D-backs Farm Rumblings: Donatella shines; Hillsboro makes history
Sep 3, 2018, 9:33 AM
Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)
For the Week: 3-4
On the Season: 71-68
In the Standings: 2nd place in Pacific Northern Division; 10.5 games behind Fresno
Close, but no cigar for Clarke – Right-hander Taylor Clarke pitched well, but had nothing to show for it in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Salt Lake Wednesday night. Clarke yielded four hits and two runs (only one earned) while striking out four Bees hitters. He didn’t figure into the decision. Second baseman Chris Owings, who was sent to Reno from the D-backs in early August, hit his first minor league home run since 2016 when he connected on a solo shot off of Salt Lake reliever Tyler Stevens in the sixth inning to tie the game at 1-1.
With a strikeout in the bottom of the second inning, Taylor Clarke has recorded 400 in his young career. pic.twitter.com/vulXPClIhK
— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 30, 2018
Getting stronger – Neftali Feliz, making his second start of the week, pitched well and helped Reno beat Albuquerque 4-2 Saturday night. Feliz, a former American League Rookie of the Year and All-Star, went six innings, allowing just four hits, one earned run and struck out five in picking up his sixth win of the season. Feliz began the year in the Reno bullpen, but has since entered the rotation, where he’s 5-2 with a 3.75 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 60 innings.
All-out stud – Shortstop Ildemaro Vargas continued his stellar 2018 campaign with three hits, two runs scored, an inside-the-park home run and two RBI in Reno’s 5-2 win over Albuquerque Sunday. Vargas is batting .312 on the year, and his 167 hits heading into Monday’s action are the second-most in all of Triple-A to Albuquerque’s Josh Fuentes. Sunday marked his 46th multi-hit game; conversely, Vargas has only been held hitless 25 times.
INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN, @ildemaro_tigre 💨💨💨 for the lead! #SCTop10 #Aces10
It is our second of the season! (Brito, April 14th @ Fresno) pic.twitter.com/5I0uIBTQNc
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 3, 2018
You’re killing me, Smalls – The Aces celebrated Sandlot Night at the ballpark Saturday, and yeah, yeah, it was pretty awesome.
“Baseball was life! And I was good at it… real good.”
Aces win, 4-2! pic.twitter.com/Giqk7RP2YD
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 2, 2018
Ready for ⚾️, with an assist from The Beast! #Aces10 pic.twitter.com/7prAH6NQkr
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 2, 2018
Tonight’s threads for our Sandlot 2️⃣5️⃣th Anniversary Celebration will be auctioned in-stadium, with the proceeds going to the Nevada Humane Society! #Aces10
⚾️🔥⚾️🔥⚾️🔥⚾️ pic.twitter.com/PSEnB97rDe
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 1, 2018
Jackson Generals (Double-A Southern League)
For the Week: 4-2
On the Season: 36-33 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 2nd place in North Division; 6.0 games behind Montgomery
Bellisima, Donatella – Right-hander Justin Donatella pitched brilliantly, throwing 6.2 shutout innings while allowing only two hits and striking out seven Tuesday night in a 5-4 loss to Birmingham. Things fell apart for the Generals late, when Birmingham plated three to tie the game in the ninth and won it with two more in the 10th. Donatella followed that up with another six shutout innings Sunday in a 2-1 win over Chattanooga. Over his last three starts, the former 15th-round pick is 2-0 with a 0.46 ERA, 15 strikeouts and only four walks.
#Dbacks prospect Justin Donatella has given up one run on 10 hits over 19 2/3 innings in his last three starts for @jacksongenerals. https://t.co/JRrkc50stJ pic.twitter.com/039LNFs4mG
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 2, 2018
All-around win – Jay Gonzalez capped a three-hit night with an RBI single that scored Rudy Flores in the seventh inning and lifted Jackson to a 2-1 win over Chattanooga Thursday night. Right-hander Emilio Vargas got the start an allowed just one run over six innings, then the bullpen combo of Ryan Atkinson, Jared Miller and Kevin Ginkel worked three scoreless innings to preserve the win.
All-Stars – Outfielder Ben DeLuzio and infielders Kevin Medrano and Jamie Westbrook were all selected as Southern League All-Stars.
Big s/o to 3 of our own putting on for the @jacksongenerals. @BenDeLuzio @Medranamo13 @jwesunderscore4 were all selected to the @SLeagueBaseball Post Season #AllStar Team! #CongratsGuys #SpeakingInGeneral pic.twitter.com/euN56Z0lOZ
— Jackson Generals (@jacksongenerals) August 31, 2018
Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)
For the Week: 3-4
On the Season: 32-37 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied for 2nd place in North Division; 1.0 behind Stockton…Clinched California League Playoff spot
Picking up steam – First baseman Pavin Smith, Arizona’s first-round draft pick in 2017, went 2-for-3 with four RBI in a tough 9-8 loss to Modesto Thursday night. Smith started the season very slowly, hitting just .156 in April. But the 22-year-old is having his best month in August, batting .323 (30-for-93) with a home run and 19 RBI while posting a solid .825 OPS.
Top prospects contributing – Jazz Chisholm, Daulton Varsho and Pavin Smith all homered in a convincing 6-1 win over Stockton Friday night. On the mound, right-hander Matt Andriese, who was sent to Visalia by the D-backs in an effort to stretch him out to be able to provide longer relief, started and went 3.2 shutout innings, allowing only one hit while striking out five. Jake Winston and Carlos Bustamante worked the final 5.1 innings and yielded only four hits and one run.
It was bombs away for Jazz Chisholm, Daulton Varsho, and Pavin Smith as the round-trippers led the #Rawhide to a series-opening win in Stockton! pic.twitter.com/ZePcConZis
— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) September 1, 2018
I believe you have my Stapler – Right-hander Cole Stapler pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out five in a 10-2 romp over Stockton Sunday. Stapler earned his first win for Visalia, after starting his stay there, which began on July 11, 0-7. His teammates provided plenty of offense, knocking out 13 hits, led by Chisholm, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and three RBI. Chisholm, by the way, homered in his third straight game.
Jazz Chisholm went yard for the third straight night. Ramon Hernandez became the first Rawhide player to homer 20 times in a season since 2015. Cole Stapler tossed six shutout innings.
Not a bad night at the yard. pic.twitter.com/AFKGkfNg6f— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) September 3, 2018
Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)
For the Week: 4-2
On the Season: 37-31 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied for 3rd place in Western Division; 7.5 games behind Cedar Rapids
A nice find – Left-hander Lane Ratliff, who was claimed off waivers from Seattle in December, continued his strong season Wednesday night. The 23-year-old threw seven shutout innings while allowing six hits and striking out 10 in a 6-0 win over Peoria. Ratliff pushed his season record to 7-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 2018. Ratliff was originally a sixth-round pick of the Mariners in 2014 out of Jones County Junior College in Mississippi.
Another southpaw dominates – Left-hander Franklyn Soriano continued where Ratliff left off, throwing five shutout innings while striking out five in a 3-1 win over Peoria Thursday. Soriano, a 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic, has been stellar over his last four starts, allowing just one earned run over 24 innings — that’s an ERA of 0.37. In that span, he’s got 15 strikeouts and five walks.
I see a trend – Right-hander Jayson McKinley got plenty of run support, but ultimately didn’t need it in a 10-3 win over Peoria. McKinley pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 on the way to his ninth win of the season. Yoel Yanqui paced Kane County’s 14-hit attack with four hits and Jancarlos Cintron, Ryan Grotjohn, Jose Herrera and Ryan Dobson each drove in two runs for the Cougars.
Hillsboro Hops (Short Season-A Northwest League)
For the Week: 4-2
On the Season: 26-11 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 1st place in South Division; 9.0 games ahead of Eugene
History made – It’s not easy to win 50 games in a short-season schedule, but the Hillsboro Hops did it.
Turned the 4-9 into the 5-0.
For the first time in franchise history we have won 50 games in a single season.#AllHoppedUp #BringTheE pic.twitter.com/1HzCn82XJD
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) September 3, 2018
A memorable first knock – Kevin Watson, an 18th-round pick a year ago from Beaverton High in Oregon, got his first hit for his the Hops on Saturday, and it earned him three bases.
You can’t make this up.@Kwatsonjr99, the kid from Beaverton, rips a triple for his first Hops hit then comes around to score the tie-breaking run on a double from @LtTolbert1!
Unbelievable.#AllHoppedUp #BringTheE pic.twitter.com/U9W4E0w3XS
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) September 2, 2018
The local boy made good.
Hops Nation, help us welcome @kwatsonjr99 to the squad! Kevin is a native of Beaverton, Oregon and a graduate of Beaverton High School. He was drafted by the @dbacks in the 18th round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Welcome home, Kevin!#AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/Ex3G4tA3wN
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) August 30, 2018
Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)
For the Week: 1-5
On the Season: 16-17 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 3rd place in North Division; 4.5 games behind Billings
Wild night – Right fielder David Sanchez hit a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough for the Osprey as they dropped a wild 17-11 decision to Billings Thursday night. In addition to 28 total runs, the game featured 31 hits and nine errors.
All-Stars again – Missoula’s Zachery Almond and Zack Shannon were both named to the Pioneer League post season All-Star Team. Almond, a 35th-round pick of the D-backs out of Catawba in 2017, ranks fourth in the league in hitting at .350, he’s second with 14 home runs and is seventh in RBI with 53. Shannon, a slugging first baseman whom Arizona tabbed in the 15th round out of Delta State in June, is second in hitting (.355), first in home runs (14) and tied for fourth with 55 RBI.
DSL D-backs 1 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)
For the Week: 0-2
On the Season: Finished 48-24
In the Standings: 1st place in Baseball City Division; 7.0 games ahead of Blue Jays
Eliminated – The D-backs 1, who sat in first place for most of the season, were eliminated from the Dominican Summer League playoffs by the Rangers 2, who scored six runs in the 11th inning of Game 2 to ice the series. Some of the standouts for the D-backs on the season were catcher Axel Andueza, who led the team with a .377 batting average, and shortstop Jose Reyes, who hit .306 with four home runs, 30 RBI and nine triples, which tied for the league lead.
DSL D-backs 2 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)
For the Week: 0-0
On the Season: Finished 23-49
In the Standings: 8th place in San Pedro Division; 28.0 games behind Rangers 2
AZL D-backs (Arizona Rookie League)
For the Week: 0-2
On the Season: Finished 33-21
In the Standings: 2nd place in East Division; 4.0 games behind AZL Cubs 1
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