In this week on the farm, we saw the first organizational no-hitter of the season in Scranton, several breakout hitting performances in Somerset, some real pitching struggles down in Hudson Valley, and a Tampa squad that’s putting it all together.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 31-31, 7 GB in the International League East after a 3-4 week against the Syracuse Mets (Mets)
Run differential: +8
Coming up: Home vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies)
The first week of June was pretty meh for the RailRiders, who suffered a losing
week due to a Wednesday doubleheader that threw in an extra game. They won the first two games, lost the next two, won on Friday, and then got unceremoniously shut down over the weekend. Despite losing more ground on the week, they had the org’s biggest highlight, which was the first no-hitter of the season on Friday.
Brendan Beck tossed seven no-hit innings in one of his finest starts of the season before Carson Coleman finished it off with a pair of no-hit frames, capping it off with a 6-6-3 double play to end the game. It’s the first RailRiders no-hitter since Sean Boyle’s seven-inning one in 2021 and the first nine-inning no-hitter since Luis Gil, Reggie McClain, and Stephen Ridings combined for one earlier that season:
With Spencer Jones moving back up to the big leagues due to Aaron Judge’s injury, the focus was back solely on George Lombard Jr., who had a okay week at the plate. Jasson Domínguez began a rehab assignment on Friday and went 0-for-7 across two games in left field. Could they give him some work in right field? I’d bet against that… for now. Tyler Hardman had some big hits this week, and the team also welcomed back Marco Luciano from the injured list.
Dom Hamel got the Tuesday and Sunday starts and was passable. Elmer Rodríguez bounced back nicely from a few tough starts in a row with 5.2 two-run innings with six strikeouts on Thursday, while Adam Kloffenstein took the loss on Saturday.
For the rest of the pitching staff, there was a pretty seismic shift with Carlos Lagrange moving to the bullpen. He still threw four innings on Wednesday in some of his best work of the season with seven strikeouts, but you have to think it’s more of a “deload” period, and it could be a few weeks before he’s in the 1-2 inning role.
Yovanny Cruz and Bradley Hanner took losses late in the week in a pair of close losses. Eric Reyzelman, the most MLB-ready relief prospect, was placed on the injured list with a reported back injury mid-week. While better than an arm injury, he had back issues last year that derailed his 2025 season.
Players of Note:
Spencer Jones: .269/.378/.571, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 9 SB, 32.4 K%, 144 wRC+
George Lombard Jr.: .206/.371/.298, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 7 SB, 92 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 5-2, 3.55 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 17.1 K-BB% (66 IP)
Carlos Lagrange: 1-3, 4.08 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, 18.5 K-BB% (53 IP)
Elmer Rodríguez: 1-3, 2.95 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 16.0 K-BB% (39.2 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 30-27, 1 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 4-2 week against the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)
Run differential: +27
Coming up: Home vs. Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
How is it possible to have a winning week, but your run differential goes down by eight runs? Well, that happens when your loss on Friday night was one of the worst in team history, 21-4. Outside of that game, they won four close, medium-scoring games and lost another one by one run in a solid week that saw them inch closer to the division lead.
Somerset’s high-powered offense had one of its worst weeks of the season after Jace Avina was placed on the injured list early in the week. The May Eastern League Player of the Month was en fuego. Garrett Martin hit another three home runs and is up to 19, while DJ Gladney caught fire with four home runs and seven extra-base hits. I’d also like to mention Cole Gabrielson, who was promoted to fill Avina’s spot in the outfield and homered twice in Friday’s blowout loss.
Outside of Jack Cebert’s rough outing on Friday, it was a good week for the starting pitching. Trent Sellers tossed a quality start, Cade Smith finally came around with five solid innings on Wednesday, Xavier Rivas struck out nine in four innings on Thursday, Chase Chaney tossed six shutout innings, and Kyle Carr continued a strong stretch with nine strikeouts in five innings. Ben Hess only pitched one inning on Sunday, getting stuck in a 40-pitch inning.
The bullpen was up-and-down. Guys like Hayden Merda and Kelly Austin traded good and bad outings, while Chris Veach and Ben Grable pitched well in multi-inning efforts on Friday. 2024 UDFA Tony Rossi got a promotion on Friday and tossed a scoreless inning in his Double-A debut after a terrific year and change in Hudson Valley.
Players of Note:
Jace Avina: .276/.358/.583, 14 HR, 35 RBI, 30 XBH, 145 wRC+ (injured)
Garrett Martin: .258/.317/.556, 19 HR, 47 RBI, 13 SB, 126 wRC+
Coby Morales: .263/.349/.479, 10 HR, 44 RBI, 12 SB, 121 wRC+
Hayden Merda: 0-0, 2.31 ERA, 2.22 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, 35.5 K-BB% (23.1 IP)
Kyle Carr: 5-4, 4.32 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, 19.2 K-BB% (50 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 25-31, 11 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 2-4 week against the Frederick Keys (Orioles)
Run differential: -19
Coming up: Home vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
Hudson Valley’s been in a big-time rut over the last few weeks for a variety of reasons. This week? It was a really rough one for the pitching. Outside of a 10-1 win on Thursday, they allowed at least seven runs in every other game, combining to allow 55 runs across six games. The one silver lining was the offense’s late explosion to come back from a 10-3 deficit on Friday, winning 14-13.
Offensively, Core Jackson continued to hit. Since returning from the injured list, he’s raised his OPS by 120 points. Josh Moylan (8-for-23, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B) caught fire mid-week to help him out, while Roderick Arias showed some life at the plate as well. Wilson Rodriguez and Eric Genther had worse weeks, while Kaeden Kent homered early in the week before getting seven hits in a two-game span.
It was harder to find a good start this week than you’d like. Bryce Cunningham scuffled, Luis Serna, Chase Hampton, Sean Paul Liñan, and Franyer Herrera all got lit up by the Frederick offense, and Rory Fox got brutalized by his defense, allowing seven unearned runs out of 10 in 4.2 innings. The bright spot was Allen Facundo (more on him later) on Thursday.
In a week where you allowed over nine runs a game, you probably could’ve expected a rough week from the bullpen. There was some good, but not many relievers got through the week without allowing a run in some way. Losing Rossi to a promotion continued to batter their depth there, as guys like Thomas Balboni Jr. and Wilmy Sanchez get higher-leverage innings.
Players of Note:
Kaeden Kent: .299/.364/.416, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 21 XBH, 15 SB, 111 wRC+
Core Jackson: .260/.369/.455, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 14 SB, 124 wRC+
Luis Serna: 2-3, 4.11 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.52 WHIP, 16.7 K-BB% (46 IP)
Bryce Cunningham: 0-2, 6.43 ERA, 6.44 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 11.7 K-BB% (21 IP)
Sean Paul Liñan: 1-6, 5.89 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 26.4 K-BB% (36.2 IP)
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 30-27, 6 GB in the Florida State League West after a 5-1 week against the Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals)
Run differential: +22
Coming up: Away @ Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)
The Tampa Tarpons are arguably playing the best of any Yankee affiliate. When was the last time you could say that? They had a phenomenal week against Palm Beach, scoring 26 total runs in the first two games and eight on Friday before winning two close games during the weekend. A shutout loss on Thursday was all that stopped them from their first sweep of the season.
It was a quieter week for Jackson Lovich, but the train kept rolling for Hans Montero and Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek. JoJo Jackson had his best week since a strong April, while Willy Montero seems to be finding something over the last few weeks. It also helps that they got a talent infusion when Logan Maxwell (7-for-13, HR, 4 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, 4 SB) returned from the injured list.
Thatcher Hurd (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K) had a great bounce-back game on Tuesday after a miserable Single-A debut. Wyatt Parliament struggled on Wednesday, Henry Lalane (5.1 IP, 1 R, 6 K) tossed a third straight strong outing on Friday, and both Tyler Boudreau and Brennan Stuprich continued strong stretches with good starts over the weekend.
The bullpen had a terrific week, with the likes of Jose M. Rodriguez, Pedro Rodriguez, and Jose Martinez pitching well. Justin West seems to have unlocked something moving into a multi-inning relief role, tossing another three scoreless innings on Tuesday. The same can be said for JT Etheridge, who pitched well on Wednesday. Mac Heuer had six strikeouts in 2.2 scoreless innings, but was pulled mid-AB due to an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t been placed on the IL… yet.
Players of Note:
Jackson Lovich: .305/.384/.616, 11 HR, 34 RBI, 23 XBH, 13 SB, 143 wRC+
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: .274/.386/.427, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 17 SB, 135 wRC+
Hans Montero: .269/.389/.513, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 24 XBH, 15 SB, 145 wRC+
Tyler Boudreau: 2-2, 3.40 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 22.0 K-BB% (45 IP)
Henry Lalane: 1-1, 3.79 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 16.3 K-BB% (35.2 IP)
FCL Yankees
Record: 14-13, 6 GB in the FCL North after a 3-2 week.
Run differential: +15
Some good and some bad here. Wilberson De Pena looked human this week, but his down week was made up for in spades by the likes of Richard Matic and a suddenly blisteringly hot Dexters Peralta, who’s now up to seven home runs on the year. The strikeout rate is concerning, but he’s still young. Jose Castro returned from injury late in the week, but the looming dread hanging over the bats is the fact that Dax Kilby hasn’t played in 10 days. Did he re-aggravate the hamstring injury?
Omar Gonzalez continued to be a force for the rotation. He’s been the best pitcher on the team. Blake Gillespie has been so-so, and Sabier Marte has been better of late, but Stanly Alcantara and Manuel Cruz have struggled. 2025 UDFA Austin Breedlove out of Tennessee has been a revelation in the bullpen, allowing just three runs in 13.2 innings with 18 strikeouts and just five walks. He should be in Tampa soon.
Players of Note:
Wilberson De Pena: .376/.432/.729, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 15 XBH, 11 SB, 184 wRC+ (95 PA)
Jose Castro: .345/.568/.621, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 10 SB, 199 wRC+ (44 PA)
Richard Matic: .325/.456/.506, 10 XBH, 11 RBI, 7 SB, 147 wRC+ (103 PA)
Sabier Marte: 12.2 IP, 7.82 ERA, 3,77 FIP, 1.89 WHIP, 14.3 K-BB%
Omar Gonzalez: 21 IP, 2.57 ERA, 2.61 FIP, 0.81 WHIP, 30.5 K-BB%
DSL Yankees & Bombers
DSL Yankees:
Record: 1-5
Run differential: -1
DSL Bombers:
Record: 1-5
Run differential: -28
Woof. What a rough week for these two. The DSL Yankees have had some abysmal closes to games. They blew a 14-7 lead to DSL Mets Blue, a 6-2 lead to DSL Rangers Red, and a 4-3 lead to DSL Tigers 2 in the ninth. Meanwhile, it’s either been high-scoring losses or blowouts for the Bombers, including being no-hit on Monday.
Isaias Castillo is the standout bat here. The 17-year-old hit for the cycle on Tuesday and carried it through the week to lead the DSL in home runs through six games. Juan Torres, Stiven Marinez, and Alessandro Rodriguez are all hitting well around him.
On the pitching side, it’s a lot of ugly, but there were some impressive performances. Yunior Jerez tossed five no-hit innings with seven strikeouts. Kevin Centeno and Sebastian Rivas also stood out in brief, 2-3 inning spells.
Prospect of the Week: Allen Facundo
Weekly Stats: 6 IP, 0 R, 4 BB, 12 K, 21 whiffs
Season Stats (Tampa/HV): 3-2, 3.69 ERA, 2.64 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, 22.6 K-BB% (46.1 IP)
How do you take the Prospect of the Week mantle from a guy who tossed seven no-hit innings? How about tossing six of your own, but being even more dominant?
Facundo’s been a niche prospect for a good bit, often producing in the FCL and Tampa over the last few years while battling injuries that stagnate him. A strong start to 2026 earned him a promotion to High-A Hudson Valley, where he’s traded good starts and bad starts. Last time out, he walked four and hit a batter in a miserable first inning before gritting his way through six.
On Thursday, Facundo was brilliant. He did continue to struggle with command, but he had every pitch working in six brilliant innings. We don’t have Statcast data for High-A, but he kept Frederick hitters off balance all night, which is pretty impressive considering they scored over 10 runs a game in the other five.
