This past week, the minor leagues took the field for the first time since September 2019. It was a successful week within the Yankees organization, as three of the four affiliated teams finished the week with at least a share of first place in their respective divisions. In addition to team success, many of the Yankees top prospects put together outstanding season debuts. Since all four teams were off yesterday, let’s use the breather to take a look across the Yankees system at some of the top performers from week one of the minor league season.
Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders
Record: 5-1, T-1st place in the Triple-A (Northeast)
Past Week: 5-1 vs. Syracuse Mets
Upcoming: Home vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies, 5-1)
After an opening night loss, the RailRiders reeled off five straight victories behind an offense that scored 50 runs during their winning steak. The team benefitted from Luke Voit’s rehab assignment where he crushed three home runs in his 18 at-bats with the team. Chris Gittens exploded out of the gate, putting up big numbers and has now reached base safely in 13 of his last 16 plate appearances. Of concern to the team is the fact that top prospect Deivi García struggled with 7 walks and and 5 five earned runs allowed during his first 3.1 innings of the season.
Players of Note:
Chris Gittens: 23 PA, .429/.652/.929, 2 HR, 9 BB, 2 SO; reached base safely in 13 of his last 16 PA
Trey Amburgey: 21 PA, .450/.476/1.000, 3 HR, 1 BB, 10 RBI
Nestor Cortes: 1 G, 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Trevor Lane: 2 G, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Chris Gittens got Friday's action started with an early bang. pic.twitter.com/gsjCCc9Zmj
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) May 7, 2021
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 5-1, T-1st place in the Double-A (Northeast) North
Past Week: 5-1 vs. Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)
Upcoming: Away vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays, 1-5)
Estevan Florial quickly introduced himself to the Somerset fans with a leadoff home run on Opening Day. He then repeated the feat twice more over the course of the series, pacing Somerset to a strong start to the season. The pitching staff held its own, allowing a league-low 13 runs through the first six games of the season. One of the top Yankees pitching prospects, Luis Gil, was outstanding on Opening Day but battled his control on Sunday giving up 3 earned runs in just 3.2 innings.
Players of Note:
Estevan Florial: 25 PA, .318/.400/.955, 4 HR, 2 2B, 6 SO
Thomas Milone: 18 PA, .357/.474/.714, 1 HR, 2 SB
Ron Marinaccio: 2 G, 5.1 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 9 SO
Glenn Otto: 1 G, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 SO
WATCH | Who's hotter than Estevan Florial right now?
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) May 8, 2021
2️⃣ Home Runs and 4️⃣ RBI from Florial lead the way in tonight's win pic.twitter.com/rgQ9oo9HOz
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 3-3, T-3rd place in the High-A East (Northern)
Past Week: 3-3 vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
Upcoming: Home vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles, 5-1)
Yankees pitching prospect Luis Medina has come out of the gate with two electric starts, showing that he may not be long for the High-A level. The Yankees’ top middle infield prospect, Oswald Peraza, got off to a slow start, but picked it up by going 6-for-10 over his last two games. Brandon Lockridge was a home run short of the cycle as part of a four hit game on May 5th and has continued to hit well over the rest of the week.
Players of Note:
Brandon Lockridge: 26 PA, .333/.417/.619, HR, 3B, 2B
Pablo Olivares: 22 PA, .286/.545/.571, HR, 2B, 8 BB
Luis Medina: 2 G, 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 15 K
Zach Greene: 2 G, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
RHP Luis Medina struck out 8 over 4 scoreless innings of work on opening night for the Hudson Valley Renegades. pic.twitter.com/apYkzz4Pru
— NYYPlayerDev (@NYYPlayerDev) May 6, 2021
Low-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 5-1, 1st place in the Low-A Southeast (West Coast)
Past Week: 5-1 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays
Upcoming: Away vs. Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers, 3-3)
What a week for the Tampa Tarpons, as they scored 77 runs in their first 5 games of the season. Paced by second baseman Trevor Hauver and his minor league-leading six home runs, this team put together a week that seem surreal at times. There is some cause for concern, as the team had to battle back from 6-0 and 7-0 deficits in separate games and their pitching staff has given up the second most runs in the league, only behind Dunedin.
Players of Note:
Trevor Hauver: 25 PA, .556/.654/1.611, 6 HR, 2B, 7 BB
Pat DeMarco: 24 PA, .421/.542/1.000, 3 HR, 2 2B, 5 BB
Anthony Volpe: 29 PA, .318/.483/.591, 4 2B, 1 3B, 7 BB, 4 SB
Sean Boyle: 2 G, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K