D-backs Farm Rumblings: Jackson, Visalia playing for league titles
Sep 10, 2018, 7:31 AM
Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)
For the Week: 1-0
On the Season: 72-68
In the Standings: 2nd place in Pacific Northern Division; 10.5 games behind Fresno
A solid season – The Aces finished up their campaign with a thorough, 8-3 beating of Albuquerque on Monday night. Reno posted a 72-68 mark, good for second place in the Pacific Northern Division but a healthy 10.5 games behind Fresno. Infielder Kevin Cron enjoyed a great season, knocking 22 out of the park and driving in 97 — good for second place in the league despite playing in only 104 games. Outfielder Socrates Brito finished eighth in league batting at .318 while clubbing 17 homers and driving in 69 and adding 15 stolen bases. Right-hander Taylor Clarke tied for the league lead with 13 wins while covering 152 innings for the Aces, a total that was the third-most in the PCL. Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy also shined, posting a 5-1 mark with a 1.60 ERA and 15 saves in relief duty.
Taylor Clarke was the ace of the Aces this season♠️. pic.twitter.com/QjtWZbWINF
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 8, 2018
The Philosopher balled out for the Biggest Little City in 2018. pic.twitter.com/TrvBjOG1rS
— Reno Aces (@Aces) September 8, 2018
Jackson Generals (Double-A Southern League)
For the Week: 3-3
Championship-bound! – The Generals are seeking their second Southern League championship in the last three seasons after outslugging Montgomery 11-7 in a decisive Game 5 Sunday. Jackson led 6-3 heading to the seventh inning and then broke things open with five runs in the top half of that frame. Rudy Flores had an RBI double, Evan Marzilli knocked in two more with a double and Kevin Medrano plated the final two with a single. The Generals will face the Biloxi Shuckers in the best-of-five championship series Tuesday night.
No. 17 @Dbacks prospect Domingo Leyba and @jacksongenerals parlay balanced offensive attack into berth in Southern League Championship Series. https://t.co/EhYLbiPYuV pic.twitter.com/M8k40xzcB7
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 10, 2018
Outfielder Jay Gonzalez blistered Montgomery pitching in the series, batting .545 (6-for-11) while Dom Miroglio matched him. The 23-year-old batted .533 (8-for-15) with four RBI in the five-game series.
WE MADE IT!
Clear your schedules for the middle of the week! The road to a @SLeagueBaseball title comes through The Ballpark at Jackson on Tuesday and Wednesday night! #GenerationDbacks
Game 1 Tickets: https://t.co/ZUxDfuwRsR
Game 2 Tickets: https://t.co/aXU7unnV3T pic.twitter.com/iKr3D88LYY
— Jackson Generals (@jacksongenerals) September 10, 2018
Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)
For the Week:
Putting on a Varsho – Catcher Daulton Varsho slammed a three-run home run in the top of the first inning, supplying a stingy Visalia pitching staff all the offense it would need in a 3-0 win over Stockton. With the win, The Rawhide advance to the California League Championship Series against Rancho Cucamonga.
Visalia hasn't won the Cal League crown since before Rawhide manager Joe Mather was born. The #Dbacks affiliate is about to get a chance to change that. https://t.co/3ESfi8eDAh pic.twitter.com/hwGfBDGrVR
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 10, 2018
Varsho connected off of Stockton starter Matt Milburn, knocking in Camden Duzenack and Drew Ellis. Left-hander Sebastian Kessay, making only his third appearance for Visalia this year, went 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out five before handing things over to the bullpen trio of Breckin Williams, West Tunnell and Matt Brill, who combined to allow just two singles over the last 4.2 innings.
Back to Varsho: the 22-year-old is batting .294 (93-for-316) with 12 home runs and 45 RBI. Last week, he was named the D-backs’ breakout minor league player by ESPN.com’s Eric Longenhagen, who wrote this:
Varsho was crushing the ball at high-A Visalia before he fractured his hand last week. He’s a twitchy, athletic catcher with plus speed and doubles power. Varsho’s offensive and athletic abilities were known when he was drafted, but over the past year his athleticism and makeup have enabled him to develop as a catcher (where amateur scouts were skeptical he’d remain). He could be the first catcher to swipe 20 bags since Jason Kendall in 2000.
Varsho has also been good behind the plate, posting a .992 fielding percentage and throwing out 37.2 percent of would-be California League base stealers.
#TheVarShow showed up early with a 3-run, first-inning homer and the pitching staff took it from there.
Your #Rawhide are North Division Champions! Next up is Rancho Cucamonga for the League Championship starting at Rawhide Ballpark on Tuesday night! pic.twitter.com/9cTQmQx6sk— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) September 10, 2018
Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)
For the Week: 1-0
That’s all she wrote – The Cougars wrapped up their 2018 season with a 4-1 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Monday. Kane County finished the season with a respectable 72-66 record, good for fourth place in the Western Division. Shortstop Jazz Chisholm was a standout for the Cougars, leading the team with 15 home runs in just 76 games before being promoted to Visalia. First baseman Yoel Yanqui hit .289/.356/.380 with a team-leading 60 RBI. Right-hander Jayson McKinley was a pleasant surprise this season, posting a team-leading nine wins. The 24-year-old went 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA over his last 10 outings.
THANK YOU fans. 💚 We'll see you in 2019. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/DYWt7w77Iv
— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) September 4, 2018
Hillsboro Hops (Short Season-A Northwest League)
For the Week: 1-2
Coming up short – The Hops’ season came to an end Thursday as they dropped a second-straight 3-2 decision to the Eugene Emeralds in the Northwest League Playoffs. Eugene scored all of its runs in the sixth inning off of Hillsboro reliever Jackson Goddard. The Hops finished the season at 51-27 and were led offensively by catcher Andy Yerzy, and third baseman Joey Rose. Each player had eight home runs to lead the team, while Rose’s 42 RBI led the way.
A record amount of wins. A record win streak. A single game attendance record.
And we did it all because of you. Our season has come to an end, but we can be proud that everything we did, we did with class.
Thank you fans, and as always, stay #AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/JYzz3okydt
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) September 7, 2018
Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)
For the Week: 4-0
On the Season: 20-17 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Finished in 2nd place in North Division; 4.5 games behind Billings
Throwing zeroes – Right-hander Erin Baldwin combined with Landon Whitson and Blake Workman on a six-hit shutout over the Helena Brewers on Monday night. Baldwin, a 20th-round pick out of Samford in June, yielded three hits over five innings while striking out four before handing things over to the bullpen in the 4-0 win.
Star on the rise – Alek Thomas singled in Cesar Garcia with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Missoula a 3-2 walk-off win over Helena Tuesday night. Thomas, the D-backs’ sixth-best prospect, went 3-for-5 in the game and had three straight three-hit games last week. The second-round pick in June out of Mount Carmel High School in Chicago batted .341 in 28 games with Missoula after hitting .325 in the same number of games in the Arizona League.
Time for the birds to head south, we feel honored to have played Helena for their last game and look forward to 2019!#LetItFly pic.twitter.com/uC9TF0rFxC
— Missoula Osprey (@ospreybaseball) September 7, 2018
