I did not realize how long it has been since I did one of these.  It’s been way too long.  I really have to make it a more regular column.  With that said, it is time to check in with the boys down on the farm.  The Yankees minor leaguers who may not necessarily be their top prospects but are the ones I have chosen to follow this season.  I have actually added a couple of guys to the list from the last time.  We will stat with the five guys from the last column.    

Spencer Jones—Outfielder–AA Somerset–Jones got off to a hot start in April but it has mostly been all down hill from there.  His May was pretty terrible with him hitting .170 with only 1 home run and 8 RBIs.  He also struck out 45 times.  He did steal 9 bases but it is becoming clear that stealing bases in the minors is so easy I am pretty sure Jabba the Hutt could do it.  The good news is he is starting to come out of it.  In the 8 games of June so far, he has hit .278.  He has hit a home run in three of his last 4 games and has 12 RBIs already.  This feels more like the hitter Jones is.  One more tidbit.  His home/road splits are interesting.  He has hit 5 of his 6 long balls at home but is hitting just .198 in Somerset.  On the road he only has the 1 dinger but is hitting .279.  Just something to keep an eye on going forward to see if there is something to it. 

Brock Selvidge—Pitcher—AA Somerset—Selvidge has not been able to remain as dominate as he was to begin the season.  I mean, it would have been a bit much to ask for him to keep pitching as he was.  He has still been good though.  He got roughed up a bit in an outing vs the Sea Dogs (Boooo!) giving up 5 runs in 6 innings.  He had another outing where he only pitched 3.2 inning giving up 3 earned runs against the Baysox.  His other 5 outings since the last time I talked about him have all been good.  In his 11 starts so far this season he is 5-4 with a 3.04 ERA.  He has walked 30 guys (a little high) and struck out 57 in 58.2 innings.  Opponents are batting .209 against him which is pretty good but they have a .309 OBP, not so good.  He has only given up 3 home runs and apparently the defense still leaves a lot to be desired as he has given up 7 unearned runs.  All in all he is having a very good season thus far. 

George Lombard—Shortstop—A Tampa—Lombard is off to a slow start to his professional baseball career.  But then he did just turn 19 years old about a week ago, so it’s not too surprising.  After hitting .237 in April, he hit .203 in May and is hitting a dismal .161 so far in June.  He is, however, still getting on base and while he is only hitting .208 on the season, he has a .360 OBP.  His 33 walks to 43 strike outs is a very nice number (especially nowadays).  He is yet to hit a home run but I don’t think power is ever going to be this kids’ thing.  He does have 7 doubles and a triple in his 31 hits.  He only has 44 plate appearances against lefty pitchers but he is hitting .265 against them with 9 walks to 8 strike outs and 4 doubles.  His problem continues to be hitting against righties.  His .191 average with 35 Ks to 24 walks illustrates the disparity between the two.  He is still playing all over the infield.  Maybe a good month of one position would give him a chance to hone in at the dish. 

Ben Rice—Catcher/First Base—AAA Scranton—First thing you may notice about Rice is that he was recently moved up to Triple A.  He is off to a ridiculous start there.  In 5 games he is hitting .444 with 3 home runs, 3 doubles, and 9 RBIs.  As he is probably not the greatest hitter of all time, I do not expect him to keep those numbers up.  However, he is having a very good season so far.  Overall, he is hitting .278 with 15 home runs and 35 RBIs in 54 games.  That’s a 45 homer, 105 RBI pace in the Majors.  He has 12 doubles and a .400 OBP as well.  Rice is still playing both 1^st base and catching.  I believe I have mentioned that the Yankees don’t really have any first base prospects (That I know of) so that might be his path to the Majors, especially with the way Rizzo is hitting.  As the guys from River Ave. Blues said, It is a bit interesting though that the Yankees had him catch Cole’s first rehab start before moving him up to Triple A.       

Caleb Durbin—Infielder—AAA Scranton—Durbin has not played since he was hit on the hand in a game on May 23^rd.  He is only on the 7-day IL and from what I can gather, there was no structural damage to his hand, so he should be back soon.  Before this, Durbin was still raking in Triple A.  Mostly playing 2B and 3B now (both soon to be positions of need for the team in the Bronx), Caleb is hitting .299 on the season with a .413 OBP.  He is not much of a power guy (3 Dingers so far) but he is all about contact and speed.  He has 30 walks to only 21 Ks so far and has stolen 20 out of 22 bases.  He has hit 17 doubles and a triple in 47 games.  In the 20 games he played in May he hit .307.  As a right-handed hitter he actually struggles against lefties hitting only .268 against south paws.  The sems like something he should be able to get better at. This kid is knocking on the door of the Major Leagues.  If he continues to hit once he returns from his injury, they Yankees might have to consider giving him a look if an infielder goes down for any amount of time.  Or if they continue to not hit.  

Agustin Ramirez—Catcher/1^st Base—AA Somerset—I said the Yankees don’t have much in the way of first base prospects but Ramirez might be another one to add to the list.  The 22-year-old has jumped onto the scene this year with what appears to be a break out season.  In 51 games he is batting .276 with 15 home runs, 10 doubles, a triple, and 41 RBIs.  Playing at three different levels last season, in 114 games he hit 18 home runs and had 69 RBIs.  He apparently found his power swing.  His batting average has gone up each month of the season from .247 to .292 to .300 so far in June.  He has a .368 OBP and a 38/28 K/BB ratio.  He hit’s lefties a lot better than righties, at least form a BA stand point.  He is also hitting .375 in 35 plate appearances with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.  So far this season, this kid is getting it done.  We shall see if he keeps this up for the rest of the season, or, as he has been doing, keeps improving.  He has definitely become someone to keep an eye on going forward. 

Jasson Dominguez—Outfield—AAA Scranton—I saved the Martian for last because there is a lot to talk about here.  Dominguez has returned from his Tommy John surgery and is back to playing Center field.  We are at that point where the Yankees have to make a decision on what to do with him and it is a very hard decision.  The Martian is currently tearing up the minor leagues.  The Yankees recently moved him up to Triple A and in 5 games there he is hitting .500 with 2 homers and 3 doubles.  Smallest of sample sizes but still.  Combined with what he has done in single and double A, Jasson is hitting .380 with 6 dingers, 4 two baggers, and 12 RBIs in 19 games.  He has a 1.119 OPS.  He is basically hitting like you would expect a Major League hitter to hit in the minors.    

Believe it or not, this is a problem for the Yankees.  It’s a problem because they have no place to play him in the Majors.  However, it is getting harder and harder to keep him out of the Bronx.  At some point he is just wasting time down in Triple A.  A lot, if not most, people would say he should play instead of Giancarlo Stanton.  Well, it’s getting real tough to argue against that.  The issue here is that Stanton has always been a very streaky hitter as a Yankee.  And right now, he is in one of his slumps.  In the last 15 days he is hitting just .167 with 2 home runs.  That is not the kind of production that should keep the Martian out of the line up.  However, Stanton is still 7^th in the AL in home runs and 18^th in RBIs.  Can you really take that out of the line up?  And as Micheal Kay pointed out on his radio show, Stanton is a horrific pinch hitter.  If he is not starting, you are basically playing a man down.  So what do you do?  I don’t know.  It looked like the Yankees hand was going to be forced when Soto was pulled form the line up but he is expected to return this week so there was no need to bring Dominguez up to fill in.  I think the Yankees have 4 more days before Jasson’s rehab time runs out and they have to either activate him or send him officially to Triple A.  It is going to be interesting to see what they do. 

One last prospect note.  The Yankees one weakness this season comes in the bullpen.  They really need another arm or two out there.  One guy who might become a possibility is Jack Neely.  He is 24 years old and only in AA Somerset but the 6’8” righty has thrown 29.1 innings out of the pen and has struck out 48 guys.  In his minor league career, he has 240 Ks in 148 innings.  That’s pretty good.  I have no idea what he throws but at that size, my guess is he throws hard.  He has thrown multiple innings on multiple occasions so he is not just a one inning guy.  Just a name to keep in mind as the Yankees search for bullpen help throughout this season.