Yankees: News, Notes, And Highlights From The Minors (4/25)

The Yankees of the future continue their march to be noticed and promoted. Here’s a quick read that’ll bring you up to date on who’s hot and who’s not down on the farm.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders

The Railriders play in the North Division of the International League. The defending national champions are currently 8-8 on the year, trailing four teams in the division that is led by Buffalo, the farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Surprisingly, former New York Mets castoff, Ruben Tejada, continues to lead the team in batting average (.368) and runs batted in with eleven. It’s hard to figure how he fits into the Yankees plans for the future given their depth at the shortstop position, but the fact that Tejada is still in the game makes for an interesting baseball story. Tejada figures to be used as trade bait when a big league team loses their shortstop for any length of time.

Clint Frazier is showing signs that he is waking up a bit, but he’s still batting .212 with only two home runs. If the Yankees do decide to make a big move come July, Frazier is most likely the first blue-chip prospect to be moved, whether or not his numbers improve.

Ji-Man Choi, the Railriders first baseman is off to a good start with the bat hitting .350, but with no power and only 17 total bases. Once again, Choi would appear to be blocked for a good number of years by Greg Bird and his future with the Yankees is cloudy at best.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Should Yankees toss short-term extension at Harrison Bader before 2023?
• Yankees chose worst possible player to ring in New Year on 2023 team calendar
• Yankees State of the Farm System Review: Josh Breaux
• Yankees make upside play, sign former Rangers top prospect outfielder
• MLB insider claims favorite emerging in Bryan Reynolds rumors (not Yankees)

Other notables in the Railriders lineup include Tyler Wade holding steady at .305 with six stolen bases and Dustin Fowler (.232), who is showing an alarming propensity to strike out and currently whiffing once in every four at-bats.

But the real story of the Railriders rests in their pitching. Chad Green continues to pitch lights out and averaging six innings per start and carries an ERA of 2.00 with 23 punchouts in 18 innings.

He followed close by Luis Cessa (1-2), who’s given up only three earned runs in sixteen innings. His nine walks, though, are a concern. In fact, he was sent down primarily to work on his command of the strike zone.

The sleeper on the staff, though, continues to be Dietrich Enns who has yet to get a decision but continues to impress with his ability to get hitters out. Enns has given up only four hits in 11 innings of work.

Trenton Thunder

When the season began for the Yankees Double-A entry in the Eastern League, Trenton Thunder, all eyes were focused on Gleyber Torres. Not so much anymore as Torres has been limited to ten games and only 38 at-bats due to a mild injury, he’s been hampered with. He’ll be back to full strength soon, and attention will turn to him again. But there’s another story brewing in Trenton that has the potential to be even more sensational.

Between the two of them, Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield have made seven starts consuming forty innings, over which they’ve given up a total of only five earned runs.

The walks are too high, though, with ten apiece, and that could be the main reason why they are where they are instead of the Bronx at the moment. At the same time, though, it couldn’t be more clear regarding the direction they are heading in, which is upwards in the rankings of players who will help the Yankees shortly.

And if you really want to get giddy, add Nestor Cortes to the conversation. In two starts, Cortes has yet to give up a run in ten innings pitched, while striking out 13 batters.

Summing Up

The Yankees have pitching all over the place, and the fact that, lately, they also have it in the Bronx makes for some interesting decisions down the road. The season is young, and a lot can happen over the next few months. But there is no question that more than a few pitchers, who are currently not with the team, will be knocking on the door at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees Trading In 6-Cylinder For Newer 8-Cylinder Model

Soon, the Yankees will be trading in their 6-cylinder vehicle for an 8-cylinder model that is packed with more power. But, is that automatically good?

And a couple of them will be more than just tapping on the door.