Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has selected Somerset Patriots LHP Xavier Rivas as the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for games played between June 16 - 21.
Rivas, the Yankees No. 23 prospect, didn’t allow a run, striking out eight batters while walking just two across a career-high 5.2 no-hit innings against the Portland Sea Dogs on Wednesday. Rivas’ 5.2 no-hit innings are the most ever by a Patriot left-handed pitcher and the most by a Patriot pitcher since Brendan Beck completed 6.0 no-hit innings on April 15, 2025 at Altoona.
Rivas notched five strikeouts across his first two innings, including punchouts to Red Sox No. 1 Prospect Franklin Arias and Romy Gonzalez on an MLB rehab assignment. Of his eight total strikeouts, Rivas sent down six batters with his splitter and two with his slider.
Dating back to his start at Harrisburg on June 4, Rivas hasn’t allowed an earned run across his last 11.0 innings pitched. In his last three outings, Rivas has tallied a 1.32 ERA, 1-0 record, 0.88 WHIP and .130 BAA with 20 K to 6 BB in 13.2 IP.
Across 12 appearances (eight starts) this season, Rivas has a 5.36 ERA, 3-3 record, .207 BAA with 68 K to 25 BB in 45.1 IP, while striking out 34.9% of batters. The 23-year-old ranks second among Somerset arms in strikeouts, sixth in the Yankees farm system and tied for eighth in the Eastern League.
Selected in the 16th round by the Yankees in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Mississippi, Rivas has posted a 9-7 record, 4.06 ERA and .180 BAA with 181 K to 75 BB in 130.2 IP across 31 career pitching appearances with the FCL Yankees (four games), Single-A Tampa (10 games), High-A Hudson Valley (five games) and Somerset (12 games).
Rivas becomes the third unique Patriot to receive a MiLB weekly award this season (Jace Avina - 5/19, 6/1, Coby Morales - 4/26). He is the first Patriot pitcher to receive a MiLB weekly award since Elmer Rodriguez was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on September 8, 2025 and the first Patriot LHP to receive a MiLB weekly award since J.P. Sears earned the same honor on June 7, 2021.
About the Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are the New York Yankees Double-A Affiliate and develop today’s top minor league talent into the pinstriped superstars of tomorrow for MLB’s winningest team. The Patriots were named Double-A Organization of the Year by Minor League Baseball (2025) and Baseball America (2024). Home games are played at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, where fans of all ages and levels of baseball fandom get to enjoy the unique experience that is minor league baseball. To learn more, visit: somersetpatriots.com.