In the fabled words of former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, top pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz's cameo at Triple-A was not what you want.
The Yankees organization loves to reward their top performers with a brief end-of-season taste of Triple-A, whether they have a chance to make the leap next season or not. Anthony Volpe scuffled a bit, but still found himself on an Opening Day roster. Spencer Jones' time at the level has been more than brief; we'll see where he fits in next spring.
Rodriguez-Cruz? The Somerset Patriots' early elimination from the postseason - without an ERC start - gave the Yankees a golden opportunity to get their Baseball America Player of the Year winner some exposure at the highest level.