Welcome back to another week of the Yankees’ farm report. This week, we saw Gerrit Cole inch closer to his big league return while flashing prime velocity, the Somerset offense continued to pound opponents into submission, and as well as some great individual pitching performances up and down the system.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 23-20, 1 GB in the International League East after a 3-3 week against the Syracuse Mets (Mets)
Run differential: +25
Coming up: Away @ Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies)
It was a so-so week for
the RailRiders, who won a pair on Wednesday and Thursday in blowout fashion, but needed to outlast Syracuse in a low-scoring affair on Sunday to secure the series split.
The lineup looks depleted after Anthony Volpe was promoted to replace José Caballero, so the intrigue with the hitting core is purely centered around George Lombard Jr., who hasn’t quite found his footing yet at the level in terms of results. However, Lombard’s peripherals look damn good, and he’s walking more than he’s striking out. One other player of note is fan favorite Oswaldo Cabrera, who’s quietly slashing .362/.449/.517 since April 30 after a miserable first four weeks of the season.
Max Fried’s injury meant that Elmer Rodríguez was once again promoted, so the RailRiders played a man short in the rotation. Carlos Lagrange had a strong week in two starts as he lit up the radar gun, while Brendan Beck had a brilliant game, tossing 5.2 shutout innings with nine strikeouts in Wednesday’s win. Veteran starters Dom Hamel and Adam Kloffenstein both put up suitable outings, but both pitched in losses.
On the rehab front, Gerrit Cole gets closer and closer to returning, tossing 5.1 one-run innings with six strikeouts on Saturday. The former Cy Young winner threw 86 pitches and sat at 97 on his four-seamer, which he used most as part of a six-pitch mix. Maybe the most intriguing part of all of this is him maxing out at 99.6, the hardest pitch he’s thrown since 2023. His next start may be in the big leagues, folks.
The Scranton Shuffle has depleted a once-stout bullpen for the RailRiders, but Bradley Hanner continues to be a revelation with 30 strikeouts to eight walks in 20.2 innings. Yovanny Cruz had a bad week, taking the loss on Friday, but has done enough to earn a major league promotion. This arm barn needs an infusion of talent from below.
Players of Note:
Oswaldo Cabrera: .232/.311/.352, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 10 XBH, 3 SB, 72 wRC+
George Lombard Jr.: .153/.359/.153, 2 RBI, 3 SB, 63 wRC+ (78 PA)
Brendan Beck: 3-2, 4.43 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 21.3 K-BB% (42.2 IP)
Carlos Lagrange: 0-2, 4.23 ERA, 4.72 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 18.2 K-BB% (38.1 IP)
Yovanny Cruz: 5-1, 3.00 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, 17.7 K-BB% (16 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 19-20, 4 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 4-2 week against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
Run differential: +40
Coming up: Away @ Chesapeake BaySox (Orioles)
Somerset has the best run differential in the EL Northeast Division and is slowly creeping back to .500 behind one of the most dynamic offenses at any level in the sport. That offense wasn’t a big part of their wins on Tuesday or Thursday, but they scored seven and 12 runs on Friday and Saturday, respectively, to secure the series victory.
That offense, which is now up to 6.5 runs per game, has a staggering 70 home runs through 39 games and leads the Eastern League in slugging percentage. While Marco Luciano moved up to Triple-A, the team still has the two leading home run hitters in the league in Garrett Martin and Jace Avina, while Tyler Hardman and Coby Morales continue exceptional seasons. Even the light-hitting Miguel Palma joined the party with two titanic home runs this week.
It was another struggle on the mound for Cade Smith and Chase Chaney, but the other four usual starters all had good outings. Trent Sellers rebounded from a rough start last week to toss five scoreless innings on Tuesday, Xavier Rivas struck out 10 in 5.1 innings in long relief, Jack Cebert held Binghamton to one run in 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts, and Kyle Carr survived five walks to deliver five decent innings of work. We also saw the return of Ben Hess from a brief IL stint, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings as he looks to build back up.
The bullpen continues to revolve around Eric Reyzelman’s resurgence, as he tossed another 3.1 scoreless innings this week with seven strikeouts. There’s no real reason for him to still be down in Double-A. Geoffrey Gilbert, Kelly Austin, and a harder-throwing Hayden Merda are all pitching well to make up for a backslide by both Will Brian and Chris Kean, who have struggled the last three weeks after a great first month of the season.
Players of Note:
Tyler Hardman: .301/.376/.586, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 18 XBH, 150 wRC+
Garrett Martin: .267/.329/.575, 13 HR, 29 RBI, 8 SB, 131 wRC+
Coby Morales: .288/.361/.541, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 11 SB, 134 wRC+
Eric Reyzelman: 1-1, 3.12 ERA, 2.19 FIP, 0.81 WHIP, 42.4 K-BB% (17.1 IP)
Jack Cebert (HV/Somerset): 4-1, 2.36 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 0.84 WHIP, 22.4 K-BB% (34.1 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 18-20, 7 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 0-6 week against the Frederick Keys (Orioles)
Run differential: +12
Coming up: Away @ Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
What a miserable week at home for the Renegades, who were swept in a six-game series by Frederick and outscored by 20 runs, losing 4.5 games in the divisional race.
The culprit was the offense that managed just 18 runs total and zero games with more than four runs in the series. Kaeden Kent (4-for-26, 2 BB, 5 K) cooled off big time this week, and despite Kyle West continuing to flash his raw power, he continues to struggle making contact (33.3 K%). It doesn’t help that Core Jackson hit the shelf with an injury. One bright spot was Wilson Rodriguez, as the Puerto Rico native went 5-for-17 with 3 RBI and nine walks this week to get above league average on the season. Enmanuel Tejada is up from Single-A Tampa to hopefully provide a spark.
For the most part, Hudson Valley’s rotation was good enough. Bryce Cunningham continued to build up, getting to 58 pitches, but had his first bad outing of the year in getting blown up on Tuesday. The same fate awaited Sean Paul Liñan and Franyer Herrera, who scuffled over the weekend. Luis Serna continued his strong season with a quality start, with eight strikeouts in six quality innings to keep his ERA under two, while Allen Facundo had his best outing since his promotion with a quality start of his own on Thursday. Rory Fox allowed too many runs for a quality start, but got through six innings with eight strikeouts as he continues to settle into the pros.
It was a disappointing week for a bullpen that had been so good to start the year, but it wasn’t entirely their fault. Chris Veach blew Wednesday’s game late, but was victimized by an error by Roderick Arias. The same can be said about Jackson Fristoe in the seventh inning on Saturday after a Tejada error. Tanner Bauman allowed five runs in the seventh inning on Thursday to complete the trio of good relievers having bad weeks, but Tony Rossi remained nearly untouchable, having 22 strikeouts to just four walks in 14.1 innings this year.
Players of Note:
Kaeden Kent: .302/.373/.430, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 13 XBH, 10 SB, 114 wRC+
Core Jackson: .248/.354/.376, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 11 SB, 98 wRC+
Luis Serna: 2-0, 1.91 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, 20.3 K-BB% (33 IP)
Bryce Cunningham: 8.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 8 BB, 13 K
Sean Paul Liñan: 1-4, 3.90 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, 25.2 K-BB% (27.2 IP)
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 19-20, 4 GB in the Florida State League West after a 4-2 week against the Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)
Run differential: -20
Coming up: Home vs. Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
Tampa continued its climb back to .500 with a strong week against Dunedin, winning three straight to start the week before securing the series victory with a win on Saturday.
The week was buoyed by great work at the plate, prior to the shutout loss on Sunday. Jackson Lovich (9-for-25, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB) went ballistic, and Hans Montero continued to swing the bat well. FCL call-up Luis Puello has come up slugging with all four of his hits through five games being extra base hits. With Tejada being called up, they’ll need more than just these guys putting runs on the board.
It was a strong week for Tyler Boudreau, who allowed just one earned run in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts across two starts. He’s up to 37 strikeouts in 28.1 innings this year. Big innings continued to plague Justin West (4.2 IP, 5 R), Mac Heuer (2.2 IP, 4 R, 4 BB) continued to struggle with command, and Henry Lalane gave up nine hits in 4.2 choppy innings, but we saw more good signs out of Chase Hampton’s rehab on Wednesday as he worked up to 48 pitches in 2.2 innings.
The bullpen had a good series, as struggling pitchers Brian Arias and Josh Tiedemann had strong showings. Pedro Rodriguez continues to really be productive with a heavy workload, Jose M. Rodriguez has 29 strikeouts in 18.2 innings, and both Parker Seay and Jose Martinez have been productive, but the real story has been Greysen Carter’s terrific month. After walking the population of a small country in his first year and change as a pro, he’s walked just three batters in his last 10.2 innings and allowed just one run. His stuff can play if it’s in the zone.
Players of Note:
Jackson Lovich: .294/.382/.571, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 17 XBH, 8 SB, 152 wRC+
JoJo Jackson: .237/.364/.351, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 7 SB, 106 wRC+
Hans Montero: .264/.397/.464, 14 XBH, 18 RBI, 12 SB, 136 wRC+
Tyler Boudreau: 0-1, 3.49 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 22.6 K-BB% (28.1 IP)
Pedro Rodríguez: 11.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 19 K
FCL Yankees
Record: 6-6, 5 GB in the FCL North after a 1-4 week.
Run differential: +29
After a strong start to the season, it was a rough week down at the complex, as the FCL Yanks were only able to beat a hapless Phillies team on Thursday with a number of tough, close losses.
Incredible starts have continued for Wilberson De Pena, Richard Matic, Jose Castro, and Leni Done, who are all hitting above .340 through 12 games. It’s been a few years since the Yankees have had genuine thumpers down in the FCL, and it’s left their A-ball hitting depth extremely shallow. If these guys keep hitting, they’ll be in Tampa soon enough.
Rehabbing 2024 draftees Wyatt Parliament and Thatcher Hurd struggled this week after strong starts, while Sabier Marte has struggled mightily in his first three starts back from injury. Austin Breedlove and Rafael Arias are off to good starts in the bullpen, while Edinzo Marquez just returned to make his season debut on Monday, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Players of Note:
Wilberson De Pena: .370/.431/.696, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 5 SB, 183 wRC+ (46 PA)
Jose Castro: .345/.568/.621, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 10 SB, 196 wRC+ (44 PA)
Richard Matic: .348/.483/.435, 4 XBH, 4 RBI, 7 SB, 127 wRC+ (53 PA)
Thatcher Hurd: 11.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 12 K
Omar Gonzalez: 10.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 15 K
Prospect of the Week: Carlos Lagrange
Weekly Stats: 10 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 14 K, 23 whiffs
Season Stats: 0-2, 4.23 ERA, 4.72 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 18.2 K-BB% (38.1 IP)
There weren’t any truly jaw-dropping performances this week, so I’ll use this opportunity to highlight Lagrange, whose season hasn’t gone quite to plan in the rotation but is still displaying the tantalizing traits that make him such an elite prospect.
He’s not giving the RailRiders much length, going just five innings on both Tuesday and Sunday, but he’s continuing to overwhelm hitters with his velocity. Interestingly enough, though, he’s thrown his slider considerably more this week (49.4 percent), and it’s worked for the most part. His fastball sat 100 in both starts, and he was able to get it all the way up to 103 on Tuesday, the fastest pitch in Triple-A this season.
But you do have to wonder with the inability to get consistent length and his command woes, combined with the Yankees’ struggling bullpen, if it’s sooner rather than later when the organization will pull the plug on him as a starter to see if his tremendous stuff can play in the big league bullpen.
It’s an interesting tightrope to walk. His upside as a starter is unlimited with his easy velo. If there’s even a smidgen of a possibility he can stick there, it’s more valuable than whatever he can provide out of the bullpen, but the Yankees are not a normal team. They have a stacked rotation and a shaky bullpen. You have Elmer Rodríguez ahead on the totem pole in terms of depth with upside as a solid backend starter, so where would he even fit?
My guess is that we see Lagrange in the major league bullpen at some point this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they elected to keep him in a multi-inning role instead of trying to push him into one-inning leverage situations to keep the starter dream alive going into 2027.
