May 19th, 2025: Subway Series, Bellinger, Loáisiga, LeMahieu, Prospects

It feels like Name That Yankee is almost hostile toward viewers now. Like the YES Network folks heard people complaining, didn’t like it, and made it even harder. It was Kevin Elster (17 games as a Yankee) on Friday and Stan Jefferson (10 games as a Yankee) on Saturday. I’m all for challenging questions but come on man. I’m ready for trivia to return. I’ll come up with the questions for $10,000 per game, plus expenses. The offer is open-ended. Here now is Tuesday morning’s post on Monday afternoon because it’s an off-day, and I don’t feel like waiting around to hit publish after that very fun Subway Series win.

1. Weekend thoughts. Last year we tracked Aaron Judge’s pursuit of 400 total bases and 100 extra-base hits (he finished with 392 and 95). This year I’m obsessing over times on base. Judge has reached base 103 times in 46 team games. Rafael Devers is a distant second with 88 times on base. Judge is on pace to reach 363 times. That would be the most since Barry Bonds in 2004 (376) and the most by someone other than Bonds since Babe Ruth in 1923. Ruth reached base 379 times that year. That is the all-time record. Judge reached base 322 times last year. Can he get to 330 this year? 340? 360? I can’t wait to find out. Here are a few thoughts on the last few games. 

Plan B wins the Subway Series

Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx did not bring the return of the joyful and exuberant player we watched last season. Instead it was a player who looked like he knew what he was missing. A player who made his between-inning warmup tosses near the infield so he wouldn’t be close to the fans, a player who backed out of ESPN’s in-game Sunday Night Baseball interview, a player who shrunk in the moment after rising to the occasion so often in pinstripes. It was, to put it another way, perfect.

“You’ve got to embrace it,” Soto told Anthony DiComo about the fans getting on him over the weekend. “At the end of day, whatever they give you, it is what it is. You’ve got to be a professional. You’ve got to take it as a man. I was just enjoying the moment.”

There were “Fuck Juan So-to!” chants and “We want Grish-am!” chants (a nod to this) and I heard a brief “Co-dy’s bet-ter!” chant after Bellinger’s banger of a grand slam Sunday (video). The Bleacher Creatures literally turning their backs on Soto after showing him so much love last summer cracked me up. There was faux-outrage over Yankees fans booing a player who helped them get to the World Series, but if Soto got cheered or even if the reaction was indifference, people would say Yankees fans have gone soft. So, fuck Juan Soto.

The Yankees put Friday’s game to bed early, lost a close one-run game Saturday, then buried the Mets late in the finale Sunday. Plan B, the players the Yankees brought in after Soto left for Flushing, were the stars. Bellinger drove in six runs. Max Fried shoved. Paul Goldschmidt drove in a run. Devin Williams retired all six batters he faced in the series, four via strikeout. It would be a cheesy ending if it were a movie, but it was real life.

To be sure, others contributed. Jasson Domínguez went from a 1-2 count to a leadoff walk to begin the eighth inning rally. Jorbit Vivas had the at-bat of the season, an 11-pitch battle with Ryne Stanek that led to a ground ball Pete Alonso threw to 161st Street. A bad/hilarious error, yes, but the Yankees earned that error. Domínguez got on, Austin Wells doubled in a two-strike count, Vivas battled. Then Goldschmidt gets to a 99 mph fastball at eye level (!) to drive in an insurance run, and Cody kissed the sky. It sure is pretty when Bellinger lays into a pitch.

“It was definitely exciting. It was intense,” Fried told Bryan Hoch about the weekend. “Series that feel like playoff series are always good, especially early in the year. It preps you for the kind of baseball you want to play towards the end.”

Bellinger grand-slamming over Soto was the perfect capper to the Subway Series. The Dodgers are a great team, so are the Cubs and Phillies, but give me Yankees vs. Mets in October. Soto brought the juice back to the Subway Series. He’s a terrific player and I miss watching him hit everyday, but he’s a pretty good heel too, and that’s the role he plays now. A delightful weekend, it was.

“I thought it was very fun,” Bellinger told Mark Sanchez about his first Subway Series experience. “Obviously there was a little extra energy in the stadium with both fans being from New York, so I really enjoyed it.”

The Subway Series was a microcosm of the last few weeks of Yankees baseball. They won two games by comfortable margins and lost a one-run game. Losing close games is frustrating, I know, and the Yankees have left a few too many wins on the table this year, but winning comfortably and losing close games is the sign of a great team. You can count on one hand the number of games the Yankees were truly out of this season. Games where they got beat down and never really had a chance. There are only a few.

Sunday was one of those “Yankees win while the other four AL East teams lose" days, which have been surprisingly frequent this year. Here are the standings entering Monday:

There is A LOT of season to be played (the Yankees have all 13 games remaining with Boston) but none of those other four teams frighten me. If the Yankees don’t win the AL East, they will have no one to blame but themselves. That is not to say they are perfect. They need a third baseman, a righty bat, and probably another starter, but they are the least flawed team in the division. The AL East and a Wild Card Series bye are there for the taking, so go take it.

“It’s fun playing at Yankee Stadium when it feels like it matters a lot,” Aaron Boone said after Sunday’s win (video). “As far as managing or playing, nothing really changes. It’s just that the atmosphere makes it a little more exciting.”

Bellinger’s arrival

Bellinger had such a great Spring Training (.423/.464/.750) that it was pretty much guaranteed he would slump to start the regular season. That baseball gods wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure enough, Bellinger slashed .173/.226/.293 (42 wRC+) with an elevated (for him) 25.0 K% in his first four weeks as a Yankee. The last four weeks have been much, much better though:

• First 21 games: .173/.226/.293 (42 wRC+) with 2 HR, 25.0 K%, 7.1 BB%

• Last 21 games: .338/.426/.613 (193 wRC+) with 5 HR, 14.9 K%, 13.8 BB%

These last 21 games have pushed Bellinger’s season batting line to .258/.331/.458 (122 wRC+) and the arrows are all pointing up. He cut his chase rate from 30.3% in April to 23.4% in May. His in-zone contact rate has jumped from 85.6% in April to 92.3% in May. He’s hitting the ball harder and has improved his sweet-spot rate too. It’s always nice when the graphs match the direction of the player’s season:

“I had some good conversations with the hitting coaches about what I was doing early on. ‘Why am I chasing pitches?’ (I’ve been) minimizing those mistakes and capitalizing on those mistakes,” Bellinger told Andy McCullough (subs. req’d) over the weekend. “… I’m feeling good with my mechanics and everything. Ultimately, it’s about swinging at the right pitches, having a good plan, and preparing every day to try and help this team win.”

Bellinger has talked vaguely about cleaning up some mechanical issues and Paul O’Neill has said Cody has less movement throughout his swing, so I went back and grinded tape, and eh, I don’t see it. That doesn’t mean O’Neill is wrong. I just don’t see it with my untrained eye. What I can tell you is Bellinger has opened his stance a bit. Here are Statcast’s new batting stance graphics. Black is where his feet start and red is where they end up once he swings:

Players open their stance primarily to see the ball better, and you see that although his feet are in very different places when Bellinger starts his swing, they wind up in the same spot. Bellinger’s intercept point, which is what Statcast calls the spot where the bat meets the ball, is unchanged. He's not catching the ball further out in front of the plate or anything. Bellinger has a slightly open stance now but everything else is about the same. He’s just starting from a different spot.

And this could explain why Bellinger is chasing less and barreling up pitches in the zone more often. He’s getting a better look at the ball. Do those things and yeah, your exit velocity and launch angle and all that will improve. Part of Bellinger’s trouble earlier this season was the wild hacks on pitches out of the zone. He’s got some free swinger in him, for sure, but Cody’s done a better job reining that in lately.

The offense has ticked up and both the numbers (+1 DRS and +3 OAA) and eye test say Bellinger’s defense has been so good this year. He’s bouncing between the three outfield spots on an almost daily basis and that is not easy. He doesn’t get a few days to settle into one spot and get comfortable with the reads or anything like that. It’s a different spot every day and Bellinger has made it look easy. 

Bellinger’s resurgence has further complicated the whole “more good players than lineup spots” thing. It was kinda easy to put him on the bench the first month or so. Now he’s legitimately one of the Yankees’ best players, both offensively and defensively. Bellinger’s been so great the last four weeks. The slow start was a bummer, but it is a long season. The talented player just needed time to settle in.

(Bellinger missed a few games with a back issue and food poisoning in April. It’s possible that contributed to his slow start, particularly the achy back.)

Loáisiga returns

The tentative plan had Jonathan Loáisiga pitching back-to-back days Saturday and Sunday with Triple-A Scranton, but apparently the Yankees felt those last two rehab outings were unnecessary, and Loáisiga was activated Friday. He made his 2025 debut that night. It was his first MLB appearance since April 3rd of last season. His sixth pitch was a trademark Johnny Lasagna sinker under a righty’s hands:

At 97.5 mph, that is the fastest pitch thrown by a Yankees’ reliever this year. Including Sunday, Loáisiga now has the four fastest and 11 of the 12 fastest pitches thrown by Yankees’ relievers. With a five-run lead in the sixth, Friday was a pretty soft landing spot. Sunday he was brought into the seventh inning of a tie game, so he’s back right back into the fire. Overall, Loáisiga looks like Loáisiga, only down a few mph, and even down a few mph, Loáisiga is the hardest thrower in the bullpen. It’s nice to have a power arm back there again.

“A lot of adrenaline. I was missing it,” Loáisiga told Greg Joyce. “I wanted to be out there, pitching for the team, pitching for the fans. I was really missing it and excited to be back.”

To open a roster spot for Loáisiga, the Yankees DFAed Tyler Matzek, and credit to them for pulling the plug quickly. They could have easily optioned Yerry De Los Santos and kept Matzek, but Matzek wasn’t missing bats (8.7% swinging strikes), wasn’t throwing strikes (14.3% walks), and was giving up a lot of hard contact (95.1 mph exit velocity). He was worth a roll of the dice. It just didn’t work. So it goes.

De Los Santos did himself no favors Friday when he walked the Nos. 7 and 9 hitters and forced Luke Weaver into the game*. I would like to see the Yankees call Brent Headrick up. He’s back from his oblique injury and was great with the Yankees earlier this year (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K). Headrick has velocity and is a different look than Tim Hill. He might be able to fill the second lefty role Matzek could not.

* Every game is connected: Weaver having to bail out De Los Santos on Friday meant he was not available Saturday because he’d pitched three times in four days, including going two innings Wednesday.

Ryan Yarbrough was in the bullpen as the second lefty over the weekend, but the Yankees start a nine games in nine days stretch tonight, and will need their No. 5 starter soon. It’ll be Yarbrough, they already said he's starting Wednesday, which means he won’t be available as a second lefty. Optioning De Los Santos for Headrick seems sensible enough. A second lefty could come in handy against the Rangers and Rockies this week.

In other bullpen news, the Yankees traded Rob Zastryzny to the Brewers for cash Friday. He triggered an upward mobility clause, which forced the Yankees to either put him on their 40-man roster or make him available to the other 29 teams, and trade him to a team willing to put him on their 40-man. The Brewers had Zastryzny last year and wanted him back, and the Yankees had to oblige. He allowed eight runs in 12 innings with the RailRiders.

The Yankees have two open 40-man spots following the Matzek and Carlos Carrasco DFAs. They’ll need those when Jake Cousins, Luis Gil, and Giancarlo Stanton come off the 60-day injured list (whenever that is). Whenever they need another 40-man spot, Oswaldo Cabrera will go on the 60-day injured list. Also, Braden Shewmake is easily DFAable. The Yankees have plenty of 40-man flexibility, if you care about such things. 

Getting Loáisiga back will be such a lift. He's a trusted high leverage arm and you can never have enough of those guys. Plus he brings a power fastball. The Yankees never did put Loáisiga on the 60-day injured list because they thought he could return sooner, which is exactly what happens. He would not have been able to come back until May 26th had they 60-day ILed him. Instead, they get an extra week out of him. Welcome back, Johnny.

Throwback DJLM

2019-20 DJ LeMahieu has joined the 2025 Yankees. He is 4-for-12 (.333) with a home run (video) so far and he’s also looked pretty spry at second base. I didn’t think LeMahieu had plays like this still in him at age 37. In 13 plate appearances, LeMahieu has six hard-hit balls (i.e. 95+ mph exit velocity), which is as many as he had in his last 34 plate appearances last season. How about that?

“I feel like I’m finding my rhythm pretty quickly after coming off the IL,” LeMahieu told Hoch over the weekend. “It’s a couple of games, but I just feel like I’m in a pretty good spot.”

LeMahieu started Saturday against righty Griffin Canning and again against lefty David Peterson on Sunday. The Yankees will see another lefty Tuesday (Patrick Corbin), so I assume LeMahieu will be in the lineup again. How much he plays against the string of righties after that, I do not know. It’s not just the platoon thing either. Regular rest might be the best way to keep LeMahieu productive at this point in his career. Less could be more.

We’ll see how the Yankees handle LeMahieu moving forward. I don’t want to make too much of a few good games because LeMahieu was pretty bad the last few years, and a few good games doesn’t wipe that away. It is encouraging that even his outs are loud and he’s moving well in the field though. Hopefully it lasts. Let’s check back in a few weeks before rushing to declare LeMahieu capital-B Back. 

Miscellany

I didn’t have any problem with Fernando Cruz staying in to pitch the ninth inning Saturday. He’s been so good. You just can’t walk No. 7 hitter Luis Torrens (88 wRC+ vs. RHP) and hit No. 9 hitter Tyrone Taylor (87 wRC+ vs. RHP) with a pitch at any point, let alone in the ninth inning of a tie game. Those were gifts at the bottom of the lineup, and the Mets capitalized. Blah … The Yankees scored four runs in the third inning against Tylor Megill Friday, and went 1-for-1 with a walk and a sac fly with the bases loaded that inning. Bellinger then had the grand slam Sunday. That had me curious about the team’s bases loaded numbers this season and holy crap: .380/.422/.780 (217 wRC+) with five homers, seven walks, and nine strikeouts in an MLB-leading 64 plate appearances. Doing that with the bases loaded is how you win so many blowout games … Vivas had that great at-bat Sunday, though I thought he should have bunted with runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning of a tie game Saturday. He instead hacked his way into a strikeout and the Yankees didn’t score in the inning. It feels like the Yankees have more room to force the action. Bunting with objectively bad hitters at the bottom of the lineup, stealing bases in the late innings, etc. There’s room to do more of that. They sit back and wait for things to happen offensively a little too much. What's the point of adding speed and athleticism if you're not going to use it? … Following up on something in last week’s mailbag: Domínguez was at DH behind Carlos Rodón on Friday and Fried on Sunday. When the two lefties who face a lot of righties and get a lot of fly balls to left field are on the mound, Domínguez is either at DH or out of the lineup. The Yankees platoon him defensively more than they do offensively.

Injury updates

Oswaldo Cabrera (ankle) had surgery last Thursday. He had ligament damage in addition to the fracture and Boone said it's “probably unlikely” he will return this season. Bummer, but not unexpected given the nature of the injury. Get well soon, Waldo. The 2026 AL Comeback Player of the Year season will be epic … Jazz Chisholm Jr. (oblique) has started taking ground balls and BP. His last game was three weeks ago and the Yankees called it a 4-6 week injury. A rehab assignment might not be too far away … Jake Cousins (forearm) has been shut down a few days with a pectoral issue. The Yankees don’t think it’s serious, but Cousins has halted his rehab. At least it’s not the forearm again, I guess … JT Brubaker (ribs) started a rehab assignment with High-A Hudson Valley on Sunday: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K on 37 pitches. His 30-day rehab clock has begun and the latest the Yankees can activate him is June 17th. It looks like the Yankees are stretching Brubaker out to start, which they should. Might as well have that option available … Clayton Beeter (shoulder) and Scott Effross (hamstring) were both activated off the injured list and optioned to Triple-A Scranton over the weekend. That leaves Cousins and I guess Brubaker as the only relievers on the injured list. At one point the Yankees had six on the shelf.

Up next

The homestand wraps up with three games against the Rangers, then the Yankees head back out West. I guess it’s good they’ll get all their West Coast games out of the way early. After this upcoming trip, the Yankees have only a handful of 8pm ET starts the rest of the season, and that’s it. Nothing later. Here’s what’s coming up between now and Friday’s post:

• Monday: off-day

• Tuesday vs. Rangers: RHP Will Warren vs. LHP Patrick Corbin (7pm ET on YES)

• Wednesday vs.Rangers: LHP Ryan Yarbrough vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (7pm ET on Amazon)

• Thursday vs. Rangers: LHP Carlos Rodón vs. RHP Nate Eovaldi (12:30pm ET on YES, MLBN)

If they wanted, the Yankees could have pushed Yarbrough’s rotation spot all the way back to Saturday, but they’ll go with him Tuesday. That keeps everyone on turn and gives Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, and Fried an extra day after the Yankees used last Thursday’s off-day to skip Yarbrough’s spot. Also, a pitching matchup as lopsided on paper as deGrom vs. Yarbrough has reverse lock written all over it. That win is in the bag.

Kyle Higashioka will be back in the Bronx this week for the first time since the Trent Grisham trade. I hope he gets a nice big ovation before his first at-bat. Higashioka was a good Yankee and a likeable guy, plus the juxtaposition with Soto’s reception would be funny. The Home Run Stroka is hitting .235/.268/.353 (74 wRC+) with one homer in 71 plate appearances around an intercostal injury this year.

The Rangers have been very streaky this year: 8-2 start, 10-19 in their next 29 games, and now 7-2 in their last nine games. They fired offensive coordinator (not hitting coach) Donnie Ecker and hired Brett Boone as hitting coach on May 4th. Under Ecker, Texas hit .228/.285/.359 (82 wRC+) and averaged 3.23 runs per game. Under Aaron’s brother, it’s a .228/.302/.393 (98 wRC+) line and 4.08 runs per game. See? Every team should hire a Boone.

2. Prospect thoughts. In 11 games since being promoted to Double-A Somerset, SS George Lombard Jr. is hitting .182/.378/.182 (92 wRC+) with more walks (22.2%) than strikeouts (20.0%). The slash line isn’t good, but it seems like the plate discipline is still there, and that’s encouraging. Remember, Lombard does not turn 20 until next month. He is almost four years younger than the average Eastern League player. Controlling the zone like that as a 19-year-old in Double-A is impressive. Hopefully everything else ticks up soon. Here now are a few prospect and minor league thoughts.

Rodriguez tearing up Triple-A

C Jesus Rodriguez, one of my Not Top 30 Prospects, was a late scratch from Triple-A Scranton’s lineup Sunday and I thought maybe the Yankees were calling him up to be an extra righty bat against David Peterson that night (and Patrick Corbin on Tuesday). They’ve done things like that before, most notably with Gary Sánchez. Gary got called up for one game in May 2016 to face peak Chris Sale of all pitchers (he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout).

Anyway, Rodriguez did not get called up Sunday. Not sure why he was scratched but I hope he's not hurt. Rodriguez started the season back in Double-A Somerset and was moved up to Scranton when Alex Jackson went on the injured list a few weeks ago. He’s hit so much that the Yankees have kept him in Triple-A even after Jackson returned. Rodriguez is hitting .385/.479/.510 (171 wRC+) with one homer and more walks (15.4%) than strikeouts (13.7%). He’s played 26 games with the RailRiders and has reached base in all 26. Here is the under-the-hood stuff:

• 90th percentile EV: 45th percentile

• Max exit velocity: 60th percentile

• Pulled fly ball: 50th percentile

• SEAGER: 97th percentile

• In-zone contact: 99th percentile

• Whiff vs. secondaries: 93rd percentile

Exit velocity is fine and geez, Rodriguez is making great swing decisions (SEAGER) while also making a ton of contact. Tippy top of the league contact rates. Rodriguez just turned 23, so he’s on the younger side for Triple-A, and he’s a right-handed hitter who is at the platoon disadvantage more often. It’s only 26 games with the RailRiders, but wow, what a 26 games.

Rodriguez has mostly caught this year: 20 games at catcher, nine at third base, five at DH. I don’t have any updated info on his catching skills, though the Yankees are pretty good at developing guys behind the plate defensively. J.C. Escarra is a great story and all, but two lefty hitting catchers is a bit clunky. It’s easy to see how Rodriguez could fit long-term. There’s an opening to be a righty partner for Austin Wells.

We’ll see what happens once Rodriguez gets a few more games under his belt and the league gets a chance to adjust to him. For now, he’s mashing in his first taste of Triple-A. Not so much because he’s hitting the ball hard, moreso because he’s controlling the zone and putting everything in play. The contact skills Rodriguez has shown have been absolutely elite for his age and his level.

Lagrange taking next step with control

High-A Hudson Valley’s rotation is loaded with prospects and RHP Carlos Lagrange has shined brightest in the early going: 3.45 ERA (2.59 FIP) with 40.7 K% and 5.7 BB% in six starts and 31.1 innings. That’s seven walks in 31.1 innings this year after 35 walks in 29.2 innings around an achy shoulder last year. Not once this year has Lagrange walked more than two in a start. Here’s his game log (here’s video):

That’s a 68% strike rate and a 17% swinging strike rate. Last season those numbers were 56% and 10% in five starts with Low-A Tampa, respectively, which are the only other games we have with reliable pitch data for Lagrange. I don’t know what the High-A average is but there is no chance – zero – it is a 68% strike rate. The MLB average is 64% and A-ball kids aren’t throwing that many strikes.

Lagrange, my No. 17 prospect, is a big velocity guy – he’s hit 100 mph several times on the broadcast gun this year – with a good slider and an improving changeup. He’s also 21 and 6-foot-7, and pitchers this tall and this young usually don’t have their control ironed out. Lagrange’s walk troubles coming into this year were understandable. I don’t want to say he’s solved them yet, but hoo boy, this is an exciting start to 2025.

These six starts are Lagrange’s only six starts in High-A. Several of his Hudson Valley rotation-mates (RHP Bryce Cunningham, RHP Ben Hess, RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, etc.) are more experienced and also pitching well, and figure to get the bump to Double-A Somerset sooner. Lagrange’s career high is the 41.2 innings he threw in 2023 and he’s at 31.1 now. The Yankees will have to manage him this summer.

Between his workload and his age and his inexperience, Lagrange figures to spend most of the year with the Renegades, and that’s fine. He’s young and he doesn’t have to go on the 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft protection purposes until next offseason (after 2026). If Lagrange keeps this up and forces the Yankees to promote him, great, but there’s no need to rush into anything. For now, his start to 2025 has been so good. This guy throwing strikes is very exciting.

Jones’ ongoing adjustments

OF Spencer Jones has been on Double-A Somerset’s injured list since May 3rd with an intercostal strain. Over the weekend Patriots manager Raul Dominguez told Greg Johnson that Jones is day-to-day at this point and nearing a return, so that’s good. Intercostal strains are basically oblique strains. Those suckers can take a while to fully heal. Before the injury, Jones was hitting .228/.372/.554 (167 wRC+) with nine home runs and 17.7 BB%, but also lots of strikeouts (36.3%) and swinging strikes (17.4%). Bleh.

Back in Spring Training, I noted Jones has changed his batting stance this year, specifically closing up his stance and using a more exaggerated leg kick. Jones continued to adjust his batting stance once the regular season started. And adjust it more, and some more after that, and some more after that. Jones keeps opening his stance. Look at this:

There is nothing special about those dates. I just grabbed a screenshot from his homer highlights because the videos are easy to access. Also, we’re at the mercy of minor league camera angles. Clearly though, Jones has continued to open his stance as the season has progressed, and also get scrunched down into more of a crouch. I’ll give Jones this much: He’s trying. He’s trying to figure out a way to make more contact.

Geoff Pontes (subs. req’d) wrote about Jones and his in-season batting stance changes not long before he went on the injured list. Here’s the important stuff, which Pontes backed up with non-public data:

In the first part of the season with the more closed stance, Jones was chasing and missing plenty of pitches out of the strike zone, especially sliders down and in. Opening up a stance can be beneficial to a hitter because it gives them a better view of the ball with both eyes. Once he fully opened up, Jones was able to cut out chasing and missing pitches down and in. 

His new stance and load look like it might be resulting in him identifying pitches more quickly, buying him time to make the proper adjustments for pitch location. While there will always be swing-and-miss in Jones’ profile, if he finds a way to limit his exposure to this weakness while accentuating his best qualities—hard contact and on-base skills—he might still develop into the power-hitting center fielder Yankees fans envision.

Under no circumstances will I say ah ha, Jones has Figured It Out! I would love for that to be the case, but consider this nothing more than an update on what Jones has been tinkering with this year. We’ll see how things go when he comes off the injured list and gets more games under his belt. Before the injury, Jones was striking out and whiffing exactly as much as last season, and that’s no good, especially when you're repeating a level.

A quick note on Scranton’s rotation

The Anthony DeSclafani signing and Carlos Carrasco accepting his Triple-A assignment left the Yankees suddenly overstuffed with Triple-A caliber starters in Scranton. This how they used their starters over the last few week:

• Tuesday: Carrasco (4.2 IP and 63 pitches)

• Wednesday: Brandon Leibrandt (4 IP and 51 pitches) and Sean Boyle (3 IP and 54 pitches)

• Thursday: Erick Leal (1.2 IP and 60 pitches, hit hard) and Zach Messinger (2 IP and 41 pitches)

• Friday: Jake Woodford (6 IP and 91 pitches)

• Saturday: DeSclafani (4 IP and 50 pitches) and Allan Winans (4 IP and 59 pitches)

• Sunday: Carrasco (1.2 IP and 59 pitches, hit hard)

Those were not doubleheaders. Those were piggyback situations just to get everyone into games and to keep them stretched out. Leal was an interesting enough signing out of the Mexican League this past offseason, but he has an 8.53 ERA (6.69 ERA) in eight starts with the RailRiders, so his days could be numbered. Releasing Leal so Messinger or Winans can be a full-time starter is possible (especially with guys like Clayton Beeter and Scott Effross getting healthy and roster spots being at a premium).

The Yankees go to Coors Field this weekend and carrying an extra long man for that series would make sense. Those mile high games can wreck a bullpen. Carrasco, DeSclafani, and Winans are all lined up for it nicely for next weekend and can give 50+ pitches. Winans is on the 40-man, so I assume he’s first in line for a call up, but that’s not for certain. Swapping Yerry De Los Santos for a long man seems possible.

Messinger is the only starter in Triple-A who is any kinda prospect. It’s veteran retread/journeyman city in Scranton, which isn’t exciting, but those guys are necessary depth until Luis Gil gets healthy and/or the Yankees add at the deadline. The Yankees will need a fifth starter this week and they have a Coors Field series coming up. Don’t be surprised if one of those Triple-A starters shows up in a few days.

Miscellany

The first 2024 draftee to reach Double-A was not Hess or Cunningham, last year's top two draft picks. It was fourth rounder RHP Gage Ziehl. Ziehl made a spot start for Somerset two weeks ago and it didn’t go great: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. He went back to Low-A Tampa after the game and has been so-so with the Tarpons: 4.91 ERA (4.36 FIP) with 15.2 K% and 6.5 BB% in 22 innings. I figured a veteran college starter like him would tear up Low-A. Alas … C/1B Rafael Flores is hitting .304/.354/.554 (161 wRC+) with an Eastern League leading nine homers (tied with Jones, who hasn’t played in two weeks). The strikeout (31.3%) and walk (6.8%) rates aren’t good, though that’s not really his game. Flores is a brute masher at the plate. Between him and Rodriguez, the Yankees have two righty hitting backup catcher types inching closer to the Bronx … OF Brando Mayea, who really needs a big year to avoid falling off prospect lists, is hitting .293/.370/.512 (134 wRC+) with two homers in 11 games in the rookie Florida Complex League. He hit zero homers in 35 FCL games last year. The strikeout (27.7%) and walk (8.5%) numbers leave a lot to be desired, especially for a kid repeating rookie ball, but at least Mayea has come out of the gate well … LHP Griffin Herring, last year’s sixth round pick, has a 1.40 ERA (3.17 FIP) with 31.2 K% and 9.1 BB% in seven starts and 38.2 innings with Low-A Tampa. He was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month for April. Figure once one of those Hudson Valley starters gets promoted to Somerset, Herring with move up to High-A. Herring pitched for a top tier program at LSU and is doing what a guy with that experience should do in Low-A … And finally, Jared Diamond reports MLB will begin using a check swing challenge system in the Florida State League this week. They tested it in the Arizona Fall League last year. MLB is sticking with the 45-degree angle, which is pretty extreme, but I guess they’re pleased with the results, or at least want more data. I’m curious to see what happens to offense in the FSL. The 45-degree angle leads me to believe it’ll tick up with fewer check swings being called strikes.

3. 2025 draft prospect: Tennessee 1B/3B Andrew Fischer. The 2025 MLB Draft will take place during the All-Star break and the Yankees hold the No. 39 pick. Here are the draft prospects I’ve already profiled. Some are players the Yankees are reported to have interest in, some are players who fit the team’s M.O., and some are players I like for whatever reason. We’re covering a little of everything.

Fischer, 21 next week, is well-traveled. He set the Duke freshman record with 11 home runs in 2023. He led Ole Miss with 20 home runs in 2024. In 2025, Fischer is hitting .337/.502/.779 with a team-leading 22 homers for the defending National Champion Volunteers. He’s also walked (22.5%) way more than he’s struck out (13.6%). Here’s where Fischer places in the latest draft prospect rankings:

• Baseball America (subs. req’d): No. 30

• ESPN (subs. req’d): No. 53

• FanGraphs: Unranked

• MLB Pipeline: No. 35

• Keith Law (subs. req’d): Unranked

In addition to his regular season numbers, Fischer slashed .231/.366/.462 with three homers and again more walks (14) than strikeouts (9) in the Cape Cod League last summer, where the league average was a .371 SLG. The Cape is a wood bat league loaded with the country’s top college players. Fischer went in and mashed. Here’s video and here’s part of MLB Pipeline’s free scouting report:

Fischer's signature tool is his plus power that works to all fields, the product of a left-handed swing with bat speed and loft, strength in his 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame and a slugging mindset. He showed that he can launch balls in the air with wood bats last summer in the Cape Cod League. He has been even more productive as a junior after toning down his approach and chasing pitches a lot less, though he continues to struggle handling sliders.

Fischer could have helped his cause further by upgrading his defense at third base, but he has barely played there this spring. He has solid arm strength but below-average speed and range at the hot corner, so Tennessee has deployed him mostly at first base, where he's a decent defender. He played some second base on the Cape but lacks the quickness for the position.

Fischer has regularly put up 110 mph exit velocities this spring. There’s real juice in his bat. He’s played 54 games at first and only five at third this year (and two in left), though that is at least in part due to Tennessee having a few other players who need playing time and are more natural third basemen. Fischer was close to a full-time third baseman at Duke and Mississippi. This is his first extended run at first.

The Yankees love their big exit velocity sluggers. They typically go for guys with top notch athleticism too, but when your first selection is No. 39 overall, the pickings are a bit more slim. Really, all it takes is the Yankees believing Fischer can play third base for them to grab him. It’s a first or second round bat. The team that really believes in his ability to play the hot corner will be the one to take him.

4. Rapid fire thoughts. Over the weekend Aaron Boone said the Yankees had interest in Griffin Canning over the winter, and Matt Blake told Gary Phillips that Canning was on their radar if they re-signed Juan Soto and had limited money to spend on the rest of the roster. Canning had a 5.19 ERA (5.26 FIP) in 171.2 innings with the Angels last year, they traded him to the Braves in the Jorge Soler salary dump, the Braves non-tendered him, and the Mets gave him a one-year deal worth $4.25M. Canning, 29, has a 2.47 ERA (3.89 FIP) in 47.1 innings this season. The Mets tweaked his slider a bit and have him throwing it a ton. More than any other pitch. Once Soto left, the Yankees went big for Max Fried. Either way, they needed a starter, and Canning was on their bargain bin radar. (The next busted Angel some smart team will fix is Reid Detmers, who’s wearing it in the bullpen this year.)

(Send your requests for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)