB, K

RHP Sebastian Keane: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Keane was used primarily as a reliever during his 2023 debut season. However, he had plenty of experience as a starter in college. They didn’t push him beyond 72 pitches, but this effort was impressive.
RHP Trent Sellers (W, 2-0): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 12 K. I would consider this a nice start to his career.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert (S, 2): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Tampa (2-6) (Defeated Dunedin, 8-7, in ten innings)

SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 SB (5), 2 BB, 3 K
Lombard Jr. has a silly 35% BB rate. Small sample sizes rule. The single was a 107.2 MPH bullet that brought in the winning run in the 10th.
DH Roderick Arias: 2-for-5, 2 2B (3), RS, CS (2), 2 K
Arias is hitting .212 with a .752 OPS. Five of his seven hits have gone for extra bases (3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR). 
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-2, RS, 3 BB
7-for-21 with six walks. Many undrafted free agents are on the older side, but Jasso is only 21.
1B Coby Morales: 0-for-4, BB, K
CF Willy Montero: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Montero was second to teammate John Cruz (no longer in the system) with his 43 RBI in the FCL last year. He is off to a slow start here (3-for-26).
RF Daury Arias: 0-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
C Tomas Frick: 1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI, RS, BB, K
  PR Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-0, RS
LF Tayler Aguilar: 1-for-2, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, SB (2), 3 BB, K
It has been a frustrating few years for Aguilar, so it’s nice to see him put up this effort.
2B Brenny Escanio: 0-for-4, RS, BB, K

RHP Ryan Harvey: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Harvey spent time on the injured list late last season, so I assume they are bringing him back slowly.
RHP Kris Bow: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
The results aren’t what he wants, but he did touch 97 MPH (he averaged 94). He has control issues (understatement) that he will need to clean up.
RHP Osiel Rodriguez: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K
You can work with someone who flashes mid-90s 4-seamers and sinkers (he featured a 5-pitch mix tonight).
RHP Aaron Nixon: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Huey Morrill: (W, 2-0)  1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.

DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!

Yankees MILB 4/7: Caleb Durbin is on Fire!

News:

Spencer Jones continues to be out of action with his stiff neck. Get that man a sleep number bed and memory foam pillow.

Scranton (4-4) (Defeated Syracuse, 7-2)

2B Caleb Durbin: 2-for-2, 2 2B (4), SF, 4 RBI, RS, 2 SB (7), 2 BB
The Yankees received a player with legitimate MLB potential (perhaps as a super-utility type) for Lucas Luetge. Luetge is someone they revived after years of not pitching in MLB. He is now 13-for-28 (4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 6 R, 8 BB, 2 K, 7-for-7 SB)
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-4, SB (1), HBP, 4 K
Pereira is 6-for-30 with a whopping 15 strikeouts.
DH Carlos Narvaez: 0-for-1, 3 BB
Narvaez is 3-for-20 but has 11 walks.
LF Jose Rojas: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, 2B (1), RS, K
3B Kevin Smith: 1-for-3, 2 RS, HBP, K
SS Jeter Downs: 0-for-3, RS, HBP, K
6-for-19 with a triple and a homer.
RF Luis Gonzalez: 0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
1B Jordan Groshans: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, RS, BB

RHP Cody Poteet: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB,7 K
The 29-year-old is on the 40-man roster. If you like “kitchen sink” types, you will like him. He featured six pitches today, averaging 93 with his 4-seamer and 92.1 with his sinker. He allowed two homers in the fifth inning.
RHP Phil Bickford: (W, 1-0) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Alex Mauricio: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Mauricio was cutter-heavy today (57% of his 37 pitches). He also featured a 4-seamer and a slider.  The 27-year-old pitched to a 3.14 ERA and 45/19 K/BB in 48.2 innings for Somerset in 2023.
RHP Duane Underwood Jr.: (S, 1)  1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Somerset (2-1) (Shut down Richmond, 8-0)

DH Ben Rice: 2-for-4, RS, SB (1), BB, 2 K
Rice is 4-for-14 with a homer.
C Agustin Ramirez: 1-for-5, HR (3), 3 RBI, RS, 2 K
Ramirez has homered in three straight games to start his campaign. He is 4-for-14 with six RBI.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-1, RS, SB (1), 3 BB
2B Anthony Seigler: 0-for-3, RS, SB (1), BB
He has the athleticism to play an up-the-middle position. Can he stay healthy and hit a little? We’ll see.
LF Jared Wegner: 0-for-3, RS, K
CF Grant Richardson: 0-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
SS Ben Cowles: 3-for-4, 2B (2), 3 RBI
Cowles was their 10th-round pick in the 2021 draft (Maryland). The Yankees have played him at 2B/SS/3B (plus two outs in left field)
RF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-2, RS, BB, HBP
3B Max Burt: 0-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K

RHP Trystan Vrieling: (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
This is his professional debut (yes, he was thrown right into the Double-A fire). He was drafted in the third round of the 2022 draft but missed the 2023 season. He did make five starts (10.2 innings) in the Arizona Fall League.
RHP Tanner Myatt: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Health and control have been issues for the 6’7″ Myatt, who has 232 strikeouts in 194 innings. 
LHP Ryan Anderson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The 6’6″ lefty pitched well last season (2.17 ERA in 37 games).
RHP Danny Watson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Watson could make his MLB debut in 2024, even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster. He is a tall kid with a funky motion who pitched to a 1.58 ERA in 62.2 IP with an 82/25 K/BB in 2023.

Hudson Valley (2-1) (Shut down Bowling Green, 3-0)

2B Roc Riggio: 1-for-5, 2B (1), K
SS Jared Serna: 1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, 2 BB, K
After going 28 games without a home run at this level, he has homered in back-to-back games. 
DH Omar Martinez: 1-for-4, BB, K
LF Jesus Rodriguez: 1-for-4, RS, BB, K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
C Rafael Flores: 1-for-4, K
3B Alexander Vargas: 0-for-2, SF, RBI, BB
CF Nelson Medina: 0-for-4, SB (1), 2 K

RHP Cam Schlittler: (W, 1-0) 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
The 6’6″ 23-year-old was drafted in the 7th round of the 2022 draft (Northeastern). He pitched to a 4.11 ERA and 50/21 K/BB over 46 innings last year (FCL/Tampa/Hudson Valley)
LHP Ben Shields: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Signed as a non-drafted free agent, this is the 25-year-old’s professional debut. I know nothing about him beyond the fact that he pitched for George Mason in 2023. The baseball-reference linker will take you to a pitcher from the early 1900s. That Shields went 4-0 with an 8.27 ERA in his brief career.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Gilbert was their 13th-round pick in the 2022 draft.

Tampa (1-2) (Lost to Fort Myers, 5-2)

SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-3, RS, SB (2), 2 BB
The 18-year-old is 1-for-11 but has drawn four walks and stolen a pair of bases. This is his first 2024 start at shortstop, as they switched Lombard and Arias today. We’ll see more of that.
2B Roderick Arias: 0-for-4, 3 K
Nobody said baseball is easy, teenager! He is 3-for-13 with a triple, a homer, and seven strikeouts. You should expect a mixed bag from a teenager making his full-season debut. The goal is for the good to outweigh the bad.
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, SB (2), K
Speaking of teenagers, Tejeda will play this entire year as a 19-year-old. He is 4-for-12 with four runs batted in.
LF Coby Morales: 0-for-4
1B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI
CF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-2, SB (1), 2 BB, K
DH Willy Montero: 0-for-3, SB (2), BB, K
The 19-year-old is 2-for-10 with a double, two walks, and two stolen bases.
RF Tayler Aguilar: 1-for-3, 2B (1), SB (1), BB, K
C Tomas Frick: 1-for-3, BB
Drafted in the 15th round in the 2023 draft out of North Carolina, this represents his professional debut.

RHP Josh Grosz: (L, 0-1) 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
This is Grosz’s professional debut. The 21-year-old was drafted in the 11th round out of East Carolina. He throws a sinker/slider/change, a mix the Yankees like to work with.
RHP Yoljeldriz Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
According to Savant, Gabonia used a 5-pitch mix among his 11 pitches. There could be an error in the tracking, of course. His fastball/sinker was in the lower 90s.
RHP Montana Semmel: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Semmell maxed out at 94.4 MPH, equally mixing his 4-seamer and slider. He had some long-term buzz about him when he was drafted out of high school in 2019 and is still young enough (22) to tap into that potential.

FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.

DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!

Yankees MILB 9/22: Edgar Barclay Ks 8

News:

The Yankees have promoted RHP Yoendrys Gomez from Somerset to the big league roster. He is the first player to ever be promoted directly from Somerset to the big leagues. Keep in mind that Somerset didn’t become an MLB affiliate until 2021.

Gomez, who has been on the 40-man roster since 2020, has dealt with injuries in his career. He has logged only 275 innings since his debut season (2017), and this year’s 65.1 innings are his personal best.  In those innings, he has a 3.58 ERA (3.83 FIP) with a 28.5% K and 13.5% BB.

According to Fangraphs, this is Gomez’s last option year. That said, we thought 2022 was Deivi Garcia‘s last option year – only to discover that MLB granted the Yankees an additional option for 2023. That isn’t done out of the goodness of their hearts – criteria need to be met and all that jazz.

If it is his final year, a big winter/spring is coming up. Let’s get this out of the way: Gomez is not going to be in the 2024 Opening Day rotation. Cross that thought out of your mind – if he isn’t traded, his best bet to make the squad in 2024 would be out of the bullpen. He has the stuff that would carry well in the bullpen. There are questions about whether he can handle a starter’s workload anyway.

The AFL rosters were announced today. The Yankees will be playing for Mesa but you aren’t going to see any of their top names playing. It is good to see that RHP Trystan Vrieling (#17 prospect according to Pipeline) will get some work in. He was drafted in 2022 but was unable to make his debut in 2023 due to injury.. The other players on the list aren’t going to jump out at you, though IF Caleb Durbin had a standout 2023 season that was marred by an injury. RHP Kevin Stevens got his feet wet in 2022 but didn’t appear in 2023. He was an undrafted free agent signing. UTIL Ben Cowles played mostly at Hudson Valley in 2023, promoted to Scranton after the Renegades were eliminated. While there isn’t much buzz around RHP Nolberto Henriquez, I checked out Savant after he was promoted to Tampa. He was throwing hard sinkers, which is something the current Yankees’ regime seems to like. It doesn’t shock me that they want to give him more innings after he tossed only 30.2 in 2023 with mixed results. OF Nelson Medina dealt with injuries for most of the season. He is getting some extra at-bats in Scranton as their season comes to a close – perhaps the promotions to Scranton should have hinted to us who was going to Arizona. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Cowles and Medina were promoted and are now on their way to Arizona. RHP Baron Stuart was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Pitt. Unlike others on the list, he threw a good number of innings (100.2) in his debut professional season. I guess it is a good sign for him that they want him to throw more before he shuts down for the year.

Scranton (71-75; 37-35 in the second half) (Lost to Syracuse, 4-3, in ten innings). As for the last two games of the season, the weather up in Syracuse is actually not forecasted to be bad this weekend. There could be some rain on Sunday evening/night, but hopefully, it stays away during the afternoon.

C Carlos Narvaez: 0-for-4, BB, K
RF Franchy Cordero: 1-for-5, RS, K
3B Jamie Westbrook: 2-for-4, 2B (20), BB, 2 K
The minor league veteran reaches 20 doubles/20 home runs for the first time in his career.
DH Andres Chaparro: 1-for-5, 2B (24), RBI, 3 K
Chaparro is up to 88 RBI. The last Yankees’ prospect to reach 90 RBI was Peter O’Brien, who drove home 96 runs back in 2013. O’Brien would eventually play in 72 MLB games (most recently with the Marlins in 2019), hitting .209/.275/.434 with 11 home runs in 200 plate appearances.
1B Mike Lamb: 1-for-4, RS
SS Jesus Bastidas: 1-for-3, HR (12), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K
Bastidas’ 2023 numbers are pretty much right in line with his 2022 numbers. Between here and Somerset, he has 15 homers, 44 RBI, 64 runs, 40 walks, and 105 strikeouts in 445 plate appearances, Last year, playing only for Somerset, he hit .240/.323/.427 in 453 plate appearances (18 HR, 55 RBI, 56 R, 38 BB, 115 K, 11-for-18 SB)
LF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-4, 2 K
  LF Ben Cowles: 0-for-0
I think Cowles was brought into the game in the 10th inning to give Scranton an extra infielder when the winning run was on third with nobody out.
2B Wilmer Difo: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Nelson Medina: 2-for-4
Medina is 5-for-36 since his promotion. He started off 0-for-19, so it is nice to see him get some hits before the season comes to a close.

LHP Edgar Barclay: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
A solid final effort for Barclay, who is pitching to a 5.89 ERA in 44.1 IP since his promotion to Scranton. Prior to that, he compiled a 1.32 ERA in 34 IP for Somerset. All of his games (11) were relief appearances for Somerset, while his ten appearances for Scranton are all starts. He doesn’t throw hard (max fastball was 90.7 tonight, and he averaged 88.7), but he has solid secondary offerings that allow him to be a tantalizing MLB prospect. I don’t expect him to be a starter, but there is no harm in developing him as a Swiss-army knife type of pitcher. 
LHP Matt Krook: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Josh Maciejewski: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Michael Gomez: (L, 2-6)  1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Somerset (84-53; 42-27 in the second half)

They lost to Binghamton in the semi-finals. Their season is over.

Hudson Valley (70-62; 31-35 in the second half) 

They lost to Greenville in the championship series. Their season is over.

Tampa (61-69; 30-34 in the second half) 

Their season is over.

FCL Yankees (35-22; 1-2 in the playoffs)

They lost to the Braves in the championship series. Their season is over.

DSL Yankees (33-19)

Their season is over. They missed the playoffs by a half-game.

DSL Bombers (27-26)

Their season is over.