D-backs Farm Rumblings: Ray, Delgado getting closer to MLB returns

Here’s a quick look at what went on in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor league system last week.

	Team	League	Week/Overall	Standing
	Reno Aces	Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)	1-5 / 34-42	3rd place in Pacific Northern Division
	Jackson Generals	Southern League (Double-A)	2-2 / 2-2	2nd place in North Division; 1.0 game behind Birmingham
	Visalia Rawhide	California League (High-A)	3-1 / 3-1	Tied for 2nd place in North Division (1.0 game behind Stockton)
	Kane County Cougars	Midwest League (Single-A)	1-3 / 1-3	6th place in Western Division (2nd half); 3.0 games behind Cedar Rapids
	Hillsboro Hops	Northwest League (Short-season Single-A)	2-5 / 5-5	Tied for 2nd place in South Division; 2.0 games behind Salem-Keizer
	Missoula Osprey	Pioneer League (Rookie)	4-1 / 5-2	1st place in North Division (0.5 games ahead of Helena)
	Diamondbacks 1	Dominican Summer League	4-2 / 12-7	2nd place in Dominican Summer League Baseball City (1.0 game behind Orioles)
	Diamondbacks 2	Dominican Summer League	2-3 / 7-11	Tied for 5th place in Dominican Summer League San Pedro (5.5 games behind Brewers and Rangers)
	AZL D-backs	Arizona League	6-0 / 6-0	1st place in East Division; 1.5 games ahead of Cubs 1

A couple D-backs on their way back – Arizona lefty Robbie Ray made his second rehab start for the Aces Tuesday night. Ray threw 4.1 innings, allowed three hits, three runs (only one earned) with a walk and nine strikeouts in a 9-2 loss to Omaha. Ray threw 66 pitches, 48 for strikes. Reliever Randall Delgado got into three games over the week for Reno, and suffered a loss and a blown save. In 3.1 innings, Delgado allowed two earned runs and four walks while striking out six.

It only took 4.1 innings for Robbie Ray to tie the most K's by an Aces starter this season.

Final line: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 9 K, 1 BB, 1 ER pic.twitter.com/cfLujLJHlE

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 19, 2018

Brito still sizzling – Reno outfielder Socrates Brito picked up where he left off last week at the dish, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with two home runs and four RBI. In June, Brito is hitting .429 (27-for-63) with seven dingers and 19 RBI. His OPS over that span is 1.375.

Socrates Brito connects for a three-run bomb in the top of the fourth inning.

Brito has 9 HR this year and 40 RBI. pic.twitter.com/eWMJh6GwKl

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 24, 2018

Widener gets an All-Star start – Jackson right-hander Taylor Widener was the starting pitcher for the North squad in the Southern League All-Star Game Tuesday in Birmingham. Widener threw just one inning but retired the side in order, striking out two in a 9-5 loss. Infielders Kevin Medrano, Jamie Westbrook and Rudy Flores, outfielder Galli Cribbs and pitcher Justin Donatella also represented Jackson in the game.

Final from Birmingham: South 9, North 5

Taylor Widener & Justin Donatella throw 1.1 scoreless innings. Generals hitters Rudy Flores, Kevin Medrano, Jamie Westbrook and Galli Cribbs combine for 3 runs, 3 hits & 1 RBI. Congrats to the boys!

— Jackson Generals (@jacksongenerals) June 20, 2018

Vargas gets an All-Star win – Visalia right-hander Emilio Vargas, who has the lowest ERA (1.04) among starting pitchers in all of affiliated baseball, was the starting pitcher for the North team in the California League All-Star Game and earned the victory in an 8-1 win over the South.

Offensive explosion – Jasrado Chisholm and Ernie De La Trinidad each drove in four runs, powering Kane County’s 18-hit attack in a 16-5 rout of Clinton. Yoel Yanqui had four hits while Jancarlos Cintron and De La Trinidad had three each.

Hops combine on a shutout – Matt Tabor, Kyler Stout, Trevor McKenna and Wesley Rodriguez combined on a five-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Eugene Thursday. The quartet combined to strike out 10 Emeralds hitters. Tabor, a 19-year-old right-hander who was a third-round pick of the D-backs out of Milton Military Academy in Massachusetts last summer, is rated as Arizona’s 9th-best prospect, according to MLB.com.

Nice debut – Wilfry Cruz, a 20-year-old Dominican right-hander, was stellar in his 2018 debut. Cruz allowed just three hits and one run over 5.0 innings while striking out four in a 3-1 win over Helena.

Quick Hits

• Outfielder Zach Hoffpauir is back with the D-backs organization. The Centennial High grad was a standout four-year football player at Stanford and double-dipped in pro baseball in 2015, before committing solely to football. Now, he’s back with Hillsboro. Hoffpauir went 0-3 in his return to the sport Friday night.

• Kristian Robinson, a 17-year-old outfielder from the Bahamas whom the D-backs gave a $2.5 million bonus last summer, has finally made his pro debut. Robinson batted .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles and four RBI in six games last week for the Arizona League D-backs, who coincidentally, won all six games.

• A milestone for Reno infielder Ildemaro Vargas.

With a single in the 5th inning, Ildemaro Vargas now has 300 career hits in an Aces uniform! pic.twitter.com/tQdq8LwelU

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 19, 2018

• Outfielder Jake McCarthy, the D-backs’ selection in the Competitive Balance phase (39th overall) of the draft earlier this month (and their highest-drafted signee) made quite a debut Sunday for Hillsboro. McCarthy, a Virginia product, went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the Hops’ 12-2 win over Salem-Keizer.

First AB as a Hop for @McCarthyism_15 is a ripped RBI single. Welcome to the squad, Jake! #AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/Io29mqQ6Ym

— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) June 24, 2018

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