Prospect News: Groovy Summer Assignments or Whitman Jumps

Yankees OF Spencer Jones and me: telling each other fairy tales and smiling in the bright lights of the CBS AL Only Analyst League. Aaron Judge is out for a couple months. Jasson Dominguez just started a rehab assignment. This one looks pretty simple from the outside: if Jones hits, he stays. If not, maybe New York turns to The Martian to fill that Judgian void. 

Brewers RHP Craig Yoho (26) has been on dynasty radars for a while and should be up for good this time if he can find the strike zone. During his 8.2 inning debut last season, he walked nine batters and hit one, leading to a 7.27 ERA and 1.96 WHIP. Tough road to hoe. His Triple-A outcomes this year have reflected the dominance that carried him through the minors: a 1.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 24 strikeouts and five walks through 18 innings. Milwaukee’s always a phone call away from trading a closer, so even though Yoho will have to wait a while, ninth-inning opportunities should pepper his not-too-distant future. 

Twins 3B Royce Lewis is back with the big club after mutilating minor league pitching for 15 games (10 HR; 19.5% K). He also turned 27 years old on June 5, so this was a nice little birthday gift (though not exactly a gift considering he slugged .900). It’s hard to say what’s gone wrong for Royce aside from the injuries, but there’s no doubt in my mind that this brief foray back to the minors will be good for him. Seems kinda silly as I prewrite this line on the blackboard inside my brain, but I feel like athletes can forget how to dominate. They can forget how naturally gifted they are, caught up in the day-to-day grind of self-improvement or survival. Put Lewis against a pile of pitchers that are as close as it gets to major leaguers, and they’re barely playing the same game as he is. He might struggle again in the majors, but I’m ready to believe he’s turned a corner. 

Reds SS Edwin Arroyo (22) has started at shortstop just once in four games since being recalled to fill in for the injured Elly De La Cruz. I’m not sure how to read that, except to say that this club really likes Matt McLain. Probably too early to care a whole lot how they deploy Arroyo. The point is he’s a major leaguer now after slashing .323/.383/.562 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases in 53 Triple-A games while striking out just 16.8 percent of the time. If he hits enough, Cincy might slide McLain aside to keep the switch-hitting Arroyo in the everyday lineup. 

Diamondbacks 3B LuJames Groover was recalled to replace the demoted Jose Fernandez and got to start on his first day with the club. In 56 Triple-A games this year, Groover slashed .322/.421/.452 with three home runs, two stolen bases and a 16.8 percent strikeout rate. That last piece is likely what got him this chance as Fernandez was flailing away and becoming something of an easy out for opposing pitchers. Groover won’t flash the physical gifts of Fernandez but has a better chance to provide productive at bats for the time being. 

San Diego recalled OF Samad Taylor and released OF Nick Castellanos. Taylor, 27, was slashing .319/.406/.500 with seven home runs and nine stolen bases in Triple-A. He figures to join a left field time-share with Jase Bowen and Bryce Johnson and might mix in at second base as well. At 5’8” 160 pounds, Taylor has had to earn every opportunity he’s seen between the lines. Here’s hoping his fourth stint in the majors is a little longer than his four-game and three-game stretches over the past two seasons. 

Giants LHP Joe Whitman (24, AAA) is one vowel away from having an all-time NPC of a name, but we shouldn’t hold that against him. At 6’4” 215 pounds, he repeats his well-balanced delivery with precision, amplifying his command of a plus changeup and solid fastball-slider combination. It’s a starter’s mix with weapons against batters from both sides of the plate. Whitman’s been in rhythm all season but especially the last month, having held his opponent scoreless in five of his last six starts covering 34 innings going back to May 5th. His most recent outing was his Triple-A debut, when he spun another six scoreless innings with four strikeouts and zero walks. 

Red Sox OF Enddy Azocar (19, A+) was overmatched in full-season ball last year (69 wRC+) after proving too good for the complex (171 wRC+) but came back a little stronger in 2026 and tore that league up, slashing .295/.344/.530 with six home runs and seven stolen bases in 39 games, prompting Boston to test him with a jump to High-A. All good so far on that score. He’s at .286/.342/.514 with a homer and a steal in his first eight games there. On defense, he’s playing center field even at the new level and might stay there for a decade depending on how his 6’2” frame fills out. 

Thanks for reading!