Patriots Notebook: The Division Race Tightens

Bridgewater, New Jersey – Fresh off a series victory in Harrisburg in which the Patriots swiped four-of-six contests from the Senators, the club returns home on Tuesday to renew the Double-A Subway Series with last-place Binghamton (23-34) for the third and final installment of the 2026 season. Somerset (30-27) enters the day trailing first place Hartford (30-25) by just one game for the top spot in the Northeast Division and an automatic ticket into the postseason with just 12 games remaining in the first half. Clinging to just a 0.5 game lead over second place New Hampshire, the Yard Goats welcome in the Fisher Cats (29-25) this week for a vital seven game slate that will carry massive postseason implications for Somerset.

While the month of June is still young, the Patriots are preparing for their final meeting of the season with the Rumble Ponies this week. The clubs have split the first 12 matchups of the season, but Somerset has gone 4-2 against Binghamton at home and is 16-11 overall at TD Bank Ballpark this season while the Rumble Ponies have gone just 9-18 on the road.

Here are some news, notes and tidbits surrounding the Patriots heading into this week’s action.

Jace Avina is aMAYzing🤩

The @Yankees No. 19 prospect adds @MiLB’s Eastern League Player of the Month to his 2026 resume! pic.twitter.com/A0EdAVxUTy

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 4, 2026

Month of Jace: On June 4, MiLB announced Patriots outfielder Jace Avina had been named the Eastern League Player of the Month for May. Avina, who turned 23 over the weekend, was placed on the 7-day IL on June 3 after slashing .339/.429/.679 in May. The Yankees No. 19 prospect led the EL in runs scored (29), doubles (11) and total bases (74) while finishing second in OBP (.429), slugging (.679) and OPS (1.108).

Avina recorded 10 multi-hit efforts and reached base safely in every game in which he appeared, ending May on a career-best 29-game on-base streak.

Launching the Long Ball: Somerset’s prolific offense continues to propel the club up the standings thanks in large part to the team’s ability to produce power from the entire lineup. Hitting coach Mike Fransoso’s unit blasted four more home runs on Sunday, its Eastern League best 29th multi-HR game of the season. The Patriots have now clubbed a Double-A leading 96 homers which is the most any Double-A affiliate has hit through 57 games in the Research Tool Era (since 2005).

Somerset has had six batters post double-digit home run totals already this season: Garrett Martin (19), Jace Avina (14), Tyler Hardman (13), DJ Gladney (11), Coby Morales (10), and Marco Luciano (10).

Garrett Martin BELTS his @Yankees farm system leading 19th HR of the season! 💪

It's his THIRD home run this week! pic.twitter.com/LDCxY8uIJc

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 7, 2026

My Favorite Martin: Outfielder Garrett Martin continued to stay hot at the plate by blasting three homers on the road in Harrisburg last week, including his Eastern League leading 19th of the season in the series finale on Sunday. The 25-year-old's 19 homers lead the Yankees system in home runs and are the most by any Patriots player through 57 games in team history.

DJ Dropped That Beat Last Week 🎶

🔷 .364 AVG (8-for-22), 4 HR, 9 RBI and 7 XBH
🔷 4️⃣ HR in last 4️⃣ games
🔷 Extended hit streak to season-long 8️⃣ games pic.twitter.com/Nw1xR7E1mm

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 8, 2026

DJ Scorching: Outfielder DJ Gladney continues to be a revelation for Somerset in his first season in the Yankees organization after another torrid week on the road in Harrisburg. The 24-year-old Chicago native is riding a team-leading eight-game hitting streak and has homered four times over his last four games, including two in back-to-back at bats on Sunday.

The former White Sox farmhand has now hit 11 home runs in just 44 games this season after posting 10 in 100 games last season. Gladney is slashing .292/.349/.565, while his 33.7% line drive percentage is the highest mark of any Yankees full-season qualified batter.

Kyle Carr (@Yankees No. 11 Prospect) DOMINATED, picking up 8⃣ of his 9⃣ strikeouts on the sweeper! 👀

5.0 IP | 4 H | 2 R | 9 K pic.twitter.com/Cf87hJDJ8c

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 7, 2026

Carr Cruising: Southpaw Kyle Carr allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out nine in another strong start against Harrisburg this past Saturday. After posting a 9.56 ERA in April, the Yankees No. 11 prospect posted a 1.55 ERA in May. His strong outing against the Senators lowered his ERA for the sixth consecutive start, bringing it to a season low 4.32 mark entering action this week. Carr’s 64 strikeouts on the year rank fourth in the EL while his 54.4% groundball percentage is the best of all full-season hurlers in the Yankees system.

Tony Rossi (@Yankees No. 30 Prospect) notched 3⃣ strikeouts in his first career Double-A appearance!

He's worked 17.1 consecutive scoreless innings across his last 16 outings dating back to his time with @HVRenegades. pic.twitter.com/IiW3PLvQrj

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 6, 2026

Another Weapon in the Pen: Right-hander Tony Rossi was promoted to Somerset on Friday and should prove to be another valuable weapon in the holster of skipper James Cooper. Rossi, who posted a 2.18 ERA with 64 K in 45.1 IP last season, has picked up right where he left off by allowing just two earned runs in 18.1 innings with Hudson Valley to open this season.

Rossi was deployed to make his Double-A debut on Friday, and the 26-year-old Florida-native fanned three in an impressive first outing.

Knowing the Opponent: After winning the Eastern League championship last season, the 2026 version of the Rumble Ponies is one that has seen many of the Mets top prospects move on to Triple-A and even graduate to the big leagues. As a result, the defending champions have posted an Eastern League worst 23-34 mark entering play on Tuesday as they look toward playing out the first half to renew their playoff hopes in the second half.

Mets No. 4 prospect Jacob Reimer spent all of last season at 21 years-old splitting 122 games evenly between High-A and Double-A. The 119th overall pick in 2022 combined for 17 homers and 77 RBI while hitting .282 and posting an .870 OPS last season. Reimer has not been able to carry his promising 2025 campaign into 2026. He is slashing just .217/.342/.395 with five homers and 15 RBI with 52 strikeouts in 44 games.

Lefty Jonathan Santucci is the Mets No. 8 ranked prospect and is coming off his first pro season in 2025 after being selected in the second round out of Duke in 2024. After posting a strong 3.46 ERA in 15 appearances at High-A, the organization bumped its top-ranked lefty up to Double-A in mid-July. In 10 starts for Binghamton, Santucci posted a 2.52 ERA and fanned 63 batters in 50 innings while limiting EL opposition to a .189 batting average. In his first full season at Double-A, Santucci has posted a 3.93 ERA over 11 starts and has fanned 63 batters in 52.2 innings of work.

In two starts against the Patriots this season, Santucci has worked a combined 9.0 innings and has given up five earned runs on nine hits while walking five and punching out 12.

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday 6/9: RHP R.J. Gordon (0-2, 9.49 ERA) vs. RHP Trent Sellers (2-1, 5.98 ERA)

Wednesday 6/10: TBD vs. RHP Cade Smith (3-3, 6.18 ERA)

Thursday 6/11: RHP Bryce Conley (1-0, 4.73 ERA) vs. LHP Xavier Rivas (2-3, 6.81 ERA)

Friday 6/12: LHP Jonathan Santucci (1-5, 3.93 ERA) vs. TBD

Saturday 6/13: RHP Brendan Girton (1-3, 5.68 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Carr (5-4, 4.32 ERA)

Sunday 6/14: LHP Max Green (0-0, 1.26 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Hess (1-0, 3.86 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.