2024 Yankees Prospects: Week 12 minor league review

Welcome to the 11th edition of the 2024 weekly minor league roundup, where I review each Yankees affiliate from the week before and the prospects playing there. There were lots of L’s being taken across the organization: from the major league squad down to Tampa. At least the complex league and Dominican teams did pretty well, I guess. Let’s dig in!

Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders

Record: 43-31, 3 GB in the International League East after going 3-2 against the Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)

Run differential: +31

Coming up: Home for six games against the Worcester Red Sox starting Tuesday, June 25th

The RailRiders’ offense exploded for 51 runs across their five games against Buffalo, tied for the most runs scored last week. The only problem: Buffalo was the team that tied in runs scored. Consider the scores of each game:

• Tuesday: W, 11-10
• Wednesday: W, 8-2
• Thursday: L, 4-9
• Saturday: L. 10-21
• Sunday: W, 18-9

This was a bonkers series for offense, and mind you Scranton was without Jasson Domínguez and Everson Pereira who are hurt, Ben Rice who was promoted, and Agustin Ramirez who struggled in his first taste of Triple-A action. Who stepped up, then? Each player I’m about to list had an OPS north of .900: Taylor Trammell, certified real prospect T.J. Rumfield, Jorbit Vivas, Carlos Narvaez, Jose Rojas, and Jeter Downs. That’s six guys who would normally qualify for organizational Player of the Week honors. Honestly, this speaks more to how porous Buffalo’s pitching staff is, as their third-worst 5.44 ERA suggests. I’m especially happy to see Vivas picking it up, as his two injuries have derailed his season so far. He’s making less contact than in years past, but I’m curious if there are still lingering effects from his ailments — not that you could tell from his 1.184 OPS last week:

Statistically speaking, it was Narvaez who had the best week, as his .474/.565/.895 was buoyed by a remarkable 5-for-5 day at the plate on Sunday afternoon:

T.J. Rumfield is much closer to becoming a legitimate prospect than you may realize. He makes a ton of contact but isn’t lifting like I’d like because he’s so conscious about keeping a flat attack angle. I’d be okay with him making five percent less contact if it meant his swing was slightly more angled to engage the lower third of a ball, which is the area of impact for fly balls. There’s a solid amount to like with Rumfield, and he could turn into a second-division regular if he can make the previously alluded-to adjustments. Also, I know Agustin struggled as I mentioned before, but all I can say is FINALLY! Took long enough to promote the best hitter in Double-A.

The pitching was, well, a mess. The pitching staff surrendered a staggering 19 home runs across their five games, and their 9.80 ERA was easily the worst in the International League last week. Edgar Barclay easily had the roughest showing of any pitcher, which is a continuation of his month-plus slump. Barclay embodies the risk soft tossers present when they can’t command their offerings with precision. You’ll notice a cameo from High-A stalwart Cam Schlittler, who struggled in his first taste of Triple-A action. More than likely, Schlittler was called upon because Scranton needed a fresh arm, and it’s likely he’ll return to Hudson Valley. Despite the bad team pitching, Will Warren had a strong showing after tossing six innings of two-run ball to go along with six punchouts. Warren has picked it up of late, but his season ERA is still an unsightly 6.65.

Jack Neely, who should’ve been promoted a month-plus ago, finally was promoted. It seems last week was promotion week for quite a few Baby Bombers, so I’ll make note of another notable promotion shortly.

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 32-37, 6.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after going 1-5 against the Erie Seawolves (Tigers)

Run differential: -19

Coming up: Away for six games against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) starting Tuesday, June 25th

With the dynamic duo of Ben Rice and Agustin Ramirez having departed in consecutive weeks, the Patriots’ offense, which had been their strength, suddenly looks far more barren. The lineup wasn’t even that bad last week, though, as they accounted for 29 runs which were seventh-most in the Eastern League. The culprit for the 1-5 showing against a good Erie squad was the pitching staff, whose 8.13 ERA was second-worst in the league. Trystan Vrieling is struggling, man. His nine runs surrendered — eight of which were earned — ballooned his ERA to 5.08. I don’t want to cop out and blame it on fatigue, but mind you Vrieling didn’t pitch last season aside from a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League. The velocity is barely down, but the stuff doesn’t look as crisp as it was to begin the season. We know he’s got good stuff at his peak, but he’s hit rock bottom. Let’s see if he can bounce back.

It wasn’t just Vrieling who struggled, though. Both Brock Selvidge and Zach Messinger also struggled in their respective starts. Some of this can be attributed to Erie’s standout offense, which has scored the second-most runs in the EL this year with 353. The good news for the pitching staff? Their upcoming foe, Richmond, owns the fourth-worst offense in the Eastern League: this is a get-right opportunity for a struggling staff.

With Agustin Ramirez having departed, it created an opening for Jesus Rodriguez to be promoted from Hudson Valley. While Rodriguez is no Agustin, he’s been mentioned in this series plenty of times as a key cog in the Renegades’ offense. His first four games in a Somerset uniform went fairly well, with the catcher slugging .267/.421/.467 alongside his first Double-A dinger.

Spencer Jones hit .333 but with much of that coming via balls hit on the ground — ugh. Former prospect of note Elijah Dunham had a huge week, but it was otherwise a bunch of mediocre performances in the lineup. The offense will have its hands full against a solid Richmond staff that’s accrued a 3.96 ERA on the season.

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 33-32, 6 GB in the South Atlantic League League North after going 1-5 against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates)

Run differential: +46

Coming up: Home for six games against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) starting Tuesday, June 25th

A brutal week for Baby Bomber baseball continued down the minor league ladder, as the Renegades scored just eight runs in the first five games of their series against a topflight Grasshoppers squad. To put into perspective how rough this series was, look no further than breakout candidate Jared Serna, who went 0-for-20 with a .048 OPS. It wasn’t just him: Rafael Flores and Christopher Familia both had bad showings in Greensboro. There were some bright spots in the lineup with Omar Martinez and Jace Avina picking things up after both had gone in extended slumps. If Avina can make more contact, he will have a compelling case as a top-10 prospect in the system. For now, I expect him to fall into the mid-late teens in my midseason update.

There weren’t many pitching performances worth mentioning. That is, of course, except for Ben Shields! I love what he’s doing, coming at hitters and not being afraid to pound the zone with strikes. That was on full display last week, as the southpaw went five innings of one-run ball while walking just one and striking out nine. He doesn’t possess a fastball that will work in the zone against upper minors and majors competition, but he has a decent chunk of everything else (breaking and offspeed pitches alongside above-average command). If I had to guess, this offseason will be geared towards developing some sort of fastball that can suppress hard contact, such as a cutter or sinker.

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 24-42, 19 GB in the Florida State League West after going 2-3 against the Palm Beach Cardinals

Run differential: -56

Coming up: Away for six games against the Fort Myers Might Mussels (Twins) starting Tuesday, June 25th

While it was another losing week for the Tarpons, there were encouraging developments in the form of JT Brubaker and Scott Effross, both of whom began affiliated rehab assignments. Brubaker, who was a starter for the Pirates, tossed three scoreless innings while surrendering just two hits and no walks. Effross also pitched three clean innings over two outings, striking out four against just one walk.

After a recent shaky outing, Luis Serna righted the ship with four strong innings, allowing no runs off two hits, a walk, and five punchouts. His changeup continues to lead the way. Aside from those three, however, it was a rough showing once again for Tampa’s pitching staff: their 5.02 ERA sat third-worst in the FSL. In ominous news, Allen Facundo, who’d owned a 2.40 ERA and 38 K’s through 30 innings, is done for the season after being placed on the full-season IL.

The offense wasn’t much better with 21 runs scored in their five games, placing them eighth in the league. Just three players eclipsed an .800 OPS with at least four games played, as both Hans and Wily Montero both had nice weeks alongside George Lombard Jr. It took a hot minute, but GLJ finally slugged his first homer of the season, which was a 364-foot, 98 MPH exit velocity oppo taco:

I still have concerns about GLJ’s ability to catch up to heat, which I didn’t foresee as being an issue coming into the season. For those wondering, Roderick Arias had another underwhelming week. I hate to keep slamming the young man, but I’m out until we observe a significant swing change.

Florida Complex League Yankees

Record: 24-13, 3 games up in the Florida Complex League North after going 5-1 last week

Run differential: +9

Oh heck yeah! As was with last season, the complex league Yankees are proving to be a top-flight squad in the complex league. What I love about last week was how well-balanced the Yankees’ attack was from both a hitting and pitching standpoint, as both units ranked inside the top four in runs scored and ERA, respectively. While the offense has run ahead of the pitching at times this season, there’s talent on both sides of the ball. The Yankees’ biggest breakout star on this team, infielder Abraham Ramirez, continues to post sensational numbers after he slashed .615/.688/.923 last week. You’re not going to find much in the form of public information on him, but just know that scouts across the league are funneling into Tampa to scout Ramirez ahead of the trade deadline. Here’s an older clip courtesy of my friend, YankeesFarm:

As outrageous as Ramirez’s stat line was, perhaps even more outrageous is that his teammate, Juan Matheus, had the exact same .615/.688/.923 line! How they got to those lines is a bit different, but it’s a fun oddity to note. Matheus himself has had a great start to the season, with a .919 OPS through 118 plate appearances. Here’s another, older video from YankeesFarm:

While the pitching was also good as we mentioned before, the biggest headline might be the rehab assignment that Carlos Lagrange has begun. The right-handed flamethrower just missed my top-20 offseason prospect list due to his poor command, but he has wicked stuff headlined by a heater that has touched triple digits. He might eventually be a reliever, but he’s young and big enough that I’m willing to let this simmer more before drawing conclusions.

Danny Flatt continues to look like the best pitcher who’s not on a rehab assignment with the club. While his command continues to underwhelm, I think there’s a nice collection of pitches to work with. I’m eager to see him pitch in the FSL so I can review more Trackman data.

Dominican Summer League

Records: DSL NYY Yankees: 6-10, 6 GB in the DSL South | DSL NYY Bombers: 10-5, 0.5 GB in the DSL East

Run differentials: -15 | +23

This is a tale of two clubs heading in opposite directions. If you thought organizations didn’t care about winning minor league games, that’s multiplied tenfold in the DSL, so we’re not going to talk much about the team records. Rather, clubs are focused on getting their top signees consistent reps while mixing in everyone else to see who might survive DSL cuts and make the complex roster next season. We haven’t mentioned pitcher Mariano Salomon (Yankees) yet, but he’s performing well for a second consecutive season at 21 years old. I’m not sure why he’s still in the DSL (visa issues aren’t uncommon), but he’s way too old for the level and has sufficient reps to move up the ladder. Jorge Luna (Bombers) looks to be the biggest breakout arm on his squad, as he tossed five innings of one-run ball while striking out six last week. His season ERA now sits at an impressive 1.98 ERA with the under-the-hood numbers to support that line.

Catcher Luis Puello (Yankees), who we highlighted last week, continues to light up the DSL in his small sample size. I’m usually allergic to small sample sizes, but it’s pretty clear from the video I’ve watched that he has plus pull-side power when you adjust for his age (18). On the Bombers’ side, we’ll also mention someone who we noted last week in catcher Queni Pineda, who continues to post absurdly good walk rates. Outfielders David Carrera and Richard Meran also had strong works worthy of recognition. Frankly, I don’t have much on either player, but here’s a video from 2023 of Meran:

Prospect of the Week: Carlos Narvaez

Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

We’re going on two consecutive weeks of catchers leading the way as the organization’s players of the week. Narvaez is tracking like a 40-hit/50-power catcher with some feel behind the plate. While that’s not a world-beater, he’s a nice depth piece to have in Triple-A should anything happen to Jose Trevino or Austin Wells.