Bridgewater, New Jersey – The Patriots (13-14) return home for the first time in 16 days on Tuesday. Somerset finds itself winners of five straight games after a successful 6-3 road trip through Portland and New Hampshire out of the All-Star break. Somerset welcomes in the Richmond Flying Squirrels (14-12) to TD Bank Ballpark for a six-game set after the San Francisco Giants affiliate captured the Southwest Division title in the first half to secure an automatic postseason bid.
The two clubs met back in late April when Richmond took five of six from the Patriots in their first ever visit to the newly minted CarMax Park.
Here is a look at some of the latest news, notes and storylines surrounding Somerset heading into action this week.
Go DJ: Minor League Baseball named Patriots outfielder DJ Gladney the Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday after a torrid week on the road in New Hampshire. Against the Fisher Cats, the 25-year-old went 12-for-26 with 3 HR and 10 RBI with 5 XBH in the six-game series.
In his first season in the Yankees organization after spending his first six pro seasons with the White Sox’s farm system, Gladney is slashing .269/.326/.503 with 18 HR and 64 RBI. The 2019 16th round draft selection is one homer shy of tying his career high and currently ranks third among all Yankees minor leaguers. His RBI output ranks third in the Eastern League and third in the Yankees organization entering action on Tuesday.
Gladney becomes the fourth Patriots player to be awarded weekly honors this season, joining outfielder Jace Avina, infielder Coby Morales and left-handed pitcher Xavier Rivas.
Starters Rolling: Over Somerset's last 10 games dating back to July 12, the team's stable of starting pitchers have been dominant. Over that stretch, Somerset starters have combined to allow just 10 earned runs over 45.2 innings of work (1.97 ERA) to go with a 0.99 WHIP and a 64:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio while holding EL opposition to a .164 batting average.
Cebert on the Shelf: After posting his second consecutive scoreless start against New Hampshire last Friday, the Patriots announced a day later that Jack Cebert was being placed on the 7-day IL. The Yankees No. 15 prospect tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out seven in his last outing - pushing his active scoreless streak to 10.1 IP. Over his last five starts, Cebert has recorded a 2.05 ERA and held opponents to a .186 BAA with 30 strikeouts in 26.1 IP.
Rivas Revelation: Since surrendering 11 earned runs on 11 hits over 4.1 IP against Reading on May 28, Patriots southpaw Xavier Rivas has been one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball. After allowing just one earned run over 5.0 IP against New Hampshire last Friday, the Yankees No. 25 prospect has now gone eight consecutive outings allowing two or fewer earned runs dating back to the start of June.
Since that outing, Rivas has compiled a 1.43 ERA and a .112 BAA with 53 strikeouts to 16 walks over 37.2 IP. Entering action on Tuesday, Rivas ranks third in the Yankees organization in strikeouts (111) and first with 13.11 K/9.
Coby Streaking: After going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the series finale against New Hampshire on Sunday, Patriots infielder Coby Morales has a team-leading 27 multi-hit efforts on the season. He also extended his active on-base streak to 15 consecutive games. Over that stretch, Morales is slashing .293/.373/.448 with 2 HR, 8 RBI and 8 BB.
Knowing the Opponent: The Patriots have seen a lot of their division foes for much of the first four months of the year. Tuesday, they start a stretch where they take on Southwest Division clubs in four of the final seven weeks to close out the regular season.
Richmond has already punched its ticket to the playoffs with a dominant first half that saw them win the Southwest Division with an Eastern League-best 43-25 record. Since the standings reset in the second half, Richmond has gone 14-12 but are just 8-11 in July.
The Giants selected shortstop Gavin Kilen with the 13th overall pick in last summer’s MLB Draft, and their No. 4 prospect has already cracked Double-A after being promoted to Richmond just 11 days ago on the heels of an appearance in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. The 22-year-old Tennessee-product is slashing .288/.350/.462 with 9 HR and 65 RBI in his first full season. In a small nine-game sample at Double-A, Kilen is slashing .344/.395/.563.
Much like Kilen, Giants No. 5 prospect Dakota Jordan received a nod to the MLB All-Star Futures Game and was promoted to Double-A Richmond along with Kilen back on July 17. Jordan was the 116th overall pick in 2024 out of Mississippi State and has certainly lived up to that early investment. Jordan has blasted 18 HR alongside 71 RBI while slashing .289/.346/.520 this season across all levels. In nine games with Richmond, he has gone 10-for-35 with 5 RBI.
Probable Pitchers
Tuesday 7/28: RHP Trystan Vrieling (5-1, 4.13 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Smith (5-6, 4.90 ERA)
Wednesday 7/29: LHP Greg Farone (3-8, 6.32 ERA) vs. LHP Xavier Rivas (5-4, 4.02 ERA)
Thursday 7/30: RHP Yunior Marte (0-3, 4.36 ERA) vs. TBD
Friday 7/31: LHP Charlie McDaniel (3-1, 4.44 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Hampton (0-3, 6.75 ERA)
Saturday 8/1: LHP Tyler Switalski (0-3, 9.95 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Hess (3-2, 3.94 ERA)
Sunday 8/2: TBD vs. RHP Cade Smith (5-6, 4.90 ERA)
Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer
Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 14th 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.