Yankees Prospects: Week three minor league review

It was an up-and-down week across the Yankees‘ system. High-A Hudson Valley rode strong pitching to a series win, while Double-A Somerset retained its share of first place in the Eastern League. Even on the teams that struggled throughout their respective series, individual performers stood out among their peers, including one Player of the Week performance.

Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders

Record: 7-10; Seventh place in the International League (East), 3.5 GB

Past Week: 2-4 vs. Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays)

Coming Up: Home vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies)

The RailRiders hit a skid of three consecutive losses to begin their six-game set against Buffalo before a pair of wins on the weekend helped temporarily change their fortunes. The team did receive strong starts from Hayden Wesneski and Manny Bañuelos, but those turned into losing efforts. Miguel Andújar had a big week with four multi-hit games and a pair of home runs, earning at least a temporary promotion back to the majors for Tuesday with Aaron Hicks on the paternity list. A historically slow starter, Oswaldo Cabrera’s bat also began to come alive as he hit doubles in each of the last three games of the series.

Players of Note:

Hayden Wesneski: 3 G; 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 14 K

Miguel Andújar: 13 G; .347/.396/.551, 3 HR, 2B

Manny Bañuelos: 3 G; 1.42 ERA, 12.2 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 12 K

Shelby Miller: 6 G; 1.42 ERA, 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 9-6; Tied for first place in Eastern League (Northeast)

Past Week: 3-3 vs. Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies)

Coming Up: Home vs. Portland SeaDogs (Red Sox)

Blake Perkins joined the Yankees as an under-the-radar minor league free agent signing in mid-December, but he is playing at his highest level since turning pro in 2016. The former second-round draft pick — a solid prospect in the Nationals’ and Royals’ systems from 2016-19 — is finding himself revitalized in the Yankees’ organization. Entering this year, he had never hit more than eight home runs in a season, but after slugging a quartet of long balls against Hartford, he now has 5 homers in his first 12 games of 2022.

As a team, Somerset is leading the Eastern League in stolen bases, as they are 29-for-34 in the early going. Top prospect Anthony Volpe has been off to a tough start but is showing signs of getting going, as he walked seven times in the last six games with a leadoff home run also on Wednesday night. Volpe also swiped three bags on Friday alone.

Players of Note:

Ken Waldichuk: 3 G; 1.88 ERA, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 22 K

Mitch Spence: 2 G; 3.00 ERA, 9 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 9 K

Blake Perkins: 11 G; .366/.422/.902, 5 HR, 3B, 5 2B, 4 SB – Eastern League Player of the Week

Jhony Brito: 3 G; 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 16 K

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 8-7; Tied-Second place in the South Atlantic League (North), 2 GB

Past Week: 4-2 vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)

Coming Up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)

After splitting the first four games, the vaunted Hudson Valley pitching staff took over during the weekend, helping them to a series victory. The Renegades finished out the series with 21 scoreless innings, where they allowed just three hits in that span. Edgar Barclay and Blane Abeyta excelled as starters on the weekend and Austin Wells caught fire during the week to propel the offense. The 2020 first-round pick is riding a five-game hitting streak into the Renegades next series, and it’s not just a bunch of 1-for-4’s either — Wells has multiple hits in each of those five games.

Players of Note:

Austin Wells: 12 G; .311/.429/.400, 4 2B

Eduardo Torrealba: 9 G; .387/.441/.516, 2 2B, 3B

Edgar Barclay: 5 G; 1.42 ERA, 12.2 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 19 K, 0.71 WHIP

Will Warren: 3 G; 3.46 ERA, 13 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 19 K, 1.08 WHIP

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 6-9; Third place in the Florida State League (East Coast), 4 GB

Past Week: 0-6 vs. Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)

Coming Up: Home vs. Lakeland Flying Tigers

The Tarpons continue to struggle on offense in the early goings of the season. They scored just 6 runs on 27 hits over the last week (under five hits per game) and were shut out in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. In the latter contest, they ran into the buzzsaw otherwise known as 2021 No. 13 overall pick Andrew Painter, who struck out 14 batters in 5 innings of work.

A bright spot for the Tarpons is catcher Antonio Gomez, who has put together a six-game hitting streak that includes some very hard hit ball. Known for his elite arm behind the plate, Gomez struggled out of the gate but seems to be making stronger contact now. Jasson Dominguez finished with week strong with two hits in the final game, including his first home run of the season.

Players of Note:

Carlos Gomez: 4 G, 11 IP, 1.64 ERA, 8 H, 2 BB, 17 K

Josue Panacual: 3 G; 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 10 K

Antonio Gomez: 6 G; .261/.370/.304, 2B

Chandler Champlain: 3 G; 2.53 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 H, 1 BB, 14 K