Yankees prospects: Week three minor league review

Another big week for the Yankees minor league affiliates is in the books. Three of the Yankees four minor league teams sit at 13-5 and in first place in their respective divisions. They are getting strong performances from both known prospects and under the radar players across the board. Let’s take a look around the system to see the players that stood out over the previous week.

Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders

Record: 13-5, 1st Place in the Triple-A (Northeast); 2 GA

Past Week: 4-2 vs. Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)

Upcoming: Home vs. Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays) 11-7

With big time bat Chris Gittens away from the team for the birth of his first child, Scranton leaned on two players recently promoted from Double-A Somerset. Thomas Milone and Hoy Jun Park put together outstanding weeks for the RailRiders as they pulled into sole possession of first place. Estevan Florial hit his first two home runs at the Triple-A level and walked four times in five games played this past week.

Players of Note:

Thomas Milone: 6 G; .360/.429/.400, 2B, SB

Hoy Jun Park: 6 G; .391/.481/.522, 3 2B

Adam Warren: 3 G; 4.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 2 K, 4 BB

Braden Bristo: 5 G; 6.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 5 K, 7 BB

Worth noting that Park had zero opposite field home runs in his career coming into the season, he already had one for Double-A Somerset, and just missed in the clip above.

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 13-5, 1st place in the Double-A (Northeast); 2 GA

Past Week: 6-0 vs. Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies)

Upcoming: Home vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays, 7-11)

The Patriots did their best Tampa Tarpons impression, scoring 50 runs in the six-game series with the Hartford Yard Goats. Not only did the Patriots work over Hartford pitching, but the Patriots staff racked up a ton of strikeouts behind Glenn Otto, Luis Gil and Janson Junk’s strong performances. Aaron Palensky made his professional debut for the Patriots in this series. The undrafted free agent from the University of Nebraska was pressed into action and showed out with an RBI double in his first at-bat and finished the week hitting .400 with four doubles.

Players of Note:

Glenn Otto: 1 G; 0.00 ERA, 5.1 IP, 14 K, 2 H, 1 BB – MLB.com prospect team of the week

Luis Gil: 2 G; 0.00 ERA, 8.2 IP, 17 K, 6 H, 1 BB

Jason Junk: 3 G; 0.82 ERA, 11.0 IP, 15 K, 6 H, 5 BB

Dermis Garcia: 10 G; .350/.400/.850, 6 HR, 2 2B – 224 wRC+, 10 game hitting streak

Michael Beltre: 6 G; .433/.452/.733, HR, 2 3B, 2 2B – Double-A Northeast League Player of the Week

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 9-9, T-2nd place in the High-A East (Northern); 2 GB

Past Week: 3-3 vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)

Upcoming: Home vs. Jersey Shore Blue Claws (Phillies, 8-10)

The Hudson Valley Renegades have split all three of their opening series. Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina have caught some national attention with their performances and big strikeout numbers early this season. Their teammate Hayden Wesneski is flying under the radar but putting up amazing numbers in his own right. One of the Yankees’ top second base prospects, Ezequiel Duran had a big week and has even picked up a few games at shortstop this season.

Players of Note:

Ezequiel Duran: 7 G; .400/.419/.767, HR, 2 3B, 4 2B - MLB.com prospect team of the week

Luis Medina: 4 G; 1.45 ERA, 18.2 IP, 32 K, 5 H, 9 BB, 0.75 WHIP, .085 BAA

Hayden Wesneski: 4 G; 0.93 ERA, 19.1 IP, 23 K, 9 H, 0.72 WHIP, .143 BAA

Ken Waldichuk: 4 G; 0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP, 29 K, 7 H, 0.91 WHIP, .149 BAA

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 13-5, 1st place in the Low-A Southeast (West Coast); 4 GA

Past Week: 4-2 vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins)

Upcoming: Home vs. Dunedin Blue Jays (6-12)

The Tarpons pushed their season total to 166 runs scored this past week, with a +63 run differential through just 18 games. Anthony Volpe is a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts this season, while his speed on the base paths is being routinely discussed. Undrafted free agent Elijah Dunham just missed hitting for the cycle on Saturday night; needing a homer in his last at-bat, he hit a ground rule double, capping a great evening. While some of the players in the lineup have been up and down this season, Andres Chaparro has been a force in the middle of the lineup with 10 extra-base hits in just 15 games. This coming week, they will again see the Dunedin Blue Jays, who they scored an amazing 78 runs against in the first six games of the season.

Players of Note:

Elijah Dunham: 10 G; .343/.489/.571, HR, 3B, 3 2B

Andres Chaparro: 15 G; .333/.449/.544, HR, 9 2B

Trevor Holloway: 5 G; 0.84 ERA, 10.2 IP, 18 K, 7 H, 4 BB

Sean Boyle: 5 G; 0.71 ERA, 12.2 IP, 14 K, 7 H, 1 BB