We’ve reached a big part of the minor league calendar, as this past week marked the debuts of eight members of the Yankees’ 2026 draft class in A-ball, which also coincided with a number of position player promotions. While the prep bats and all pitchers will likely be held back until 2027, it’s a great time to get to see these newbies in action.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 24-13 (61-50), 0.5 GA in the International League East after a 2-4 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
Run differential: +43 (+46)
Coming
up: Away @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies)
The RailRiders’ eight-game winning streak unceremoniously ended with a dominant week by Rochester, slowing the momentum of a team that has been one of the best in Triple-A for several weeks. Scranton lost four consecutive games by a total of 29 runs from Wednesday to Saturday before rallying back from a late deficit to salvage the series finale on Sunday.
Deadline reinforcements by the Yankees have a trickle-down effect on the Triple-A team, which has seen its roster utterly decimated by injuries, promotions, and opt-outs over the course of the season. With the recent demotions of Anthony Volpe, Jasson Domínguez, and Max Schuemann, however, they have as much offensive talent as you could ask for. All three came up big this week, with the former two both homering and the latter putting up two three-hit games. The recent signings of Christian Bethancourt (who has been red hot since joining the org) and veteran Mitch Garver only bolster it:
Both of the games they won were tossed by the same man, as Brendan Beck got the bookend starts on Tuesday and Sunday and seemed to be the only RailRiders pitcher to slow down that Rochester offense, striking out a career-high 12 on Tuesday. None of the veterans held up in the other three starts, while Elmer Rodríguez’s recent stretch of strong starts came to a screeching halt with five walks in four choppy innings. We also saw Carlos Rodón get back on the mound on Saturday, but he was ineffective in 2.2 innings.
Overall, it was a nightmare week for the bullpen, with the exception of a strong week by Bradley Hanner, who’s probably the next man up in the Scranton Shuffle outside of Angel Chivilli, who also looked good in his one outing. Eric Reyzelman, Chris Kean, and Zach Messinger all struggled.
Players of Note:
Jasson Domínguez: .309/.388/.496, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 10 SB, 130 wRC+
Marco Luciano: .288/.378/.475, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 22 XBH, 123 wRC+
Oswaldo Cabrera: .296/.353/.436, 12 HR, 49 RBI, 26 XBH, 104 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 9-2, 2.66 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 19.7 K-BB% (115 IP)
Elmer Rodríguez: 7-3, 2.85 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 11.7 K-BB% (85.1 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 18-21 (55-53), 5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 2-4 week against the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians)
Run differential: -14 (+22)
Coming up: Home vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays)
It was a mess of a week for Somerset, who won back-to-back one-run games on Wednesday and Thursday before getting blasted in every other game, including a 14-run bludgeoning on Tuesday. For a team who’s shown such great highs, their lows are going to likely keep them out of the postseason.
The offense got a major boost this week with the promotion of resurgent 21-year-old prospect Roderick Arias, who’s been one of the best hitters in the system since the start of June. His first week in Double-A went well, as he went 9-for-25 with five RBI and three extra-base hits. His reduced strikeout rate has also been a major development. It was a good week for Josh Moylan (7-for-22, HR, 5 RBI, 4 XBH), Coby Morales, and DJ Gladney, who only missed a week with his prior injury.
Things didn’t go well for the starting rotation this week. Cade Smith got the bookend starts and struggled with command, allowing nine runs in nine innings. Chase Hampton’s (3 IP, 5 R) struggles continued, Ben Hess (4.2 IP, 6 R) had a rare blowup start, and Rory Fox’s (5.2 IP, 5 R) second Double-A start wasn’t one to remember. The one constant remains Xavier Rivas, who’s quickly pushing to be one of the best pitching prospects in the organization, tossing a quality start with six strikeouts.
You either had it or you didn’t this week in the bullpen. Michael Arias, Matt Keating, and Harrison Cohen certainly didn’t have it, but Kevin Stevens, Geoffrey Gilbert, and Hayden Merda did, with the latter tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Players of Note:
Jace Avina: .258/.364/.507, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 45 XBH, 25.2 K%, 133 wRC+
DJ Gladney: .267/.325/.503, 19 HR, 68 RBI, 17 SB, 118 wRC+
Coby Morales: .271/.356/.489, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 17 SB, 126 wRC+
Xavier Rivas: 6-4, 3.65 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 22.2 K-BB% (81.1 IP)
Ben Hess: 3-4, 4.45 ERA, 4,69 FIP, 1.45 WHIP, 13.7 K-BB% (56.2 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 21-21 (51-55), 4 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 4-2 week against the Greenville Drive (Red Sox)
Run differential: +28 (+37)
Coming up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
The only full-season affiliate with a winning week, the Renegades rode some fresh faces to a strong offensive week, averaging 8.5 runs per game on the week. In the series finale on Sunday, they secured a series win with a 15-12 marathon victory in 12 innings that saw four combined home runs in extras. Fun!
The offense got an infusion of talent with the promotions of Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek and UDFA backstop David McCann, with the latter mashing three homers this week in what’s been a great debut season. The incumbents were also a big part of things, as Eric Genther (7-for-18, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 3 XBH) and Core Jackson (7-for-19, 6 BB, 3 XBH) had great weeks. We also saw a 2026 draft class sighting, as UDFA Maika Niu (5-for-12, HR, 7 RBI) and 20th-rounder Dean Toigo (5-for-14, 3 RBI, 2 XBH) made their pro debuts at the level, getting big hits. It was also an unbelievable week on the basepaths, as they went 31-for-31 on stolen bases as a team.
On the pitching end, it was up and down. Franyer Herrera had one of his worst outings of the year and Allen Facundo struggled with command despite nine strikeouts in 4.1 innings, but they got solid starts out of Bryce Cunningham (5 IP, 3 R), Sean Paul Liñan (4 IP, 1 R), and Luis Serna (5 IP, 0 R), while welcoming back 2025 fourth-rounder Pico Kohn back from a multi-month absence. He didn’t finish the third inning as he continues to build up, but it’s a good sign for a guy who the team needs to break out in 2027.
Players of Note:
Eric Genther: .274/.408/.433, 11 HR, 56 RBI, 29 XBH, 126 wRC+
Core Jackson: .252/.358/.464, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 29 SB, 118 wRC+
Jackson Lovich (A/A+): .284/.354/.490, 18 HR, 69 RBI, 29 SB, 118 wRC+
Luis Serna: 5-5, 4.44 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 18.7 K-BB% (93.1 IP)
Bryce Cunningham: 2-7, 4.48 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 8.7 K-BB% (68.1 IP)
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 27-14 (59-42), 3.5 GA in the Florida State League West after a 3-3 week against the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
Run differential: +52 (+75)
Coming up: Away @ Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)
Tampa still has not lost a series since mid-June, with that streak narrowly surviving against Clearwater after being swept in a Friday doubleheader before winning back-to-back games over the weekend to secure the split and keep them firmly in a playoff spot with a few weeks to go.
A large part of the offense that got them here has moved on to Hudson Valley, so in their place, they have the rookie ball call-ups that came up last week and six 2026 draftees, including fourth-rounder Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II and fifth-rounder Bear Harrison. The former flashed some extremely impressive exit velocities, while the latter had a few big hits. 11th-rounder Anthony Potestio (4-for-9, HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB) performed best, Luis Puello had a clutch two-homer game late in the week, and Yostin Pena kept producing until a potential injury on Saturday; hold your breath.
In the rotation this week, nobody except J.T. Etheridge (0.2 IP, 3 R) left with anything to complain about. Sabier Marte (3.2 IP, 3 R) lagged behind, but everyone else looked good, even recent call-up Edinzo Marquez, who allowed one run in four innings after a spectacular return to the level last week. Tyler Boudreau (5.2 IP, 3 R) finished an out shy of a quality start, and Wyatt Parliament allowed just one run in five innings, but the star of the show was the six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts for Justin West in the best start of his brief professional career.
A few FCL call-ups made their Single-A debuts this week, with the best of the bunch being Rafael Arias’ 2.1 scoreless innings. The real storyline, though, was the return of converted catcher Antonio Gomez. Once considered one of the best defensive backstop prospects in recent memory, he’s since converted to a fireball reliever, throwing a truly alien fastball at 100 mph and 18 inches of induced vertical break. The 24-year-old might have an MLB career path after all.
Players of Note:
Luis Puello: .288/.377/.514, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 13 XBH, 131 wRC+
Yostin Pena (DSL/A): .275/.385/.425, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 34 SB, 117 wRC+
Hans Montero: .243/.371/.436, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 34 XBH, 31 SB, 115 wRC+
Tyler Boudreau: 6-2, 3.38 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, 18.3 K-BB% (85.1 IP)
Justin West: 7-3, 4.96 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, 17.0 K-BB% (85.1 IP)
FCL Yankees
Record: 29-29, 7.5 GB in the FCL North
Run differential: +2
Season over.
Players of Note:
Wilberson De Pena: .358/.411/.677, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 37 XBH, 22 SB, 152 wRC+
Jose Castro: .328/.488/.552, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 29 SB, 158 wRC+
Richard Matic: .283/.394/.439, 22 XBH, 28 RBI, 14 SB, 108 wRC+
Dexters Peralta: .229/.352/.505, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 20 XBH, 100 wRC+
Edinzo Marquez: 28.2 IP, 2.20 ERA, 4.79 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 16.1 K-BB%
DSL Yankees & Bombers
DSL Yankees:
Record: 29-19, 3 GB in DSL East after a 4-1 week
Run differential: +124
DSL Bombers:
Record: 21-27, 11.5 GB in DSL Southeast after a 1-3 week
Run differential: +8
The DSL Yankees have the second-best run differential in the 60-team league, yet are currently 14th in winning percentage. Makes sense. They had a great week, headlined by truly ridiculous offensive performances by Juan Torres (12-for-21, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB, 1 2B) and Isaias Castillo, who is now one of five players in DSL history to hit 14+ home runs in a season. Torres, with seven games left, is now fifth all-time in RBIs by a DSL player. After several years of really struggling to find genuine talent in the D.R. complex, the Yankees are hitting home runs in 2026.
Players of Note:
Isaias Castillo: .302/.421/.643, 14 HR, 44 RBI, 32 XBH, 24 SB, 138 wRC+
Juan Torres: .382/.464/.651, 8 HR, 61 RBI, 25 XBH, 20 SB, 161 wRC+
Poly Ojeda: .337/.492/.571, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 12 XBH, 163 wRC+ (90 PA)
Fredy Penuelas: 44 IP, 1.84 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 20.1 K-BB%
Cesar Acosta: 46.2 IP, 3.47 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 21.1 K-BB%
Prospect of the Week: Brendan Beck
Weekly Stats: 1-0, 10.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 20 K
Season Stats: 9-2, 2.66 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 19.7 K-BB% (115 IP)
