It wasn’t the best week on the farm for the Yankees’ four affiliates, but it was the first full week of the season, during which all four affiliates got in six games. Nobody had a winning week, but all four levels had at least one player produce a standout performance, with several showing incredible progress and continued results in their season debuts.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 9-6, 1.5 GB in the International League East after a 3-3 week against the Durham Bulls (Rays)
Run differential: +24
Coming up: Road @ Syracuse Mets (Mets)
The second full week of the season was a mixed bag for the RailRiders, who started out with another Tuesday postponement due to blistering cold in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They opened the week with a thrilling comeback victory on Wednesday, which saw them rally back from a 6-0 deficit in a bullpen game by taking advantage of bad Durham defense. They then walked off the Bulls on Thursday in a back-and-forth game, thanks to a walk-off blast from catcher Ali Sánchez.
A planned doubleheader on Friday saw only one game played, and it was tied through six innings at two before a blowup outing by Harrison Cohen resulted in an eight-run seventh and a loss. They finally got the doubleheader in on Saturday, which saw Carlos Lagrange take the loss in the matinee despite seven strikeouts in 3.1 fiery innings, while they rode the burly bat of Spencer Jones to take the nightcap, 9-5. The bats mostly fell silent in a 4-3 loss on Sunday.
Jasson Domínguez continues to impress on the hitting front, racking up six hits, seven walks, and four stolen bases in six games. What was especially intriguing was that he even started a pair of games in center field, his original position when he signed out of the Dominican Republic. There wasn’t anything too notable in either of those games, but he did commit an error when he misplayed a single into center field that allowed a run to score.
Spencer Jones is heating up after a horrific start to the season. Through nine games, the 6-foot-7 slugger had a strikeout rate over 50 percent, but he only struck out five times in six games this week. His standout performance came in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, when he went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs.
As for the rest of the hitting core, the veterans are all over the place. Max Schuemann and Braden Shewmake haven’t gotten going (though my colleague Scott had a very nice article about Schuemann), while Seth Brown and Paul DeJong have been more than serviceable. The real standout is Sánchez, who could be in play for a midseason call-up behind the dish if the depth is tested. A former big leaguer with five different teams, he’s not known for his bat, but he blasted a pair of home runs this week.
Brendan Beck continued a strong start to the season on Wednesday, while there were mixed results for Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange. For Rodriguez, his velo was down, and he labored through five innings, while Lagrange struggled with command while lighting up the radar gun, sitting nearly 101 on his fastball. In three starts, he now has 13 strikeouts to nine walks in 10.2 innings.
Bullpen-wise, the 40-man arms continue to deal. Yovanny Cruz and Angel Chivilli have still yet to give up an earned run, combining for 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Yerry De los Santos and Kervin Castro have also continued to pitch well. Any of those players could be in play to come up to the Yankees today with the news of Jake Bird’s demotion.
Players of Note:
Jasson Domínguez: .354/.475/.521, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 SB, 176 wRC+
Spencer Jones: .235/.374/.471, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 6 XBH, 39.3 K%, 118 wRC+
Ali Sanchez: .433/.500/.733, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 231 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 31.7 K-BB% (15 IP)
Double-A Somerset Patriots
Record: 3-5, 2 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 2-4 week against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
Run differential: +5
Coming up: Home vs. Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies)
This team has had the early identity of extreme inconsistency. For a TLDR, here’s what I mean:
Three wins: 37 runs, +28 run differential
Five losses: 11 runs, -23 run differential
In three of their five losses, they’ve been held to one run or fewer. They scored four combined runs in a Wednesday doubleheader, losing the first game 11-3 before they failed to pick up Chase Chaney in a 2-1 loss. They rebounded to win by 10 runs on Thursday, powered by another strong game by George Lombard Jr., before losing an extremely odd Saturday game, which saw them need to use infielder Owen Cobb in the 10th inning. They took the finale, 7-5.
Speaking of Lombard, he continues to be on fire, going 7-for-19 with a home run and three doubles. There’s a lot to be encouraged by in his first seven games of the season. After struggling to generate much game power in 2025 (9 HR and .146 ISO in 132 combined games), he’s already hit two homers with seven extra-base hits in 32 plate appearances. His very mature plate discipline has remained on display, and he’s only struck out four times. The defensive IQ still looks very, very impressive as well.
We go from a 20-year-old top prospect to a 32-year-old journeyman, as the oldest player in Double-A is raking in his first taste of MLB-affiliated ball in seven years. Nick Torres is coming off a tremendous week, going 8-for-18 with a home run and a double in five games while splitting time at first base, left field, and designated hitter. He isn’t much of a prospect, but the Mexican League MVP is easy to root for.
Elsewhere on offense, guys like Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, and DJ Gladney continue to hit, while they’re still hoping for Jace Avina and the catching tandem of Miguel Palma and Manuel Palencia to get going, as the three have combined to start the year 4-for-55.
Ben Hess had a very challenging start on Saturday, when he lost all command in the third inning. There’s always a worry that some of these minor-league starters might not be able to throw enough strikes to start at the big-league level, and Hess is currently in that gray area. Through two starts, he has 14 strikeouts and 10 walks/HBP in just 7.2 innings. When his stuff is on, it’s on, but it won’t matter if he can’t throw enough strikes.
The results were mixed with the rest of the rotation. Kyle Carr had a better start on Sunday after walks hurt him in his first start of the season, while Trent Sellers and Xavier Rivas both struggled in their first starts. Cade Smith had a dazzling first four innings in his Double-A debut on Wednesday, but unraevled in the fifth and had to be saved by Eric Reyzelman in relief.
Speaking of Reyzelman, he’s among those off to a great start in the bullpen. The former fifth-round pick won’t be long for Somerset if he continues to show improved command, while both Will Brian and Chris Kean have impressed as well. Those three have 20 strikeouts combined in just over 10 shutout innings of relief and have been stabilizers to a bullpen with a few struggling arms.
As we look ahead, Anthony Volpe is starting a rehab assignment in Somerset on Tuesday as he inches closer to returning from labrum surgery.
Players of Note:
Ben Hess: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K
Eric Reyzelman: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
George Lombard Jr: 13-for-28, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 XBH, 2 SB
DJ Gladney: 7-for-21, 3 RBI, 3 XBH, 2 BB
Coby Morales: 8-for-27, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 4 XBH, 5 BB
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 3-5, 3.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 1-5 week against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Run differential: -3
Coming up: Road @ Frederick Keys (Orioles)
Hudson Valley had a rough week on both sides of the ball. The Renegades scored first in the first five games of the week, but only won one of them. They dropped Tuesday’s game in extras, lost on a blowup fifth inning on Wednesday, won 2-0 on Thursday, lost a pitcher’s duel on Friday, had one bad inning doom them on Saturday, and just had a lousy loss on Sunday.
After a great start to the season, most of the 2025 draftees cooled off considerably this week, as Kaeden Kent, Core Jackson, and Kyle West struggled (Jackson did hit a home run on Saturday, at least). The standout hitters this week were 2025 undrafted free agent Eric Genther (9-for-21, RBI, 3 BB, 2 2B) and former top prospect Roderick Arias (5-for-23, 5 RBI, 3B, 4 SB), who noticeably looks more comfortable after leaving Tampa.
The pitching was a mixed bag. Franyer Herrera wasn’t great in his abbreviated season debut, Brandon Decker tossed 3.2 hitless innings but struggled with command, Rory Fox was dominant in his first three innings before completely unraveling, and Sean Paul Liñan flashed his potential with seven strikeouts in 3,1 choppy innings. Additionally, the team lost Pico Kohn to the 7-day injured list with an undisclosed injury.
But the two pitchers who really stood out were Luis Serna and Jack Cebert. We’ll get into Serna later on, but Cebert was impressive in his season debut. The 2025 15th-rounder debuted briefly last season as a reliever, but pitched into the eighth inning today in his first pro start. He bounced back after a tough third inning, and despite taking the loss, struck out eight in 7.1 innings with zero walks.
The bullpen has had an inconsistent start to the year. Chris Veach is the current gold standard with six strikeouts in 4.1 shutout innings, while both Ben Grable and Jack Sokol are racking up strikeouts in relatively small samples. It’s too early to say much with this unit.
Players of Note:
Roderick Arias: 9-for-31, 6 RBI, 2 XBH, 4 SB, 26.5 K%
Core Jackson: 7-for-34, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2B, 2 SB
Kaeden Kent: 7-for-31, 2B, 6 BB, 3 SB
Jack Cebert: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 8 K
Single-A Tampa Tarpons
Record: 3-6, 4 GB in the Florida State League West after a 3-3 week against the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
Run differential: -15
Coming up: Home vs. Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)
If you’ve followed the Tarpons for the last few years, you know that pitching has been an issue for the team for a good while. That does happen to be a trend in Single-A, but the early returns are incredibly encouraging for Tampa. In six games this week, they allowed 10 total runs.
Tampa lost the opener, 4-1, after a rough seventh inning. Strong starting pitching buoyed victories on Wednesday and Thursday, even with an underperforming offense. The offense came through with a 9-0 win on Friday, but the Tarpons dropped both weekend games by only scoring one total run.
Pretty much everyone is struggling to start the year, as even with Logan Maxwell’s multi-homer game and JoJo Jackson’s strong first weekend, the numbers aren’t good. Brando Mayea is struggling, as is Enmanuel Tejeda, who’s an ugly 1-for-27, albeit with 11 walks. There’s one player, though, who’s still hitting.
Jackson Lovich started the year on the injured list with a minor injury, but returned on Thursday to play the next four games. His six-game cameo last season saw some eye-popping numbers, but it could be a victim of a small sample size. Well, he’s continued it to start this season, starting 6-for-16 with five extra-base hits, four RBIs, and a stolen base. He has been striking out more, but his stats to start his career are ludicrous.
The pitching is the story. Blake Gillespie threw six shutout innings on Tuesday, Allen Facundo struck out eight in 5.2 innings in his season debut on Wednesday, Tyler Boudreau struck out nine in 4.1 innings on Thursday, Justin West tossed 5.1 shutout innings on Friday, and Danny Flatt spun six solid innings on Sunday. Henry Lalane had a solid outing on Saturday as well, but he’s going back on the injured list.
Players of Note:
Logan Maxwell: 6-for-22, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB
JoJo Jackson: 7-for-27, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 3 SB
Allen Facundo: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Jose M. Rodriguez: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 11 K
Prospect of the Week: Luis Serna
Weekly Stats: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K
Progress isn’t always linear for prospects rising through a farm system. This is especially true for international prospects, who sign so young that they have an exceptionally longer leash to figure things out because of their age.
Serna was once a highly-touted prospect out of Mexico who dominated rookie ball in 2021 and 2022, combining to strike out 102 batters in 81 innings of 2 ERA ball at age 17 and 18. While he had a more challenging 2023, he figured to be entering his age-20 season with all the promise in the world. He even got to pitch in his home country when the Yankees played an exhibition in Monterrey in late March.
When Serna made his Single-A debut with Tampa, though, he just couldn’t figure things out. Injuries cost him part of 2024 and most of 2025 as he mightily struggled over the course of two years, pitching to a baffling 5.99 ERA in 76.2 innings. The shine had worn off, even if he wouldn’t turn 22 until this July. Still, the Yankees decided not to have him repeat Single-A until he figured it out, pushing him to High-A Hudson Valley. And while one game doesn’t dictate how your season will go, his High-A debut was as good as possible.
He allowed just two baserunners with 10 strikeouts and 22(!) whiffs in seven strong innings in Thursday’s win. His velocity was back to 93-94, his changeup was otherworldly, his slider and curveball worked as tertiary pitches. Everything was working for a guy who’s finally healthy.
For a team that has developed some great arms in recent years, if we see a resurgence from a guy like Serna getting back on a big league trajectory, that might be their biggest win yet.
Kon Knueppel
Tyler Herro
