Injuries are a real party pooper. Just like with the major league roster, the Yankees’ top prospects are dropping like flies. With several top hitters and pitchers injured, the guys on the periphery are going to get a chance to shine, and there’s one guy in particular who’s starting to gain some real helium down in Tampa.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 7-4 (44-41), 2 GB in the International League East after a 4-1 week against the Norfolk Tides (Orioles)
Run differential: +13 (+16)
Coming up: Away @ Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays)
It was a good start to July for the RailRiders in the win column, bouncing back from a loss on Tuesday to win four straight to close out the week. Saturday’s game was postponed due to rain and was never made up, as only one game was barely squeezed in on Sunday. But while they picked up some wins, this level’s prospect pedigree is shrinking fast.
George Lombard Jr. should be back soon, though probably not until after a Futures Game he’ll likely miss. Garrett Martin went on the injured list a week ago. Brendan Beck filled in for the big league club on the Fourth of July due to Carlos Rodón’s injury, and while he was optioned shortly after, you’d expect Elmer Rodríguez to get promoted in his place for this week. The big kicker, though, is Carlos Lagrange’s season potentially being over because of a shoulder injury. He’s in no-throw for six weeks, which makes a September return the best-case scenario. So much for a 2026 big league debut…
In a depleted lineup that will, at least, welcome back Spencer Jones this coming week, there’s not too much to write home about. JC Escarra has been good as he stays ready for his next big league opportunity, while Ernesto Martinez Jr. and Marco Luciano have hit well. The team’s most reliable hitter, though, has been Jonathan Ornelas, as the 26-year-old journeyman has been hitting over .300 all season long and came through with a walk-off grand slam on Sunday.
Beck’s emergency promotion thinned the rotation. Dom Hamel allowed six runs in six innings, Alexander Cornielle didn’t finish the fourth in a choppy outing on Friday, and Adam Kloffenstein pitched well on Tuesday. Rodríguez tossed a quality start on Wednesday, getting through 6.2 innings, but the main storyline was the promotion of former third-round pick Kyle Carr, who didn’t allow an earned run in 5.2 innings on Sunday in his Triple-A debut.
The Scranton Shuttle keeps on shuffling the bullpen. Jake Bird and Angel Chivilli are up, while Yovanny Cruz is back down and has really strung together some good outings to get out of a minor funk he had prior to his second promotion. Outside of him, Danny Watson and Zach Messinger have remained under-the-radar, low-velocity arms that have been effective in their roles.
Players of Note:
George Lombard Jr.: .231/.381/.385, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 16 XBH, 8 SB, 109 wRC+ (injured)
Garrett Martin (AA/AAA): .270/.337/.570, 24 HR, 64 RBI, 18 SB, 135 wRC+ (injured)
Brendan Beck: 7-2, 3.07 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, 18.1 K-BB% (88 IP)
Elmer Rodríguez: 4-3, 2.93 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 11.4 K-BB% (61.1 IP)
Carlos Lagrange: 1-4, 4.55 ERA, 4.84 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 17.8 K-BB% (63.1 IP) (injured)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 5-7 (42-39), 3 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 3-3 week against the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies)
Run differential: -1 (+35)
Coming up: Home vs. Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies)
It was a week of inconsistency down in Somerset, as two early-week victories weren’t able to yield anything other than a split after they scored just one run on Saturday and Sunday combined.
Because of promotions, the offense is a shell of what it was when they dominated the Eastern League with gaudy power numbers for the first two months. They’re leaning on Jace Avina and Coby Morales right now for production, with DJ Gladney and a resurgent Jackson Castillo helping out. They really need some other bats to step up, but where will it come from? The catching room is depleted, Connor McGinnis has been so-so in the infield, and others haven’t picked up the slack.
It was a tale of two starts for Cade Smith, who got a rare double this week. He was great on Tuesday with six strong innings, but didn’t record a strikeout in five rough innings on Sunday. Xavier Rivas lasted just two innings after struggling with the ridiculous heat on Wednesday night, Jack Cebert (6 IP, 2 R, 6 K) tossed a quality start on Thursday, Chase Hampton tossed four shutout innings, and Ben Hess allowed three runs in four innings.
The bullpen welcomed back a key piece from injury in Geoffrey Gilbert, but they continue to rely on Tony Rossi to throw big innings, in which he’s been up and down. Harrison Cohen has been good in relief since he was sent back down, while Ben Grable finally allowed a run on Thursday, but continues to be the man to watch in that bullpen. Hayden Merda also bounced back big time with a five-strikeout outing.
Players of Note:
Jace Avina: .272/.360/.540, 16 HR, 44 RBI, 34 XBH, 28.3 K%, 137 wRC+
Jackson Castillo: .273/.355/.424, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 7 SB, 112 wRC+
Coby Morales: .278/.359/.513, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 12 SB, 131 wRC+
Xavier Rivas: 4-3, 4.82 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 22.4 K-BB% (52.1 IP)
Ben Grable (A+/AA): 3-1, 2.70 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 0.80 WHIP, 30.5 K-BB% (30 IP)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 7-8 (38-42), 4 GB in the South Atlantic League North Second Half after a 3-3 week against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Run differential: +8 (+17)
Coming up: Home vs. Rome Emperors (Braves)
The Renegades basically had the exact opposite week as Somerset. They got off to a bad start, going 1-3 heading into the weekend before back-to-back wins on Fourth of July weekend to salvage a sweep. Sunday’s game was especially thrilling, as Hudson Valley blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth, but rallied to come back on a massive walk-off homer by Kyle West.
Wilson Rodriguez, a former 18th-round pick out of Puerto Rico, has silently become their best and most consistent hitter, carrying an offense that’s struggling. Kaeden Kent is still around .300, but he’s not slugging much and just hit the shelf with an injury. Enmanuel Tejada has struggled of late, Kyle West hasn’t made enough contact around his light-tower power, and guys like Roderick Arias and Camden Troyer are the human embodiment of hot and cold.
Bryce Cunningham (5.2 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) took a step back in his Tuesday start, struggling with command. Luis Serna and Allen Facundo had identical starts, each allowing four runs over six innings. Franyer Herrera and Sean Paul Liñan scuffled, but there was some progress in one regard this week as 2025 sixth-round pick Rory Fox allowed just one run in 5.2 innings in another strong start.
The bullpen was good all week. Wilmy Sanchez and Bryce Warrecker got big outs, with the latter continuing a terrific season that’s seen him pitch to a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings across two levels. A few of them got screwed over with shoddy defense, like with what happened to Jack Sokol on Sunday when he “blew” the ninth inning with three unearned runs.
Players of Note:
Kaeden Kent: .302/.359/.433, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 28 XBH, 20 SB, 107 wRC+
Core Jackson: .248/.344/.452, 10 HR, 37 RBI, 23 SB, 106 wRC+
Wilson Rodriguez: .262/.381/.437, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 18 SB, 116 wRC+
Luis Serna: 3-4, 4.18 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 16.4 K-BB% (71 IP)
Bryce Cunningham: 2-4, 4.19 ERA, 5.44 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 9.3 K-BB% (43 IP)
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 11-4 (46-35), 2.5 GA in the Florida State League West after a 5-1 week against the St. Lucie Mets (Mets)
Run differential: +21 (+44)
Coming up: Home vs. Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
Tampa keeps cooking. They won three games via shutout and dominated from Tuesday to Saturday with five consecutive wins before a bullpen collapse spoiled the sweep on Sunday. They led 5-1 after seven before allowing nine runs in two innings.
They’re doing it mostly with pitching, but don’t confuse that with bad offense. Sure, they’re no longer getting carried by the likes of Jackson Lovich and Hans Montero while Luis Escudero’s hot bat is on the shelf. It’s the depth of the lineup with guys like Luis Puello behind the plate, JoJo Jackson in the outfield, Logan Maxwell returning from injury, and a blistering hot bat from 2025 UDFA David McCann:
Onto the pitching, which is downright incredible. Justin West got things started with 5.2 shutout innings on Tuesday, followed by Thatcher Hurd (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K) completing five innings for the first time as a pro on Wednesday. JT Etheridge followed up Wyatt Parliament’s mediocre start on Thursday with four shutout innings as a piggyback; Henry Lalane continued to be incredible on Friday; Tyler Boudreau tossed a quality start on Saturday, and Brennan Stuprich tossed four strong innings on Sunday.
The bullpen was inconsistent. Jose M. Rodriguez continued to impress, now holding a 2.51 ERA in 32.1 innings with 45 strikeouts, but a blowup on Sunday soils a lot of numbers for his teammates. Brian Hendry continued his rehab with 1.1 innings on Wednesday, and I’m curious what the team’s plan is for him. He’s already 26 but has dominated in the limited time he’s been on the mound. I’d compare him to Brendan Beck from a few years ago, but his stuff is quite a bit better.
Players of Note:
Jackson Lovich: .284/.357/.513, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 30 XBH, 20 SB, 127 wRC+
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: .258/.368/.413, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 25 SB, 112 wRC+
Hans Montero: .238/.363/.426, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 27 XBH, 21 SB, 114 wRC+
Tyler Boudreau: 4-2, 3.31 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 19.7 K-BB% (68 IP)
Henry Lalane: 4-1, 2.74 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, 23.9 K-BB% (62.1 IP)
FCL Yankees
Record: 23-24, 7 GB in the FCL North after a 2-3 week.
Run differential: +14
The FCL Yankees are all but dead in the playoff race, sitting five games behind the wild-card spot occupied by the FCL Orioles with just 13 games to go. The bats cooled off this week, but Wilberson De Pena and Dexters Peralta continue to be the two most prolific home run hitters in all of rookie ball.
Blake Gillespie’s season is likely over due to injury, so the rotation is just a hodgepodge right now. Jerson Alejandro, a mountain of a man at 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, has re-emerged after injuries but is struggling. Sabier Marte continues to slowly improve, while Austin Breedlove and Edinzo Marquez are dominating in the bullpen.
Players of Note:
Wilberson De Pena: .342/.399/.663, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 31 XBH, 18 SB, 148 wRC+
Jose Castro: .297/.492/.538, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 25 SB, 158 wRC+
Richard Matic: .309/.427/.481, 20 XBH, 27 RBI, 14 SB, 126 wRC+
Sabier Marte: 34.1 IP, 5.77 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 1.46 WHIP, 16.3 K-BB%
Austin Breedlove: 21 IP, 1.71 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.14 WHIP, 18.0 K-BB%
DSL Yankees & Bombers
DSL Yankees:
Record: 15-10, 0.5 GB in DSL East after a 3-2 week
Run differential: +94
DSL Bombers:
Record: 11-15, 6 GB in DSL Southeast after a 2-4 week
Run differential: -26
Did you know the DSL Yankees have the best run differential of any Dominican affiliate? They’ve won by some truly comical margins with a ferocious offense powered by Isaias Castillo and Juan Torres, but have lost some brutal close games. That first week of the season where they seemed to choke every other game away in the late innings hurts.
Not much is going on with the Bombers, who have seven-figure prospect Mani Cedeno struggling. It’s still early in his pro career, but the more the last few classes of international prospects struggle, the more you understand why Danny Rowland was canned when he was, sacrificing the most recent international class.
Players of Note:
Isaias Castillo: .330/.444/.699, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 20 XBH, 10 SB, 159 wRC+ (124 PA)
Juan Torres: .373/.436/.686, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 20 XBH, 11 SB, 151 wRC+ (117 PA)
Stiven Marinez: .289/.420/.567, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 18 SB, 145 wRC+ (119 PA)
Fredy Penuelas: 20.1 IP, 0.44 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 26.8 K-BB%
Yunior Jerez: 20.2 IP, 3.05 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 0.87 WHIP, 17.7 K-BB%
Prospect of the Week: Henry Lalane
Weekly Stats: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K
Season Stats: 4-1, 2.74 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, 23.9 K-BB% (62.1 IP)
This is now the third time in the last month and a change that we’ve had Lalane as Prospect of the Week, and for good reason. In his most recent dominant start, he was absolutely untouchable in the early innings, eventually racking up 11 strikeouts in another walk-less start. Since May 17, he’s allowed just five earned runs in 42.1 innings with 61 strikeouts to just 10 walks. This is phenomenal stuff.
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It’s getting to the point where I actively question if he might be the team’s best starting pitcher prospect. Hess, Cunningham, and Hampton’s stocks are all down this year. ERC is going to graduate in the coming weeks. Lagrange is in the bullpen. There’s real runway to get to Top 100 prospect status with a strong summer from Lalane.
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