Yankees prospects: Week nine minor league review

All of the Yankees’ minor league affiliates remain in first place nine weeks into the season. With the announcement this week that there will be limited minor league playoffs in late September, the Yankees are currently positioned to be well represented in any playoff scenario. This week, the Yankees rode outstanding pitching performances to three individuals winning pitcher of the week for their given league.

Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders

Record: 34-16, 1st Place in Triple-A (Northeast); 3.5 GA

Past Week: 2-3 vs. Worcester Red Sox

Upcoming: Home vs. Syracuse Mets; 15-37

The RailRiders lost their first series of the season this week as they attempted to fit games in around rainouts, delays and suspended games. The team also received news that several of their veteran players will be on the move out of the organization — Derek Dietrich, Robinson Chirinos, and Nick Goody all either opted out or were released from their minor league contracts (Chirinos has already secured a major league deal with the Chicago Cubs). Chris Gittens landed on the injured list this week as well, slowing down the potent Scranton lineup.

Players of Note:

Reggie McClain: 14 G; 24 IP, 0.75 ERA, 27 K, 0.83 WHIP, 1.55 BAA

Estevan Florial: 9 G; .351/.489/.568, 2 HR, 2 2B

Greg Weissert: 5 G; 5 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1 H, 4 BB, 5 K

Hoy Jun Park: 35 G; .341/.488/.597, 8 HR, 7 2B, 3B

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 35-18, 1st place in Double-A (Northeast); 6.0 GA

Past Week: 4-2 vs. Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)

Upcoming: Home vs. Erie SeaWolves (Tigers); 32-22

Somerset won another series and stretched their lead out in the division race behind great all around efforts from numerous members of the team. The team tossed three shutouts, including the last two games of the series, behind big time efforts from Luis Medina and Glenn Otto. On Saturday night, Otto hit the first batter of the game and then retired the next 20 batters to face him. Medina followed up on Sunday by tossing five scoreless innings to help Somerset close out the series with a win. Stephen Ridings is starting to gain more attention out of the Patriots’ bullpen, serving as a hard throwing righty and a game changing force.

Players of Note:

Janson Junk: 10 G; 1.00 ERA, 45 IP, 48 K, 0.78 WHIP

Stephen Ridings: 14 G; 0.47 ERA, 19 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 30 K, 0.53 WHIP

Glenn Otto: 10 G; 3.49 ERA, 59.1 IP, 95 K, 0.94 WHIP — Double-A Northeast pitcher of the week

Diego Castillo: 41 G; .327/.376/.597, 10 HR, 13 2B, 22 K — More XBH than Ks on the season

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 34-19; 1st place in High-A East (Northern); 4.0 GA

Past Week: 4-2 vs. Jersey Shore Blue Claws (Phillies)

Upcoming: Home vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets); 18-34

The Renegades continue to roll on, winning their fourth series in a row. After a slow start to the season, left-handed pitcher Josh Maciejewski has stepped up and has shut down the opposing offenses over his last two starts. Josh Smith, Josh Breaux, and Ezequiel Duran have all hit well with Breaux and Smith being particularly hot as of late.

Players of Note:

Josh Maciejewski: 2 G; 11 IP, 0.82 ERA, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 16 K - High-A East Pitcher of the Week

Ezequiel Duran: 49 G; .293/.377/.521, 8 HR, 4 3B, 11 2B

Josh Breaux: 16 G; .367/.443/.633, 4 HR, 4 2B

Josh Smith: 16 G; .410/.507/689, HR, 3 3B, 8 2B

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 36-16, 1st place in Low-A Southeast (West Coast); 2.0 GA

Past Week: 5-1 vs. Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins)

Upcoming: Away vs. Dunedin Blue Jays; 21-32

Anthony Volpe produced monster numbers in the month of June, earning the Low-A Southeast Player of the Month honors and securing a spot on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list. The Tarpons shortstop continued his production into early July and recently has been getting a lot of help from Trevor Hauver, who has been hot over the last two series. Matt Sauer provided an encouraging sign for his season, producing his best outing of the season by carving up the Jupiter lineup and walking nobody over six strong innings.

Players of Note:

Anthony Volpe: 26 G; .400/.549/.894, 9 HR, 3 3B, 9 2B, 9 SB — Low-A Southeast Player of the Month for June

Matt Sauer: 1 G; 6 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 10 K — Low-A Southeast Pitcher of the Week

Trevor Hauver: 10 G; .467/.585/.600, 4 2B

Trevor Holloway: 17 G; 2.78 ERA, 35.2 IP, 49 K, 1.04 WHIP

Florida Complex League Yankees

The FCL Yankees moved to 3-1 on the season, but have been frequently interrupted by weather over the past week. One of their games ended early after lightning struck part of the structure around the field.

Mon. 7/5 results: W, 8-7 at FCL Blue Jays

SS Alexander Vargas: 0-4, 2 K
SS Luis Santos: 0-1, SF, RBI
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-3, BB, SB - First professional hit
CF Raimfer Salinas: 1-2, 3B, R
LF Everson Pereira: 0-2, 2 BB
LF Stanley Rosario: 0-1
RF Ryder Green: 1-4, 2B
RF Madison Santos: 0-1
DH Anthony Garcia: 0-3, 2 BB
3B Marcos Cabrera: 2-3, HR (1)
PH-3B Dionys Vallejo: 1-1, BB
2B Roberto Chirinos: 1-1, 2 BB
PH-2B Angel Rojas: 0-2
1B Jose Martinez: 0-3
PH-1B Alex Guerrero: 1-2

P Juan Carela: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
P Leonardo Pestana: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
P Starling Perez: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
P Denny Larrondo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (win)
P Jarod Lessar: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB (save)