Patriotic Preview: Reading at Somerset 7/4 - 7/9

Bridgewater, New Jersey – Some of the best fireworks in New Jersey this Independence Day can be found at TD Bank Ballpark when the First-Half Northeast Division Champion Patriots return home for their first home series of the second half by welcoming in the visiting Reading Fightin Phils for a six-game set on Tuesday night. Somerset took four-of-six from Bowie last week while the Phils dropped five-of-six to Richmond.

Before we dive into the week ahead, we take a look back at some of the happenings surrounding the Patriots in the week that was.

IT'S TY'S TIME!⏰Tyler Hardman has been named @MiLB's Eastern League Player of the Week for 6/26-7/2!

Playing four games in Bowie, Hardman went 7-for-15 with 5 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R and 4 BB, including his first career 3 HR game on Saturday night!💣💣💣💣💣 pic.twitter.com/QXfiBWvtXc

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 3, 2023

Hardman Makes It Look Easy: Nobody is happier than Bowie to see Somerset and their potent offense hit the road. Patriots third baseman Tyler Hardman was named the Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday after homering five times, including a three-homer game on Saturday, in four games played against the Baysox last week. The 24-year-old third baseman hit .467 with seven RBI, seven runs scored, a double and drew four walks to go with his home run barrage. The Yankees 18^th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline now leads the EL in long balls with 19 on the season.

Good To See You, Breaux: Catcher Josh Breaux, who spent parts of the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Patriots, was sent down to Somerset from Scranton on Sunday. The backstop suffered an elbow injury during spring training that sidelined him until late May. The 25-year-old Breaux rehabbed in 13 games with High-A Hudson Valley before being activated and sent to the RailRiders. There is a clear logjam of talented catchers at SWB and Breaux saw just three games of action as a result. With Anthony Seigler on the Somerset IL and a DH spot available along with splitting up duties behind the plate with Austin Wells, there is a clearer path to at-bats for the catcher to get back on track. Breaux homered on Monday night for Somerset in his first game back with the club.

The Zero ERA Club: The Patriots have a pair of relievers down in the bullpen in Edgar Barclay and Danny Watson that have both yet to allow an earned run at Double-A this season. Barclay, a 25-year-old southpaw, has fanned 26 batters and held EL opposition to a mere .193 batting average over 16.2 innings spanning seven appearances. Watson, a tall 6’7” right-hander, opened the season with Hudson Valley and has only seemed to thrive since facing more advanced hitters. Watson has tossed 26 consecutive scoreless frames and holds a 0.97 ERA over 25 cumulative appearances between the two levels. The 22-year-old Watson has allowed just four hits and is yet to be scored upon at the Double-A level for Somerset – the EL is hitting just .098 against him over 12.1 innings.

Knowing the Opponent

Reading lost a league-high 40 games in the first half of the season and the second half has been no kinder to the Phils in the first week of the second stanza after dropping five-of-six to Richmond last week. Reading came to town at the end of May and split a six-game slate with Somerset in their only previous meetings this season. After meeting for six this week, the Patriots will go to Reading for the first time this season in mid-August for the team’s final matchups of the campaign. The Phils are led by manager Al Pedrique, who was a long-time minor league manager in the Yankees system from 2013-2017.

Outfielder Carlos De La Cruz is Philadelphia’s ninth ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline and the 23-year-old has exhibited strong power in his first full-season at Double-A. De La Cruz has blasted a team-high 14 homers and driven home 37 runs while posting a strong slash line of .283/.359/.478.

Center fielder Johan Rojas is sixth on the MLB Pipeline rankings and he, too, is having a very strong showing for Reading in 2023. The 22-year-old speedster has swiped 27 bases while slashing .314/.372/.478 in 70 games.

It appears that Somerset will miss right-hander Mick Abel, who is the Phillies’ second ranked prospect. The 21-year-old right-hander has fanned 70 batters in 65 innings while holding the EL to a .198 batting average. The Phils 2020 first-round draft selection was placed on the development list on June 30 which is likely just a short rest before he is slated to pitch in the Sirius XM All-Star Future’s Game in Seattle on Saturday.

Former Patriots infielder Oliver Dunn has had a strong showing for Reading this season, blasting a career-high 10 homers and 43 RBI while posting a team-high .404 on-base mark. Catcher Max McDowell has played 41 games for Reading this season after a brief 2021 stint with the Patriots while he was part of the Yankees organization.

Series Probable Pitching Matchups:

Tue: RHP Adam Leverett (0-1, 3.67 ERA) vs. RHP Richard Fitts (4-5, 3.99 ERA)

Wed: TBD vs. RHP Matt Sauer (0-1, 7.36 ERA)

Thu: RHP Griff McGarry (0-0, 3.81 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Hampton (0-0, 4.15 ERA)

Fri: LHP David Parkinson (2-4, 5.61 ERA) vs. RHP Blane Abeyta (5-3, 6.00 ERA)

Sat: RHP Tyler Phillips (3-5, 5.35 ERA) vs. RHP Yoendrys Gomez (0-0, 1.37 ERA)

Sun: LHP Josh Hendrickson (1-5, 5.47 ERA) vs. RHP Richard Fitts (4-5, 3.99 ERA)

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Beat Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 11th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.