D-backs Farm Report: Shelby Miller making progress in Reno
Aug 8, 2016, 8:12 PM | Updated: Aug 9, 2016, 1:22 pm
Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)
Week: 2-6 | Overall: 62-54, 3rd place in Pacific Northern Divison, 5.5 games behind Tacoma
Where’s the offense?: The Aces had a quiet week at the plate, hitting just .232 (57-for-246) as a team and scoring only 21 runs in eight games. Eight of those came in a win over Salt Lake Sunday.
Vargas on a tear: Ildemaro Vargas, a 25-year-old infielder, had a nice week offensively for the Aces, hitting .429 (12-for-28) with four doubles and three RBI. Vargas had three multi-hit games last week and is batting .459 over his last ten games.
A new career mark: With six RBI last week, first baseman Kyle Jensen raised his season total to 99 — a new career high, besting the 92 he had with the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2014. Jensen has been a picture of consistency over his last six minor league seasons, averaging 25 homers and 83 RBI per year. He leads all of Triple-A in RBI this season.
ACES WIN!!
Kyle Jensen with the Absolute Dental Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/dTgRR3jgCb— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 8, 2016
Greinke and Miller on the farm: It’s not a good thing the Diamondbacks’ top two projected starters are pitching in Reno in August, but it’s a reality. Zack Greinke, who is on a rehab assignment after suffering an oblique strain, got knocked around by the Salt Lake Bees Wednesday night, allowing nine hits and five earned runs in five innings of a 6-3 loss. It’s inconsequential really, as Greinke will return to the big league club and start against the New York Mets at Citi Field Tuesday night. Shelby Miller, who is in the minors working on mechanical and other issues, was brilliant in his outing Thursday night. The right-hander threw a three-hit, seven-inning shutout in the first game of a double-header against Salt Lake. Miller struck out eight and walked only one while throwing 92 pitches — 70 for strikes.
Mobile BayBears (Double-A Southern League)
Week: 4-4 | Overall: 24-19 (second half), 2nd place in South Division, 3.0 games behind Mississippi
Power surge: First baseman Kevin Cron jacked three homers on the week, bringing his season total to 19, which is good enough to rank third in the Southern League behind only former D-back Daniel Palka, who is now with Charlotte, and Jackson’s Tyler O’Neill.
Nice debut: Right-hander Vicente Campos, who was acquired from the Yankees in the Tyler Clippard trade, made his Mobile debut last Wednesday and acquitted himself quite well. The Venezuelan native allowed just four hits and one unearned run in five innings as the Bears topped Chattanooga 4-3 in 10 innings. Campos is now 10-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 126 minor league innings with four teams this season.
Visalia Rawhide (Single-A California League)
Week: 5-2 | Overall: 21-23, 2nd place in North Division, 3.0 games behind Bakersfield
Top of the order producing: The trio of Colin Bray, Victor Reyes and Austin Byler put up huge numbers for the Rawhide last week, batting .400 with three home runs and 18 RBI. Byler alone had 10 RBI in seven ball games. The 23-year-old who was born in Peoria and attended Sunrise Mountain High School, had four multi-run RBI games last week alone.
Young slings a gem: Lefty Alex Young dazzled in his last outing — a 2-1 win over Inland Empire Friday night. Young allowed four hits and one unearned run while striking out six in his second complete game of the season. The other came back on June 17 when he threw a seven-inning shutout for Kane County in a win over Clinton. The most impressive number on the night might have been the fact that Young threw the complete game on just 88 pitches.
#DBacks lefty Alex Young leads week's top hurlers with 88-pitch gem for @VisaliaRawhide: https://t.co/iIaB1kPwLA pic.twitter.com/VZ6OFdOVfR
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) August 8, 2016
O-Dog is still fiery: Just this.
Orlando Hudson,former big leaguer, and current roving instructor for Arizona Diamondback ejected from ball game after arguing call at 3rd.
— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) August 8, 2016
Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)
Week: 7-0 | Overall: 19-24, 7th place in Western Division, 10 games behind Clinton
Lights-out!: The Cougars didn’t put up huge offensive totals last week while reeling off seven straight wins, but then again, they didn’t need to. They outscored their opponents 31-15 and the pitching staff posted a collective 1.65 ERA in 60 innings of baseball. The KC starting rotation went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA, 38 strikeouts and only seven walks.
In the past 9 days, the @KCCougars have dropped their team ERA from 3.24 to a league leading 3.09. 17 shutouts in 2016. #Dbacks
— Joe Brand (@Joe_Brand1) August 6, 2016
Resurgent Trahan: Stryker Trahan, the Diamondbacks’ first-round pick in 2012, has floundered for much of the season. But the 22-year-old outfielder had his best offensive week in a long time, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with a home run and six RBI. He’s batting a respectable .270 in 11 games with the Cougars, while playing error-free defense in the outfield.
Hillsboro Hops (Short-season-A Northwest League)
Week: 3-1 | Overall: 7-3, 1st place in South Division, 2.0 games ahead of Eugene and Salem-Keizer
Awards for two:Luke Lowery was named the NWL Player of the Week. The catcher hit .529 (9-for-17) with a home run and five RBI for the Hops. Meanwhile, lefty Anfernee Benitez was named the NWL Pitcher of the Week after throwing 6.1 innings of scoreless relief
Hernandez goes deep twice: First baseman Ramon Hernandez had a huge game Thursday in a win over Everett, going 5-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI.
Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)
Week: 2-2 | Overall: 4-3, tied for 1st place in North Division with Billings and Great Falls
De La Garza makes a splash: Paxton De La Garza, a 33-round draft pick out of Angelo State in June, has been on a tear since arriving in Missoula last week. In three games, the shortstop is hitting .500 (5-for-10) with a triple and four RBI. De La Garza batted .318 in 27 games in the Arizona Rookie League.
Diamondbacks (Arizona Rookie League)
Week: 3-2 | Overall: 6-3, tied for 1st place in East Division with Angels
Working back to health: A.J. Pollock and Rubby De La Rosa are both with the Baby ‘Backs, rehabbing from injuries. Pollock, who has been out all season with an elbow injury, saw action in two games for the D-backs, going 2-for-6. De La Rosa, who has been on the shelf since May with right elbow injury, made his first start Sunday night, going four innings against the Athletics. The right-hander was touched up for six hits and four runs in an 8-7 loss.
