Pinstriped Performances: Perfect

As bad as the Yankees have been over the season’s first two-plus months, that’s how flat out dominant their minor league teams have been. After another solid week, each of the four teams is at least six games over .500, and all four won on Sunday – three in shutout fashion. Bring on the GCL season!

Estevan Florial playing for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on May 15, 2021 (Chris Jones)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (23-11): Luke Voit returned for a second rehab stint, and his teammates provided plenty of firepower while Scranton pitching shut down Buffalo in an 8-0 win.

• Star of the Game: Ryan LaMarre – 4-for-5, 1 home run (1), 3 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout. After a brief big-league cameo was cut short by a hamstring injury, LaMarre is back in Triple-A and had a day to remember
• Luke Voit: 1-for-3, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout
• Estevan Florial: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout. Florial was clearly overmatched and needed a break from the leadoff role. RailRiders skipper Doug Davis has dropped him to fifth in the order, and just like that, Florial notched his first three-hit game at Triple-A and just his second multi-hit outing
• Derek Dietrich: 1-for-3, 1 home run (3), 3 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout. Dietrich provided the big blow in a six-run fourth inning
• Nick Nelson: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 57 pitches (35 strikes)
• Adam Warren: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 41 pitches (26 strikes)
• Brooks Kriske: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 14 pitches (9 strikes)
• Sal Romano: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 16 pitches (12 strikes)
• Luis García: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 15 pitches (11 strikes)

Janson Junk pitching for the Somerset Patriots on May 7, 2021. (Chris Jones)

Somerset Patriots (22-13): An absolute gem from Janson Junk and a pair of RBIs from Michael Beltre were all the Patriots needed in a 2-0 win over Erie.

• Star of the Game: Janson Junk – 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 84 pitches (54 strikes). In by far his best start of a solid season, Junk pitched past the fourth inning for the first time and lowered his ERA to 0.93
• Oswald Peraza: 1-for-4, 1 strikeout
• Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-4, 1 double, 1 strikeout
• Diego Castillo: 1-for-3, 1 double, 1 run scored, 1 walk
• Michael Beltre: 1-for-3, 1 home run (5), 2 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout. Beltre’s RBI groundout scored the Patriots’ first run, and his solo home run in the ninth inning sealed the deal
• Kevin Gadea: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 29 pitches (17 strikes)
• Ron Marinaccio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
• Greg Weissert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 17 pitches (8 strikes). Weissert has four saves now – if there’s one criticism of the Long Island native’s game, it’s that he’s walked five and hit three batters in his 12.2 innings

Josh Smith (Robert M. Pimpsner)

Hudson Valley Renegades (20-14): Every team had at least some success this week, but none had a better one than the Renegades. They took five of six on the road from the Cyclones, closing out the series by scoring five runs in the eighth and ninth after another rock-solid start from Hayden Wesneski to win 5-0.

• Star of the Game: Hayden Wesneski – 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 84 pitches (56 strikes). With an efficient seven frames – his first time pitching past the sixth inning this year – Wesneski made an emphatic statement. In seven starts and 36.1 innings, he’s rocking a 47:9 strikeout to walk ratio and a 1.49 ERA
• Josh Smith: 1-for-5, 1 double, 2 RBI, 1 run scored, 2 strikeouts. Smith’s double in the eighth broke the scoreless tie
• Ezequiel Duran: 1-for-3, 1 run scored, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
• Josh Breaux: 1-for-5, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout
• Eric Wagaman: 1-for-4, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout
• Frederick Cuevas: 2-for-3, 2 doubles, 1 run scored, 1 walk. Cuevas posted his first game with more than one extra-base hit on the year and his first multi-hit game since May 27
• Eduardo Torrealba: 2-for-4, 1 run scored
• Nick Ernst: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
• Zach Greene: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 14 pitches (9 strikes)

Austin Wells (Photo by John Brophy/Pinstriped Prospects)

Tampa Tarpons (26-10): Tampa leads the system in wins and completed a 4-2 week with a 12-5 beatdown of Clearwater that saw four different Tarpons bash home runs.

• Star of the Game: Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-1, 1 home run (2), 3 RBI, 2 runs scored, 4 walks. Narvaez posted a perfect OBP on the afternoon, and his first-inning home run with two on and two out set the tone for the rest of the game
• Trevor Hauver: 0-for-5, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. On an off day for Anthony Volpe, Hauver was called upon to bat leadoff
• Austin Wells: 2-for-5, 1 home run (4), 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 walk. Is Wells finally finding his power stroke? He’s now gone deep in three consecutive games
• Jake Sanford: 2-for-5, 3 runs scored, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• Andres Chaparro: 2-for-5, 1 home run (4), 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 strikeout. After the Threshers closed the gap to 3-2 in the second inning, Chaparro came right back with a blast to restore the three-run lead
• Juan De Leon: 2-for-5, 1 home run (3), 1 double, 3 RBI, 1 run scored, 3 strikeouts. All three of De Leon’s home runs have come in the month of June
• Beck Way: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 39 pitches (16 strikes). There was some hype around the fourth-round pick coming into the year – he hasn’t been bad, but the seven walks in 7.2 innings are an eyesore
• Edgar Barclay: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 58 pitches (37 strikes)
• Nelvin Correa: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 38 pitches (24 strikes). A well-deserved win for the 24-year-old, who has allowed just two earned runs all season
• Wellington Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 14 pitches (7 strikes)