Welcome to Week 16 of the Yankees minor league recap! We took last week off to focus on coverage of the 2025 MLB Draft, but it’s great to be back. Most of the team’s affiliates were red-hot over the past couple weeks, as some of their top prospects have shined recently and others are still getting acclimated to new levels of the minors. All eyes are on Spencer Jones in particular, who is playing the best baseball of his career and knocking at the door of the big leagues. Here’s how the Yankees’ minor-league
affiliates performed last week:
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders
Record: 55-37; Third place in International League (East), 2 GB
Past Week: 3-0 @ Worcester Red Sox
Coming Up: Away @ Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
The RailRiders are absolutely rolling. They won all six of their games against Buffalo between July 8th-13th, and kept momentum alive after the All-Star break by winning three games in Worcester. They’re now on an 11-game win streak, flying up the standings and only two games out of first place. All eyes during this red-hot stretch have been on Spencer Jones, who’s playing the best baseball of his career in Triple-A since being promoted in June.
Scranton returned from the break with an 11-3 victory on Friday over Worcester, behind five no-hit innings from Brendan Beck who struck out nine in a masterful performance. Jose Rojas, Everson Pereira, and T.J. Rumfield all homered in the win, with Rojas and Rumfield picking up three hits apiece. They won a high-scoring game on Saturday 10-8, with Jones and Rojas paving the way for the RailRiders’ offense. Jones went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, three RBI, and a walk; Rojas also went 4-for-5 with three home runs, a triple, and five RBI. The two combined to drive in eight of Scranton’s ten runs in the game. Sunday’s outing resulted in an 8-2 victory as Jones recorded another four-hit day with two more homers and a double. Pereira also homered in the win, and T.J. Rumfield had a three-hit day. Carlos Carrasco had an excellent start on the mound, pitching seven innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.
Jones is the hottest hitter in minor-league baseball, as he’s homered ten times in just 16 games since being promoted to Scranton. Between Somerset and Scranton, he has a cartoonish .317/.415/.691 slash line on the season with 26 home runs and a 205 wRC+. This is an unbelievable outcome for a hitter with Jones’ profile, whose stock had never been lower heading into the season after a frustrating 2024. The Yankees don’t have an opening in their outfield at the moment, but Jones is forcing their hand to make a move.
Players of Note:
Spencer Jones: 79 PA; .426/.481/.941, 10 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB, 11.4 BB%, 26.6 K%, 255 wRC+
Jesus Rodriguez: 327 PA; .313/.413/.411, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 13 SB, 13.8 BB%, 15.3 K%, 127 wRC+
T.J. Rumfield: 358 PA; .311/.394/.505, 11 HR, 65 RBI, 4 SB, 11.2 BB%, 17.6 K%, 137 wRC+
Everson Pereira: 280 PA; .258/.357/.525, 18 HR, 49 RBI, 8 SB, 11.8 BB%, 30.4 K%, 130 wRC+
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 48-42; T-Second place in Eastern League (Northeast), 12 GB
Past Week: 1-2 @ Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies)
Coming Up: Away @ Erie SeaWolves (Tigers)
Somerset was almost as hot as Scranton over the prior week, as they took five of six games in a home series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. They returned from the break to play a highly competitive three-game series in Hartford against the Yard Goats, who they’re competing with for second place, well behind the 59-29 Binghamton Mets. Somerset will have to make up for the offensive production of Rafael Flores, who began the second half with a promotion to Scranton.
The series in Hartford began on Friday with an 8-5 Somerset victory. All eyes were on Luis Gil, who started the game in a rehab appearance as he attempts to make his way back to the Bronx after spending the first half of the season on the IL. Gil allowed two runs and struck out seven over 3.1 innings, the only blemish being a two-run homer off the bat of 2024 first-round draft pick Charlie Condon. Three-run homers from Jace Avina and Tyler Hardman carried the Patriots’ offense to a victory in their first game back. They were less fortunate on Saturday, losing 6-5 in extra innings on a walkoff bunt single. Despite the loss, George Lombard Jr. and Roc Riggio both homered for Somerset. They lost another close one on Sunday by a score of 3-2, as Hartford’s pitching quieted Somerset’s offense until the ninth inning when Lombard homered again, his fourth at the level and second in two days.
Hopefully the two homers give Lombard some momentum, as he’s been right around league-average at Double-A after dominating High-A earlier this season. Somerset will head to Erie this week for a series against the SeaWolves.
Players of Note:
George Lombard Jr: 259 PA; .208/.328/.338, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB, 13.1 BB%, 23.2 K%, 104 wRC+
Dylan Jasso: 344 PA; .261/.334/.453, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0 SB, 8.1 BB%, 22.4 K%, 132 wRC+
Roc Riggio: 135 PA; .267/.348/.558, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 6 SB, 8.1 BB%, 23.0 K%, 165 wRC+
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 52-35; Third Place in South Atlantic League (North), 9 GB
Past Week: 0-2 @ Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
Coming Up: Home vs Rome Emperors (Braves)
Not to be outdone by Scranton or Somerset, Hudson Valley was red-hot going into the All-Star break, having won 10 of their last 12 games after taking five of six in a home series against Asheville. Unfortunately, their momentum didn't carry over into a three game series against Jersey Shore in which the Renegades dropped the first two games and the third was cancelled due to weather.
The BlueClaws dominated the first game of the series on Friday, winning 9-3 behind five no-hit innings from Gabriel Barbosa. Griffin Herring started the game for Hudson Valley and allowed two runs (one earned) over four innings as a lack of control kept his outing on the shorter side. The Renegades had just two hits in the game, both singles off the bat of Dillon Lewis. The offense was similarly lifeless on Saturday in a 4-1 loss, as a triple from Josh Moylan marked the only extra-base hit the Renegades recorded in either game. Ben Hess took the hill, striking out three in four innings of one-run ball. Sunday’s game was rained out. The Renegades will look to make more of an impact in a home series against Rome this upcoming week.
Players of Note:
Alexander Vargas: 135 PA; .264/.326/.421, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 10 SB, 7.4 BB%, 10.4 K%, 116 wRC+
Kyle Carr: 76 IP; 2.37 ERA, 21.0 K%, 11.3 BB%, .187 BAA, 1.13 WHIP
Ben Hess: 57 IP; 3.95 ERA, 34.3 K%, 13.2 BB%, .184 BAA, 1.23 WHIP
Low-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 45-43; Second place in Florida State League (West), 12 GB
Past Week: 0-3 @ Dunedin Blue Jays
Coming Up: Away @ Dunedin (3 games), Clearwater Threshers (3 games)
While the other professional affiliates in the Yankees system were on fire in early-mid July, the Tarpons were on the complete opposite end of the spectrum and lost 10 of 12 games during the same timeframe. They went into the break on a losing streak after dropping the final three games of a series against Lakeland, and their tough stretch continued upon return with three more losses in Dunedin.
They lost a close one 4-3 on Friday, as the offense was only able to muster six singles and the bullpen blew a late lead. Saturday’s loss was much more decisive, by a score of 12-4, as Xavier Rivas got tagged for seven runs in three innings and the offense was unable to dig themselves out of the hole. Hans Montero and Tyler Wilson homered in the loss, but Tampa was never close to making it a game after the tough start. They faced a combination of old and new on Sunday, as Alek Manoah pitched two innings in a rehab assignment before turning the ball over to Johnny King, one of Toronto’s emergent pitching prospects from the 2024 draft. The two pitchers combined for six innings and just one run allowed as the Blue Jays cruised to a third straight victory, 7-1. It’s been a tough stretch for Tampa, but they’ll try to get back on track in a split series next week.
Players of Note:
Marshall Toole: 244 PA; .312/.418/.498, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 27 SB, 15.2 BB%, 20.1 K%, 157 wRC+
Brian Sanchez: 286 PA; .281/.373/.438, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 24 SB, 12.3 BB%, 23.4 K%, 130 wRC+
Roderick Arias: 300 PA; .198/.318/.304, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 22 SB, 14.3 BB%, 28.7 K%, 85 wRC+
FCL Yankees
Record: 27-29; Third Place in Florida Complex League (North), 8.5 GB
The FCL Yankees went 5-5 over the past two weeks, and their record on the season now sits at 27-29. The players with the most impressive counting stats on offense, Manuel Palencia and John Cristino, are 22 and 25 years old, far too old to be considered promising prospects at the rookie ball level. Their age-appropriate players have either been injured (Brando Mayea) or unimpressive. It’s been a mediocre season for the FCL Yankees, and they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention.
DSL Yankees and DSL Bombers
Records: 14-21; 18-17
The Yankee affiliates in the Dominican Summer League had been in a race to the middle with each other for a while, but that seems to have changed as the Yankees fell off hard to 14-21 while the Bombers have maintained decency and sit one game over .500 at 18-17. Richard Matic has been the player to watch in rookie ball for the Yankees this season, as the 17-year-old is currently slashing .341/.475/.560 with a 19.2 percent walk rate on his way to a 161 wRC+. Matic has huge power from the right side of the plate, and could develop into a promising young prospect quickly. There’s plenty of reason to be excited about 16-year-old Mani Cedeno, the top signing from this year’s IFA class, but he hasn’t produced much yet.
As for the Bombers, Browm Martinez has been their best hitter by a wide margin. He’s slashing .404/.507/.632 with a 186 wRC+ through 69 PA, and has hit three homers in 2025 after not recording any in 38 games at the level last season. Martinez has quietly been out of the lineup for the past few games however, without much explanation as to why. This turns our attention to some of the young 17-year-olds at the level, particularly Stiven Marinez and Juan Torres, who are posting wRC+ numbers of 110 and 118. If you’re looking for the next breakout Yankee prospect at this level, Matic has the best chance. We will probably see him at this level for the rest of the season, since the Complex league ends soon and he’s too young to send to Low-A just yet.
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