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Patriots Notebook 6/18/24: 1st Half Winding Down

June 18, 2024

Bridgewater, New Jersey – After splitting a six-game slate on the road with Binghamton last week, the Patriots return home for the final week of the Eastern League first half on the outside of the playoffs looking in with a lone series against defending champion Erie (33-28) on deck. Somerset

Bridgewater, New Jersey – After splitting a six-game slate on the road with Binghamton last week, the Patriots return home for the final week of the Eastern League first half on the outside of the playoffs looking in with a lone series against defending champion Erie (33-28) on deck. Somerset trails first place Hartford by just 3.5 games for the Northeast Division lead, but Portland (0.5 games) and Binghamton (2.5 games) both sit ahead and remain within striking distance of the automatic playoff bid as well.

The Patriots have won back-to-back first half division titles after edging out Hartford by just one game in 2022 and narrowly snuck past Portland by 2.5 games last season. The Patriots and Erie have both represented the class of the Eastern League over the last two years and both clubs have a golden opportunity to play the role of spoiler – while the Patriots have a punchers chance of clinching their third consecutive postseason berth, Erie also finds themselves needing to overcome a two-game hole with both Harrisburg and Akron sitting ahead of them in the Southwest Division.

Hard Hits Have Returned: Reigning Eastern League home run champion Tyler Hardman finally returned to the Somerset lineup last week for the first time since having offseason hand surgery. Hardman had spent the better part of the last month on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated and sent to High-A Hudson Valley to continue his build-up process. Since returning to the Patriots lineup last week, the slugging infielder has already blasted his first Double-A homer and third overall in 25 games. The 25-year-old Oklahoma product slashed .545/.583/.909 in three games against the Rumble Ponies last week.

J.C. Heating Up: When Ben Rice was promoted to Triple-A two weeks back, it was no secret that manager Raul Dominguez would have a difficult time replacing the production lost in his lineup with a suddenly glaring hole, but catcher/first baseman J.C. Escarra has answered the bell and done the most with added playing time. Last week in Binghamton, Escarra posted three consecutive three-hit games and recorded 10 hits overall and drove home nine runs while playing in all six games of the series. Over 14 games in June, Escarra is slashing .283/.356/.453 and has already tied his season-high for RBI in a month (9) with 12 games still remaining before turning over the calendar.

For the Record: Since moving into the affiliated ranks of minor league baseball in 2021, the Patriots have won 270 games, more than any other Eastern League team over that time. Somerset has a winning record against all but two teams in the league, Erie being one of them (14-16 all-time) and Akron being the other (11-13 all-time). There, of course, is no love lost between the two clubs after Somerset swept the SeaWolves back in 2022 to hoist their first ever Eastern League championship.

June of Agust: Nobody in Double-A has hit more home runs this season than Agustin Ramirez and certainly no catcher has, either. The Yankees 20th ranked prospect has blasted 16 homers in 2024 and that is the number that jumps out on the back of the baseball card, but as the summer begins to heat up, the batting average is suddenly creeping into the upper echelon of league leaders, too. Ramirez is now slashing .290/.374/.571 on the year thanks to a June that has seen him go .345/.367/.621 with four homers and 12 RBI in 12 games this month.

Know the Wolves: Tigers top-prospect Jackson Jobe, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, has been sidelined with a left hamstring strain and has not pitched since May 1. The ninth ranked prospect in baseball is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this week, so the Patriots should miss seeing one of the more highly touted arms in the game.

The Tigers traded right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies last summer and in return netted themselves infielder Hao-Yu Lee, the organization’s 11th ranked prospect. Lee signed with the Philadelphia out of Taiwan back in 2021 and the versatile infielder is having a standout campaign in his first taste of the upper levels, slashing .294/.370/.518 with a career-best 10 homers in just 58 games for Erie.

Probable Series Pitching Matchup:

Tue: RHP Garrett Hill (1-1, 1.04 ERA) vs. RHP Trystan Vrieling (6-4, 4.92 ERA)

Wed: RHP Wilkel Hernandez (2-3, 3.83 ERA) vs. LHP Brock Selvidge (6-4, 3.25 ERA)

Thu: RHP Garrett Burhenn (1-1, 5.68 ERA) vs. RHP Blane Abeyta (3-5, 6.51 ERA)

Fri: RHP Troy Melton (2-5, 4.79 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Messinger (2-3, 3.50 ERA)

Sat: RHP Austin Bergner (3-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Dees (2-4, 3.86 ERA)

Sun: LHP Carlos Pena (1-2, 4.12 ERA) vs. RHP Trystan Vrieling (6-4, 4.92 ERA)

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.