S.T. Game 28. Afternoon (home) game of split squad. Volpe homers, Cole sharp, Abreu not. Yanks lose, 6-4.

The Yanks had split squad games, one at home in the afternoon and one on the road at night.

This is the afternoon game. Anthony Volpe (more on him in a bit) homered, and Gerrit Cole was in midseason form, but Albert Abreu blew a Yankees lead late and the Yanks (10-16-2 in spring training) lost to the Twins, 6-4.

Meanwhile it was reported that Carlos Rodon should be ready in early May. He will miss the first month of the season.

The race for the SS job may come down to the last day, but as far as I’m concerned, I’d go with Volpe. A few tidbits, most if not all by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Volpe, if he is the opening day starter, would be the youngest opening day starter since Derek Jeter in 1996.

He would be making his MLB debut. Since 1951, the only Yankees to make their MLB debut on opening day have been Mickey Mantle in 1951, Jerry Lumpe in 1956 and Hideki Matsui in 2003.

The last Yankee players who had rookie qualification to be in the Opening Day lineup were Aaron Judge in 2017 and Brett Gardner in 2009.

Aaron Judge was in LF and threw out a runner at second today. I don’t think CF or LF would be a problem for him.

Volpe 1 for 4, HR, 2 RBI #1 prospect. Will be interesting to see if he is opening day SS. I think he should be.
Willie Calhoun 1 for 4. Will be interesting to see if he makes the team.
Jose Trevino 2 for 3.
Estevan Florial 1 for 2, 2 RBI.

Those are all five of the Yankees’ hits. They were 1 for 10 w/RISP.

Cole 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Cordero (H) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. Will he make the bullpen?
Abreu (BS, L) 1 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 2 HR.
M. Gomez 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.

S.T. Game 20. Yanks lose to Phils, 9-8.

The Yanks (9-10-1 in spring training) gave up 7 runs before they came to bat, came back to take an 8-7 lead, but then fell to the Phillies 9-8 Wednesday afternoon.

Luis Severino started and had a bad first inning before settling in. He says he feels fine but so far this spring the results aren’t there. It is only spring training but from here on in, you want to see better results so that when the regular season starts, he hits the ground running.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Gerrit Cole—to no surprise—will be the Yanks’ Opening Day starting pitcher.

Jose Trevino is dealing with a strained right wrist but should be ok.

Michael Hermosillo was sent down to minor league camp.

From what I’ve seen, Anthony Volpe should be the Yanks’ starting shortstop. The kid continues to impress.

Highlights:

Volpe 1 for 2, RBI, 2 walks, SB.
Judge 1 for 2, walk and double.
Cabrera 1 for 2, RBI double.
Rafael Ortega 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts, misplayed a ball in CF.
IKF 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts.
Hicks 0 for 2, walk, 2 strikeouts
Florial 0 for 2
Mickey Gasper 2 for 2, RBI

Severino 2 1/3 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 3 W, 4 K. 1 balk
C. Gomez 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 3 W, 1 K. 1 WP
Cowart 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Marinaccio 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP
Nick Ramirez 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Luis Santos 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K.
Jack Neely (L) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. gave up 1 HR.

S.T. Game 17. Yanks tie, kids impress again.

The Yanks (8-8-1 in spring training) tied Boston Sunday, 3-3, but once again, the show was the kids.

#1 prospect Anthony Volpe went 2 for 4 with a double and HR, and #2 prospect Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez was 1 for 2.

Others:

Aaron Hicks 1 for 3, but I have noticed in spring training that a bad habit of his is continuing. He gets his hits with no one one, but continues to struggle with RISP.

Rafael Ortega 1 for 3 as he fights for an OF spot.

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who could be on the trade block, especially if Volpe wins that SS job, 1 for 2. I read where IKF, who made a lot of soft contact last year, put on 18 pounds of muscle in the offseason. Nice, but hope it doesn’t affect flexibility.

Andres Chaparro 1 for 3, RBI. Hmm. Donaldson is 37, and I don’t expect his option to be picked up after this season. Could Chaparro play himself into a 3B spot for 2024?

Jake Bauers 2 for 2, RBI.

Yoendrys Gomez 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 W, 4 K. 1 HBP. #11 prospect.
Cordero (BS) 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 1 K. gave up HR. Hurt himself today in trying for bullpen spot.
Abreu 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K
Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Weissert 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.
Evans 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K

S.T. Game 15 & 16. The Martian homers again, but Yanks lose both split squad games

You have to remember that Jasson Dominguez, aka as “The Martian”, is only 20 years old and has only played a handful of games in AA, where he will probably start out at in 2023.

But it is ok to dream of him being in the Bronx soon. He homered yet again today in one of the Yankees (8-8 in spring training) split squad games. He played in the home game, in which they lost to the Phillies, 6-3.

The Yanks only had four hits in this game.

LeMahieu 1 for 2 with a walk
Judge 0 for 2 with a walk.
Stanton 2 for 3, single and double.
Dominguez 1 for 3, 2-run HR #2 prospect
Volpe 0 for 1 with a walk, also was HBP #1 prospect

German 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 3 K
M. Gomez 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K
Holmes 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K 1 HBP
King 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Krook (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2 WP has shot at bullpen spot.
Keating 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 WP

They lost the away game, 3-0 to the Pirates, getting just 5 hits.

Peraza 0 for 3 #3 prospect
Kiner-Falefa 1 for 3
Florial 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. I expect him to be DFA’d soon.
Donaldson 0 for 3
McKinney 2 for 3
Jones 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts #5 prospect.

Weber (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR 1 balk
Hamilton 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Has shot at bullpen spot.
Santos 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 W, 1 K.

S.T. Game 11. Judge homers in Yanks’ 9-2 win.

Aaron Judge hit a 3-run HR and Domingo German looked sharp at the Yankees (7-4 in spring training) beat the Pirates 9-2 Monday night.

Highlights

LeMahieu 2 for 3, 2 RBI
Judge 1 for 2, 3-run HR
Florial 1 for 2, walk, 2 SB
Rizzo 1 for 3
Donaldson 1 for 3
Volpe 1 for 2, 2 walks, SB but also was picked off. Nice defensive play. #1 prospect.
Hicks 2 for 3 but an error in the field.
Calhoun 2 for 3. Interesting. Non-roster player hitting .571 this spring in trying to win LF job. Intriguing.
Pereira 1 for 2 #6 prospect
Trevino 1 for 2 RBI
Dominguez 1 for 2 #2 prospect.
Ortega 0 for 1, 2 walks. Also after LF job. (Along with Hicks (the favorite), Calhoun, Cabrera, Florial)

German (Winner) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 4 K. Probably the favorite for the #5 rotation spot.
Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Trying to win bullpen spot.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Yoendrys Gomez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. #11 prospect.
Norwood 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K
Bowman1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.

S.T. Game 6. Narvaez walk-off HR gives Yanks 4-2 win. #4 Prospect Austin Wells out 2 months with broken rib.

C Carlos Narvaez hit a two-out, two-run HR in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees (4-2 in spring training) a 4-2 win over Washington Wednesday afternoon.

Before the game, #4 prospect C Austin Wells found out his rib problem was actually a fractured rib. He will be out 6-8 weeks.

The Yanks had a lot of regulars in this game, and the starting lineup resembled a regular season lineup.

LeMahieu 2B 1 for 2
Judge RF 0 for 2
Rizzo 1b 1 for 2
Stanton DH 0 for 2
Donaldson 3B 0 for 1, walk, run
Bader CF 1 for 2, RBI triple, run
Hicks LF 1 for 2
Higashioka C 0 for 2 going soon to WBC (World Baseball Classic) for games
Kiner-Falefa SS 0 for 2

Key reserves:

Volpe (#1 prospect) 0 for 2 1 strikeout. Trying to grab SS job.
Florial 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. Out of options. If doesn’t make team, would be DFA’d
Cabrera 1 for 2
Calhoun 0 for 1, walk (trying to win LF job)
Dominguez (#2 prospect) 0 for 1, walked in front of Narvaez HR, struck out.earlier.
Narvaez 1 for 2. 2-run GW HR in bottom of 9th.

Pitchers

German 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 1 HBP (competing with Schmidt for #5 rotation spot with Montas out)
Weissert 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Let inherited runner score (Charged to German) fighting for bullpen spot
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. going soon to WBC
Yoendrys Gomez 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2 HBP #11 prospect
Ryan Weber 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Longshot for a bullpen spot.

S.T. Games 2 & 3. Yanks split squad, win both games.

The Yankees split their squad today. Lots to report on.

They won the home game against the Braves, 7-0, as Jose Trevino hit a grand slam and the pitchers combined on a one-hitter.

Clarke Schmidt was dominating. Six up/six down and five strikeouts.

Gleyber Torres 2 for 2. 2 singles.
Aaron Judge 1 for 1 (single) and a walk.
Aaron Hicks 1 for 3
Jose Trevino 1 for 2. Grand Slam. 4 RBI
Oswald Peraza 1 for 2 (single) with a walk and strikeout as he tries to capture the SS job. #3 prospect.
Trey Sweeney (#6 prospect) 1 for 1 (double)
Tyler Hardman 1 for 2
Spencer Jones (#7 prospect) 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts
T.J. Rumfield 1 for 2, 2 RBI (double)
Mickey Gaspar 1 for 1, RBI (Double) and walk.

Schmidt (Winner) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 5 K. Trying to win #5 starter position.
Albert Abreu 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Trying to win bullpen position; out of options.
Deivi Garcia 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. Nice to see after his last 2 horrible seasons in minors. #24 prospect.
Will Warren 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. #8 prospect.
Clayton Beeter 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 3 K. #9 prospect.

Away Game: Yanks beat Toronto, 9-5. #1 prospect Anthony Volpe went 2 for 4 and stole two bases.

Volpe 2 for 4 with 2 SB. Single and double.
Willie Calhoun 2 hits (single, double) RBI. Battling for LF job
Andres Chaparro 2 hits, 2 RBI, single and solo HR.
Elijah Dunham 2 for 3 #19 prospect.
Brandon Lockridge 1 for 2, triple, 2 RBI #26 prospect.
Carlos Narvaez 1 for 2, solo HR.
Jesus Bastidas 1 for 2, 2 RBI. Solo HR (he and Narvaez went back-to-back).

Jhony Brito (Winner) 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. #22 prospect.
Matt Spence 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K.
Matt Bowman 2/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR. Disappointing outing for him.
Michael Gomez (H) 1/3 IP. 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Demarcus Evans (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Drew Thorpe (H) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. #13 prospect.
Lisandro Santos 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.

AA Somerset wins Eastern League title in impressive fashion. 15-0 with a combined no-hitter.

Usually, I start at the highest level and work my way down. Not today.

AA Somerset won the third and deciding game of the Eastern League Finals in commanding and historic fashion, scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the first inning on way to a 15-0 blowout victory.

In doing so, they threw a combined no-hitter. What a way to win the Eastern League title.

Somerset starter Randy Vasquez (I thought they’d go with Clayton Beeter, but they went with Vasquez) retired the first 19 batters he faced before giving up a walk. Vasquez pitched 8 innings, and Carson Coleman finished up for the combined no-hitter.

Jasson Dominguez (“the Martian”), the Yankees 19-year-old #2 prospect, hit 2 HR, one from each side of the plate, and drove in 6 runs in the victory.

CF Jasson Dominguez 3 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBI #2 prospect.
3B Andres Chaparro 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR.
RF Jeisson Rosario 2 hits, 2 RBI 2-run HR.
2B Jesus Bastidas 2 RBI
1B Mickey Gasper 2 hits, 2 RBI
LF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits #28 prospect.

Randy Vasquez (WIN) 8 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 8 K. #16 prospect
Carson Coleman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP


AAA SWB closed out their season with a 3-0 win. They finished at 83-67, and finished in second place in the IL East, 3 games back.

2B Derek Dietrich solo HR (3)

Between AA and AAA, Yankees #1 prospect Anthony Volpe hit .249-21-65 with 50 SB.

Boyle (W, 5-1) 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 W, 5 K. 1 WP 3.61
Abreu (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.70 REHAB
M. Gomez (H, 9) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.84
Guzman (H, 1) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 0.00 Position player. SWB 1st baseman.
Barnes (H, 3) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.57
Cordero (S, 6) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.09

Minor Leagues. SWB eliminated on next-to-last day of season. Somerset survives in AA Finals.

AAA: SWB (82-67) lost 8-1 in the next-to-last day of the season to be eliminated from the playoffs. Even had they won last night, Durham’s win would have eliminated them anyway.

SS Anthony Volpe 2 hits. #1 prospect .250-21-65, 49 SB

Banda (L, 0-3) 2 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. 6.14
Zach Greene 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 balk. 3.42
Miguel Castro 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K. 0.00 REHAB
Duffey 1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 0 W, 4 K. 10.50
Brito 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.31
Rich Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP 3.86
Weissert 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.69

The Yanks picked up guys like Banda, Duffey and Barnes because of depth and prior MLB experience. None impressed while with SWB.

AA: Somerset evened up their Eastern League finals series with a 9-2 win. The third and deciding game will be tonight for the Eastern League Championship.

CF Jasson Dominguez (“The Martian”) 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR. #2 prospect.
C Austin Wells 2 hits, 3 RBI. 3-run HR #4 prospect.
3B/1B Andres Chaparro 2 hits, RBI
DH Elijah Dunham 2 hits, 2 RBI 2-run HR #21 prospect
RF Jeisson Rosario 2 hits.

Yoendrys Gomez (WIN) 5 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. #12 prospect.
Loseke 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 4 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Espinal 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.

Although not announced, my guess is that Somerset’s starter for the deciding game tonight will be Clayton Beeter, the Yanks’ #9 prospect, who they got in the Gallo trade.

Minor League Action. SWB’s tragic # is 1.

AAA SWB lost the completion of a suspended game, and that coupled with a win by Durham, dropped SWB’s tragic # for being eliminated to 1. SWB did win the regularly scheduled game.

But SWB (82-66) is now 2 games out with 2 games left in the season.

COMPLETION OF SUSPENDED GAME--Lost 5-4 in ten innings. Was suspended at 1-1 in the sixth inning on August 7.

Since then, Peraza and Cabrera now with Yankees, Andujar now with Pirates.

PR/SS Tyler Wade solo HR (2)
C Josh Breaux 2-run HR (5) #22 prospect Overall .219-19-50

Spence 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.79
Rich Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 8.31
Mujica 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gaveup 2 HR. 4.37
Shreve (BS, 1) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 9.00
Bard (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.68

REGULAR GAME–Won 8-7 in 11 innings.
SS Anthony Volpe 2 hits, solo HR (3) #1 prospect Overall .248-21-65, 49 SB
DH Ryan LaMarre 2 for 2, 3 walks.
1B Ron Guzman 2 RBI. 2-run HR (16)
3B Armando Alvarez 3 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (18)

Spence 4 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 W, 6 K. gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP 3.86 (remember game listed above he started Aug 7)
Albert Abreu 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.86 REHAB
M. Gomez (BS, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.92
Deivi Garcia (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 7.96 #26 prospect. Overall: 4-5, 6.89
Barnes (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.70
Cordero (BS, 1) 1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.15
Bristo (W, 3-3) 2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. 4.56