Patriots Notebook: Rivas Rolling, McGinnis Heating Up as Somerset Opens Nine-Game Road Trip in Portland

Bridgewater, New Jersey – The Patriots (7-11) return from the All-Star break on Friday night to kick off a nine-game road trip through New England. Somerset opens with a quick three-game slate against first-place Portland this weekend before heading to New Hampshire for a six-game series next week. Somerset returns from a four-day layoff after dropping four-of-six contests to Reading last week, concluding a 5-7 homestand to open the month of July.

Here are some news and notes surrounding the Patriots heading into action this weekend.

Xavier Rivas (@Yankees No. 23 Prospect) has THRIVED since the start of June 🤩

🔷 1.38 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, .119 BAA — 1st in Double-A
🔷 .377 K% — 3rd in Double-A
🔷 Back-to-back quality starts pic.twitter.com/SFi5lxBLsL

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 14, 2026

Rivas Rolling: Patriots southpaw Xavier Rivas walked off the mound back on May 28 sporting a 7.11 ERA after surrendering 11 earned runs on 11 hits to New Hampshire. It certainly wasn’t the start that a promising young pitcher wanted to have in his first taste of action in the upper levels. Instead of letting that forgettable outing snowball, Rivas went back to the drawing board and pulled what he could from that start in order to improve.

In his seven appearances since, Rivas has been the best hurler in the Eastern League. He has posted a 1.38 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and has held hitters to a .119 batting average, which all lead Double-A since the start of June.

Rivas faced Reading twice last week, the first time he has faced the same opponent twice in the same series in his pro-career. The lefty combined to allowed just two earned runs on four hits while striking out 16 batters across 12.0 IP. That included a dominant start in the series finale Sunday in which he spun 6.0 no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts. Rivas has lowered his season ERA to 4.20 while his 94 punchouts on the year rank third-best in the EL.

For an in-depth look at what has powered this dominant stretch for Rivas, you can read more here.

Have a day Connor McGinnis!🤩
4-for-5 | 3 R | 2 HR | 3B | 2 RBI pic.twitter.com/uQwrevtcS6

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 11, 2026

Cheers to McGinnis: A little over a year ago, Somerset infielder Connor McGinnis was playing college ball at Houston before the Yankees selected him with their 10th round draft pick last summer. After a brief cup of coffee with Hudson Valley to wrap up 2025, the 23-year-old Texas-native opened this season back at High-A and by mid-May had already found himself in the upper levels in his first full-season of pro-ball.

Since joining the Patriots on May 12, McGinnis is slashing .273/343/.433 with four homers and 19 RBI. In the month of July, he is hitting .390 with a 1.102 OPS in 11 games. Last week against the Fightin’ Phils, McGinnis went 9-for-26, highlighted by a 4-for-5, two-homer game last Friday.

You can read more about McGinnis’ scorching bat as he’s acclimated to Double-A here.

Ben Grable and James Cooper representing Somerset and the @Yankees at the MLB All-Star Futures Game!
📸 | @yesnetwork pic.twitter.com/Bj6XUmOtnf

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 12, 2026

Back to the Future: With prospects George Lombard Jr. and Carlos Lagrange sidelined due to injury, Patriots reliever Ben Grable was the Yankees lone representative to join manager James Cooper in Philadelphia last Sunday in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. Cooper, who served as the third base coach for the American League squad, got to watch his young righty shine in a brief appearance on the grand stage. Grable was summoned from the bullpen with one out in the seventh inning and needed just two pitches to retire MLB’s No. 18 ranked prospect Luis Peña on a flyout to centerfield.

Keep On Keating On: In a stable of strong relief options at the back end of the Patriots bullpen, right-hander Matt Keating has quietly emerged as one of the team’s most reliable arms. The 25-year-old USC-product opened 2026 by surrendering 12 earned runs over his first 16 appearances which inflated his ERA up to 6.61 by the time May had concluded.

Since May 29, Keating has not surrendered a single earned run spanning eight appearances, a stretch in which he has held Eastern League opposition to a .080 batting average.

Knowing the Opponent: The Sea Dogs enter action Friday at 11-7 in the second half, tied for a share of first place with Reading. Somerset has gone 9-6 against Boston’s affiliate this season but are just 2-4 against them at Hadlock Field.

The Sea Dogs are fueled by Boston’s top-ranked prospect Franklin Arias. The 20-year-old is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in all of baseball. Fresh off an appearance in last Sunday’s MLB All-Star Futures game, Arias comes out of the break as arguably the best hitter in the Eastern League in his first full season in the upper levels. The Venezuelan shortstop has posted a 1.007 OPS while slashing .325/.411/.596 to go with 18 HR and 48 RBI in 70 games of action this season. Arias has gone 14-for-49 with 2 HR and 5 RBI against the Patriots in 2026.

Boston’s No. 2 prospect Anthony Eyanson is also fresh off an appearance in the Futures game last week, an outing in which he earned the victory despite facing just one batter. The right-hander was taken with the 87th overall pick out of LSU last summer. In his first season in pro ball, Eyanson has pitched to a 1.29 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 55.2 frames spanning 13 appearances across High-A and Double-A. Since being promoted to Portland back on May 5, Eyanson has posted a 1.78 ERA and .178 BAA. In his lone appearance against the Patriots this season, MLB’s No. 52 prospect allowed just three hits while striking out five batters over four shutout innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday 7/17: LHP Dalton Rogers (1-2, 4.07 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Cebert (2-3, 5.76 ERA)

Saturday 7/18: RHP Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 1.78 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Hampton (0-2, 7.27 ERA)

Sunday 7/19: RHP Gage Ziehl (4-3, 4.84 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Hess (2-1, 4.84 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.