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Patriots Notebook 7/8/25: Cats Visit the Pats

July 8, 2025

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – It was a surge in the second half of the schedule that propelled last year’s Patriots club into the postseason. Somerset is hoping to follow that same formula to get back to the Eastern League playoffs in 2025. After dropping four-of-six to close out June, the Patriots

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – It was a surge in the second half of the schedule that propelled last year’s Patriots club into the postseason. Somerset is hoping to follow that same formula to get back to the Eastern League playoffs in 2025. After dropping four-of-six to close out June, the Patriots turned the calendar to July by taking five-of-six from division rival Reading.

Now sitting at 7-5 in the early going of the second half, Somerset finds itself just a game behind first place with New Hampshire (5-7) making its first trip to Bridgewater this season to open a six-game slate beginning on Tuesday.

The two clubs have locked horns twice already this season, both times at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, NH, and the Patriots have dominated by taking 11 of those 12 contests with a +45-run differential.

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

The Roc is Cookin’: Patriots infielder Roc Riggio is heating up after going 9-for-21 with 5 extra-base hits and seven RBI against the Fightin Phils last week. Since being promoted to Somerset on 6/3, the 23-year-old Oklahoma State-product is slashing .286/.353/.590 with eight HR and 23 RBI in just 27 games. Riggio, who says he added 10 lbs. of muscle since the end of last season, has tapped into his power stroke this season. The Yankees’ 2023 fourth-round draft selection has already belted 15 long balls in just 183 at-bats after hitting just 11 in the first 471 at-bats of his career.

“For me, the power has always been there,” said Riggio. “It’s been there since high school and since college. Obviously as you go up levels, stuff gets better, and things get faster, so you have to fine tune some things. I’ve had a lot of success to the pull side in previous years; this past offseason it’s really just learning my swing and understanding how it works and tapping into the consistency of how I have to move every time and the moves I have to make towards the ball. With that and some of the weight that I have put on, I’ve been getting good results.”

Lagrange Bounce Back: Following a 6/25 start against Erie in which he allowed a season-high seven walks, Patriots right-hander Carlos Lagrange turned in one of his best outings of the year last Tuesday against Reading. The 22-year-old hurler allowed 1 R on 1 H with 2 BB and 10 K over six innings. Lagrange was clocked at 101 MPH on the radar gun when delivering the final pitch of his outing in the 9-4 Somerset victory.

Lagrange, who is the organization’s third ranked prospect by Baseball America, has been working rigorously to harness his triple-digit velocity into consistent command of the strike zone.

“When my mechanics are good, my command is there,” Lagrange recently told reporters through translator Uziel Viloria. “Sometimes, I have to make adjustments, but when mechanics are good, command is good.”

Vrieling in the Record Books: Right-hander Trystan Vrieling turned in his best start of the season in Sunday’s series finale against Reading – he allowed just 2 earned runs over 6 strong innings. The Yankees’ 2022 third-round draft selection fanned a season-high six-batters on his way to earning his first win of the season. It was a victory that moves him atop the Somerset record books for most career wins (14) since the team joined the affiliated ranks of minor league baseball in 2021.

Seigs to the Show: Anthony Seigler, who played in 185 games over the last two seasons with Somerset, made his major league debut and picked up his first career hit for the Brewers last week against the Mets at Citi Field. The former Yankees’ first-rounder is now the 48th former Patriots player to reach the big leagues since the team became an affiliate in 2021.

Knowing the Opponent: Somerset welcomes New Hampshire to town this week for their third of four meetings this season and thus far, Somerset has taken 11 of the 12 games from the Blue Jays affiliate.

The Fisher Cats are headlined by the Jays second ranked prospect, Trey Yesavage. The 21-year-old right-hander was the 20th overall pick in last summer’s draft and dominated his way to a mid-June promotion to Double-A but has since struggled in his first taste of the upper levels. The ECU-product was touched up for 4 runs in just 2.2 innings against the Patriots back on 6/18 and has since posted a 6.35 ERA with New Hampshire. In 16 starts spanning three different levels in his first season of pro-ball, Yesavage has struck out 111 batters in just 67.2 innings of work while posting a 3.19 ERA and 0.99 WHIP.

Series Pitching Probables

Tue: RHP Grant Rogers (2-4, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Lagrange (3-2, 4.97 ERA)
Wed: RHP Ryan Watson (4-5, 4.24 ERA) vs. LHP Brock Selvidge (1-2, 3.27 ERA)
Thu: LHP Kendry Rojas (0-1, 5.79 ERA) vs. RHP Trent Sellers (1-4, 3.88 ERA)
Fri: RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (1-2, 2.90 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Shields (0-0, 2.25 ERA)
Sat: TBD vs. RHP Trystan Vrieling (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Sun: RHP Grant Rogers (2-4, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Lagrange (3-2, 4.97 ERA)

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 13th 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.