There’s something for everyone in this week’s edition of the minor league recap. We had a trio of rehabbing Yanks down in Somerset, top prospects making debuts at new levels, and some highly-anticipated season debuts of recent pitching arms who missed time with injury. There’s also some titanic sluggers doing their things, if you’re into that.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 18-14, tied atop the International League East after a 4-2 week against the Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays)
Run differential: +26
Coming up: Away @ Worcester
Red Sox (Red Sox)
It was a solid week for the RailRiders, even as their roster was in flux due to various promotions. A Wednesday postponement led to yet another Friday doubleheader, but the team opened the week with three consecutive wins before dropping the nightcap on Friday and a low-scoring Saturday game. They secured a series victory on Sunday on a phenomenal day by Spencer Jones (more on him later).
While the RailRiders lost some star power with Jasson Domínguez heading to the majors, they gained some when the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect George Lombard Jr. was promoted on Tuesday night. In five games, he went 4-for-17 with three walks and five strikeouts. The early returns on his contact quality are encouraging.
Aside from him and the blisteringly hot Jones, much of the lineup was filled with veterans, and after the midweek release of Paul DeJong, that meant more reps for Jonathan Ornelas. Oswaldo Cabrera (9-for-16, 2 RBI, 4 2B, 4 BB) had a great week after a brutal start, but overall, it was a muted week for the lineup.
The rotation was in flux after Luis Gil and Elmer Rodríguez swapped places. Gil didn’t make a start this week, so there were two bullpen games instead of one. Carlos Lagrange allowed two runs in 4.1 choppy innings, and Dom Hamel struggled, but we saw good, long starts from both Brendan Beck (7 IP, 2 R) and Adam Kloffenstein (6 IP, 0 R, 7 K).
We all know about Yovanny Cruz, and we’ve talked about Kervin Castro in the past, but a recent bullpen standout has been non-roster invite Bradley Hanner, who’s allowed just two runs in 15.1 innings with 20 strikeouts on the season. We’re also seeing a revival from Danny Watson, a once-All-MiLB honoree in 2024 who struggled last season.
Players of Note:
Spencer Jones: .261/.366/.586, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 7 SB, 32.8 K%, 142 wRC+
George Lombard Jr. (Triple-A): 4-for-17, 3 BB, 5 K
Brendan Beck: 2-2, 5.11 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 1.14 WHIP, 18.7 K-BB% (37 IP)
Carlos Lagrange: 0-2, 3.75 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, 15.0 K-BB% (24 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 12-15, 4 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 5-2 week against the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
Run differential: +17
Coming up: Away @ Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies)
A postponement a few weeks ago made this a rare seven-game series, and the Patriots turned out their best week of the young season. Three of the five wins were by double digits, as the offense hit around Portland’s pitching, even with Lombard departing after Tuesday’s victory. The Sea Dogs were only able to win the nightcap of the Wednesday doubleheader and then dominated the Sunday finale.
It was a fantastic week for Tyler Hardman (11-for-25, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB) and Marco Luciano (9-for-21, 4 HR, 9 RBI). The two have encountered very different paths to this current point, with Hardman being a former fifth-round pick in 2021 who’s stagnated at Double-A and Luciano being a former top prospect in all of baseball who’s fizzled out, but both are playing well enough to have the organization consider a promotion in the near future. Coby Morales had another good week, as well.
It was a step in the right direction for a rotation that had been struggling. Chase Chaney had his worst start of the season on Sunday, but there were steps in the right direction for Trent Sellers (4.2 IP, 0 R, 10 K), Cade Smith (6 IP, 1 R, 5 K), and Kyle Carr (6 IP, 0 R, 7 K), all of whom had struggled lately. Jack Cebert made his Double-A debut this week, allowing two runs in 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts.
In the rehab corner, Gerrit Cole looked solid in 5.2 innings as he built up to 60 pitches, while Carlos Rodón struck out eight in 5.1 strong innings on Thursday, tossing 75 pitches. Early indications are he’ll make one more rehab start in Scranton this week before rejoining the big league club. Anthony Volpe went 3-for-18 in five games.
Eric Reyzelman took the loss in a brutal game on Wednesday. After a tremendous start to the season, it was the first real trip-up for the former fifth-round pick. Will Brian continues to do great work, but the real reliever to watch right now is the recently promoted Ben Grable, who’s retired all seven batters he’s faced since being promoted, with three strikeouts.
Players of Note:
Tyler Hardman: .279/.361/.593, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 13 XBH, 145 wRC+
Marco Luciano: .307/.386/.648, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 14 XBH, 163 wRC+
Coby Morales: .308/.407/.615, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 7 SB, 163 wRC+
Will Brian: 13.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 21 K
Cade Smith: 1-1, 5.30 ERA, 6.81 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 16.7 K-BB% (18.2 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 14-12, 1.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 2-4 week against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
Run differential: +20
Coming up: Home vs. Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)
After several weeks of great baseball, Hudson Valley had a losing week against Jersey Shore. After winning the first two games on Tuesday and Wednesday, they dropped four consecutive one-run games to end the week in agonizing fashion. They made a late comeback on Friday that just came short, was walked off in the 10th on Saturday, and blew a late lead on Sunday.
Kaeden Kent (8-for-23, HR, 6 RBI, 5 XBH) continues to look incredible, and with Lombard now in Triple-A, it’s not ridiculous to think a promotion isn’t far away for the 22-year-old. Eric Genther continued to cool off, but his production was replaced by strong bounce-back weeks for both Camden Troyer (6-for-18, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Core Jackson (10-for-26, 4 RBI, 2 2B).
Bryce Cunningham made his season debut for the Renegades and looked about as you would expect, allowing two runs in three innings on 58 pitches. Luis Serna had his best start since his eye-popping season debut last month with 5.2 scoreless innings on Wednesday, while Franyer Herrera allowed three runs in 4.2 innings on Sunday. Struggles continued for Rory Fox, and Sean Paul Liñan continued to struggle to manage his pitch count, but the big storyline here was the High-A debut of Allen Facundo. He struggled with command, walking four in four choppy innings, albeit with seven strikeouts.
It was a rough week in the bullpen for Hansel Rincon, who took two of the four losses after blowing inherited leads. The team continues to get stellar relief from Chris Veach, Jack Sokol, and Tony Rossi, who all could be candidates for a promotion very soon. Keep an eye on Tanner Bauman, as the former ninth-rounder out of Auburn has allowed just one run in seven appearances this season.
Players of Note:
Eric Genther: .261/.433/.333, 5 RBI, 4 XBH, 130 wRC+
Core Jackson: .240/.336/.375, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 10 SB, 98 wRC+
Kaeden Kent: .340/.405/.530, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 12 XBH, 7 SB, 153 wRC+
Luis Serna: 1-0, 2.05 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 0.77 WHIP, 21.7 K-BB% (22 IP)
Chris Veach: 10.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 17 K
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 12-15, 4 GB in the Florida State League West after a 4-2 week against the St. Lucie Mets (Mets)
Run differential: -24
Coming up: Away @ Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins)
Best week of the young season for the Tarpons, who started their week with a Wednesday doubleheader sweep. St. Lucie took two of the final three games of the week, but Tampa’s pitching won them most of these games.
It was same old, same old for much of the offense, as Enmanuel Tejada, Willy Montero, and JoJo Jackson continued to be rock solid as Jackson Lovich showed signs of life after a recent slump. Two guys who had better weeks after brutal slumps to start the year? Bryce Martin-Gruzielanek (5-for-17, 2 RBI, 4 BB) and former top international prospect Brando Mayea (6-for-19, HR, 5 RBI, 2B).
Members of last year’s draft class Mac Heuer (3.1 IP, 1 R, 4 K) and Brennan Stuprich (4 IP, 1 R, 6 K) were surprise call-ups from Extended Spring Training this week, and both performed admirably in their pro debuts. Tyler Boudreau bounced back from a rough last start with four shutout innings on Wednesday, while JT Etheridge delivered one of the better outings of his brief pro career with seven strikeouts in five one-run innings. It was a mixed bag for Justin West and Henry Lalane.
Greysen Carter might be finding something in the bullpen. After an abhorrent 80 walks in his first 60.2 innings of his pro career, the Vanderbilt product has now tossed back-to-back scoreless multi-inning relief outings, going three innings without a walk on April 29. Pedro Rodriguez continues to do great work, while Jordarlin Mendoza has been all or nothing (9.2 IP, 17 R, 16 K).
Players of Note:
Jackson Lovich: .243/.329/.471, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 10 XBH, 117 wRC+
JoJo Jackson: .250/.371/.388, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 7 XBH, 115 wRC+
Enmanuel Tejada: .258/.412/.427, 11 XBH, 10 RBI, 9 SB, 139 wRC+
Tyler Boudreau: 14 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 6 BB, 20 K
Pedro Rodríguez: 8.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 13 K
FCL Yankees
Record: 2-0
Run differential: +6
FCL play opened up on Saturday and we’ve gotten two games so far. On Saturday, the Yankees rode stellar games from Luis Puello (3-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2B) and Luis Escudero (3-3, HR, RBI, 2 R) to a 10-6 win. Mariano Salomon looked the best in relief, allowing an unearned run in three innings. It was also good to see Jerson Alejandro back on a mound.
A 2-0 win on Monday saw 2024 third-round pick Thatcher Hurd make his long-anticipated pro debut after recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he delivered with four no-hit innings. Omar Gonzalez followed with three scoreless innings of his own in a combined one-hitter. Wilberson De Pena, who was acquired from the Angels for Oswald Peraza, hit an early RBI double and scored on a Puello RBI single.
Prospect of the Week: Spencer Jones
Weekly Stats: 10-for-25, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB, 8 K
Season Stats: .261/.366/.586, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 16 XBH, 7 SB, 142 wRC+
The first two weeks of the season weren’t kind for Jones, but he’s been on a tear ever since it stopped being a crisp 30 degrees up in Moosic. What he did this week was especially notable, considering the RailRiders got two different looks at former MLB All-Star Jose Berrios on a rehab assignment.
On Tuesday, Jones golfed a 1-2 slurve at his shins for a short porch special in right field to open the game for Scranton in the first against Berrios. In his next at-bat, he dunked in a two-run single before capping his day with a titanic homer off Michael Plassmeyer in the eighth.
By Sunday, you’d think Berrios would have a better game plan, but it only got worse for the rehabbing Toronto Blue Jay, as Jones obliterated a first-pitch sinker for a 117.7 mph frozen rope into the seats, the hardest-hit ball of his career. He did it again in the fourth, punishing a poorly located sinker for another 111 mph laser beam into dead center field.
Two games against a pitcher like Berrios. Three home runs and a two-run single. I’m not sure what a path forward looks like for a promotion if he continues to punish pitching like this, but it’s worth noting that his strikeout rate is steadily declining, and he currently leads all of MiLB in RBI by a staggering amount.
