DotF: Judge homers yet again in Scranton's win

Some notes:

Chad Jennings posted a really great interview with 2B Rob Refsnyder, in which he discusses OF Aaron Judge’s recent hot streak and the way they push each other to get better. Really, really great stuff. Make sure you check it out.
As expected, LHP Nestor Cortes was sent down from Double-A Trenton to Low-A Charleston following last night’s game, according to Josh Norris. That was only to help a thinned out pitching staff for a night, not a permanent promotion.
OF Aaron Judge and C Kyle Higashioka were named the Offensive Players of the Week in the Triple-A International League and Double-A Eastern League, respectively. Congrats to both. Higashioka won the IL award two weeks ago.
Both RHP Austin DeCarr and RHP Domingo German appeared in today’s Prospect Report. They both made their 2016 debuts — and first appearance since 2014 — yesterday. DeCarr and German had Tommy John surgery early last year.
The Yankees released a few lower profile minor leaguers, reports Matt Eddy. The most notable, by far, is LHP Rony Bautista. The 6-foot-7 southpaw walked 175 batters in 280 minor league innings.
And finally, 2B Rob Refsnyder is no longer rookie eligible (he has too much service time), so 3B Nelson Gomez slipped into MLB.com’s top 30 Yankees prospect list. Head on over to read the free scouting report.

Triple-A Scranton (5-0 win over Syracuse)

CF Ben Gamel: 3-5, 1 RBI, 1 K — he’s hitting .349/.427/.476 in his last 30 games
1B Nick Swisher: 3-5, 1 2B
DH Aaron Judge: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — that’s ten homers in his last 15 games
C Gary Sanchez: 1-5, 2 K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-5, 1 R, 3 K
LF Jake Cave: 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI
RHP Chad Green: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 7/2 GB/FB — 59 of 89 pitches were strikes (66%) … down to a 1.54 ERA, which is the lowest among qualified starters in the International League … 82/19 K/BB in 81.2 Triple-A innings … his rotation lines up perfectly with Ivan Nova’s, conveniently
LHP Chasen Shreve: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB — 12 of 17 pitches were strikes (71%)
RHP Nick Goody: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 E (missed catch) — 29 of 44 pitches were strikes (66%)

Double-A Trenton (3-0 win over Portland in five innings) the game was completed early due to rain

SS Tyler Wade: 0-3, 1 R, 1 E (throwing)
DH Mark Payton: 2-3, 2 R, 1 2B
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-3, 2 RBI — 16-for-27 (.593) in his last seven games
LHP Jordan Montgomery: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 7/2 GB/FB — 56 of 86 pitches were strikes (65%) … has a 2.88 ERA with a 70/26 K/BB in 75 innings this season … I don’t think a promotion is imminent, but it could come sometime in late-July or August

High-A Tampa Game One (2-0 win over Brevard County in seven innings) makeup of yesterday’s rainout

SS Jorge Mateo: 0-3
2B Thairo Estrada: 1-2, 1 BB — 6-for-19 (.316) during his little five-game hitting streak
RF Austin Aune: 1-3, 1 K
DH Abi Avelino: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 CS — 11-for-35 (.314) with two doubles, a triple, and two homers in his last eight games
LHP Josh Rogers: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HB, 5/6 GB/FB — 63 of 88 pitches were strikes (72%), plus he picked a runner off first … 56/13 K/BB in 73 innings for last year’s 11th rounder, who the Yankees gave an above-slot $485,000 bonus

High-A Tampa Game Two (2-0 win over Brevard County in seven innings)

DH Jorge Mateo: 0-2, 1 K, 1 HBP — rough doubleheader
2B Thairo Estrada: 1-3 — got picked off first
RF Austin Aune: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 E (throwing) — 14-for-48 (.292) with two doubles, two triples, and two homers in 12 games, so he’s put together a nice little stretch of late
SS Abi Avelino: 1-3, 1 R
RHP Domingo Acevedo: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HB, 5/3 GB/FB — 55 of 73 pitches were strikes (75%) … 62/11 K/BB in 59.1 innings for the big right-hander

Low-A Charleston (6-1 loss to Greenville)

CF Jeff Hendrix: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 K
SS Kyle Holder: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 CS
2B Hoy Jun Park: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K — has exactly one hit and one walk in three straight games
RF Jhalan Jackson: 0-2, 1 BB
3B Angel Aguilar: 0-3, 1 K
DH Alex Palma: 0-4
RHP Christian Morris: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 7/3 GB/FB — 64 of 91 pitches were strikes (70%) … 49/12 K/BB in 51.2 innings for last year’s 33rd rounder

Short Season Staten Island (3-2 win over Vermont)

CF Ricardo Ferreira: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
2B Nick Solak: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 K — he’s been on base multiple times in all four games as a pro
3B Mandy Alvarez: 1-5, 1 RBI
C Luis Torrens: 0-5, 1 K
1B Drew Bridges: 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI — hit the go-ahead homer in the top of the tenth
LF Dom Thompson-Williams: 1-5
RHP Freicer Perez: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 WP, 4/2 GB/FB — 50 of 77 pitches were strikes (65%)
RHP Taylor Widener: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 1/0 GB/FB — nine of 12 pitches were strikes
RHP David Palladino: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 40 of 56 pitches were strikes (71%) … 13/1 K/BB in 6.1 innings with Staten Island

Rookie Pulaski was rained out. They’re going to play a doubleheader tomorrow.

Rookie GCL Yanks East (5-0 win over GCL Tigers East)

DH Brandon Wagner: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
CF Jordan Scott: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
RF Brayan Emery: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K — went hitless in the first two games of the season
3B Yancarlos Baez: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
RHP Miguel Yajure: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4/0 GB/FB — not sure when they signed the 18-year-old from Venezuela, but he’s in the GCL now
RHP Bringnel Mendez: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 4/0 GB/FB

Rookie GCL Yanks West (6-0 loss to GCL Blue Jays)

SS Diego Castillo: 2-4, 1 K — off to a nice little start so far
3B Nelson Gomez: 1-4, 1 K
C Donny Sands: 0-3 — left the game after grounding out in the sixth for some reason
1B Miguel Flames: 0-4
RF Juan DeLeon: 0-3
LHP Tony Hernandez: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — pro debut for this year’s 15th rounder
RHP Brandon Stenhouse: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1/2 GB/FB — the Yankees signed him out of Australia back in January 2014

DotF: Judge homers yet again in Scranton’s win