Welcome to Week 23 of the Yankees minor league recap! The 2025 season has come to an end for Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley, while Double-A Somerset has one week to go and Triple-A Scranton will try to lock down a playoff birth over the next two weeks. Here’s how the Yankees minor-leaguers performed last week:
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders
Record: 81-54; First in International League (East)
Past Week: 4-2 @ Worcester Red Sox
Coming up: Home vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The RailRiders kept their momentum alive by winning four of
six games in Worcester last week, adding to an excellent second half of the season in which they’re sporting a 43-20 record with a four game lead on the Syracuse Mets. In total, they’re 81-54 with a half-game lead in their division. They’re heading towards the postseason with two weeks left to clinch a spot.
The series began with an 8-7 victory on Tuesday, in which each member of the starting lineup contributed one hit and Jorbit Vivas had two, knocking in three runs with an RBI double and two-run single. They won 5-1 on Wednesday behind an excellent start from Kenta Maeda, who struck out nine over 7.2 innings of one-run ball. Bryan De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with his 11th home run of the year. Scranton won their third straight game on Thursday 6-2. Andrew Velazquez started the scoring with a two-run double, and Vivas and De La Cruz added RBI singles in the fifth inning.
The win streak ended on Friday with a 7-4 loss. Brendan Beck struggled on the mound, allowing seven earned runs in 4.2 innings with four walks and five strikeouts. Spencer Jones hit his 17th home run since being promoted to Triple-A in the loss. Saturday’s game was rained out and made up as part of a Sunday doubleheader, which the two teams split one game apiece. Somerset lost the first game 6-5 in extra innings, as Seby Zavala picked up a walk-off single for Worcester. Duke Ellis and Jeimer Candelario homered for Scranton, and Vivas, Ellis, and Omar Martinez picked up two hits apiece. They won the second game 5-0 behind four shutout innings from Sean Boyle and homers from Velazquez and De La Cruz. T.J. Rumfield went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win. There are two weeks left in the regular season, and Scranton has a four-game lead on a playoff spot. They’ll take on Lehigh Valley at home next week.
Players of Note:
Spencer Jones: 252 PA; .270/.337/.563, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 16 SB, 8.3 BB%, 36.3 K%, 130 wRC+
Brennen Davis: 107 PA; .292/.355/.708, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 1 SB, 7.5 BB%, 27.1 K%, 168 wRC+
Allan Winans: 87.2 IP; 1.33 ERA, 27.2 K%, 6.6 BB%, .206 BAA, 1.02 WHIP
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 70-62; Second place in Eastern League (Northeast), 16 GB
Past Week: 6-0 vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Coming Up: Away @ Reading Fightin Phils
Somerset caught some late momentum this past week, sweeping a home series against New Hampshire by winning all six games to bring their record up to 70-62 on the season. The Patriots won’t be appearing in the playoffs, but the sweep confirmed that they’ll finish above .500 after a season with many peaks and valleys. The sweep started with a narrow 1-0 victory on Tuesday, behind one of Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz’s best performances yet in a breakout season that’s been full of them. The young righty tossed six shutout innings with eight strikeouts and just one hit and one walk. George Lombard Jr. went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in the game’s only run on an RBI single.
The next win came on Wednesday by a score of 8-4. Kyle Carr made his Double-A debut with a shaky performance, allowing four earned runs over 3.2 innings while walking three and striking out four, but Somerset’s offense dug themselves out of a 4-0 hole with a six-run sixth, led by a two-run single from Lombard and a two-run double from Jace Avina. They won a rain-shortened game 4-1 in five innings on Thursday, with Ben Hess technically pitching a complete game with seven strikeouts and just one run allowed. Jake Gatewood went 2-for-2 with two doubles, and Lombard hit his eighth homer as a Patriot in the win. They shut the Fisher Cats out 4-0 on Friday behind an excellent start from Carlos Lagrange, who struck out 10 in five innings while allowing just two hits and one walk. Jackson Castillo led the way on offense with a home run and a double, while Lombard kept his hot streak alive with a double of his own.
The Patriots finished off the sweep over the weekend with a 3-2 win on Saturday and a 9-4 win on Sunday. Brock Selvidge earned a quality start in Saturday’s game with two runs allowed in six innings and seven strikeouts. The offense shined across the board on Sunday, combining for 13 hits with Castillo picking up three and Lombard, Brendan Jones, Tyler Hardman, Garrett Martin, and Manuel Palencia adding two each. The series was a huge success for the Patriots, who will end the season in Reading next week.
Players of Note:
George Lombard Jr: 435 PA; .215/.336/.362, 8 HR, 34 RBI, 22 SB, 13.5 BB%, 26.0 K%, 111 wRC+
Brendan Jones: 308 PA; .243/.364/.420, 7 HR, 45 RBI, 21 SB, 15.9 BB%, 21.4 K%, 131 wRC+
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: 56.1 IP; 2.56 ERA, 30.2 K%, 7.7 BB%, .195 BAA, 1.01 WHIP
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Final Record: 79-50; Second Place in South Atlantic League (North), 8 GB
Past Week: 4-2 vs Greensboro Grasshoppers
The Renegades ended their season in dramatic fashion, hosting the Greensboro Grasshoppers for a six-game series in which they needed to go 5-1 or 6-0 in order to secure a playoff spot. They came up just short, winning four of six against Minor League Baseball’s best team and missing the postseason despite a 79-50 record. It was a valiant effort, but Hudson Valley’s season has come to an end.
The series began with a 4-0 win on Tuesday, behind five shutout innings from Brandon Decker who struck out six. Engelth Urena picked up two hits including an RBI double in the win, and they scored two more runs on a walk from Juan Matheus and a fielder’s choice from Dillon Lewis. Hudson Valley lost 7-1 on Wednesday, recording just four hits in the game including two from Matheus and a triple from Connor McGinnis.
The offense came back to life in a big way on Thursday in a 10-0 rain-shortened victory. Matheus picked up three more hits with two RBI, and Josh Moylan had three hits of his own including two doubles. Xavier Rivas had another excellent start, striking out 10 in 5.1 shutout innings despite four walks. They won again 3-1 on Friday, behind six shutout innings from Andrew Landry who struck out eight. Urena and Matheus both recorded three more hits in the blowout win, and Camden Troyer picked up a two-run single. Starter Cade Smith kept their chances alive on Saturday in a narrow 1-0 victory, striking out eight in six shutout innings. Matheus drove in the only run of the game on a single in the bottom of the sixth.
With the playoffs on the line on Sunday in the final game of the season, the Renegades fell in defeat by a score of 4-1. Decker kept them alive by allowing two runs in five innings of work, but the offense couldn’t get much going and Hudson Valley came up short. It was a fun season for the Renegades who were dominant for most of the year and kicked off the development of four excellent pitching prospects, but they fell just short of a playoff spot. Their season has reached its conclusion.
Players of Note:
Kyle Carr (recently promoted to Double-A): 119.1 IP; 1.96 ERA, 21.7 K%, 9.8 BB%, .189 BAA, 1.07 WHIP
Dillon Lewis: 332 PA; .243/.332/.455, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 11 SB, 11.0 BB%, 20.5 K%, 130 wRC+
Juan Matheus: 126 PA; .287/.381/.398, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 5 SB, 12.7 BB%, 17.5 K%, 134 wRC+
Low-A Tampa Tarpons
Final Record: 63-63; Third place in Florida State League (West), 11 GB
Past Week: 3-2 @ Clearwater Threshers
Tampa’s final series of the season was shortened by rain, which resulted in a 3-2 series win that brought their final record to an even 63-63 in 2025. They finished four games behind Clearwater (the team they were facing) in the division, and even a full sweep would not have been enough to make up the difference.
The last week of their season began with a 6-5 loss in 10 innings on Tuesday, with Nolan Beltran driving in the game-winning run for Clearwater. First-round pick Dax Kilby continued his hot hitting with two hits including a triple, two walks, three runs scored, and a run batted in. Tampa bounced back by winning both games of a doubleheader on Wednesday, 6-2 and 4-0. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek provided the big blow in the first game, a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and Hans Montero drove in two more runs in the inning with a clutch single. The Tarpons threw a combined (seven-inning) no-hitter in the second game, led by Manny Facundo who struck out five in as many innings with just one walk. Martin-Grudzielanek tripled twice in the win, and Marshall Toole knocked in two runs on a single and sac fly.
The Tarpons lost 7-3 on Thursday, despite three more hits from Kilby and Josue Gonzalez’s fourth home run. With rainouts on Friday and Sunday, Saturday’s game ended up being the final one of the season, and Tampa went out on a strong note with a 6-2 victory. Henry Lalane started the game with two shutout innings, and Jose M. Rodriguez struck out eight batters over the next four. Tampa narrowly missed the playoffs, and their season has come to an end.
Players of Note:
Marshall Toole: 372 PA; .305/.406/.479, 5 HR, 48 RBI, 44 SB, 14.0 BB%, 19.6 K%, 148 wRC+
Dax Kilby: 68 PA; .353/.457/.441, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 16 SB, 16.0 BB%, 13.6 K%, 159 wRC+
Roderick Arias: 465 PA; .208/.325/.315, 7 HR, 53 RBI, 34 SB, 14.0 BB%, 28.5 K%, 89 wRC+
