Minor League & Prospects Thread

What Did Yankee Prospects Do in April?
www.startspreadingthenews.blog/post/what-did-yankee-prospects-do-in-april

Minor league baseball is underway. Let’s take a look at how Yankee prospects are doing, who might be breaking out and who stumbled out of the gate. Here are five prospects who had an interesting month.


Spencer Jones, Double-A

Jones started off the season with a minor injury, making his debut on April 13th. The Yankees sent him back to Double-A. Jones only played 17 games there in 2023, so it makes sense that they want to give him a chance to master the level before moving up.

Jones has played just 11 games, but has demolished Double-A pitching. His batting line is .348/.412/.587 in a league where the average hitter has hit just .232/.325/.368. He cut his strikeout rate from 29% to 24%.

The knock against Jones is that he has never consistently put his incredible tools to use on the field. If that changes, like we saw this Spring, it isn’t insane to talk about Jones as a left-handed Aaron Judge. He’s just as smart, big and strong, and might even be more athletic. If he’s still hitting this well in May, look out. For now, it’s just 11 games.


Everson Pereira, Triple-A

Remember Pereira? He’s still around. He’s just 23 years old. He’s playing all three outfield positions at Triple-A. And he’s hitting .253/.333/.571.

Great news! What’s the catch? Pereira has struck out in 37% of plate appearances.

I don’t know what Pereira’s future is going to be. He’s the poster child for the Yankees problematic hitting philosophy under Dillon Lawson. Pereira has tons of power, but with a big uppercut swing that seems very exploitable. Yet, he’s hitting lots of home runs in the high minors while playing pretty good outfield defense.

Realistically, Pereira is playing for a trade. Jasson Dominguez is way ahead of him on the depth charts, and it’s not even clear that Dominguez has a roster spot without an injury, and Spencer Jones is right up there as well. Maybe some team will be interested in him at the trade deadline. Alex Verdugo’s paternity leave didn’t earn Pereira a callup, so something would have to go very wrong for us to see Pereira in the majors in 2024.


Agustin Ramirez and Ben Rice, Double-A

I think it’s time to start paying attention to Ramirez and Rice.

Both are catchers with questionable defensive futures, although Ramirez is significantly better than Rice. Both also broke out in a big way in 2023 between High-A and Double-A. Rice hit .324/.434/.615 with a 19% strikeout rate. Ramirez hit a strong but more modest .271/.364/.455 with a 17% strikeout rate.

They both mashed in April. Ramirez hit .260/.386/.644 with a 19% strikeout rate. Rice hit .256/.376/.526 with a 26% strikeout rate. The average Eastern League hitter posted just a .232/.325/.368.

Rice is almost definitely not a catcher, although everyone said that about Austin Wells too. He and Rice are splitting time between catcher, first base and DH at Double-A. Fangraphs compares him to Justin Bour. Ramirez isn’t a great catcher, but is still projected to remain there.

Other than Pereira, Ramirez looks like the biggest trade bait in the organization. The Yankees have a ton of catchers. Austin Wells looks like he’s going to stick around and take most of the 2022 Platinum Glove winner’s playing time. Ramirez is an advanced prospect who is hitting the cover off the ball. Rice, on the other hand, could find a nice spot for himself on the major league bench.


Jack Neely, Double-A

Here’s a bold prediction: Jack Neely is going to pitch high leverage innings for the Yankees in the middle half.

The scouting information on Neely is pretty thin. He’s a big dude at 6’8” 245 lbs. He threw 93-94 mph in 2023 with a big slider. His control isn’t great.

But let’s scout the stat line for a second. Neely pitched 66 innings in 2023 with a 3.26 ERA, 100 strikeouts and 20 walks. That’s pretty great! So far in 2024, he’s pitched 11 innings with 17 strikeouts and 5 walks and allowed just one run.

The Yankees are desperate for a strikeout relief pitcher. Unlike a Clayton Beeter, Neely is already pitching out of the bullpen. He’s striking a ton of guys out. I wouldn’t be shocked to see them promote him to Triple-A after another month or so. If he pitches well and the Yankees bullpen continues to struggle to strike guys out, we could see Neely in the Bronx.


Yankees Prospect of the Month: Trystan Vrieling

Remember Vrieling? I didn’t.

The Yankees drafted Vrieling with the 100th overall pick of the 2022 draft. He missed the entire 2023 season with a fractured elbow. He returned to play in the Arizona Fall League, but got lit up with a 5.06 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. Not good for a player who also got lit up in his draft year for Gonzaga.

But the Yankees saw something they liked. I can’t remember the last notable player that they sent directly to Double-A from college.

I can’t find a post-injury scouting report, but he threw 91-95 mph with plus sliders and curveballs at the draft. He’s listed at 6’4” 200 lbs. The knock against him was always poor control.

All Vrieling did after a year off in his first real minor league action, all the way up at Double-A? He posted a 1.80 ERA in 24 innings across 4 starts. He struck out 25 and walked just six. He’s in the conversation for best pitcher in all of Double-A.

Not bad! I don’t think that a promotion is imminent or something. We obviously need to see Vrieling do it over a long time period. But Vrieling was an interesting project when he was drafted in the 3rd round in 2022. The Yankees pushed him aggressively to start the season. All great signs.

Scranton (19-9) (Defeated Jacksonville, 2-0. It is their second straight shutout)

2B Caleb Durbin: 1-for-4, 2B (11), SAC
Durbin has a sneaky .459 SLG (his 11 doubles are second in the International League). As for the SAC, it is rare for me to type that nowadays. It isn’t a common occurrence within the organization.
CF Everson Pereira: 1-for-4
Pereira’s hitting streak is up to 7.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 1-for-4, RS, 3 K
Between here and Somerset: .301/.372/.410 in 94 PA. He does have a 33.3% K rate since his promotion, so that needs to come down.
RF Oscar Gonzalez: 1-for-3, BB, K
DH Jose Rojas: 1-for-3, RS, BB
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, RBI, K
3B Josh VanMeter: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
SS Jeter Downs: 0-for-3, BB
LF Luis Gonzalez: 1-for-3, BB, K

LHP Tanner Tully: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Alex Mauricio: (W, 1-0) 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
2.13 ERA (12.2 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 16 K). Mauricio walked 19 batters in 48.2 innings last season. The 27-year-old is making a push to make his MLB debut in 2024.
LHP Oddanier Mosqueda (S, 2): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
1.76 ERA (15.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 21 K)

Somerset (10-14) (Lost to New Hampshire, 10-9)

CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-6, RBI, SB (4), 2 K
He had a chance to be the hero with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
3B Jon Berti: 1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
He missed last night’s game due to some back stiffness. I guess it wasn’t a big deal (says the person who has trouble moving for days when he has “back stiffness”)
C Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-2, 3 RS, 3 BB
Ramirez’s second 3-BB effort this season.
1B Ben Rice: 2-for-4, RS, HBP, K
Rice is hitting .274 with a .941 OPS. He is on a 6-game hitting streak (8-for-21).
SS Ben Cowles: 2-for-5, 2 2B (10), 2 RBI, RS, K
As of this writing, Cowles’ ten doubles is at the top of the Eastern League leaderboard.
DH Jared Wegner: 0-for-4, RS, SB (3), BB, 2 K
Wegner’s 13-game hitting streak is snapped.
LF Grant Richardson: 4-for-4, 2 2B (8), 4 RBI, 2 RS, SB (5), BB
Richardson’s third career 4-hit effort. He is hitting .294 with a .855 OPS (8 doubles, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 5 BB, 17 K, 5-for-6 SB)
2B Anthony Seigler: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
RF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-4, 2 RBI, BB, K

RHP Blane Abeyta: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
LHP Josh Maciejewski: (L, 0-1) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Kevin Stevens: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Jack Neely: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR

Hudson Valley (14-9) (Lost to Wilmington, 4-1)

2B Roc Riggio: 0-for-4, K
SS Jared Serna: 1-for-4, CS (3)
His streak of 3-hit efforts ends at three (the streak seemed sustainable to me!)
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-2, 2B (4), 2 BB
.304/.439/.522 in 57 PA. Quite a start to his career in the organization. While he has primarily played CF (smart), he also has a pair of games in LF and RF.
3B-C Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4, K
1B Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, HBP, 2 K
C Rafael Flores: 1-for-1
He left the game after he hit a single…
PR-3B Beau Brewer: 1-for-3, K
DH Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, BB, K
RF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, 2 K
LF Kyle Battle: 1-for-3, 2 K

RHP Sebastian Keane: (L, 1-3) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, HR
It’s all a process. He is alternating good and not-so-good performances, so I expect a big effort next time out!
LHP Joel Valdez: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
1.80 ERA (15 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 19 K)

Tampa (7-17) (Defeated Dunedin, 10-4)

3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 4-for-5, 2B (4), RBI, 3 RS, 2 SB (10)
Tejeda has back-to-back 4-hit efforts. He is hitting .330/.374/.402 in 108 PA (4 doubles, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 15 R, 6.5% BB, 22.2% K, 10-for-13 SB). As of this writing, he is 5th in the league in batting average
LF Coby Morales: 2-for-4, 2B (3), RBI, 3 RS, BB
.209/.340/.244 in 103 PA.
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-3, 2 RS, BB, HBP, 2 K
.200/.327/.356 in 107 PA.
1B Dylan Jasso: 2-for-5, 2B (8), HR (2), 4 RBI, RS, 2 K
Jasso ties his best for RBI and has five multi-hit games in his last seven games played. He is up to .263/.388/.403 in 98 PA (8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 15.3% BB, 27.6% K)
DH Jackson Castillo: 0-for-5, 3 K
CF Willy Montero: 1-for-5, 2B (4), 3 RBI, K
RF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-4, 3 K
C Edinson Duran: 0-for-4, 3 K
2B Dayro Perez: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RS, 2 K

RHP Cade Smith: (W, 1-1) 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K
Smith earns his first professional win. Congrats! He threw 43% 4-seamers, 40% sliders (12 whiffs), 9% curves, and 8% changeups. Season: 2.11 ERA (21.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 10 BB, 33 K).
RHP Jordy Luciano: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR
RHP Aaron Nixon: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
2.70 ERA (13.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 15 K)
tomkosensky.com/

I could be wrong, but because international bonus pool money was included in that trade, I think that trade had a lot to do with the Yankees being linked to the top 2 international prospects.

The Yankees certainly love spending money on international prospects and it's hard to argue with the concept when you look at the number of Latino stars in MLB today.  However, the Yankees' track record has been far from exciting even though they seem to make a bi-yearly splash (when they're not in the penalty box) picking up a top 5 international prospect.

There isn't a single player on the Yankees' 26 man roster that they signed through the international pool but there are several who were signed by other organizations.  Our most accomplished player under the current bonus pool format would likely be considered Miguel Andujar, and that ain't saying much.  Of course, Dominguez and some others in the minors have a chance to break that trend, but for now, the Yankees are perennial losers despite their spending internationally.

I specifically mentioned the current bonus pool format, which is why none of the guys you mentioned (and you could add in Posada to that group) fall into that list.  El Duque also didn't fall in the category of international signings because, at the time, Cuban defectors were treated separately.

Tom Kosensky's Friday farm report. Jared Serna stays hot, T. J. Rumfield BA is up to .300, Ben Rice is hitting .286/.414/.549 and Brock Selvidge grinds through 5 innings.

tomkosensky.com/2024/05/03/yankees-milb-5-3-ben-rice-reaches-base-4-times/

C Josh Breaux has been added to the Development List. Essentially, the Development List is…what you think it is. A place where organizations place players for help in their development. Breaux is no longer a young prospect, so you can wonder what they are trying to develop (could be as simple as first base reps outside of doing it during a game). Breaux can do everything he typically does and continues to get paid. However, he cannot play in games.



Players on the Development List do not count towards Scranton’s roster. They do count against the organization’s overall roster. An organization is “only” allowed to have 180 players in their minor league systems (this does not include the Dominican Summer League (DSL)). Breaux still counts against that while not counting against Scranton’s roster limit.



There will be a quiz on this topic next week.



IF Enmanuel Tejeda, hitting .330 after back-to-back 4-hit nights, was placed on the 7-day injured list for Tampa. They replaced him on the roster with IF Hans Montero, a $1.7 million bonus baby signed in 2021. At ages 17-18. Montero struggled in the DSL. At 19, he had a good year in the FCL, hitting .257/.419/.404 (127 wRC+) in 234 plate appearances with 5 HR, 23 RBI, 41 runs, and 17 stolen bases.



Scranton (21-9) (Defeated Jacksonville, 7-2)



SS Caleb Durbin: 1-for-4, 2B (12), 2 RS, HBP

Durbin is on a 9-game hitting streak (12-for-37; .324) and is up to .287/.411/.461 in 142 PA (12 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 22 R, 22 BB (15.5%), 14 K (9.9%), 13-for-14 SB (92.9%).

DH Everson Pereira: 0-for-5, 4 K

.257/.331/.523 in 121 PA (6 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 20 R, 9 BB, 46 K (38.0%), 3-for-5 SB). He owned a 27.8% K rate for Scranton in 2023. A 10.2% increase is not what anyone wants to see, including trade partners.

1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-5, 2B (6), HR (2), RBI, RS, K

Rumfield is at .300/.338/.500 in 65 PA since his promotion (6 doubles, 2 HR, 12 RBI).

C Carlos Narvaez: 2-for-4, 2B (5), 3 RBI, BB, K

Narvaez got a taste of MLB life (and now has their health insurance plan).

3B Jose Rojas: 1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS

2B Josh VanMeter: 1-for-3, 2B (5), RS, BB, K

LF Greg Allen: 0-for-3, RS, SB (4), BB, 2 K

RF Luis Gonzalez: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, SB (3), BB

CF Brandon Lockridge: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, K



LHP Edgar Barclay (W, 3-1): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Barclay allowed a pair of runs in the first inning but settled in from there. Season: 3.07 ERA (29.1 IP, 24 H, 13 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 16 BB, 32 K)

LHP Clayton Andrews: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

LHP Anthony Misiewicz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K



Somerset (11-14) (Defeated New Hampshire, 4-3)



CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-5, 4 K

Jones’ strikeout rate has ticked above 30% (31.4) thanks to ten strikeouts in his last 19 plate appearances. He will have swing-and-miss in his game – it’s just the nature of the beast. This also shows you to calm down a bit – there’s still development time needed. He is hitting .266/.329/.438 in 70 plate appearances.

1B Ben Rice: 2-for-3, RBI, RS, SB (3), 2 BB

Rice’s hitting streak reaches 7 (10-for-27; 2 doubles, 2 HR, 8 walks). He is hitting .286/.414/.549 and does not belong here.

C Agustin Ramirez: 1-for-2, SB (5), 2 BB, K

Ramirez has five walks in his last two games and 19 walks in 23 games. He is hitting .233/.377/.558 in 106 PA.

SS Ben Cowles: 1-for-4, RBI

.337/.417/.596 in 103 PA (10 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 15 R, 12 BB, 17 K, 3-for-3 SB). He hasn’t run much this season but he was 23-for-27 in that category in 2023.

3B Jordan Groshans: 1-for-3, RS, BB

DH J.C. Escarra: 0-for-2, RS, 2 BB

LF Grant Richardson: 1-for-3, BB, K

Richardson is up to .296/.363/.453 in 80 PA (8 doubles, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 18 K, 5-for-6 SB). He has ability – whether it becomes MLB viable is the question.

RF Elijah Dunham: 0-for-1, RBI, RS, SB (2), 2 BB, HBP

2B Alexander Vargas: 1-for-1, RBI

Vargas left the game due to injury after his RBI single (he was thrown out trying to go to second)

2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, K



LHP Brock Selvidge: (W, 2-1) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

This game was a slog for Selvidge (including his error), but he used the power of the ground ball to fight through it. Season: 1.73 ERA (26 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 28 K). Selvidge has allowed seven homers in 200 career innings. He should be a contender for the 2025 rotation, though we have seen Brian Cashman flip plenty of upper-level pitchers over the last few years.

RHP Carlos Gomez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

0.73 ERA (12.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 8 BB, 9 K). Throughout his career, walks have been the problem.

RHP Luis Velasquez: (S, 1) 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K



Hudson Valley (14-10) (Lost to Wilmington, 13-8. GameCast had issues with this game. I know that Juan Crisp came into this game to pitch in the 9th, for example – GameCast doesn’t yet show it. UPDATE: GameCast is fixed)



RF Jace Avina: 1-for-6, 2 RBI, RS, 2 K

SS Jared Serna: 2-for-4, 2B (5), 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

Serna has 12 hits in his last five games. He has turned around his season quickly and is up to .244 with a .835 OPS.

C Omar Martinez: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K

3B Jesus Rodriguez: 1-for-3, 2 RS, SB (3), 2 BB

Rodriguez is hitting .310 with a .864 OPS.

1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-4, 2B (2), RS, BB

DH Kiko Romero: 1-for-5, RS, 3 K

CF Nelson Medina: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, RS, SB (3), K

LF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-3, RS, 2 BB, K

2B Beau Brewer: 2-for-4, RS, BB



LHP Kyle Carr: (L, 0-2) 4 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

This is one of those starts you toss into the wastebasket.

RHP Luis Arejula: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

RHP Cole Ayers: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

1.80 ERA (15 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 20 K)

RHP Steven Fulgencio: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K

RHP Juan Crisp: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Crisp was activated today – he isn’t a pitcher, however. He is a catcher who was sitting on the Development List. He replaced C Ramon Flores on the roster, who was placed on the injured list today.



Tampa (7-18) (Lost to Dunedin, 5-2)



DH Coby Morales: 2-for-3, RBI, RS, SB (6), BB, K

Morales was the offense tonight and is now hitting .225/.355/.258 thanks to a solid start to May (5-for-12)

SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-4, 3 K

Arias is in a 0-for-14 slump that includes eight strikeouts. I have a feeling that this is going to be a streaky season, which is fine as long as he is showing progress.

1B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-4, 2 K

CF Willy Montero: 0-for-4, K

3B Hans Montero: 0-for-4, K

RF Daury Arias: 0-for-4, 2 K

C Edinson Duran: 0-for-2, HBP

LF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-2, RS, BB, 2 K

2B Dayro Perez: 0-for-2, BB, K



LHP Allen Facundo: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, HR

He maxed out at 96.4 MPH (averaged 93.9) and threw mainly sliders (54%) and 4-seamers (34%) with some sinkers and change-ups mixed in. Season: 2.76 ERA (16.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 15 K). Before tonight, Facundo hadn’t allowed a home run in 90.1 career innings. In his debut season (2021), Facundo struck out 84 hitters in 48.2 IP (40.6% K rate) in the DSL. He missed all of 2022 before tossing 30.1 innings in 2023.

RHP Yoljeldriz Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

RHP Kris Bow: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

3.97 ERA (11.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 12 K)

RHP Ocean Gabonia: (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K