Cup of Coffee: Aita dominates in Greenville debut

6/14 Cup of Coffee: While the major league squad had a thrilling extra-innings win, it was tough going down on the farm. All seven teams were in action, and the only victory came from the DSL Red team at the expense of the DSL Blue squad. The four full-season affiliates combined for just 14 hits. The meager offensive output squandered some excellent pitching, particularly from Blake Aita (pictured), who was dominant in a loss in his Greenville debut. Yhoiker Fajardo also continued his outstanding work in the FCL. He was in line for a win until a crushing walk-off. 

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Despite only picking up four hits on the day, the WooSox held on tough before getting dispatched by first-place Lehigh Valley in extra innings. Tyler McDonough had half of his team's hits and both of their RBI, going 2 for 4 on the night. A Blaze Jordan double was the only extra-base knock for the WooSox. Starter Jose De Leon went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one, while striking out six. Nick Burdi threw a scoreless sixth as he began his rehab assignment. Alex Hoppe gave up one hit in two scoreless innings of relief, striking out one. Isaiah Campbell pitched a scoreless ninth and was in line for the win after Worcester took a 3-2 lead in the tenth, but Lehigh scored a pair in the bottom of the frame for the walk-off victory. 

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An injury to Portland starter Yordanny Monegro overshadowed an otherwise quiet evening in Somerset. Monegro left after just 28 pitches with an apparent arm injury. There are no specifics yet on the injury or severity, and the SoxProspects.com team will pass along that info as soon as it is received. The injury left more innings for Christopher Troye and Jonathan Brand to eat up than was probably anticipated. Troye went 2 2/3 scoreless frames, his longest scoreless effort since May 11, 2023 with Greenville. Brand took the loss, going four frames and allowing a run apiece in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings. Zach Ehrhard led off the game with a home run and later added a single, giving him two-thirds of the Portland hits. Caden Rose singled for the other. 

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Blake Aita was outstanding in his Greenville debut, but a trio of Hudson Valley hurlers took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ended up settling for the combined shutout. Aita gave up just one hit across six innings, surrendering one run, striking out six, and walking two. Michael Sansone struck out a pair and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Singles by Yophery Rodriguez and Justin Riemer in the seventh spoiled the no-hit bid, but those proved to be the only two knocks for Greenville. Of note, it was old friend Elmer Rodriguez, traded to the Yankees in the Carlos Narvaez deal, who picked up the win against his old mates. Rodriguez went five scoreless innings, allowing two hits. 

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Salem led this contest nearly throughout, but a Delmarva score in the bottom of the ninth tied things up, and two in the tenth gave the Shorebirds the walk-off win. Kleyver Salazar was the offensive highlight, going 2 for 4 with a two-run fifth-inning homer that broke a scoreless tie. Devin Futrell got the start, going 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Calvin Bickerstaff gave up just one unearned run on three hits in 3 2/3. Nicolas De La Cruz went the scoreless seventh, but Delmarva reached Manuel Medina in both of its rallies, saddling him with the loss.

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The FCL squad kicked off their weekly home-and-home with the Twins with a heartbreaker of a loss. Hobie Harris, sidelined since March with an injury, began his rehab assignment with a scoreless inning, striking out a pair. Yhoiker Fajardo was once again excellent, giving up two hits over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out six and walking three. It was the longest outing of the season for the 18-year-old righty, as he lowered his ERA to 0.44 across six outings. Madinson Frias did not allow a run in his first three innings of work, but left with a possible injury with one out in the ninth inning and two runners aboard, but with the 1-0 lead intact. The game-tying and game-winning runs then came on to score on a pair of Gilbel Galvan wild pitches. At the plate, D'Angelo Ortiz had a 2-for-4 effort, raising his line to .333/.424/.385 on the year. Ilan Fernandez also had a pair of hits, while Jesus Lugo singled and walked. 

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Team Red took the first of four head-to-head matchups between Boston's two DSL cohorts on the 2025 calendar. Jhonny Osta led the Red offense, going 1 for 2 with two walks and two RBI. Franklin Primera was 2 for 3 with a walk, and Alexander Alzi also had two hits. Following his first hitless game as a professional on Thursday, Dorian Soto rebounded with a single and a run scored. Starter Christopher Cordero allowed one unearned run on one hit in three innings, striking out one, and overcoming four walks and a hit batter. Isael Fis surrendered two runs in his inning of relief, but Angelo Ladera picked up the win with three hitless innings, striking out three and walking one.

Harold Rivas continues to dominate for the Blue squad. He singled, walked, and stole a base, and is now 10 for 23 with 11 walks in nine games. Blue starter Juanyerlin Duran allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Yariel Valdez followed with 1 1/3 hitless frames, walking two and striking out one. Oscar Vaamonde was saddled with the loss, giving up two runs in three innings of work.

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Player of the Day: Blake Aita is one of several arms from the 2024 draft class off to an impressive season. The sixth-round pick out of Kennesaw State had a middling 4.24 ERA in 10 appearances for Salem, but a strong 45 strikeouts against just nine walks in 51 innings. Promoted to Greenville this week, Aita was dominant for the Drive despite a total lack of offensive support. He gave up just one hit and one run in six innings in Greenville's 1-0 loss. He is currently the 43rd-ranked prospect in the system. Notably, he's been given a longer leash than other prospects in his class - his 57 innings pitched lead the organization.