Patriots Notebook: Storylines Ahead of the Double-A Subway Series

Bridgewater, New Jersey – The Patriots (15-18) return home on Tuesday night sitting in fourth place in the Eastern League’s Northeast Division after splitting a six-game road series in Reading. Somerset clubbed its way to 34 runs to take two of the first three games of the slate before dropping two of the final three matchups in which the Patriots cumulatively posted just eight runs.

Somerset gets back to TD Bank Ballpark this week to welcome in the visiting Binghamton Rumble Ponies (11-22) for their second Double-A Subway Series matchup. The two clubs met way back in early April at Morabito Stadium when the Mets affiliate took four of six games in the first full series of the season. Binghamton has won just six games since and has fallen into last place in the division as a result.

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

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Downright Offensive: The story of the young season is how the offense goes, so too go the Patriots. The team has now clubbed 60 homers, which is the most in all of Double-A and ranks second in MiLB. Up until Saturday night, Somerset had hit a homer in 14 consecutive games and multiple homers in 12 straight, which was the longest such streak in MiLB going back to at least 2005.

The Patriots have posted a MiLB-best .864 OPS and have five players who have hit at least eight home runs this season – all of them ranking inside the top-eight in the Eastern League. Garrett Martin leads the league with 11, followed by Marco Luciano (10), who was promoted to Triple-A last week, Jace Avina (nine), Tyler Hardman (nine) and Coby Morales (eight).

Congratulations to Spencer Jones on being called up by the @Yankees. He will become the 56th former Somerset Patriot to make his @MLB debut🥹 pic.twitter.com/d1H4YRIB4f

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) May 8, 2026

Up to the Show: The debuts keep coming and they don’t stop coming for former Patriots in the major leagues. The list has grown to 57 players to reach the MLB level that have played in Somerset since the team joined the Yankees system in 2021. There have been seven debuts already this season and four in the last week alone.

Outfielder Spencer Jones, who played 188 games with the Patriots from 2023-2025, made his highly anticipated debut for the Yankees last Friday in Milwaukee. He notched his first big league hit on a RBI single Sunday afternoon.

Right-hander Brendan Beck got the call to the show last Thursday and allowed two earned runs in three innings of work against Texas in the Bronx before being optioned backed to Triple-A on Friday.

A pair of catchers Omar Martinez (Angels) and Rodolfo Durán (Padres) also made their MLB debuts for their respective teams last week. Martinez played 24 games for Somerset just last season while Durán saw 53 games of action with the Patriots back in 2022.

Luciano Riding the Rails: With Spencer Jones getting the callup on Friday to fill a void on the Yankees’ roster, Marco Luciano moving up to Triple-A was the other roster domino to fall. The 24-year-old former top-prospect belted 10 homers for the Patriots and was riding a nine-game stretch in which he went 15-for-34 with six homers before being promoted. Luciano leads all Yankees full-season minor leaguers in hits (31), doubles (nine) and OPS (1.093) while his 10 homers rank third.

Gerrit Cole notched a season-high 8⃣ strikeouts in his fifth rehab start! 👀 pic.twitter.com/p7JREtnXI8

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) May 10, 2026

Cole Train Rolling: Having made his fifth rehab start this season on Sunday for Somerset at Reading, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole continued blazing the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery. The 2023 American League Cy Young award winner worked five innings and tossed a season-high 77 pitches in the team’s 6-1 loss to the Fightin Phils. Cole fanned a season-best eight batters and allowed just two earned runs on four hits while walking just one batter. In five starts between Somerset and High-A Hudson Valley, Cole has posted a 5.32 ERA with 22 strikeouts to two walks in 23.2 innings of work while recording a 1.01 WHIP.

Castillo Gone Streaking: Outfielder Jackson Castillo had hit safely in all 14 games he had played in this season before seeing that streak come to a halt on Sunday afternoon in Reading. It was the longest hitting streak for the Patriots this season and the lengthiest since outfielder Elijah Dunham’s franchise record 17-game streak back in 2024.

After hitting just .210 in 23 games of action for Somerset last season, Castillo has found himself as a lineup regular this season. He’s slashed .351/.456/.456 while walking as many times as he has struck out (11).

That's how you break the record!

Tyler Hardman CRUSHES his ninth HR of the season for his franchise-record 242nd hit as a Patriot 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yykvk8g3Il

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) May 9, 2026

Hardman in the Books: Tyler Hardman became the franchise’s all-time leader in hits (242) with a two-run homer in the sixth inning against Reading on Friday night. It surpassed the previous record of 241 hits held by Elijah Dunham and Max Burt. Hardman, who is also the club’s all-time leader in homers and RBI, is off to a stellar start this season. He’s slashing .306/.384/.622 with a league-leading 29 RBI in 32 games this season.

Knowing the Opponent: While Binghamton hoisted the 2025 Eastern League title, the Mets affiliate has dropped 22 of its 33 games this season and have fallen into the bottom of the Northeast Division ahead of the series. The last time these teams tangled was in early April when Binghamton took four of six from the Patriots. Mets top position prospect A.J. Ewing hit safely and scored a run in all six of those games but has since been promoted to Triple-A and multiple reports indicate he is being called up to the big leagues on Tuesday.

So, who is left for Binghamton? Mets No. 4 prospect in third baseman Jacob Reimer spent all last season at 21-years-old and split the season evenly between High-A and Double-A. The 119^th overall pick in 2022 combined for 17 homers and 77 RBI while hitting .282 and posting an .870 OPS last season. Reimer is off to a slow start this season, slashing just .200/.327/.347 with two homers and five RBI alongside 34 strikeouts in 27 games.

Southpaw Jonathan Santucci is the Mets No. 8 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 their 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 opponents to a mere .189 batting average. In his first full season at Double-A, Santucci has posted a 4.61 ERA despite holding opponents to a mere .191 batting average alongside 38 strikeouts in 27.1 innings of work. The Patriots got to Santucci for three earned runs in four innings in his season debut on April 8.

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday 5/12: RHP Brendan Girton (1-1, 4.24 ERA) vs. RHP Trent Sellers (0-1, 9.74 ERA)

Wednesday 5/13: TBD vs. RHP Cade Smith (2-1, 4.44 ERA)

Thursday 5/14: RHP Jordan Geber (1-3, 4.58 ERA) vs. TBD

Friday 5/15: LHP Jonathan Santucci (0-4, 4.61) vs. RHP Jack Cebert (1-0, 5.23 ERA)

Saturday 5/16: RHP R.J. Gordon (0-1, 16.20 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Carr (2-4, 6.43 ERA)

Sunday 5/17: RHP Brendan Girton (1-1, 4.24 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Chaney (1-2, 4.45 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.