We’re going streaking: who’s hot on the farm?

 

Low-A Tampa Tarpons

Jared Serna, 2B, RHB – 11 for his last 24 (.458) with a double and three walks (.518 OBP) in his last six games. His season total is now .310/412/.774. He also has 6 SB already on the season in 16 games.

Nelson Medina, LF, RHB – 10 for his last 29 (.344) with a homerun, a triple, and three doubles (.620 SLG), and three BB (.406 OBP) in his last nine games. He struck out 10 times in those nine games and still needs work on his contact rate, but the results have been encouraging. On the season he is now hitting .296/.371/.908 with two homeruns.

Omar Martinez, C, LHB – 11 hits in his last 28 (.392) with three doubles (.500 SLG) and six walks (.500 OBP) and 10 K in his last nine games. Again, too many strikeouts but Martinez is off to a great start to the season and is now up to .264/.400/.834 with two homeruns on the season. Martinez is a sleeper at catcher who can both hit and defend the position well.

Ronny Rojas, SS/2B/3B, SH – 10 for his last 30 (.333) with three doubles and three homeruns (.733 SLG), and two walks (.363 OBP) in his last nine games with eight strikeouts. He’s now up to .268/.318/.879 on the season with three homeruns. Rojas has been in the system for a long time but he’s still just 21 and he’s a switch hitter. They are known to take a little bit longer to develop.

Jesus Rodriguez, C/1B, RHB – 10 hits in his last 28 at bats (.358) with one double, one homerun (.500 SLG), and 6 BB : 4 K (.438 OBP). This improves his season numbers to .283/.371/.729 with one homerun and four SB. Rodriguez is also still just 21-years-old and has consistently hit for average and got on base his entire career.

Brenny Escanio, SS/2B, SH – 10 for his last 32 (.313) with one triple, one double (.406), and 7 BB : 8 K (.436) in his last eight games. This brings his season line to .250/.358/.667. Escanio can likely benefit from being a little bit more aggressive earlier in counts, but he’s making nice progress this season and is still just 20-years-old.

Hayden Merda, SP, RHP – Merda has 14 K : 7 BB and a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 IP on the season. Batters are hitting .222 against him. He has been hitting the mid-90’s regularly. He’s throwing four pitches with average to above average movement currently.

Brock Selvidge, SP, LHP – Selvidge is off to a nice start, with a 3.66 ERA and 20 K : 4 BB in 19.2 innings over four starts. He has a .247 BA against. Selvidge is already sitting low-90’s and topping out at 94 at just 20-years-old. He throws four pitches already and get’s good movement on all of his pitches. He doesn’t walk many either.

Sean Hermann, SP, RHP – Also off to a good start with a 3.6 ERA and 16 K : 5 BB in 20 innings over four starts. The main thing Hermann has to work on is missing more bats. He has a .270 average against so far. He sits low-90’s and tops out at 94-mph as well. He gets good movement on his 2-seam fastball and changeup but could use some work on the changeup and cutter.

Luis Velasquez, RP, RHP – Velasquez has a 1.46 ERA and 14 K : 4 BB in 12.1 innings so far. He hits 96-mph with his fastball and has a .136 average against. He also gets good movement on his slider.  He’s a strong candidate to move up soon.

Matt Keating, RP, RHP – Low-90’s fastball with good deception with a slider that has good movement. So far has a 1.74 ERA and 14 K : 7 BB in 10.1 innings. Needs to cut down on the walks.

Mason Vinyard. RP, RHP – Non-drafted free agent signings who could be more. Has 16 K : 4 BB and a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings so far. Batters are hitting .128 against him. Sits low-90’s and hits 94-mph with the fastball and has a changeup and slider. All three of his pitches have excellent movement.

High-A Hudson Valley 

Spencer Henson 1B, RHB – Over his last eight games, Henson is 8/28 (.286) with three homeruns, two doubles (.679 SLG), and 9 K : 3 BB (.412 OBP).

Antonio Gomez C, RHB – 10/32 (.313) with two doubles (.375 SLG), and 9 K : 4 BB (.389 OBP) over his last eight games. This improves his season line to .271/.358/.697 on the season. Still looking to find the power stroke.

Alexander Vargas SS, SH – 14/44 (.318) with four homeruns, two triples and a double (.705 SLG) in his last 10 games. He also has 13 K : 5 BB (.388 OBP) and four SB. He is now at a respectable .263/.344/.561/.905 line for the season. Vargas is in need of a breakout season and he looks to be well on his way to having one.

Ben Rice C/1B, LHB – Rice has continued his hot hitting with a .333/.548/.556/1.104 line over his last nine games. This includes two homeruns and two stolen bases while walking a whopping 14 times and striking out just six. Rice was a sleeper going into the season and he may be breaking out. On the year he’s hitting .341/.559/1.082 with two homeruns and two doubles in 15 games.

Rafael Flores C/1B, RHB – Flores has hit a scorching .485/.514/.606/1.120 over the last eight games with four doubles, three walks, and six strikeouts. On the season he’s hitting .404/.442/.511/.953 with five doubles. Flores is still looking to run into some power and walk a bit more, but when you hit over .400 that’s not required. Flores was a non-drafted free agent signing and a sleeper going into this season.

Aaron Palensky RF, RHB – No one in the entire system is as hot as Palensky at the moment. Over the last seven games he has hit .500/.600/1.214/1.814 with six homeruns, two doubles, and five stolen bases. Palensky is coming out of the gate hot with seven homeruns, three doubles and a triple in 12 games so far. If this performance continues they won’t be able to keep him in High-A long.

Caleb Durbin 2B, RHB – 11/35 (.313) with two doubles (.371 SLG) and nine BB (.455) in the last 10 games. The Yankees picked up Durbin in the Lucas Luetge trade and he has played well so far in pinstripes.

Spencer Jones CF, LHB – So far Spencer Jones has been everything the Yankees hoped for, with a .286/.329/.610/.939 line and five homeruns, six doubles, and two triples. He is striking out way too much, with 30 K : 6 BB in 18 games, but has acclimated well so far to High-A.

Drew Thorpe SP, RHP – Off to a great start with a 2.86 ERA and 29 K : 9 BB in 22 ininngs over four starts after skipping Low-A in his first full season. Thorpe was the second round pick in the 2022 draft and has been better than expected. He has been in the low-90’s hitting as high as 95 with excellent movement of four good pitches.

Zach Messinger SP, RHP – Messinger is also off to an excellent start and is a potential breakout player this year. In four starts, he has 26 K : 6 BB and a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings. His velocity has been in the low-90’s hitting 95 similar to Thorpe. His repertoire now includes four pitches as well.

Harrison Cohen RP, RHP – Cohen earned a quick promotion from Tampa after manhandling Low-A hitters with a 95 mph fastball and a nasty slider. Cohen is yet another non drafted free agent signing off to a hot start with 5 K and a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched.

Danny Watson RP, RHP – Watson is striking out just about everyone he doesn’t walk, with 20 K : 6 BB in 11 IP. He has a .186 average against in the early going. If he improves the walk rate he could get promoted to Double-A soon.

 

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Max Burt SS/2B/3B, RHB – On his way to the best season of his career by far, Burt is more confident than ever. He’s hitting .386/.462/.773/1.235 with four homeruns, three doubles, a triple, and six stolen bases in 14 games so far. He has six walks and 13 K. Burt was drafted in a round that no longer exists in the MLB draft, but he has come a long way and could be a late bloomer.

Eric Wagaman 1B, RHB – Wagaman is off to a good start in his first 10 games, with a .303/.333/.455/.788 line and a homerun, two doubles, and an uncharacteristic five stolen bases.

Brandon Lockridge CF, RHB – One of, if not the fastest player in the system is having a rebound season after a forgettable 2022 season. Over his last 10 games, he’s hit .318/.360/.591/.951 with two doubles and two triples, while stealing six bases. He has 10 SB already on the season in just 17 games.

Carlos Narvaez C, RHB – Off to the best start of start of his career, Narvaez is hitting .256/.373/.488/.861 with two homeruns, four doubles, and 13 K : 7 BB. He’s still just 24-years-old despite being in the system for eight years already.

Clayton Beeter SP, RHP – Beeter has a 1.74 ERA and 23 K : 11 BB in 20.2 innings over four starts so far. He has a .208 average against. If he keeps this up he could find himself in Triple-A soon.

Blas Castano SP, RHP – Two starts, 10 inings, 1.8 ERA and 12 K : 3 BB. Castano has sat in the low-mid 90’s with a deceptive delivery and tons of movement.

Tanner Myatt RP, RHP – After a breakout performance in 2022, Myatt looks good again this year. So far he has 11 K : 5 BB in 9.1 innings and a miniscule .129 average against and a 0.96 ERA. His stuff is filthy and he regularly hits the upper 90’s, even triple digits. All he really has to do is throw strikes and he is unhittable.

Indigo Diaz RP, RHP – Yankees picked up Diaz in the Luetge trade and he looks good so far. He has a 1.04 ERA and 9 K : 5 BB in 8.2 innings pitched.

Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 

Rodolfo Duran C, RHB – In 15 games, he has a .291/.339/.600/.939 line with four homeruns and five doubles.

Mickey Gasper C/1B, SH – Over the last eight games, he has a .300/.364/.467/.831 line with a homerun and two doubles.

Matt Krook RP, LHP – He has an incredible 23 K in 11.2 innings and a 1.54 ERA. Batters have hit .103 against him. The only catch, he has 8 BB already.

Aaron McGarity RP, RHP – 18 K : 4 BB and a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 IP. Just a .156 average against for a guy with tons of movement on his pitches.