Patriots Notebook 4/30: Back At Home Vs. New Hampshire

Bridgewater, New Jersey – The Patriots return home Tuesday to TD Bank Ballpark on the heels of dropping four-of-six to Reading on the road last week. Somerset will look for its first series win since opening weekend against Richmond when they welcome the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to town, a club in which they currently share last place with at 9-12 overall in the Eastern League’s Northeast division. The two teams met earlier this month in Manchester, when the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate outscored Somerset 40-35 en route to taking four out of six in the series.

Berti BP pic.twitter.com/g8DMpmcmee

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 28, 2024

Rehab Central: In last week’s installment of the notebook, we highlighted DJ LeMahieu’s scheduled rehab appearance with Somerset on the road in Reading. That didn’t go as planned after the Yankees' versatile infielder experienced additional soreness in his injured right foot after striking out in his lone at bat and playing one inning in the field. Before the series with Reading had wrapped, the Bombers sent another injured infielder to open a rehab stint with Somerset in Jon Berti. The organization placed Berti on the IL on April 11 with a left groin strain – he had gone 4-for-19 in six games for the Yankees before landing on the shelf. On Sunday afternoon in his first taste of game action in just over two weeks, Berti went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while playing five innings in the field at third base in his first game with Somerset.

BROCK OUT TO 11

The @Yankees No. 10 prospect Brock Selvidge strikes out a career-high 11 batters in 7 scoreless innings.

7 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 11 K pic.twitter.com/kFDclqMI4Y

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 28, 2024

Selvidge Shoves: Yankees 10^th ranked prospect, Brock Selvidge, tossed seven shutout frames against Reading on Saturday night – he allowed just two hits and fanned a career-high 11 batters in a masterpiece effort. The 21-year-old southpaw is off to a dominant start in Double-A after four starts with Somerset – the 2021 third-round draft selection currently ranks fourth in the EL with a 1.71 ERA while his 26 strikeouts rank fifth.

That's how you start a ballgame, Ben Rice pic.twitter.com/bwW0lJ3agJ

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 28, 2024

Getting Offensive at the Top: Despite being three games under the .500 mark entering action on Tuesday, the Patriots offense leads the EL in runs scored (111), hits (181), batting average (.259), on-base percentage (.357), slugging (.470), home runs (29), walks (93), and triples (10). Catchers Agustin Ramirez (9) and Ben Rice (6) are the league leaders in home runs entering the final days of the month. Ramirez is also the league leader in RBI with 19 in 19 games played while his 14 walks rank third.

117 MPH off the bat of Jared Wegner🤯 pic.twitter.com/0V4EZtdpGj

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 28, 2024

Going Streaking: Patriots outfielder Jared Wegner is in the midst of riding a 12-game hitting streak, the longest such mark in the Eastern League this season. With just 24 minor league games under his belt entering this season, the 24-year-old Nebraska-native is slashing .267/.353/.517 with three homers and nine RBI in 17 games.

Ben Cowles smacks a homer (3) for the second straight game.💪 pic.twitter.com/f3XGinmOTp

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 28, 2024

Count on Cowles: It feels like nobody outside of Somerset ever brings up Patriots shortstop Ben Cowles when highlighting the immense talent littered in the Yankees farm system. In his first month at Double-A, the 24-year-old infielder leads the Eastern League in hitting with a .356 mark. His .411 on-base percentage, 26 hits, and eight doubles are also league-high marks. Cowles went 8-for-20 with three homers and seven RBI on the road in Reading last week and is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak entering play on Tuesday.

Congratulations to former Somerset Patriots catcher Carlos Narvaez (2022) on being called up by the @Yankees!🎉 pic.twitter.com/pLykubYlI1

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 29, 2024

Narvy SzN: The Yankees promoted catcher Carlos Narvaez to the major leagues on Monday. The 25-year-old backstop played in 16 games with Somerset last season before spending the better part of the last year and a half with SWB. If Narvaez is to see action in a game, he would become the 33rd prospect to have played for Somerset to debut in the big leagues since the Patriots joined the affiliated ranks of minor league baseball in 2021.

Featured Fisher Cat: Blue Jays 11^th ranked prospect Josh Kasevich trails only Cowles in the EL with a .342 batting average. The 2022 second-round draft selection recorded went 12-for-22 with multi-hit efforts in four of the five games he played against Somerset in their previous matchup.

Series Probable Pitching Matchups:

Tuesday: RHP Michael Dominguez (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Dees (1-2, 6.75 ERA)

Wednesday: RHP Devereaux Harrison (0-2, 9.39 ERA) vs. RHP Trystan Vrieling (2-1, 1.88 ERA)

Thursday: LHP Adam Macko (0-1, 3.15 ERA) vs. RHP Blane Abeyta (1-3, 6.33 ERA)

Friday: RHP Trent Palmer (1-1, 5.11 ERA) vs. LHP Brock Selvidge (1-1, 1.71 ERA)

Saturday: LHP Trenton Wallace (1-0, 2.16 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Messinger (0-2, 5.14 ERA)

Sunday: RHP Michael Dominguez vs. RHP Bailey Dees

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 12th 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.