Yankees Prospects: Week 21 minor league review

What more can an organization ask for than for its top prospects to perform well? Last week should be satisfying for the Yankees in that regard. Oswald Peraza, Everson Pereira, Austin Wells, Spencer Jones, and Drew Thorpe all put up numbers, and perhaps the loudest performance of all came from Jasson Domínguez. Three of those players earned promotions, and more could be on the way.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Record: 23-20 (second half) and 4.5 games back in the International League East after splitting six games with the Worcester Red Sox

Run Differential: +10

Coming up: At home for six games against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) starting Tuesday, August 22th

Estevan Florial returned from the injured list last week and resumed his place atop the RailRiders’ order, but the bats of Peraza, Pereira, and Wells have drawn more attention. With the gloominess of the big league team weighing heavily on fans, there has been clamor to bring up prospects from Scranton, with those three at the front of the line. As linked above, Peraza and Pereira got the call on Monday, and hopefully they won’t return, but Wells remains in Triple-A. Since he is not on the 40-man roster, and with two catchers already in the big leagues, the door has not opened for Wells just yet. Perhaps the expanded rosters in September will change their mind.

Nevertheless, Wells did his part last week with 4 home runs and 11 RBI against Worcester. Two of those blasts came in the last game of the series, one a three-run shot and the other a grand slam. Having a catcher who offers production at the plate is an increasing rarity in the major leagues, and it’s what makes hopes in Wells run high.

Players of note (stats are season totals at the level):

3B Andrés Chaparro: .805 OPS, 23 HR, 75 RBI, 19 2B, 68 R, 56 BB

OF Estevan Florial: .956 OPS, 23 HR, 59 RBI, 65 R, 53 BB, 19 SB, 116 K

SS Oswald Peraza: .836 OPS, 14 HR, 36 RBI, 48 R, 16 SB (63 games)

OF Everson Pereira: .937 OPS, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 7 2B, 29 R (35 games)

C Austin Wells: .830 OPS, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 12 R, 9 2B (25 games)

2B Jamie Westbrook: .943 OPS, 18 HR, 50 RBI, 16 2B, 58 R

SP Will Warren: 4.85 ERA, 65.0 IP, 63 H, 35 BB, 67 K

SP Mitch Spence: 4.63 ERA, 126.1 IP, 125 H, 43 BB, 115 K

SP Randy Vásquez: 4.76 ERA, 75.2 IP, 76 H, 40 BB, 91 K

SP Clayton Beeter: 6.31 ERA, 35.2 IP, 35 H, 19 BB, 42 K

SP Edgar Barclay: 8.04 ERA, 15.2 IP, 18 H, 12 BB, 15 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 25-20 and 2.5 games up in the Eastern League Northeast after splitting six games with the Reading Fightin Phils

Run Differential: +73

Coming up: At home for six games against the Hartford Yard Goats starting Tuesday, August 22th

Drew Thorpe seemed prepared for the test of Double-A for awhile, but so far the results look similar to what he was doing in Hudson Valley. Coming off an Eastern League Pitcher of the Week award, Thorpe went out and fanned 12 more batters in 6.2 innings while giving up a pair of runs in a win against Reading.

Aaron Palensky has become a bit of a forgotten man in Somerset, and he still isn’t playing every day, but he hit a milestone last week when he became one of the few players in the minors this year to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases. Last week alone Palensky was 5-for-15 with two homers, a double, a triple, and eight RBI. He still leads the organization in wRC+ for the season thanks to his scorching start in Hudson Valley.

Players of note:

OF Jasson Domínguez: .781 OPS, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 19 2B, 77 BB, 37 SB, 83 R

SS Trey Sweeney: .785 OPS, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 18 2B, 62 R, 16 SB (injured list)

C/1B Ben Rice: 1.039 OPS, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 6 2B, 20 R (26 games)

OF Elijah Dunham: .879 OPS, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 21 R, 9 2B, 14 SB (35 games)

SP Chase Hampton: 4.77 ERA, 54.2 IP, 50 H, 62 K, 20 BB

SP Richard Fitts: 3.31 ERA, 125.0 IP, 105 H, 135 K, 32 BB

SP Yoendrys Gómez: 3.14 ERA, 43.0 IP, 29 H, 51 K, 24 BB

SP Drew Thorpe: 1.23 ERA, 14.2 IP, 7 H, 21 K, 1 BB

RP Danny Watson: 1.48 ERA, 30.1 IP, 14 H, 35 K, 15 BB

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 24-24 and four games back in the South Atlantic League North after winning four out of six with the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)

Run Differential: +36

Coming up: At home for six games against the Aberdeen IronBirds beginning Tuesday, August 22th

After turning over their roster the week before, the Renegades were hoping for the new guys to come in and be successful as quickly as possible. Jesus Rodriguez and Anthony Hall obliged, as both had strong weeks in Brooklyn. Rodriguez hit .368/.500/.579 in the series with a home run, and Hall went .300/.417/.650 while going deep himself. Holdover top prospect Spencer Jones, who could be ticketed for Somerset with Domínguez headed to Triple-A, went right along with his new teammates by producing a line of .350/.458/.600, and the 6-foot-7 outfielder chipped in five stolen bases as well.

The latest pitching promotion in the system was 21-year-old Justin Lange moving up to Hudson Valley from Tampa. Even in an inconsistent season, Lange has routinely shown dominant stuff. When he harnesses that stuff, results are obvious, as they were in Lange’s first start last week. In 5.2 innings against Brooklyn, he struck out eight while allowing one hit and one walk. It’s possible Lange returns to this level to start 2024, so finishing this season successfully in High-A would be a nice springboard into the winter.

Players of note:

OF Spencer Jones: .795 OPS, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 28 2B, 4 3B, 61 R, 35 SB

C Jesus Rodriguez: 1.039 OPS, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R (10 games)

OF Christopher Familia: .825 OPS, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 4 2B, 27 R (34 games)

2B Jared Serna: .686 OPS, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 6 R, 5 SB (11 games)

OF Anthony Hall: .719 OPS, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 2B, 6 R (10 games)

SP Zach Messinger: 4.52 ERA, 87.2 IP, 77 H, 103 K, 46 BB

SP Brendan Beck: 1.74 ERA, 31.0 IP, 24 H, 35 K, 7 BB

SP Brock Selvidge: 3.95 ERA, 27.1 IP, 23 H, 28 K, 9 BB

RP Harrison Cohen: 3.89 ERA, 37.0 IP, 28 H, 46 K, 17 BB

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 24-24 and seven games back in the Florida State League West after splitting six games with the Daytona Tortugas (Reds)

Run Differential: -13

Coming up: At home for six games with the Palm Beach Cardinals beginning Tuesday, August 22th

The Tarpons have an interesting player in Jose Colmenares, and that’s not to say it’s time to start mentioning him with other top prospects in the organization. Because of COVID-19, there was a gap of time between his turn in the Dominican Summer League and his debut in the States. Due to injury, he did not play at all in 2022 and got a late start in 2023, which means he had a total of 28 at-bats across three seasons. In the 17 games he’s played this year, Colmenares has a slash line of .260/.456/.680 to go with 6 homers and 17 RBI. Maybe it’s just a hot stretch, but we should at least take notice of a 21-year-old shortstop playing well in Low-A.

On the pitching side, Matt Keating deserves a mention. In an up-and-down first professional season, Keating has been on the way up over the last month. A 1.69 ERA in relief over the past four series, fewer hits than innings pitched, and 19 strikeouts in 16 innings are hopefully signs the right-hander out of USC is finishing strong.

Players of note:

2B Roc Riggio: .711 OPS, 6 R, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 15 BB (10 games)

OF Coby Morales: .945 OPS, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 7 2B (10 games)

C/1B Omar Martinez: .845 OPS, 17 HR, 64 RBI, 58 R, 15 2B, 8 SB

RP Matt Keating: 3.44 ERA, 55.0 IP, 52 H, 78 K, 29 BB

RP Yorlin Calderon: 3.29 ERA, 68.1 IP, 63 H, 86 K, 23 BB

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Prospect of the week: Jasson Domínguez

After Ben Rice took home Eastern League Player of the Week honors, his teammate Domínguez followed suit this past week. A slash line of .464/.500/.857 came from going 13-for-28 with two homers, eight RBI, eight runs scored, and five doubles. Domínguez also had two four-hit games against Reading, including the game which should be his last in a Somerset uniform.

Those who were ready to cast doubt on the 20-year old prospect in June now have to acknowledge he’s been on a very good run since the beginning of July, and in August alone he’s hitting .380/.438/.608. That performance likely gave the Yankees confidence to promote him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he should debut this week.

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Monday’s games

FCL Yankees (33-21): Win vs. FCL Blue Jays 11-9

2B Keiner Delgado 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (8), BB, K, 2 SB, CS
SS George Lombard Jr. 2-4, R, BB, 2 SB — first-rounder is 4-for-8 so far
PH-SS Edward Sanchez 0-1, K, E
CF Jackson Castillo 1-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K
RF Willy Montero 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, SF
1B Dylan Jasso 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3B, HR (1)
LF John Cruz 4-5, RBI, 2B, 3B
DH Enmanuel Tejeda 0-4, BB, 2 K
3B Hans Montero 0-2, 2 R, 3 BB, CS, E
C Edinson Duran 1-4, R, RBI, 2B
PH-C Oscar Silverio 0-1, K, PB

Chalniel Arias 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Jordy Luciano 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 2 K
Kris Bow 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (win)
Donys Garcia 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Osmany Fleitas 1.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 HR — position player pitching early, and probably not having fun
Enger Castellano 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K (save) — another position player who fared better

DSL Bombers (27-26): Won vs. DSL Twins 8-7

CF Richard Meran 0-3, R, BB, 2K
CF Gabriel Lara 0-0
2B Gabriel Terrero 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, K, CS
C Edgleen Perez 2-4, R, 2B, 2 SB, K
3B Kevin Verde 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR (4), K
RF Ramiro Altagracia 2-4, R, K
SS Ovandy Frias 0-3, BB, 2 K
LF Luis Puello 0-4, 2 K
DH Rafael Martinez 0-4, 4 K
1B Carlos Herrera 1-3, R, BB, E

Sunyaro Martina 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, WP
Hansel Rosario 2.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 2 WP (win)
Jose J. Rodriguez 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, WP
Angel Sanchez 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR

DSL Yankees (32-19): Loss vs. DSL Marlins 5-3 (7 innings)

CF Brando Mayea 3-3, R, BB, SB, CS
DH Louis Pierre 1-4, K
LF Jose Castro 0-4, 3 K
C Josue Gonzalez 0-2, BB, CS
3B Santiago Gomez 0-1, R, 2 BB, 2 SB
SS Luis Suarez 0-2, BB, SB, K, E
1B Luis Ogando 0-3, K
RF Jhon Imbert 0-1, 2 BB, K
2B Jelson Coca 1-3, R

Jorge Luna 1.2 IP, 1 H, 4, R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, WP, E (loss)
Orvis Fernandez 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, HR
Yordanny Sosa 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

DSL Yankees (33-19): Win vs. DSL Marlins 4-1 (7 innings)

DH Louis Pierre 0-3, 2 K
SS Luis Suarez 1-3, R, 3B, 2 K
2B Luis Escudero 1-2, R, RBI, 3B, BB
C Edison Vivas 2-3, R, RBI, 2B
CF Andres Lacruz 0-2, BB, K
3B Anthony Pena 0-1, R, 2 BB, SB
1B Gabriel Bersing 0-2, BB, K
LF Andry Javier 0-3
RF Niurby Asigen 1-3, RBI, 2B, K

Christian Zazueta 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K
Keninson Diaz 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (win)