D-backs Farm Report: First-half drawing to a close

Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)

Week: 5-2 | Overall: 39-31, 2nd place in Pacific Northern Division, 1/2 game behind Tacoma

Knocking the cover off the ball: First baseman Kyle Jensen continued his hot hitting last week, batting .370 (10-for-27) with two home runs and 10 RBI in the Aces’ seven games. Jensen had three RBI on three different occasions during the week and now has nine contests with three or more driven in on the season. The 28-year-old leads the Pacific Coast League with 61 RBI.

That man, AGAIN!@TheKJensen42 belts a two-out, two-run TRIPLE to center field, and the lead is now 5-2!

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 20, 2016

Haniger catches the power bug: Outfielder Mitch Haniger is getting his first taste of Triple-A pitching, and it’s safe to say, he likes it. The 25-year-old outfielder clubbed four home runs last week, including two in a 16-10 slugfest win over Las Vegas Wednesday. Haniger, who was acquired from Milwaukee in the Gerardo Parra trade in 2014, has five homers in his first 10 games with the Aces.

.@M_Hanny19 had five home runs in 55 games with @Mobile_BayBears. He now has five homers in nine games with @Aces.

— Aces Communications (@RenoAces_PR) June 19, 2016

Freeman raking: Outfielder Mike Freeman batted .520 for the week (13-for-25) with four doubles. Freeman started the week off with a bang, knocking out five hits Monday in a 14-7 win over Las Vegas. Two nights later, the 28-year-old added four hits against the 51s.

Starting pitchers holding down the fort: Left-hander Edwin Escobar was outstanding in two starts last week for Reno — his first action since being optioned back to Triple-A by the Diamondbacks June 10. Escobar went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work. Not to be outdone, prospect Braden Shipley also pitched well in his one turn. The 24-year-old threw eight innings Friday, allowing just five hits, one earned run and struck out three in a 5-1 road win over Albuquerque. Shipley has won his last three starts, allowing just six earned runs over 21 innings in that stretch.

Mobile BayBears (Double-A Southern League)

Week: 3-5 | Overall: 32-38, 4th place in South Division, 9.0 games behind Pensacola

Where’s the offense?: The BayBears bats didn’t produce during a strange week filled with a few make-up dates. They failed to make up any ground on Pensacola despite playing them six times, mostly due to a lack of offense. In those six contests, Mobile totaled just 13 runs. For the week, the Bears batted just .205 (46-for-224).

Denker in the mix: Minor-league veteran Travis Denker signed a free-agent deal with Arizona June 11 and was assigned to Mobile a day later. The 30-year-old homered twice last week, bringing his career MiLB total to 128 over 1,104 games, but those were the only two hits he got. Denker batted .105 (2-for-19) in six contests.

Banda keeps rolling: Lefty Anthony Banda has had a fine season in Mobile, and he didn’t disappoint in his last start. The 22-year-old pitched eight scoreless innings Wednesday night, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out nine in a 2-0 win over Pensacola. Banda hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last three starts, lowering his ERA to 2.12 on the year — a mark which ranks fourth in the Southern League. Banda is ranked as Arizona’s 14th-best prospect by MLB.com.

All-Star switcheroo: A couple of BayBears got recognized with Southern League All-Star honors.

Ildemaro Vargas and Jimmie Sherfy of @Mobile_BayBears have been added to the South Division roster, replacing Kevin Medrano and Josh Hader.

— The Southern League (@SLeagueBaseball) June 14, 2016

Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)

Week: 5-3 | Overall: 46-24, 1st place in North Division, 6.5 games ahead of San Jose

Let’s go streaking!: The ‘Hide won their first four games of the week against Bakersfield, which extended their winning streak to 11 in a row. Their 8-3 win over the Blaze last Tuesday clinched the first-half North Division title. Visalia’s streak was snapped by Lake Elsinore Thursday night.

Lake Elsinore Snaps Rawhide 11-Game Winning Streak. pic.twitter.com/5AdzGiWemx

— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) June 17, 2016

Castillo plugging along: Second baseman Henry Castillo, the organization’s 29th-ranked prospect, had himself a big week. The 21-year-old Dominican native is riding a nine-game hitting streak entering this week’s action. In seven games last week, Castillo hit .379 (11-for-29) with four doubles, a triple and two RBI. He’s currently fifth in the California League in batting with a .307 average.

#Dbacks' No. 21 prospect Colin Bray homers twice on 23rd birthday for @VisaliaRawhide. https://t.co/j7v7Orm36r pic.twitter.com/UbL1acqruX

— MiLB.com (@MiLB) June 19, 2016

Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)

Week: 4-4 | Overall: 33-37, 5th place in Western Division

All that's good about summer in suburban Chicago as @KCCougars host Clinton. And a big crowd to show for it. pic.twitter.com/ifWyRwhyWq

— Wil McBride (@Wil_McBride) June 19, 2016

Young arms excelling: Carlos Hernandez and Alex Young were both outstanding in their mound work last week. Hernandez, a 22-year-old right-hander, made two starts and allowed just one earned run while striking out eight and posting a 0.77 ERA. He earned his fourth win of the year with a strong five-inning performance Sunday against Clinton. Young, the D-backs’ third-best prospect, dazzled in his last outing Friday night, hurling seven scoreless innings and allowing a single hit in a 1-0 win over Clinton.

#Dbacks #3 prospect Alex Young hurls a seven-inning one-hitter in 81 minutes for @KCCougars. https://t.co/NpS9a2BKJU pic.twitter.com/W9NroA9eao

— MiLB.com (@MiLB) June 17, 2016

Hillsboro Hops (Short-Season-A, Northwest League)

Week: 1-2

Roughed up: The Hops opened their season last Friday with a 6-5 win over Salem-Keizer, but then got knocked around Saturday and Sunday, losing twice by a combined score of 25-5.

Grier signs: Anfernee Grier, who was selected 39th overall in last week’s MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Auburn, signed his pro contract with the D-backs and was assigned to Hillsboro. He has yet to see action for the Hops.

All-America, All-Region and signing your first pro contract. Big day for @_agrier10. Congrats! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/iCEhCUGjCS

— Auburn Baseball (@Auburn_Baseball) June 16, 2016

Missoula Osprey (Rookie, Pioneer League)

Week: 0-3

Shelled: The Osprey, like their Northwest League brethren, began the season Friday night, and also got knocked around pretty good. Missoula lost three straight to Billings: 10-1, 11-1 and 10-5. The staff ERA through games was a robust 10.13.

January in June: Ryan January, an eighth-round choice out of San Jacinto North JC last week, didn’t take long to hit his first long ball as a pro. The 19-year-old catcher connected on a solo shot off of Billings starter Andrew Jordan Friday night in a loss to the Mustangs.

Related

Trey McBride has high hopes for Cardinals offense with ‘very special’ offensive skillLarry Fitzgerald’s Hall of Fame speech is ready, and he’s excited for the moment with his sonWhy be a jerk? Tyler Allgeier embracing RB tandem with Jeremiyah LoveHow Diamondbacks’ 2025 trade deadline played out 1 year laterLarry Fitzgerald said he’d never been in the zone quite like that 2008 playoff runDiamondbacks have more options to handle closer-by-committee than in the recent past