The Farm Report: May 3-9
Welcome to the first edition of The Farm Report, where I will supply weekly reviews of the Yankees farm system. These will include team recaps, standings, upcoming schedules, a Player of the Week at each level, a system Player of the Week and an occasional scouting report for a prospect. If there is something you would like to see included in coming weeks, please hit me up on Twitter @BloodyBan with your recommendation. Let’s get started!
Scranton Wilkes-Barre (AAA)
SWB headlines a great week throughout the system. After losing on opening night in Syracuse, they rolled out of town with five straight wins and scoring 52 runs against Mets’ pitching. This includes the Sunday afternoon game where they scored in every inning but the 8th. Luke Voit was among the team leaders with a slash of .389/.476/1.000 (3HR) and is expected to be called up to the big club for their series in Tampa on Tuesday. First Baseman “Hard Hittin’” Chris Gittens (1.581 OPS, 2HR), RF Trey Amburgey (1.476, 3HR), and SS Andrew Velazquez (1.000, 2 2B) were the other notables. On the other end of the spectrum were IF Kyle Holder (.349), 3B Armando Alvarez (.393), and LF Ryan LaMarre (.423). https://twitter.com/bloodyban/status/1390084681643794434?s=21 On the mound was not so stellar. Opening night starter Mike Montgomery gave up 7 runs in only 7.2 innings over two starts for an 8.22 ERA. Fortunately, he has played several seasons in the majors, most recently with Kansas City, and is mere pitching depth. Slightly more concerning was Deivi Garcia, who had no control in his only start. He pitched 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 5 ER, 7 BB, 1 HR, for a 13.50 ERA. He was spared the loss only because the RailRiders put up 17 runs in support. The staff gave up 32 ER in 6 games for a 5.33 ERA. The RailRiders concluded the week with a 5-1 record, tied for first place with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The two teams will face each other for a six game series in Scranton beginning Tuesday.
SWB Player of the week-Trey Amburgey
Trey Amburgey completed the first week of the season like he started it, on fire. After sitting opening day, he hit a HR the next night and never stopped hitting. The right fielder finished the week near the top of almost every offensive category, slashing .450/.476/1.000, with 3 HR, 2 2B, 10 RBI, and 6 R. The 2015 13th rounder is not a top 30 Yankees prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline. https://twitter.com/swbrailriders/status/1391497874857414661?s=21
Somerset Patriots (AA)
The first week of the inaugural season of Yankees baseball in Somerset played out beautifully. They finished with a 5-1 record. Pitching was their strength, giving up only 13 runs over the 6 games. Fifth ranked Yankees prospect Luis Gil threw 3.2 scoreless innings, 2 H, 6 SO, and only 1 walk on opening night. He was relieved by Ron Marinaccio who hurled 3.1 innings more of scoreless ball. The 19th round 2017 pick finished the week throwing 5.1 inning, 1 hit ball, with 9 SO. Offensively, the Patriots scored 29 runs, 4.83 per game. Two unranked prospects, LF Thomas Malone and 3B Diego Castillo were two of the offensive stars. Malone slashed .357/.474/.714 with 1 HR and 5RBI. Castillo contributed .348/.360/.522 with 1HR and 4RBI. The Patriots finish the week tied for first with the Portland Sea Dogs and play six at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beginning Tuesday.
Somerset Player of the week-Estevan Florial
This is a name we have been hearing forever, but he is only 23. Injuries, personal problems and his approach at the plate have made for some disappointment, yet he is still the 10th ranked Yankees prospect. He was a monster last week, slashing .318/.400/.955. Florial launched 4 home runs, had 6 RBI, and scored 5 runs. However, he will not be a complete player until he gets his strikeout rate down consistently. He whiffed 6 times in 22 AB, which is still a little high even at that rate of production. https://twitter.com/bloodyban/status/1391777143198208004?s=21
Hudson Valley Renegades (A+)
HV concluded the week 3-3 against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, with pitching being the strength of the team. They would give up only 16 runs over the 6 games. Jhony Brito and Zach Greene were two of the headliners. The 23 year old Brito pitched a scoreless 5 innings, 1H, 2 SO, and 1 BB in his one start. Greene pitched 4.2 innings in 2 games, giving up no runs, 1 hit, and had a whopping 11 SO. The Renegades were led offensively by LF Pablo Olivares and 20th ranked prospect OF Brandon Lockridge. They slashed .286/.545/.571 and .333/.417/.619 respectively. HV finishes the week in second place, 2 games behind the Aberdeen IronBirds, who they face at home the coming week.
Hudson Valley Player of the Week- Luis Medina
It is shocking to not name him the system PoW, but a guy at Tampa has eclipsed even Medina’s performance.
The 22 year old Dominican righty and Yankees’ 7th ranked prospect was stellar in two starts. On opening night, he threw 4 innings of shutout baseball, with 1 hit, 8 SO, and 2 BB. 41 off his 67 pitches were thrown for strikes, with his upper 90’s fastball and knee bending breaking ball both on the mark. He followed that performance up on Sunday with 5.0 innings (64 pitches), 0 R, 1 hit, 7 SO, and 2 BB. Like all young pitchers, command has been an issue but seems to have improved on it, at least early in the season.
https://twitter.com/bloodyban/status/1389950306251952129?s=21
Tampa Tarpons (A)
Tampa may be the most exciting team to follow this season, as it is filled with young talent. They are also likely to be the first stop of Jasson Dominguez’s ride to the Bronx. Disappointingly, there have been no televised games to watch these prospects. They finished the week 5-1 against the Dunedin Blue Jays. Matt Sauer, the 26th ranked Yankees prospect, threw 3.1 scoreless innings on opening night but there was little to like about the pitching staff. Sauer would also pitch on Mother’s Day, giving up 4 ER in 3.2 innings. They would finish the week with an ERA of 7.00, after giving up 42 ER. Their success rode on the offense which scored 77 runs, including 25 on Friday night. The 2019 first round pick and 11th ranked prospect SS Anthony Volpe excelled in his first games above rookie ball, with a .319/.483/.591 slash line. The 2020 first rounder and 6th ranked prospect, C Austin Wells, also had a nice week in his first professional action. He slashed .227/.370/.500 and had 1 HR, although overshadowed by his teammates. Tampa finds itself in first place and will play 6 at the Lakeland Flying Tigers this week.
Organizational Player of the Week
As great as Medina was, it has to be 2B Trevor Hauver. The 2020 Yankee 3rd rounder had an epic week. He slashed .556/.654/1.611. He led all of MiLB with 6 home runs and also contributed 13 RBI, especially incredible for for a middle infielder. However, plate discipline was a problem, with 5 SO in his 18 AB. This will need to improve before moving up from the 23rd ranked Yankees prospect.