A Unique Look At The Rail Riders

by Andrew Hefner

March 27, 2026

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It is March 27 and time for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders to kick off their season. The  RailRiders, the AAA squad for the Yankees, has been widely dubbed one of the greatest minor league teams ever assembled, and that is before the season even has kicked off because they are loaded with limitless talent with even more waiting in the wings. Eight out of the projected ten starters (including their best starting pitcher) have MLB experience and have won major awards within the group as well.

With the excitement building for the Yankees' upcoming season, I asked four different Artificial Intelligence models if, by weighing the statistics and history, they could predict whether Scranton/Wilkes-Barre could win a one-off game against the Colorado Rockies. 

Background

The models I used to help answer this unique question were ChatGPT (OpenAI), Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Grok (X/Twitter). All four are widely used and are among the most common in today’s world. 

The prompt I sent to each is as follows:

Use the most updated roster for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and put it up against the current Colorado Rockies in a full MLB-regulated baseball game. With your knowledge and ideas of previous results and stats, which team would win if both teams had an optimal lineup based on current rosters? 

The Rockies were chosen for the victims of this experiment as they held the worst record (43-119) in baseball last season and only won three series the entire year. The feat was their worst season in franchise history and also featured the worst run differential of any team in the MLB ever. 

It was up to the discretion of the AI as to who was home or away, where they would be playing, and other smaller details. 

ChatGPT- Rockies 6,  RailRiders 5:

Starting Pitchers: 

Luis Gil (4-1, 3.32 ERA in MLB) and Kyle Freeland (5-17, 4.98 ERA)

Scranton Lineup (info according to ChatGPT):

Jasson Domínguez (CF) - Best all-around hitter on roster, switch hitter, table-setter upside

Oswaldo Cabrera (2B) - Contact + experience, good #2 hitter

Seth Brown (LF) - Lefty power bat

Spencer Jones (RF) - Huge power upside, middle-of-order bat

Paul DeJong (SS) - Proven MLB pop

Marco Luciano (DH) - Raw power, high ceiling

Ernesto Martinez Jr. (1B) - Big body, power potential

Abrahan Gutierrez (C) - Best offensive catcher option

Braden Shewmake (3B) - Defense + contact at the bottom

According to the model, the start of the game would be strongly in favor of Scranton with former Rookie of the Year Luis Gil on the mound for much of the game. Gil would rack up strikeouts early and get weak contact from the Rockies while the offense works deep into counts, but with limited damage as the AAA side goes up 2-0 after three. The runs came off the bat of Paul DeJong and Spencer Jones. 

Soon, MLB players were able to adjust to Gil the second time through the order and had more success against his pitching, including a run and working walks as the command slipped. High strikeout rates became an issue for the  RailRiders, and high-power hitters began to struggle in the middle of the game. The score after six is 4-2, still in favor of Scranton. 

After Gil exits in the sixth, a weaker AAA bullpen for the  RailRiders allows the game to slip away fast, and a rally in the late innings quickly and unceremoniously puts the Rockies ahead for the first time as the more experienced batters work their way on base. In the end, the relief pitching was the biggest problem for Scranton as they fell by just one run, 6-5. 

Google Gemini - Rockies 2,  RailRiders 6

Starting Pitchers: 

Luis Gil (4-1, 3.32 ERA in MLB) and Kyle Freeland (5-17, 4.98 ERA)

Scranton Lineup:

Jasson Domínguez (CF)

Oswaldo Cabrera (2B)

Seth Brown (LF)

Spencer Jones (RF)

Paul DeJong (SS)

Ali Sanchez (C)

Ernesto Martinez Jr. (1B)

Braden Shewmake (3B)

Marco Luciano (DH)

Gemini was extremely in favor of Luis Gil in terms of the pitching battle, labeling him as the “X-Factor” that would lead Scranton to take down an MLB team. 

According to Gemini, “Colorado’s lineup (featuring 5 lefties/switch-hitters) historically struggles with high-velocity righties. Gil’s 97+ mph heater and "wipeout" slider would likely overwhelm the bottom half of the Rockies' order.” 

Gemini also praised the experienced presence of Paul DeJong, Ali Sanchez, Jasson Dominguez, and more. 

The first runs would be manufactured off of an early two-run blast for Spencer Jones in the third that set up a dominating and confident start for Gil that led him through six innings in which he collected nine strikeouts and just one earned run. In the fifth, a Paul DeJong double set up a Seth Brown RBI sacrifice fly, and Ali Sanchez added a single behind him to put up a two-spot in the inning for Scranton. Another run was added by Marco Luciano on a double in the seventh before Paul DeJong crushed a home run in the eighth as the final insurance run for the  RailRiders to win 6-2. 

CoPilot - Rockies 7,  RailRiders 3

Starting Pitchers: 

Luis Gil (4-1, 3.32 ERA in MLB) and Kyle Freeland (5-17, 4.98 ERA)

Scranton Lineup: 

Jasson Domínguez — CF (S)

Oswaldo Cabrera — 2B (S)

Spencer Jones — RF (L)

Paul DeJong — 3B (R)

Seth Brown — 1B (L)

Yanquiel Fernández — LF (L)

Braden Shewmake — SS (L)

Ali Sánchez — C (R)

Marco Luciano — DH (R)

Unfortunately for Scranton, the Rockies really did a number on them this time, as the experienced pitching was not enough to hold down Colorado, according to CoPilot. The model cited command and stamina issues as the real reason the Rockies were able to pounce this time around, but Gil still would be able to pitch a solid four innings against them. The score was close early on, around the 2-1 range in the Rockies' favor before the pitching began to slip for Scranton, and Gil was pulled from the game. As more hard contact comes for the Rockies, Freeland finds his groove and tallies a high number of whiffs and strikeouts against an overeager and power-hungry  RailRiders team. After Freeland, the Rockies bullpen took care of business with little hindrance, and the win went firmly in the favor of Colorado, 7-3. Spencer Jones, Jasson Dominguez, and Seth Brown all tallied one RBI each, none on home runs. 

Grok - Rockies 6,  RailRiders 4

Starting Pitchers: 

Luis Gil (4-1, 3.32 ERA in MLB) and Kyle Freeland (5-17, 4.98 ERA)

Scranton Lineup (info according to Grok):

Jasson Domínguez (CF, S/R) – Elite tools, leadoff upside.

Oswaldo Cabrera (2B/SS, S/R) – Contact, versatility, MLB experience.

Spencer Jones (RF, L/L) – Massive power potential.

Paul DeJong (3B, R/R) – Veteran power bat.

Seth Brown (1B/LF, L/L) – Left-handed pop.

Yanquiel Fernández (LF, L/L) – Prospect bat.

Braden Shewmake (SS/2B, L/R) or Max Schuemann – Table-setter/defense.

Ali Sánchez or Abrahan Gutierrez (C, R/R) – Solid defense.

Duke Ellis or Marco Luciano (DH/OF) – Speed or tools.

From Grok on the reasoning for a Rockies 6-4 victory: “In this simulated full 9-inning MLB-rules game (neutral park, standard rules), the Rockies pulled out a hard-fought victory. Luis Gil looked electric early with his high-velocity fastball and swing-and-miss stuff, but the Rockies' MLB experience, plate discipline, and bullpen depth wore down the RailRiders over the later innings. Kyle Freeland gave Colorado a solid start, and their lineup capitalized on timely hitting against AAA relief.”

The Rockies took an early lead off Gil in the second before Paul DeJong launched a home run in response to level the game at two early on. Unfortunately, after Gil departs early, the Rockies take advantage, jumping ahead with Scranton only being able to muster another two runs in response off the bat of Spencer Jones, ending the game with a 6-4 hard-fought victory for the Rockies. 

My Thoughts:

Although this question is objectively senseless in terms of the purpose of AAA and the true skill gap existing between the two levels, the amount of former MLB talent stuck in Scranton is not a fact that will go unnoticed. I by no means see the team good enough to beat the Rockies, as many of the models agreed with me, but I do think Luis Gil is as good of a starting pitcher as any that the Yankees have when he is on his game, and that the experience that the RailRiders lineup has is unmatched anywhere else in MiLB, maybe even compared to Colorado. At the end of the day, these players are in AAA for a reason, and they simply do not possess the skills to beat an MLB team at the top of their game with their ace on the mound. That is not at all to say that maybe Scranton would win 4/10 games against the Rockies, but in a one-off, I do not see this one swinging in favor of the AAA side. 

This team is still ridiculously strong for AAA and will have an incredibly successful season while hopefully producing some more top talent for the team above. Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodriguez Cruz, and more will fill out a bold new pitching staff, while Paul DeJong and more will add MLB talent to a starting lineup with plenty of budding stars. Maybe this team can pick up a ring this season for the organization!