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Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB lost four of six games playing host to Lehigh Valley. The RailRiders are 9-14 and 4.5 games behind the pace in the International League East.

• Say Hay: RHP Hayden Wesneski: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K, HR — Went 12 up, 12 down to start the game before running into trouble in the fifth. Nick Maton took him deep. Only need 76 pitches to go six frames. Raises his ERA to 2.37 on the season in 19 innings.
• Still Struggling: RHP Deivi García: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K — Labored through this one…saved his best inning for last though, throwing a 1-2-3 fourth. His strikeout total (11) has finally met his walk total (11) on the season (19 innings). That good spring training feels long ago.
• Going DownGil: RHP Luis Gil: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, WP — Yikes, threw 77 pitches in spite of a 13 pitch, 1-2-3 second inning. Control has never been Gil’s strong suit, but an 18.5 percent walk rate just won’t fly. He managed to pitch well at a ~15 percent mark last year, but perhaps he was a bit lucky. Stuff is obviously overpowering, but a relief role is in his future if he can’t find the zone often enough.
• Starting Pitcher: LHP JP Sears: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — Threw 45 pitches; not sure if the team is trying to stretch him out or if his day in the rotation is simply a bullpen day. Clarke Schmidt could take his spot with roster size in the majors decreasing.
• Starting Pitcher: LHP Matt Krook: 4.1 ISP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 7 K — Oof, 6 walks and 7 strikeouts? Not a lot of action behind him. Three of those walks came in the fifth, for what it’s worth, so maybe he was just left in too long. Threw 89 pitches.
• Original Killer B: LHP Manny Bañuelos: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K — ManBan was very efficient, needing just 68 pitches to get this far.
• Prospect Watch: SS Oswald Peraza: 6-for-19, 4 R, HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 3 SB — Nice rebound after reaching base just once in previous 17 plate appearances. His average as reached the Mendoza Line, but he still has just a 67 wRC+.
• Prospect Watch: IF Oswaldo Cabrera: 5-for-20, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K — Finally got his first homer of the year. Hopefully that gets him going. He had 29 last season. O-Cab has a .214/.286/.400 (81 wRC+) in just under 80 PA.
• Ebb and Flo: CF Estevan Florial: 7-for-18, 5 R, 2B, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K, 2 SB — He really knows how to tease everyone with awesome weeks like this from time to time, only to look awful for long stretches. 24 year old now has a .246/.342/.391 (97 wRC+) line, albeit with a K-rate north of 30%.
• Leftovers: 1B Greg Bird reached base 8 times; 6 via walk…IF Armando Alvarez and OF Phillip Evans homered…RHP Ron Marinaccio dominated in his return to the minors, striking out 5 in 2 frames yesterday.

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Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

The RailRiders dropped four of six on the road against Buffalo. SWB is 7-10 on the season, 3.5 games back in the International League East division.

• A tad better: RHP Deivi García: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K — Could have been a lot worse, in fact. Loaded the bases with no one out in the first, but escaped without allowing a run. Second and third innings were also a struggle, but he did pitch a 1-2-3 frame in the fourth. Progress after two rough starts, I guess?
• Going Down-Gil: RHP Luis Gil: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K — Like Deivi, he also escaped a bases full nobody out jam without allowing a run in the first. Had a 1-2-3 second inning before losing it in the third frame. Control’s been a mess for Gil, who has 9 walks and 2 wild pitches in 8 innings in 3 starts.
• Krookie Monster: LHP Matt Krook: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 7 K — Set down 6 of the first 7 hitters he faced, including 4 strikeouts. Fell apart in the fifth inning, when he issued 3 of his 6 free passes.
• Back to the minors: LHP JP Sears: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K — Started Saturday, his first game in the minors this season since he made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster.
• Hay Now: RHP Hayden Wesneski: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 6 K — Retired seven in a row before running into trouble in the fifth, when he walked and hit the first two batters. Reliever Zach Greene inherited those two runners and allowed them to score. These were the first two earned runs Wesneski has allowed this year, raising his ERA to 1.38 in 13 innings.
• Killer B: LHP Manny Bañuelos: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K — 31 year old has continued where he left off in spring training…Just 10 baserunners in 12.2 IP, including 12 strikeouts for SWB.
• Yikes: SS Oswald Peraza: 0-14, BB, 4 K — That’ll put a dent in the season stat line…Hitting .152/.220/.261 (32 wRC+) with a 4% walk rate and 20% strikeout rate in 50 PA.
• Prospect watch: IF Oswaldo Cabrera: 4-for-19, 2 R, 3 2B, BB, 5 K — Still searching for his power stroke…Cabrera hit 29 homers between Somerset (24) and SWB (5) last year, but none yet in 2022. Has a 65 wRC+ in 55 PA so far this season.
• Miggy Missiles: LF Miguel Andújar  10-for-23, 4 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, SB — Well then…Would he be a better option than Tim Locastro for the major league bench? Miggy is up to .347/.396/.551 (156 wRC+) in 53 PA.
• Uh oh, Flo: CF Estevan Florial: 2-for-20, R, 2 H, BB, 8 K, SB, CS — I just don’t think the bat-to-ball skills are ever going to come around, unfortunately. 32.1% K-rate in 56 PA after a 30.9% rate in Triple-A last year.
• Leftovers: 1B Greg Bird hit his second homer of the year…LF Matt Pita launched two homers…IF Jose Peraza hit one of his own…RHP Zach Greene fanned 6 batters in 3.1 IP of relief, though he did give up two inherited runs as previously mentioned.

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Ain’t it grand, @Volpe_Anthony pic.twitter.com/uEUHWn8w8m

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 17, 2022

The Yankees did not have a very pleasant weekend, to put it mildly. Dropping two of three from the Orioles is inexcusable, and I don’t care that it’s April. The Bombers are off today before beginning a series against the Tigers in Detroit, so in the meantime, perhaps the latest Down on the Farm can raise spirits a little bit. Here’s what went down last week:

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Brutal week for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate: the RailRiders nearly lost all six games they played this week, but managed to take yesterday’s double header finale, 1-0.

• Deivi down: RHP Deivi García: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K — Welp, so much for that encouraging spring training. That’s two clunkers to open the regular season.
• King of the Hill: RHP Luis Gil: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER, HR, 5 BB, 3 K — Oof, that’s a rough one. Starts like this are why there’s some belief he will eventually land in a bullpen role.
• On the Rise: RHP Hayden Wesneski: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K — Faced the minimum through seven batters, but labored in the third and fourth innings before his outing ended.
• Krookie Monster: LHP Matt Krook: 2 GS, 8.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HBP, 3 BB, 12 K — Now has 19 Ks in 13.2 IP this season
• ManBan Returns: 2 G, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HBP, 3 BB, 7 K — Continuing the strong work from Grapefruit League play.
• Prospect watch: SS Oswald Peraza: 2-for-14, 2B, RBI, BB, 3 K — Has a .617 OPS to begin the year
• Prospect watch: 2B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-15, R, BB, 7 K — 12 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances thus far, and has just 1 hit in his last 20 AB after raking in the first three games of the season
• Cooling off: CF Estevan Florial: 3-for-15, R, 2 2B, BB, 7 K — This, unfortunately, is the Florial we’ve grown familiar with. To think some folks wanted him to play over Joey Gallo in the majors after last week…
• Miggy Missiles: LF Miguel Andújar: 4-for-18, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 5 K — I still don’t understand why the Yankees are keeping him around…He deserves a fresh start elsewhere and doesn’t have a future in the Bronx
• Bird watching: 1B Greg Bird: 0-for-11, 3 BB, 5 K — Hitless in last 15 at-bats.
• Leftovers: 1B Ronald Guzman reached base in 10 of 19 plate appearances, including two homers and a double…CF Ender Inciarte tallied 4 singles and a walk in 14 PA…LF Evan Alexander pitched a scoreless inning in mop up duty…LHP Trevor Lane fanned six batters in two appearances, three innings total.

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As promised, Down on the Farm isn’t going anywhere. It’s not going to be daily like last year, but rather, weekly. We plan to run this on Mondays because it’s almost always an off day in the minors now, at least until the Complex Leagues start I believe.

While the daily recaps may have been instant gratification, my personal opinion is that these weekly updates will reflect better analysis of the key players to follow in the organization. Weekly results are still a small sample, but still better represent how players are trending. Of course, it also eases our workload. Anyway, let’s jump in:

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