Yankees Prospects: Week 19 minor league review

Players are moving throughout the organization as they enter the final stretch of the season, but Omar Martinez and Jasson Domínguez, who’ve been with their clubs all year, continued to swing hot bats.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Record: 16-15 (second half) and 3.5 games back in the International League East after winning four out of six games with the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)

Run Differential: +8

Coming up: At home for six games against the Syracuse Mets starting Tuesday, August 8th

The RailRiders are very much a part of the player movement theme. Within the last week alone Estevan Florial went to the injured list, pitcher Edgar Barclay came up from Somerset and made a start, and the once-promising Deivi García was designated for assignment.

The Triple-A level is not always the best place for prospect watching. Many of the players who populate the league’s rosters have major league experience and could be considered veterans. The current group at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, however, does not exactly fit that description.

On a given night, the RailRiders feature a lineup with Everson Pereira, Austin Wells, and Oswald Peraza, all who could arguably be considered among the top five prospects in the Yankees’ system. They have Andrés Chaparro and Brandon Lockridge, both in their first turns at Triple-A and intriguing prospects in their own right. The pitching staff has Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, and, for now, Randy Vásquez, all who could be considered among the top 10 players in the organization. Having these prospects reach Triple-A this year is great, but it now becomes vital to the Yankees that they have success and graduate some time in the next year. With the roster woes of the big league club, an infusion of young talent would do wonders for the morale of the fans either this year or in 2024.

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

3B Andrés Chaparro: .818 OPS, 20 HR, 71 RBI, 18 2B, 64 R, 53 BB

OF Estevan Florial: .978 OPS, 23 HR, 59 RBI, 63 R, 51 BB, 19 SB (injured list)

OF Everson Pereira: .955 OPS, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 6 2B, 20 R (24 games)

C Austin Wells: .747 OPS, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 5 2B, 10 BB (14 games)

SS Oswald Peraza: .861 OPS, 13 HR, 33 RBI, 8 2B, 37 R, 12 SB (51 games)

SP Will Warren: 5.22 ERA, 50.0 IP, 48 H, 27 BB, 52 K

SP Mitch Spence: 5.00 ERA, 113.1 IP, 118 H, 40 BB, 101 K

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

SP Clayton Beeter: 5.90 ERA, 29.0 IP, 28 H, 13 BB, 32 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 18-14 and a half-game up in the Eastern League Northeast after losing four out of six games with the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians)

Run Differential: +50

Coming up: At home for six games against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) starting Tuesday, August 8th

It’s always a good time for good Jasson Domínguez news. The young outfielder had a strong performance against Akron, going 10-for-25 with four walks, four steals, a homer, and four runs batted in. Knock on wood, he has brought his July success into August so far.

Injuries have taken their toll on the Somerset lineup, where this week Trey Sweeney joined T.J. Rumfield on the injured list and Tyler Hardman did not play a game. Jesús Bastidas has come down from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, in a move that indicates we might not see Sweeney for a while, and Agustin Ramirez is on the way from Hudson Valley. Could he be bringing Spencer Jones along with him? With two outfielders apparently being moved up to High-A, it would seem to support a promotion for Jones to the Patriots, who only have four outfielders on the roster as it is.

Ramirez’s arrival creates a situation to watch at catcher. Josh Breaux, Anthony Seigler, and Ben Rice are all catchers, and Mickey Gasper can throw on the gear as well. One of those players may be on the move by the time Tuesday’s games begin. Rice has played some first base in the absence of Rumfield, and his development with the bat has been fascinating to watch. On a recent podcast with Somerset broadcasters, Yankees hitting coordinator Joe Migliaccio called Rice one of the “best 10 or 12 hitters” in the organization.

Players of note:

OF Jasson Domínguez: .747 OPS, 13 HR, 56 RBI, 72 BB, 33 SB, 69 R

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

1B T.J. Rumfield: .785 OPS, 17 HR, 50 RBI, 11 2B, 40 R (injured list)

3B Tyler Hardman: .890 OPS, 26 HR, 56 RBI, 56 R, 9 2B, 9 SB

SP Chase Hampton: 4.43 ERA, 44.2 IP, 40 H, 52 K, 17 BB

SP Richard Fitts: 3.56 ERA, 113.2 IP, 99 H, 123 K, 28 BB

SP Yoendrys Gómez: 2.62 ERA, 34.1 IP, 21 H, 38 K, 24 BB

RP Danny Watson: 1.09 ERA, 24.2 IP, 11 H, 28 K, 9 BB

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 19-17 and three games back in the South Atlantic League North after winning four out of six with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)

Run Differential: +39

Coming up: At home for six games against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) beginning Tuesday, August 8th

Agustin Ramirez came, he saw, and he conquered, and now he is already on the move to Double-A. After torching the South Atlantic League for a month, Ramirez seems to have pushed his way into the group of top hitting prospects in the organization. With a decision looming in the offseason of whether or not to place him on the 40-man roster, the Yankees appear to want to challenge Ramirez with a higher level of baseball before the season is out. With the way he has continually improved throughout the year, it is believable that he could have success at Somerset as well, but it will be hard to replicate the 1.144 OPS he produced in 27 games as a member of the Renegades.

The Hudson Valley rotation that dominated the first half of the season now has a much different look. Chase Hampton has moved up to Somerset, Zach Messinger appears to be nursing an injury, Tyrone Yulie is on the injured list, Joel Valdez has been moved to the bullpen, and Juan Carela was traded to the White Sox at the deadline. Only Drew Thorpe remains, and his status remains subject to change at any moment. Stepping into those rotation spots of late have been a group of pitchers up from Tampa: Brock Selvidge, Baron Stuart, Leo Pestana, and, most recently, Sean Hermann. It is unclear if Pestana will hold a regular turn in the rotation, but Stuart and Hermann both made successful High-A debuts last week, combining for 11 innings where they allowed only one run and struck out 10.

Players of note:

OF Spencer Jones: .782 OPS, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 24 2B, 4 3B, 51 R, 26 SB

C Agustin Ramirez: 1.144 OPS, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 10 2B, 21 R (27 games)

OF Christopher Familia: .821 OPS, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 3 2B, 18 R (25 games)

SP Zach Messinger: 4.09 ERA, 83.2 IP, 73 H, 101 K, 42 BB

SP Drew Thorpe: 2.81 ERA, 109.0 IP, 84 H, 138 K, 33 BB

SP Brendan Beck: 0.47 ERA, 19.0 IP, 14 H, 20 K, 4 BB

SP Brock Selvidge: 1.93 ERA, 18.2 IP, 13 H, 15 K, 4 BB

RP Jack Neely: 2.03 ERA, 48.2 IP, 27 H, 74 K, 17 BB

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 19-17 and 6 games back in the Florida State League West after winning four out of six games with the Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)

Run Differential: -11

Coming up: At home for six games with the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies) beginning Tuesday, August 8th

With 30 games left in the Tarpons’ season, the roster is beginning to look a lot different from the one that started things off in April. That’s common for any baseball team, but for a Low-A affiliate it should probably be expected. Injuries, promotions, and, unfortunately, releases have changed the names on the Tampa lineup card, and it sounds like that will continue to happen. According to John Brophy of Prospects Live, infielder Jared Serna, utility player Jesus Rodriguez, outfielders Anthony Hall and Jared Wegner, and pitcher Cole Ayers will be moving up to Hudson Valley this week. This is a large group on its way out of Tampa, and they follow a significant portion of the pitching staff that has already moved. Recently, rotation members Brock Selvidge and Sean Hermann made their way to upstate New York, and now of interest will be who fills all of these spots.

With the draft signings complete and the complex league well into its season, the Tarpons have already had an influx of players update their roster. Ryan Harvey, Hueston Morrill, Osiel Rodriguez, Cam Schlittler, and Montana Semmel have joined the pitching staff, while undrafted free agent signings Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, and Josh Moylan and seventh-round draft pick Kiko Romero have gotten at-bats. Romero has seen time at first and third, and it would seem he’s stepping into some of Jesus Rodriguez’s role. There now looks to be room for more players to come in from the complex league, but who will it be? Interesting catcher Edinson Duran or recently drafted backstop Tomas Frick? Highly regarded Enmanuel Tejeda, intriguing Keiner Delgado, or emerging Hans Montero for the infield? Another recent signing in Cole Gabrielson to play in the outfield? This will definitely be something to watch as this week’s series gets underway.

Players of note:

2B Jared Serna: .833 OPS, 72 R, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 21 2B, 19 SB

OF Anthony Hall: .831 OPS, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 43 R, 10 2B, 2 3B

1B/3B/C Jesus Rodriguez: .804 OPS, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 53 R, 15 2B, 15 SB

C/1B Omar Martinez: .864 OPS, 16 HR, 59 RBI, 49 R, 11 2B, 8 SB

SP Justin Lange: 4.57 ERA, 69.0 IP, 45 H, 110 K, 51 BB

RP Cole Ayers: 4.08 ERA, 46.1 IP, 47 H, 64 K, 17 BB

RP Yorlin Calderon: 3.34 ERA, 59.1 IP, 53 H, 72 K, 18 BB

Prospect of the week: Omar Martinez

In his first year of full-season baseball, Martinez has forced people to notice him. The 22-year-old has split his time between catcher and first base this year, with a significant portion of his at-bats also coming as a designated hitter. Keeping his bat in the lineup has been important for the Tarpons, as Martinez has performed better and better as the season has gone on.

Martinez was named the Florida State League Player of the Week after going 10-for-23 with four homers, 10 runs batted in, three walks, and five K’s in five games against Bradenton. His August 1st performance was one for the ages, as he hit three home runs and drove in five during a 4-for-6 night.

Monday’s games:

FCL Yankees (25-18): Game vs. FCL Tigers suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning with the score tied 5-5

SS Keiner Delgado 1-1, R, BB
DH Enmanuel Tejeda 1-2, R, 3 RBI, HR (4), K
3B Hans Montero 1-2, R, RBI, HR (5), K
1B Dylan Jasso 1-2
RF Cole Gabrielson 1-2, R, RBI, HR (2), K
CF Wilson Rodriguez 0-2
LF Joel Mendez 0-2, K
2B Dayro Perez 0-0, R, BB
C Manuel Palencia 0-1

Carlos Lagrange 3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Sebastian Keane 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K

DSL Bombers (20-22) vs. DSL Yankees (27-14): Suspended after one inning due to rain