D-backs Farm Report: Jose Almonte cruising at Kane County

Aug 15, 2016, 7:21 AM | Updated: 11:25 am

Arizona Sports

Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)

Week: 2-4 | Overall: 64-58, 3rd place in Pacific Northern Division — 6.5 games behind Tacoma

There’s a first time for everything: Right-hander Matt Koch, the D-backs’ 20th-best prospect according to MLB.com, notched his first Triple-A victory Sunday night. Koch pitched seven innings, allowing nine hits and three earned runs while fanning five in a 6-3 win in Nashville. The D-backs acquired Koch in the Addison Reed trade with the Mets last August.

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FINAL: #Aces 6, @nashvillesounds 3. Matt Koch earns his first Triple-A win as Jimmie Sherfy nails down his eighth save!

— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 15, 2016

O’Brien still struggling: There wasn’t a lot of offense to talk about at all last week for the Aces — they scored only 15 runs in six games and position players hit just .174. But Peter O’Brien’s struggles are past the slump category. For the week, the 26-year-old outfielder hit .048 (1-for-21) with seven strikeouts. In August, O’Brien is hitting .111 (5-for-45) with 18 Ks. But, there is a new t-shirt featuring his likeness in the team shop in Reno, so there’s that.

Want to keep Peter close to your heart? Get his tee shirt now! Available only in the Team Shop! pic.twitter.com/xPjDI64Ges — Reno Aces (@Aces) August 11, 2016

Mobile BayBears (Double-A Southern League)

Week: 1-4 | Overall: 25-23, 2nd place in South Division — 6.0 games behind Mississippi

Some notes: First baseman Kevin Cron had a two-run homer in a 7-5 loss to Montgomery Thursday night — it was his 20th home run of the season. It’s the second straight season Cron has 20+ homers. The former TCU star had 27 for Visalia in the California League last season…Reliever Matt Stites is still in a zone for the Bears. The 26-year-old now has 15 consecutive scoreless appearances, spanning 15 innings. In that span, he has lowered his ERA from 1.35 to 0.76 and has picked up 10 saves…

Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)

Week: 3-3 | Overall: 24-26, 2nd place in North Division — 3.5 games behind Bakersfield

Pollock’s progress: Recovering D-backs centerfielder A.J. Pollock spent the week with Visalia, and looked to be getting back to his All-Star form. Pollock hit .462 (6-for-13) with two home runs and four RBI. The D-backs still hope to get Pollock back to the Majors by Sept. 1.

Payamps deals again: Right-hander Joel Payamps had the Rawhide’s best pitching performance of the week. Payamps allowed three hits over seven innings, walked one and struck out eight in a 4-0 win over Bakersfield on Thursday night. Relievers Gabriel Moya and Cameron Gann finished off the shutout with two innings of perfect relief.

Another blanking: Thursday’s shutout wasn’t the only one of the week for the ‘Hide. Right-hander Justin Donatella hooked up with four relievers on a 6-hit blank job of Bakersfield on Tuesday night. Donatella didn’t fare as well in his second start of the week, giving up nine hits and six earned runs in just 3.1 innings of a 17-8 loss at Rancho Cucamonga Sunday.

Herum’s journey: Infielder Marty Herum continues to produce for Visalia. The undrafted free agent is hitting .313 in 2016. Here’s a nice feature on his path to pro ball from Today’s Knuckleball.

Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)

Week: 2-4 | Overall: 21-28, 7th place in Western Division, 13.0 games behind Clinton

Busting out of a slump: The Cougars mustered just two runs in the first three games of their series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but came around Sunday in a 5-1 win that broke an overall four-game losing streak. Fernery Ozuna and Francis Christy paced the attack for KC. Ozuna had three hits, while Christy drove in three runs.

#KCCougars offense comes alive to snap losing skid against @CRKernels

Recap: https://t.co/1Fk3xrsK5Z pic.twitter.com/VVUlcCMDQr

— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) August 14, 2016

Almonte cruising: Right-hander Jose Almonte, whom the D-backs acquired from the Red Sox in the Brad Ziegler deal, has been outstanding in his last two starts. The 20-year-old Dominican native allowed only four hits and one unearned run over 11 innings of work last week, striking out 16 and walking only four. He picked up both of the Cougars’ wins for the week and is now 2-3 with a 2.78 ERA over seven starts with Kane County.

Hillsboro Hops (Short-season-A Northwest League)

Week: 3-4 | Overall: 10-7, 2nd place in South Division — 2.0 games behind Eugene

Morozowski coming around: Outfielder Jason Morozowski, a 13th-round draft pick in 2015, has played for four different D-backs affiliates this season, but he’s starting to feel at home in Hillsboro. For the week, Morozowski batted .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs and a team-high five RBI. In 20 games with the Hops, the 22-year-old is hitting .271 (19-for-70) and is slugging .514.

Grab your scorecard: The Hops have used a Northwest League-record 57 different players this season. Relief pitcher Dallas Newton became the 57th on Friday.

Dallas Newton became the NWL-record 57th player for the @HillsboroHops today. @MiLB pic.twitter.com/BMICi8QPG6 — Jared Ravich (@JaredRavich) August 14, 2016

Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)

Week: 2-4 | Overall: 6-7, tied for 3rd place in North Division — 3.0 games behind Billings

Chisholm staying hot: The D-backs may have found themselves quite a player in Jasrado Chisholm, whom they signed during the July 2015 international signing period. The 18-year-old shortstop has had quite the first season of pro ball in Missoula. Chisholm batted .318 (7-for-22) last week with two homers and five RBI. On the season, he’s hitting .297 and is second on the team with 30 RBI in 45 games. He’s moved into MLB.com’s list of Arizona’s top 30 prospects, too.