The biggest story in the Yankees’ farm system this week was not about the prospects themselves, but rather the rehabbing major leaguers. Anthony Volpe and Gerrit Cole both kicked off likely lengthy rehab assignments in Double-A Somerset that brought increased attention.
Outside of those two, it was a fairly unremarkable week, but there were still some big performances and some big-time individual games.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 10-10, 1 GB in the International League East after a 1-4 week against the Syracuse Mets
(Mets)
Run differential: +15
Coming up: Home vs. Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
For a RailRiders team that’s built exceptionally well, this was a really, really rough week. Outside of a nice Wednesday win, they struggled on both sides throughout a week that was staggered by a pair of postponements and a doubleheader.
Scranton’s offense hit around a highly-regarded young pitcher in Jonah Tong on Tuesday, but the Mets did just a bit better against Brendan Beck in an 8-6 win. Elmer Rodriguez had another fine start in Wednesday’s victory that also saw a big day for Ernesto Martinez Jr. The rest of the week was fairly unremarkable, especially a Saturday doubleheader that had two non-roster invitees start both games and take the loss.
Spencer Jones heated up even further this week, going 5-for-16 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBIs, and six strikeouts in five games. All of a sudden, his stats look very Jones-like. Domínguez closed the week in a bit of a rut, but is still hitting over .300. While Yanquiel Fernandez’s hot start has started to fizzle out, it’s Ernesto Martinez Jr. (4-for-11, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2B) who’s stepped up to carry the load offensively. We’re also getting an all-or-nothing season out of Paul DeJong so far, who’s been mashing but is below the Mendoza line.
On the pitching side, it’s rather unremarkable outside of Rodriguez this week. Carlos Lagrange got through four innings for the first time since spring training and had better command than he’s had recently, but was inconsistent. Beck struggled, as did Adam Kloffenstein and Dom Hamel in Saturday’s doubleheader.
The bullpen has been in flux due to the Yankees’ shifting of their final bullpen spot. They recalled and demoted Yerry De los Santos, sent down Jake Bird, and currently have SWB’s best reliever in the majors, Angel Chivilli. Of note, both Yovanny Cruz and Kervin Castro have continued strong starts to the season as next-men-up in the Scranton Shuffle.
On the rehab front, Anthony Volpe is expected to continue his rehab assignment with the RailRiders and fill the roster spot vacated by the recently traded Braden Shewmake. We could also potentially see Carlos Rodón here on a rehab start this week (or even Gerrit Cole!)
Players of Note:
Jasson Domínguez: .309/.420/.441, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 SB, 137 wRC+
Spencer Jones: .254/.363/.552, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 10 XBH, 37.5 K%, 137 wRC+
Ernesto Martinez Jr.: .279/.333/.733, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 231 wRC+
Elmer Rodríguez: 1-1, 1.15 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 0.96 WHIP, 12.5 K-BB% (15.2 IP)
Carlos Lagrange: 0-2, 4.30 ERA, 5.84 FIP, 1.50 WHIP, 12.1 K-BB% (14.2 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 6-8, 2.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 3-3 week against the Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies)
Run differential: +3
Coming up: Away @ Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants)
This week was defined by rehab assignments for both Somerset and their opponents. They welcomed Volpe back to the place where the hype became real in 2022, and he was greeted by… a rehabbing Zack Wheeler for Reading. That’s not fun. Later in the week, the Yanks got their ace back on a mound for a game that counted (albeit in the minor leagues) for the first time.
This was a high-scoring week. Somerset won on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday by scores of 9-6, 9-8, and 9-8, while falling in three other games where they gave up at least six runs. Yes, it was a really ugly week for the pitching staff. It didn’t help that they lost Ben Hess to the injured list ahead of his planned start on Saturday.
George Lombard Jr. continued to absolutely rake at the plate to start the year (more on him later), while being supported by the likes of Marco Luciano (6-for-23, 3 HR, 5 RBI), Tyler Hardman (5-for-16, HR, 5 RBI, 3 XBH), and Coby Morales, who are all off to great starts. Nick Torres, the 32-year-old former Mexican League MVP, hit the 7-day IL midweek to disrupt his momentum.
Now, about the rotation. Trent Sellers struggled again, and both Xavier Rivas and Kyle Carr got hit around early in their starts, especially Carr. Cade Smith continued to get a ton of strikeouts, but allowed four runs in 3.2 innings. One bright spot was minor league signing Chase Chaney had his second straight solid start to open the campaign.
And of course, there was Gerrit Cole. He had a clean start to his first rehab assignment and worked quickly throughout, but the results themselves weren’t there. He gave up an RBI double and a homer back-to-back in the second, but rebounded to get through four innings despite a strict pitch count of 45. The results do not matter at this stage, but the fact that he’s pitching certainly does.
The bullpen continues to feature the same few standout arms. Will Brian, Chris Kean, and Eric Reyzelman have now combined to allow one run in 21 innings with a staggering 32 strikeouts to just five walks. Bailey Dees was briefly promoted to Scranton, but is back in Somerset and has also been effective as a multi-inning reliever. Kelly Austin and Geoffrey Gilbert are among those off to shaky starts in the pen, but are coming off strong 2025 seasons.
Could Rodón make his first rehab start here? Could Cole make another start here? We’ll know soon enough.
Players of Note:
George Lombard Jr: .365/.433/.654, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 XBH, 178 wRC+
Tyler Hardman: .262/.354/.524, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 XBH, 128 wRC+
Marco Luciano: .333/.404/.667, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 9 XBH, 169 wRC+
Will Brian: 8 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Cade Smith: 8 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 BB, 13 K
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 7-7, 3.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 4-2 week against the Frederick Keys (Orioles)
Run differential: +5
Coming up: Home vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
The lone affiliate with a winning week, the Renegades rode some great pitching en route to a strong week on the road. Tuesday’s game was suspended due to rain and made up on Wednesday, where they swept a pair of games, combining to outscore Frederick 17-5. After a 5-2 win on Thursday, the offense was limited to just one run in back-to-back games before a win on Sunday to finish the week.
The only two hitters who continued strong starts this week were 2025 third-round pick Kaeden Kent (8-for-20, 3 2B) and undrafted free agent Eric Genther (6-for-13, 2B, 2 BB). We’ve seen the Yankees get tremendous value out of undrafted prospects recently, and Genther could be next up, especially in the Yankees’ catching lab. Struggles continued for Camden Troyer and Kyle West, while Roderick Arias and Core Jackson have cooled off after hot starts.
Brandon Decker starred with 4.2 shutout innings in the resumed game on Wednesday to open a good week for the rotation (even if he’s technically a long reliever). Luis Serna wasn’t able to follow up his brilliant High-A debut with anything special in a four-inning start on Wednesday. Jack Cebert finished off seven innings for the second straight start on Thursday, but the team got more choppy starts from Rory Fox (who’s been prone to big innings) and Sean Paul Liñan (who’s not getting very deep in games).
Much of the bullpen continues to shine, including Chris Veach, Ben Grable, and Jack Sokol. Tony Rossi bounced back from a shaky first week and change and is up to 12 strikeouts in six innings as well, while the likes of Baron Stuart and Jackson Fristoe continue to struggle.
Players of Note:
Eric Genther: .366/.519/.439, 4 RBI, 3 XBH, 182 wRC+
Core Jackson: .184/.322/.327, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 SB
Kaeden Kent: .294/.390/.373, 4 XBH, 3 SB, 122 wRC+
Jack Cebert: 14.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 14 K
Ben Grable: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 15 K
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 5-10, 5 GB in the Florida State League West after a 2-4 week against the Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)
Run differential: -18
Coming up: Away @ Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)
It was a weird week down in Tampa. While the Northern affiliates suffered with some postponements, the Tarpons benefited from a drier Florida spring before the eventual summer monsoons disrupted every week.
They lost the opener, 14-9 in extras, but carried over the offense for a 12-1 win on Wednesday. After a tough 5-4 loss on Thursday and a shutout defeat on Friday, they rebounded to take a close game on Saturday before losing the series in a 5-4 defeat on Sunday.
On the hitting side, Jackson Lovich continues to be the best hitter the Yankees have below Double-A with the very mature approach that promises to have him promoted very soon. There were some other standout performances (namely Gregory Bozzo’s pro debut, resulting in a home run and RBI single during the weekend), but the star of the week was Enmanuel Tejada. After a brutal 1-for-27 start that also involved 11 walks and 12 strikeouts, he went 8-for-20 with a home run, five RBIs, and four extra-base hits in five games this week and is suddenly at a .768 OPS.
The pitching continues to be a nice surprise. Blake Gillespie was rolling before he was torpedoed by his defense in the fifth on Tuesday, Allen Facundo continued to look too good for Single-A with another nine strikeouts in 4.1 innings, and both Tyler Boudreau and Danny Flatt delivered solid outings. On the flip side, Justin West had a bad start after a brilliant one last week, and J.T. Etheridge started on Sunday to fill in for the injured Henry Lalane and tossed two unremarkable innings.
The bullpen has been shockingly steady as well. FCL call-up Pedro Rodriguez has 4.2 clean innings to start the season, while guys like Jose M. Rodriguez, Jose Martinez, and Matthew Tippie continue to deliver solid work. There continue to be warts, namely the struggles of Jose Ledesma, Brian Arias, and Greysen Carter’s unbreakable walk problem, but there are more international relievers making an impact early than usual.
Players of Note:
Jackson Lovich: .289/.357/.579, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 XBH, 158 wRC+
JoJo Jackson: .273/.407/.432, HR, 6 RBI, 5 XBH, 145 wRC+
Enmanuel Tejada: .191/.406/.362, HR, 5 RBI, 5 XBH, 133 wRC+
Allen Facundo: 10 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 17 K
Jose M. Rodríguez: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 14 K
Prospect of the Week: George Lombard Jr.
Weekly Stats: 6-for-24, HR, 5 RBI, 2B, 3 BB, SB
Season Stats:.265/.433/.654, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 XBH, 3 SB, 178 wRC+
I want to preface this by saying that there were probably better statistical weeks than what Lombard did this week. The weekly numbers don’t pop out to you at all. But the reason he’s here isn’t because of the surface-level stats; it’s because of who he did it against.
An unfortunate break that Somerset got was that they had to face perennial Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler twice this week, as he looks to return to a Phillies team that is quickly spiraling. To their credit, the Patriots gave him a run for his money on both occasions, but no hitter gave him bigger fits than the 20-year-old Lombard.
On Tuesday, Wheeler was rolling through five innings, but hit a snag in the sixth. A pair of singles by Torres and DJ Gladney set up Lombard, who was 0-for-2, in a big spot, and the shortstop ambushed Wheeler with a first-pitch RBI double into the right-center field gap that chased him from the game.
On Sunday, he didn’t need much time to do it again. He jumped ahead 3-0, but was then stuck in a seven-pitch battle with one of the best pitchers in baseball. After fighting off the sixth pitch, he got a cookie down the heart of the plate, and he crushed a dead-center line drive home run to lead off the game.
In the end, he went 2-for-5 with two extra-base hits against a perennial all-star, and that’s good enough for me to make him Prospect of the Week as he continues a torrid start to the season. Wheeler gave him all the praise you’d like to hear afterwards.
