Yankees Prospects: Week seven minor league review

Early in the season the story around the Yankees system has been the pitching, but the bats are starting to heat up and make some noise of their own. Top prospects Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez both are enjoying strong stretches, while some other prospects are making loud contact and putting up strong numbers. Double-A Somerset continues to be the class of the organization as they remain in first place with another big week. Let’s take a look how the teams and prospects around the Yankees system did this past week.

Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders

Record: 15-26 Ninth place in the International League (East) 10.5 GB

Past Week: 2-4 vs. Worcester Red Sox

Coming Up: Home vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)

The RailRiders rotation took a blow as Luis Gil went down for the season and will need Tommy John surgery. In his place the team brought up an equally exciting prospect in Ken Waldichuk, and he immediately delivered with a strong performance for the team on Sunday afternoon. Also on the mound, J.P. Sears continued to impress, and since he is a member of the MLB 40-man roster he’s making a strong case to get a shot sometime in the near future. Estevan Florial earned his promotion this week based on some of his best offensive production since his first breakout season when he was in Low-A.

Players of Note:

Estevan Florial: 19 G; .329/.420/.486, 2 HR, 5 2B, 8 SB

Hayden Wesneski: 8 G; 2.31 ERA, 39 IP, 24 H, 8 BB, 41 K .174 BAA

J.P. Sears: 6 G; 0.83 ERA, 21.2 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 30 K

Greg Bird: 6 G; .360/.360/.720, 2 HR, 3 2B

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 26-12 First place in Eastern League (Northeast) 2.5 GA

Past Week: 5-1 vs. Reading Fightin Phils

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

The Patriots continued their strong play this week and retained their lead in the Eastern League’s Northeast division. With Ken Waldichuk moving up a level, the team still has outstanding starters such as Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez to count on every fifth day. The team continues to lead their league in ERA by nearly half a run. On the offensive side of the ball, Anthony Volpe got going this week, and other strong performances by Blake Perkins, Oliver Dunn, and Chad Bell were enough to keep the team moving forward.

Players of Note:

Blake Perkins: 28 G; .287/.389/.617, 6 HR, 2 3B, 9 2B, 12 SB

Oliver Dunn: 9 G; .462/.533/.962, 2 HR, 3B, 5 2B, 2 SB

Jhony Brito: 7 G; 1.24 ERA, 36.1 IP, 28 H, 11 BB, 30 K

Chad Bell: 16 G; .375/.435/.607, 4 HR, 2B

Randy Vasquez: 6 G; 2.19 ERA, 24.2 IP, 10 H, 11 BB, 22 K, 0.85 WHIP, .122 BAA

Anthony Volpe: 5 G; .389/.500/.722, HR, 3 2B

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 17-21 Fourth place in the South Atlantic League (North) 9.5 GB

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

Coming Up: Home vs. Rome Braves

Austin Wells has been the top offensive player for Hudson Valley, but after he went on the injured list the Renegades struggled through a tough week. Towards the end of the week, Everson Pereira’s bat got going to the tune of seven hits and four walks over the last four games of the series. Anthony Seigler was called up from Low-A Tampa and performed well in his first pair of games with the team. On the pitching side, Matt Sauer put together the longest start of his professional career, going 7.1 innings and striking out nine in winning effort.

Players of Note:

Matt Sauer: 7 G; 4.41 ERA, 32.2 IP, 27 H, 10 BB, 46 K, 1.13 WHIP

Everson Pereira: 4 G; .500/.611/.643, 3B

Aldenis Sanchez: 12 G; .289/.413/.316, 2B, 3 SB

Anthony Seigler: 27 G; .259/.450/.457, 3 HR, 7 2B (Combined Low-A and High-A)

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 17-21 Fourth place in the Florida State League (East Coast) 8 GB

Past Week: 3-3 vs. St. Lucie Mets

Coming Up: Home vs. Lakeland Flying Tigers

The Tampa Tarpons got to .500 after a win in Bradenton on Friday May 6th. They followed with a pair of five game losing streaks that were separated by just one win in the middle. The streaky Tarpons reversed their fortunes again at the end of the week, breaking their losing streak and winning the last three games against the St. Lucie Mets. Strong pitching from Juan Carela, Chandler Champlain and Josue Panacual led the team, while Jasson Dominguez’s improved offensive performance helped get some runs across the plate.

Players of Note:

Juan Carela: 6 G; 2.43 ERA, 29.2 IP, 22 H, 10 BB, 40 K

Chandler Champlain: 7 G; 2.08 ERA, 30.1 IP, 24 H, 7 BB, 38 K

Jasson Dominguez: 21 G; .298/.372/.548, 4 HR, 3B, 7 2B

Josue Panacual: 7 G; 3.38 ERA, 23 H, 14 BB, 37 K