That’s all, folks. We’ve reached the end of the road for the 2026 minor league season. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders officially concluded things on Saturday, which also served as a retirement for the RailRiders (shoutout Clint Frazier). Tampa was unfortunately not able to bring some gold back home, losing in Game 3 of the FSL Championship Series.
If you still have an MiLB itch to scratch, the Arizona Fall League begins in two weeks as six Yankees prospects take on the desert, headlined by top
prospect Dax Kilby. I’ll be there to chronicle all that, but for now, here’s the end of the minor league slate:
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 41-31 (78-68), 2.5 GB in the International League East after a 3-2 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
Run differential: +55 (+58)
The RailRiders are no more. The final games that the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate will ever play as the RailRiders came and went this last week, as they were unable to make up a self-inflicted deficit in the division to prolong their season. Sunday’s game was cancelled, so an extra-innings thriller on Saturday night was how the season concluded. They won on a walk-off wild pitch in the 10th, and get this: the winning pitcher was emergency catcher Edinson Duran, who was used once Justin Topa reached a pitch count. What an awesome way for the name to go out on.
It was a strong final week for guys like Jasson Domínguez (7-for-19, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB) and J.C. Escarra (7-for-21, HR, 2 RBI, 2B), two guys who undoubtedly thought they’d spend more of this season with the big league club. Marco Luciano also capped off a really strong season that should earn him a 40-man spot and audition for 2027 next spring. A cool storyline from this week was 2025 10th-rounder Connor McGinnis getting another aggressive promotion to finish the season, to finish a strong debut season that’s been mostly spent in Double-A. He went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two walks in his cup of coffee in Scranton.
It was not a good final week of the season for a rotation. The recent progress made by Alexander Cornielle fizzled out with a mediocre final start, while the quartet of prospects didn’t end on a high note. Kyle Carr never got fully built up, but he was once again not able to finish three innings in his start. Both Brendan Beck and Elmer Rodríguez failed to finish the fifth to end their strong seasons at the level, while Xavier Rivas took a step back in a brief, three-inning start to end what was overall a big season for him.
The best part about the bullpen this week was a starter as a piggyback, as Adam Kloffenstein tossed six shutout innings in relief of Carr. Zach Messinger, Eric Reyzelman, and Bradley Hanner all pitched well in their two outings each this week.
A full-season review of the 2026 RailRiders will come next week, but I’ll end this with a tribute to Oswaldo Cabrera, who was DFA’d and claimed by the Reds. I’m happy he’ll be getting a fresh start in an organization that has less of a strict edict on winning. Players like him populate the benches of rosters around baseball, but organizations like the Yankees demand excellence from all 26 spots. Will be rooting for him.
Players of Note:
Jasson Domínguez: .290/.374/.450, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 16 SB, 119 wRC+
Marco Luciano: .282/.380/.492, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 32 XBH, 129 wRC+
J.C. Escarra: .301/.375/.488, 11 HR, 48 RBI, 26 XBH, 126 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 10-2, 2.93 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 20.6 K-BB% (135.1 IP)
Elmer Rodríguez: 8-4, 2.45 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, 11.4 K-BB% (106.1 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 74-64
Run differential: +45
Missed playoffs. Season over.
Players of Note:
Jace Avina: .254/.350/.467, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 50 XBH, 120 wRC+
DJ Gladney: .263/.325/.485, 23 HR, 85 RBI, 49 XBH, 113 wRC+
Coby Morales: .282/.372/.479, 21 HR, 81 RBI, 21 SB, 129 wRC+
Rory Fox (A+/AA): 8-5, 4.36 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 17.5 K-BB% (130 IP)
Bryce Cunningham (A+/AA): 4-9, 4.61 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 12.6 K-BB% (105.1 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 65-65
Run differential: +4
Missed playoffs. Season over.
Players of Note:
Eric Genther: .274/.407/.440, 12 HR, 57 RBI, 31 XBH, 128 wRC+
David McCann (FCL/A/A+): .268/.354/.544, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 27 XBH, 124 wRC+
Jackson Lovich (A/A+): .287/.361/.512, 24 HR, 89 RBI, 41 SB, 28.6 K%, 123 wRC+
Luis Serna: 6-6, 4.32 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, 20.0 K-BB% (118.2 IP)
Allen Facundo: 6-3, 4.44 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.47 WHIP, 11.6 K-BB% (99.1 IP)
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 75-48
Run differential: +137
Well, that stinks. Tampa’s incredible offense carried them all season long, but they face-planted at the wrong moment. In three games against Jupiter in the FSL Championship Series, they scored five total runs. Last time we talked, they had lost Game 1 last Sunday, but they had a chance to win the series early this week.
They won Game 2, 4-1. Wilberson De Pena and Diego Castellanos ripped RBI singles, while they scored the other two runs on an RBI walk and a wild pitch. Big day for Luis Puello, who went 3-for-5 with a double. Wyatt Parliament tossed five solid innings to conclude his debut season, while the bullpen behind him was sharp. Usual starter Tyler Boudreau tossed 1.2 innings, followed by Matthew Tippie, Pedro Rodriguez, and Greysen Carter for the save.
Game 3 was a pure pitcher’s duel. Neither team could score for eight innings. Tampa’s offense was completely flummoxed, striking out 16 times. The pitching was outstanding. JT Etheridge, who you’ll see in the Arizona Fall League, tossed six shutout innings to conclude a fantastic September. Jose Ledesma and Rafael Arias did their jobs to get it to the ninth, but Arias gave up a walk-off double to end the season in the bottom of the ninth. Heartbreaking for an incredible group.
Players of Note:
Luis Escudero: .281/.460/.540, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 17 SB, 160 wRC+
Yostin Pena (DSL/A): .354/.431/.608, 14 HR, 80 RBI, 37 SB, 147 wRC+
Dax Kilby: .261/.448/.435, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 12 SB, 143 wRC+ (154 PA)
Tyler Boudreau: 7-3, 3.41 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 17.3 K-BB% (103 IP)
Justin West: 10-4, 4.06 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 18.5 K-BB% (113 IP)
FCL Yankees
Record: 29-29
Run differential: +2
Missed playoffs. Season over.
DSL Yankees & Bombers
DSL Yankees:
Record: 33-21. Eliminated in DSL Cup Pool Play
Run differential: +141
DSL Bombers:
Record: 25-29. Missed playoffs
Run differential: +8
Season over.
Players of Note:
Isaias Castillo: .294/.408/.629, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 35 XBH, 28 SB, 132 wRC+
Juan Torres: .385/.470/.644, 8 HR, 65 RBI, 36 XBH, 26 SB, 159 wRC+
David Carrera: .333/.502/.594, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 23 XBH, 160 wRC+
Fredy Penuelas: 52 IP, 1.56 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 18.4 K-BB%
Cesar Acosta: 51.2 IP, 3.31 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, 24.1 K-BB%
Prospect of the Week: Duke Ellis
Weekly Stats: 8-for-16, 2 RBI, BB, 3 R
Season Stats: .276/.341/.397, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 60 SB (9 CS), 95 wRC+ (307 PA)
Ellis is not a prospect anymore, but I’m giving him flowers in the season’s final week for reaching 60 stolen bases with a great final stretch. He steadily improved over the course of the season and has been a solid presence at the bottom of Scranton’s order. I would think the soon-to-be-29-year-old will sign with another organization next year, as even with his extremely niche skill set of being a designated pinch runner, the team just won’t have a roster spot for this Terrance Gore-type.
