Yankees Prospects: Week 13 minor league review

Division championships for Somerset and Hudson Valley, promotions for Clayton Beeter and Brendan Beck, and more home runs from Trey Sweeney, Andrés Chaparro, and Christopher Familia were highlights in the Yankees’ system last week as the first half of the season came to a close.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Record: 34-40 and 14 games back in the International League East after splitting six games with the Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)

Run Differential: +16

Coming up: On the road for six games against the Syracuse Mets starting Wednesday, June 28th

A sub-.500 first half means Scranton/Wilkes-Barre do not have a playoff spot at the moment, but the good news is they can start this week with a clean slate, and now with Futures Game participant Clayton Beeter in their rotation.

The RailRiders of today look a lot different from the group that began the season. It is not unusual for players to move up and down from the big leagues or get promoted from Double-A, but it feels like the turnover in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has been constant. It’s not likely the Yankees thought they’d receive significant contributions from Willie Calhoun, Jake Bauers, and Billy McKinney, all of whom began the season in Triple-A, but it has been that kind of season in the Bronx.

Estevan Florial was supposedly on his way out of the organization, but he was not picked up by another team after being designated for assignment and has instead destroyed International League pitching. Players like Elijah Dunham, Carlos Narvaez, and Jesús Bastidas have been trying to establish themselves at the highest level of the minors leagues and position themselves for future roles in the majors. Andrés Chaparro started off slowly, got red hot, cooled off again, and now heads into the second half of the season after hitting four home runs last week and reigniting talk that he could help the Yankees at some point this year.

Players of note (stats are season totals):

3B Andrés Chaparro: .784 OPS, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 12 2B, 45 R, 31 BB

OF Estevan Florial: .976 OPS, 19 HR, 45 RBI, 46 R, 37 BB, 13 SB, 83 K

SS Oswald Peraza: .923 OPS, 11 HR, 24 RBI, 25 R, 4 2B, 11 SB (34 games)

2B Jamie Westbrook: .816 OPS, 9 HR, 31 RBI, 7 2B, 29 R

SP Will Warren: 6.29 ERA, 24.1 IP, 27 H, 12 BB, 27 K

SP Mitch Spence: 4.93 ERA, 76.2 IP, 79 H, 31 BB, 64 K

SP Randy Vásquez: 5.11 ERA, 61.2 IP, 65 H, 34 BB, 69 K

RP Aaron McGarity: 4.58 ERA, 35.1 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 43 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 42-26 and first-half champions of the Eastern League Northeast after splitting six games with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays)

Run Differential: +80

Coming up: On the road for six games against the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) starting Wednesday, June 28th

The Somerset Patriots celebrated a league championship last fall, and they will compete for another one this year. They secured a spot in the playoffs with a win over New Hampshire on June 23rd, and they will remain an intriguing and fun team to follow the rest of the summer.

While they’ve lost Will Warren and now Clayton Beeter to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Patriots’ roster is full of Yankees prospects. Jasson Domínguez, Austin Wells, Everson Pereira, a red-hot Trey Sweeney (see the Tweet below), and emerging hitters Tyler Hardman and T.J. Rumfield lead the offense, while pitchers Richard Fitts, Chase Hampton, and Yoendrys Gómez are legitimate major league arms in the rotation. What happens with these players the rest of the way should be of primary interest to anyone who follows the organization. Watch now for reliever Edgar Barclay to join that group, as he has not allowed a run in Double-A since joining the team.

Players of note:

OF Jasson Domínguez: .713 OPS, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 53 BB, 17 SB, 48 R

C Austin Wells: .830 OPS, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 10 2B, 22 R (41 games)

SS Trey Sweeney: .802 OPS, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 14 2B, 43 R, 10 SB

1B T.J. Rumfield: .790 OPS, 13 HR, 37 RBI, 6 2B, 31 R

3B Tyler Hardman: .838 OPS, 14 HR, 33 RBI, 33 R, 7 2B, 2 3B

SP Chase Hampton: 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 H, 13 K, 2 BB

SP Richard Fitts: 3.91 ERA, 71.1 IP, 68 H, 80 K, 15 BB

SP Yoendrys Gómez: 1.32 ERA, 13.2 IP, 7 H, 13 K, 10 BB

RP Edgar Barclay: 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 5 H, 15 K, 6 BB

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 39-30 and first-half champions of the South Atlantic League North after losing four out of six with the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)

Run Differential: +65

Coming up: At home for six games against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) beginning Wednesday, June 28th

The Renegades are going to the playoffs regardless of what happens the rest of the way. They secured a berth with a 1-0 win over Brooklyn on June 20th, and it will be the first time they compete in the playoffs as a Yankee affiliate.

Hudson Valley’s explosive offensive of the early season looks different now, and scoring runs has been more difficult for them than it seemed in April, but the pitching staff is as dominant as ever. They sent electric starter Chase Hampton up to Somerset, but he has been replaced by former second-round pick Brendan Beck, and Beck looked good striking out three in his two-inning debut at High-A. Imagine the challenge for teams in the South Atlantic League preparing to face Zach Messinger, Drew Thorpe, Juan Carela, and Beck, and then Tyrone Yulie wins Pitcher of the Week? Quietly, Yulie has an ERA of 1.23 in his last four starts, and he’s struck out 23 in those outings. His seven shutout, no-hit innings and seven K’s last week earned him the honor from the league.

Players of note:

OF Spencer Jones: .823 OPS, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 19 2B, 4 3B, 37 R, 18 SB

1B Spencer Henson: .789 OPS, 9 HR, 31 RBI, 10 2B, 35 R

2B Benjamin Cowles: .753 OPS, 8 2B, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 29 R

C Antonio Gomez: .677 OPS, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 12 2B, 23 R

SP Zach Messinger: 2.93 ERA, 58.1 IP, 51 H, 73 K, 31 BB

SP Drew Thorpe: 2.49 ERA, 72.1 IP, 54 H, 86 K, 24 BB

SP Juan Carela: 3.03 ERA, 62.1 IP, 44 H, 78 K, 22 BB

SP Tyrone Yulie: 4.09 ERA, 55 IP, 40 H, 64 K, 33 BB

RP Jack Neely: 2.35 ERA, 30.2 IP, 16 H, 46 K, 14 BB

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 33-36 and 13.5 games back in the Florida State League West after splitting six games with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins)

Run Differential: +10

Coming up: Home for six games with the Daytona Tortugas (Reds) beginning Wednesday, June 28th

A slow start to the season kept the Tarpons out of the playoff chase in the first half of the season, but they are a different team from the one that started the season. Christopher Familia (more on him below) and Anthony Hall have been huge boosts to the offense to go along with Jared Serna’s season-long excellence and the emergence of Jesus Rodriguez and Agustin Ramirez. Brenny Escanio has joined the party over the last two weeks with a slash line of .381/.438/.476, and his 10 runs scored is second on the team in that time. This is a more balanced and explosive offense than the one that began the season, and, if it stays together for a while, it will be interesting to see if Tampa can get a better jump on the second half.

Much of that will depend on the pitching, and the Tarpons’ staff is not trending as well as the hitting group. That’s not to say they’ve performed poorly, but they’ve seen relievers Luis Velasquez, Mason Vinyard, and Harrison Cohen promoted to Hudson Valley, and their replacements have had some ups and downs. Starters Sean Hermann, Justin Lange, and Hayden Merda haven’t been consistent, but they are taking their turns and gaining valuable experience. The talent is still present with all three, their development is the top priority, and they can form a solid rotation with Brock Selvidge and others in the second half.

Players of note:

2B Jared Serna: .863 OPS, 47 R, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 14 2B, 16 SB

OF Anthony Hall: .868 OPS, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 36 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 32 BB

OF Christopher Familia: 1.402 OPS, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B, 24 R (21 games)

1B/3B/C Jesus Rodriguez: .813 OPS, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 34 R, 9 2B, 9 SB

SP Justin Lange: 4.82 ERA, 46.2 IP, 30 H, 76 K, 36 BB

SP Brock Selvidge: 3.65 ERA, 61.2 IP, 57 H, 74 K, 15 BB

RP Yorlin Calderon: 2.41 ERA, 37.1 IP, 27 H, 46 K, 11 BB

RP Matt Keating: 3.03 ERA, 29.2 IP, 25 H, 47 K, 16 BB

Prospect of the week: Christopher Familia

The legend of Familia continues to grow. Another Player of the Week award in the Florida State League went to the left-handed hitting outfielder after he beat up on Fort Myers to the tune of a 1.577 OPS. He was 9-for-19, hit three homers, doubled twice, drove in eight, and scored five times. He came out of the gates hot and hasn’t cooled off one bit in the 21 games he’s played. The big question now is how real this is. No one can be expected to hit like this for an extended period of time, but he’s working on a month of games with this production. Familia is a fascinating player to follow right now.

Monday’s games:

FCL Yankees (9-7): Lost vs. FCL Phillies 4-2

DH Keiner Delgado 0-3, BB
3B Enmanuel Tejada 1-5, R, 2K
CF Willy Montero 2-4, RBI, 2 K
SS Hans Montero 3-3, 3B, R, BB
RF John Cruz 0-4, 2K
2B Dayro Perez 0-4, 4K
C Manuel Palencia 2-3, BB
LF Kelvin Espino 0-3, BB, 3 K
1B Enger Castellano 0-4, K

Allen Facundo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Jordy Luciano (L, 1-3) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Sebastian Keane 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Osiel Rodriguez 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

DSL Bombers (8-8): Lost to DSL Miami 3-2

CF Gabriel Lara 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB
LF Ramiro Altagracia 1-4, 2B, RBI, K
SS Ovandy Frias 0-4, 4K
C Edgleen Perez 1-4
DH Johan Contreras 1-4
1B David Beckles 2-3, 2B, BB, K
3B Adrian Gonzalez 0-4
2B Geyber Blanco 2-4, R, 2B, K
RF Luis Puello 0-3, K

Chalniel Arias 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Michell Chirinos (BS, 1) (L, 0-1) 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR allowed

DSL Yankees (12-3): Win vs. DSL Marlins 14-6

CF Brando Mayea 2-6, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 3 SB
C Josue Gonzalez 0-0, R, RBI, 4 BB, HBP
LF Jose Castro 1-3, 2 RBI, K, SB, 3 HBP (!)
SS Santiago Gomez 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
DH Luis Ogando 2-5, 2B, 3 R, K
1B Jhon Imbert 2-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K, SB
RF Andres Lacruz 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
2B Luis Escudero 2-5, 2B, R, 5 RBI, 2 K
3B Jelson Coca 0-4, R, RBI, BB, K, SB

Jorge Luna 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Alexis Paulino 2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 4 WP
Jose Guzman W (1-0), 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K
Yedrinson Aguilera 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K