D-backs Farm Rumblings: Kevin Cron wreaking havoc in PCL

	Team	League	Week/Overall	Standing
	Reno Aces	Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)	4-3 / 38-45	3rd place in Pacific Northern Division; 10.5 games behind Fresno
	Jackson Generals	Southern League (Double-A)	2-4 / 4-6	4th place in North Division; 2.0 games behind Birmingham, Montgomery and Tennessee
	Visalia Rawhide	California League (High-A)	3-4 / 6-5	Tied for 2nd place in North Division (1.0 game behind Stockton)
	Kane County Cougars	Midwest League (Single-A)	3-4 / 4-7	6th place in Western Division (2nd half); 6.0 games behind Cedar Rapids
	Hillsboro Hops	Northwest League (Short-season Single-A)	6-1 / 11-6	Tied for 1st place in South Division with Salem-Keizer
	Missoula Osprey	Pioneer League (Rookie)	5-4 / 10-6	1st place in North Division (0.5 games ahead of Great Falls)
	Diamondbacks 1	Dominican Summer League	3-3 / 15-10	Tied for 2nd place in Dominican Summer League Baseball City (2.0 games behind Orioles)
	Diamondbacks 2	Dominican Summer League	3-4 / 10-15	6th place in Dominican Summer League San Pedro (7.0 games behind Brewers)
	AZL D-backs	Arizona League	3-2 / 9-2	1st place in East Division; 2.5 games ahead of Athletics

“King” Cron terrorizes PCL pitching – Kevin Cron clubbed three home runs for Reno in a 14-4 win over Salt Lake on Wednesday. Cron hit a solo shot to center field in the third, following a lead-off blast from Socrates Brito. That duo went back-to-back again in the fourth, both going deep to right on solo blasts off of Bees reliever Ryan Clark. And then for good measure, Cron hit a grand slam in the eighth off of Francisco Arcia.

The last Aces duo to go back-to-back twice in one game…. Never happened.

Next best thing:
Cody Ransom/Andy Tracy went back-to-back on July 1, 2011 vs. @SaltLakeBees and on July 2, 2011 vs. @SaltLakeBees. pic.twitter.com/Q2FrkbKfpN

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 28, 2018

Cron wasn’t finished, though. On Saturday, he hit two more homers and drove in six runs during the Aces’ 14-8 win over Tacoma.

For the week, the 25-year-old batted .462 (12-for-26) with five home runs, 15 RBI and a ridiculous 1.598 OPS. His RBI total over this stretch led all of Minor League Baseball.

Kevin Cron is the first Aces player in franchise history to have multiple 6+ RBI games in a single season. He also leads all of professional baseball in RBI since his first game with Reno on May 4. https://t.co/mIb1HPIBX7

— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 1, 2018

Tomas is red-hot – Reno outfielder Yasmany Tomas is hitting the cover off the baseball as of late. Tomas batted .429 (12-for-28) over his last seven games, including two homers and 12 RBI.

It won’t be long now – D-backs’ outfielder A.J. Pollock made his first rehab appearance Friday night in Tacoma and went 0-for-4 in a 4-2 loss to the Rainiers. Saturday, Pollock found his groove, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBI. The outfielder has been out since mid-May with an avulsion fracture in his left thumb.

Meanwhile, Steven Souza Jr. is also working his way back from a pectoral injury. In four games for Visalia and Reno, Souza Jr. batted .438 (7-for-16) with two triples and two RBI. Souza has served as the designated hitter in all four of his MiLB games.

Steven Souza Jr. had two triples last night.

Here’s the first one. pic.twitter.com/9eIffCEiTE

— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 1, 2018

Another gem from Clarke – Taylor Clarke went 7.0 innings and allowed eight hits and two earned runs while striking out four in a 13-2 win over Salt Lake Tuesday.

Sunday wasn’t as great for the right-hander. Clarke yielded five earned runs over 5.2 innings while striking out four and walking three in a 7-2 loss at Tacoma. The ‘L’ broke his personal six-game winning streak.

A complete performance – Jamie Westbrook, Josh Prince, Tyler Ladendorf and Marcus Littlewood — the last four batters in Jackson’s order — combined to go 8-for-17 with two doubles, a home run and eight RBI in a 13-1 pasting of Birmingham on Thursday night. Meanwhile, starter Joel Payamps was in control. The 24-year-old allowed just one run while striking out nine over seven innings for his third straight win. In those three starts, Payamps has allowed just 10 hits over 18 innings, with 26 strikeouts and two walks while posting a 1.50 ERA.

Rare struggles for Vargas – Visalia right-hander Emilio Vargas, who has been virtually unhittable for most of the season, ran into some problems last week for the Rawhide. The 21-year-old Dominican native entered the week with a 6-1 record and unbelievable 1.04 ERA. Monday, Vargas was touched up for five earned runs in 5.1 innings and took his first ‘L’ of the year at the hands of Inland Empire in a 7-0 ball game. Saturday, Vargas was better, allowing just two earned runs over 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts, but again, he didn’t get much offensive help in a 3-1 loss to San Jose.

Vargas is still 6-3 with a 1.67 ERA on the year — a mark that still leads the California League by a healthy margin. Stockton’s Brian Howard is second in the league with a 2.38 ERA.

Quite a week for the hometown kid – Kane County outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad has been torrid at the plate against Midwest League pitching. The 22-year-old Mountain Pointe High School product, who was a 19th-round pick out of UNLV last summer, batted .435 (10-for-23) with three long balls, a double and eight RBI. De La Trinidad leads the club with 45 RBI, a mark that ranks 10th in the league.

Shaffer cruising – Brian Shaffer was masterful Monday night in a 13-0 win over Peoria. Staked with a four-run lead in the second inning, Shaffer cruised through the Chiefs’ lineup allowing just five hits in seven innings. The right-hander struck out seven and threw 91 pitches, 69 of which were for strikes. Lefty Abraham Almonte pitched two innings of scoreless mop up duty to complete the shutout — the Cougars’ third of the season.

The 2017 sixth-round pick followed that up with another sterling outing Saturday, going six innings and allowing just three hits and one run in a 4-1 loss to Quad Cities. Shaffer, Arizona’s 23rd-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, has a 1.42 ERA over his last three starts.

Bain driving hitters insane – Jeff Bain was excellent in a 5-2 win over Quad Cities Thursday. The right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings , allowing just five hits while walking one and striking out six. The 16th-round pick from 2017 out of Cal is now 5-1 in his last six starts and has a 1.93 ERA over that stretch.

Quick Hits

• AZL shortstop Blaze Alexander, an 11th-round pick out of IMG Academy in Florida last month, has adjusted well to pro ball, hitting .533 (8-for-15) with three doubles and five RBI.

• Jackson reliever Kevin Ginkel has been flawless in 11 appearances for the Generals, pitching 14.1 scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts and only four walks since being promoted in early June. Ginkel was great for Visalia prior to that, notching a 0.99 ERA in 20 appearances with 40 strikeouts and three walks.

• Reno infielder Ildemaro Vargas has six multi-hit games in a row.

• Reno’s Socrates Brito had a ridiculous month of June, hitting .414 (36-for-87) with 10 home runs, 10 doubles and 23 RBI.

• The Kane County Cougars wore these uniforms on Nickelodeon Night.

Who lives in a 🍍 under the sea *and will be at #YourCougarsgame tonight? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! That’s right kids. It’s Nickelodeon Night ft. SpongeBob SquarePants at the ballpark! The team will hit the field wearing these specialty jerseys too.

🎟: https://t.co/hmYmT6QfCN pic.twitter.com/zYkpOQBANs

— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) June 29, 2018

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