Welcome to Week 24 of the Yankees minor league recap! The 2025 season has come to an end for Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley, while Double-A Somerset prepares for a three-game playoff series against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, and Triple-A Scranton will try to lock down a playoff berth in the final week of the regular season. Here’s how the Yankees’ minor-leaguers performed last week:
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders
Record: 83-58; Third in International League (East), 1.5 GB (45-24 in Second Half)
Past Week: 2-4 vs Lehigh
Valley IronPigs
Coming up: Away @ Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)
The RailRiders had a tough week, dropping a home series against Lehigh Valley four games to two. The loss of momentum didn’t help their playoff chances, but the good news is they still have a three-game lead over the Syracuse Mets heading into the final week of the regular season. Scranton will travel to Buffalo where they’ll look to clinch against the Bisons, who are 29-38 in the second half, while Syracuse has a tougher road matchup against the 39-29 IronPigs.
Scranton’s series against Lehigh Valley started with a tough 5-4 loss on Tuesday, when deadline acquisition Jake Bird gave up two costly runs in the ninth inning that served as the difference in the game. Kenta Maeda was effectively wild, walking five batters in as many innings but only giving up two runs. Jose Rojas led the way on offense with two home runs, his 28th and 29th of the season, and drove in three of Scranton’s four runs. They lost again on Wednesday 4-1, as the offense was unable to score against top prospect Andrew Painter who tossed five shutout innings. Allan Winans gave up four earned runs in 5.2 innings, and took the loss for the first time all year after starting 11-0. A solo homer from J.C. Escarra in the 9th gave the RailRiders their only run.
They got back on track on Thursday with a 3-2 victory, behind 5.2 strong innings from Brendan Beck who struck out eight and allowed two runs (one earned). Rojas homered again for an even 30, and Braden Shewmake picked up a two-run single. Scranton lost 9-5 on Friday, despite Bryan De La Cruz’s 13th homer as a RailRider and two hits from Spencer Jones. Jones has cooled off dramatically since his blistering July and seen his strikeout rate skyrocket back up to a dangerous level, and he struck out three more times in the game. They won 8-5 on Saturday as Rojas and De La Cruz homered again to drive in four runs, and Andrew Velazquez picked up two hits including a double. The week ended unceremoniously with a 6-1 loss, as Maeda allowed four runs over six innings and Gabe Mosser shut down Scranton’s offense over 5.1 shutout innings. Jones and Jorbit Vivas doubled in the loss, but there wasn’t much offense to speak of. Scranton will hit the road and travel to Buffalo for the last week of the regular season, where their playoff fate will be decided.
Players of Note:
Spencer Jones: 277 PA; .272/.336/.541, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 18 SB, 7.9 BB%, 36.8 K%, 125 wRC+
Brennen Davis: 122 PA; .275/.344/.651, 12 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB, 7.4 BB%, 30.3 K%, 153 wRC+
Jose Rojas: 498 PA; .297/.390/.614, 31 HR, 103 RBI, 15 SB, 12.9 BB%, 20.5 K%, 160 wRC+
Allan Winans: 93.1 IP; 1.64 ERA, 26.5 K%, 6.7 BB%, .209 BAA, 1.04 WHIP
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Final Record: 73-65; Second place in Eastern League (Northeast), 18 GB (38-31 in Second Half)
Past Week: 3-3 @ Reading Fightin Phils
The Patriots finished the regular season by splitting a six-game series in Reading three games apiece, which landed them at 73-65 on the season. They finished in second place in their division for the season and for the second half, but the team ahead of them (the Binghamton Rumble Ponies) already clinched a playoff spot in the first half, meaning Somerset has earned a spot in the 2025 postseason! The Patriots and Rumble Ponies will play a three-game series this week to determine which team reaches the finals. Somerset will host Game 1 on Tuesday, and Games 2 & 3 will be in Binghamton on Thursday and Friday.
The series in Reading started with a 7-6 win on Tuesday in 11 innings. Kyle Carr made a much better start in his second appearance since his promotion, striking out five in as many innings while allowing two earned runs, and Brendan Jones led the way on offense with three hits including a double and three runs scored. They lost 5-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday on a walk-off home run from Kehden Hettiger, but Ben Hess turned in a quality start with six innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts. The on-and-off wins and losses continued throughout the week, and Somerset shut the Fightin Phils out 4-0 on Thursday behind an excellent start from Carlos Lagrange who struck out five over six innings with just two walks allowed. Jones, George Lombard Jr, Jake Gatewood, and Manuel Palencia each had two hits in the win.
The Patriots lost 8-4 in 13 innings on Friday despite seven innings of work from Brock Selvidge, who allowed three runs and struck out five. Garrett Martin hit his 13th home run of the year and drove in three runs while Max Burt went 3-6 with two doubles, but Zach Messinger struggled in relief and allowed a walkoff grand slam to Nick Dunn. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz picked up his fifth win as a Patriot on Saturday in a 6-2 victory, walking three and striking out seven in five innings of work. Martin went 3-4 with a double and his 14th home run, scoring twice and driving in two runs, and Tyler Hardman homered and tripled in the win. The week ended with a 7-4 loss as Carr had another tough start, allowing seven earned runs in five innings. Jones and Jace Avina picked up two hits each, but Somerset wasn’t able to dig their way out of a big hole. Ben Hess will take the ball against Jonathan Santucci on Tuesday as the Patriots attempt to upset Binghamton in the Double-A semifinals.
Players of Note:
George Lombard Jr: 469 PA; .215/.337/.358, 8 HR, 34 RBI, 22 SB, 13.6 BB%, 26.4 K%, 111 wRC+
Brendan Jones: 340 PA; .250/.365/.415, 7 HR, 45 RBI, 21 SB, 15.3 BB%, 20.9 K%, 131 wRC+
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: 61.1 IP; 2.64 ERA, 30.3 K%, 8.2 BB%, .196 BAA, 1.04 WHIP
Carlos Lagrange: 78.1 IP; 3.22 ERA, 31.0 K%, 14.9 BB%, .183 BAA, 1.29 WHIP
The 2025 season has ended for High-A Hudson Valley and Low-A Tampa. A recap of their seasons can be found here.
