Yankees MILB 6/5: Ben Rice Homers in Scranton Debut
News:
OF Jasson Dominguez surged into the Top 10 on Baseball America’s updated Top 100, but the Yankees took a hit overall. That was to be expected, as RHP Chase Hampton and LHP Henry Lalane haven’t pitched this season while Roderick Arias hasn’t played up to his hype. The Yankees system remains deep, which is important. If you have a deep system, the chances are good that Top 100 prospects will emerge. Plus, deep systems help in trade talks.
Anyway, there are plenty of games remaining. We’ll see how Arias and George Lombard Jr. adjust in the second half. We’ll see if Brando Mayea continues to play well in the FCL. Pitchers like Brock Selvidge, Trystan Vrieling, and Zach Messinger have pitched well enough in Somerset to give you hope that the pitching pipeline remains strong even if off-season trades and injuries depleted it.
C/1B Ben Rice was promoted to Scranton today. For Somerset, Rice hit .295/.392/.582 in 97 games (440 plate appearances). He hit 22 doubles, 28 home runs, and drove home 74. As a bonus, he went 15-for-18 in the stolen base department. Joining Rice is OF Elijah Dunham, taking Brandon Lockridge‘s spot. Dunham struggled in his first taste of Triple-A in 2023. The timing for him was bad as there was MLB playing time to claim.
As for the catching situation in Somerset, the Patriots activated Peter Serruto. “Who is that?” Good question. The 24-year-old was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2023. His career consists of one FCL game from last year, where he went 0-for-2. Essentially, the Yankees need another catcher in Double-A and don’t feel as if Jesus Rodriguez or Omar Martinez are ready for that climb.
Scranton (34-24) (Defeated Norfolk, 7-6)
DH Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, 2B (1), RS, 2 K
2B Jorbit Vivas: 0-for-3, RS, BB, K
Vivas is 6-for-31 with five walks at this level.
SS Oswald Peraza: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B Ben Rice: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Well, this is a nice first impression (his HR was a game-winner in the 7th inning). Rice has 13 HR in 50 games this season and 33 homers in 123 games over the last two seasons.
C Carlos Narvaez: 2-for-4, 2 RS
Narvaez has a 9-game hitting streak (three 2-hit efforts during the streak). His average has jumped from .225 to .255 during the streak.
RF Taylor Trammell: 2-for-4, 2B (5), 3 RBI, RS, K
Trammell hit a bases-clearing double in a 5-run first.
3B Jeter Downs: 1-for-4, RBI, SB (6)
CF Greg Allen: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
LF Elijah Dunham: 0-for-4, K
RHP Yoendrys Gomez: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
3.19 ERA (36.2 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 4 HR, 20 BB, 44 K). We’ll see him in the Bronx again this year.
RHP Cody Morris: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
LHP Anthony Misiewicz: (W, 2-0) 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ron Marinaccio: (S, 3) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
1.17 ERA (15.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 17 K). I would put him back in the MLB bullpen (I don’t know why Dennis Santana is there), but it is what it is.
Somerset (25-28) (Lost to Hartford, 9-3)
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4, SF, RBI, K
Jones’ on-base streak is snapped at 17. As I have stated, he wasn’t “hot” during that streak (though he had a few strong games). We have to keep hoping that something clicks over the next few weeks.
C Agustin Ramirez: 3-for-4, BB
Ramirez’s 12th multi-hit game, and he is hitting .274 with a .916 OPS. He hasn’t homered in a while (17 games) but he hasn’t stopped hitting/taking walks.
SS Ben Cowles: 3-for-5, 2B (19), K
19 doubles (26 extra-base hits) in 50 games. Last year, he hit 18 doubles (30 extra-base hits) in 109 games. On top of that, he had a 28.0% K rate in 2023. This season? 17.1%. One can’t help but to be intrigued.
1B J.C. Escarra: 0-for-5
RF Grant Richardson: 0-for-4, K
2B Anthony Seigler: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Jared Wegner: 2-for-4, 2B (4), 2 RS, K
3B Jordan Groshans: 2-for-4, RBI, RS
LF Aaron Palensky: 1-for-4, RBI
RHP Yorlin Calderon: (L, 0-1) 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
Calderon’s first start in 2024. Last season, he pitched out of the bullpen until August 10th. He finished the season making five straight starts. We’ll see if this is a permanent move or a one-off.
RHP Luis Velasquez: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Kevin Stevens: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
2.79 ERA (19.1 IP, 16 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 9 BB, 29 K). I don’t claim to know much about the 26-year-old, but that is an impressive strikeout rate. This is only his 20th career appearance.
RHP Colby White: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, HR
LHP Ryan Anderson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Peter Serruto: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K
I doubt he expected his Double-A debut to be on the hill. The Rutgers/Indiana product didn’t pitch in college and I haven’t read anything about the Yankees converting him to a pitcher. Hence, I assume he pitched because they ran out of pitchers.
Hudson Valley (26-24) (Defeated Wilmington, 4-2, in a rain-shortened game. This was Game 1 of a doubleheader. Game 2 was postponed. They will try to make that one up tomorrow)
CF Jace Avina: 0-for-4, 2 K
.303/.394/.500 in 180 PA (15 doubles, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 24 R, 4-for-4 SB, 11.1% BB, 26.1% K). Avina had a 29.6% K rate in 2023, so he has brought that down a tad. He turns 21 tomorrow.
SS Jared Serna: 3-for-4, 2B (12), 2 RBI, RS, CS (6)
Serna has six 3-hit games this season and is hitting .255/.366/.490 in 232 PA (12 doubles, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 38 R, 7-for-13 SB, 13.8% BB, 18.1% K). He is first in the league in homers, second in RBI, and runs scored. As for the stolen base rate, it is hard to explain (he was 29-for-37 (78.4%) last year). Remember that the minors are for learning – part of that learning is the art of base stealing.
LF Jesus Rodriguez: 1-for-3
.324/.411/.497 in 207 PA (12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 33 R, 12.6% BB, 13.5% K). Since his promotion to this level last year, he is hitting .335/.429/.509 in 72 games. The Yankees promoted him after playing 84 games in Low-A if you want a barometer for a potential promotion to Somerset.
DH Rafael Flores: 1-for-3, 2B (15), 2 RBI, K
Flores has a 10-game hitting streak. He is hitting .303/.411/.485 in 158 PA (15 doubles, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 16 R, 15.2% BB, 22.2% K). Flores (23) never played in Low-A, so I don’t have a barometer for him. He has played 144 games at this level (.270/.363/.397). While Rodriguez has played many positions (including catcher), Flores is a C/1B.
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3
C Omar Martinez: 1-for-3, K
.239/.384/.423 in 177 PA (6 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 18 R, 18.6% BB, 22.6% K). He is a 22-year-old switch-hitter who has prospect chops.
3B Kiko Romero: 2-for-3, K
.228/.377/.413 in 114 PA.
RF Nelson Medina: 0-for-3, K
2B Beau Brewer: 2-for-2, 2 RS, BB
PR Roc Riggio: 0-for-0, RS
RHP Baron Stuart: (W, 3-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Between here and Scranton: 3.70 ERA (41.1 IP, 35 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 1 HR, 21 BB, 26 K).
RHP Cole Ayers: (S, 3) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
1.93 ERA (32.2 IP, 23 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 39 K). Ayers is 24 and has appeared in 30 games here dating back to last year. He should make his way up to Somerset soon enough.
Tampa (19-34) (Lost to Fort Myers, 9-3)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (6), RS, 2 K
.215/.358/.274 in 165 PA (16.97% BB, 23.0% K; 14-for-15 SB). There is something to work with here. The strikeout rate isn’t terrible and his walk rate is strong.
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-3, 3B (5), BB, 2 K
.205/.314/.323 in 229 PA (12.7% BB, 35.4% K). As of this writing, he is tied for the Florida State League lead with five triples.
1B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-3, RS, BB, K
LF Christopher Familia: 1-for-4, RBI, K
DH Max Burt: 0-for-3, BB
CF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-3, CS (3), BB
Castillo has a 5-game hitting streak.
3B Hans Montero: 1-for-4, RS, 2 K
RF Coby Morales: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 SB (11), K
Morales stole one base in 104 collegiate games.
C Tomas Frick: 0-for-3
RHP Josh Grosz: (L, 1-4) 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Cade Austin: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
3.19 ERA (36.2 IP, 28 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 6 HR, 8 BB, 39 K)
RHP Montana Semmel: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Semmel reached 95 MPH today. He owns a 2.03 ERA in 26.2 IP (18 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 23 K)
FCL (13-10)
They had a scheduled day off. By the way, last night’s game (which I stopped writing about at 8-8) ended up as a 17-13 victory in 12 innings.
DSL Yankees (1-1) and DSL Bombers (0-1)
Scheduled day off.
