D-backs Farm Rumblings: Jackson can’t lose; Cribbs goes for the cycle

All in all, it was a pretty good week for the minor league affiliates of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jackson, Visalia and Kane County combined to go 16-3 last week. Reno, the D-backs’ Triple-A club, continues to flounder. The Aces went 1-6 and are now 5-13 on the young campaign.

	Team	League	Week/Overall	Standing
	Reno Aces	Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)	1-6 / 5-13	4th place in Pacific Northern Division (8.0 games back)
	Jackson Generals	Southern League (Double-A)	6-0 / 13-2	1st place in North Division (4.5 games up)
	Visalia Rawhide	California League (High-A)	5-2 / 11-7	Tied for 1st place in North Division (1.0 game up)
	Kane County Cougars	Midwest League (Single-A)	5-1 / 8-6	Tied for 3rd place in Western Division (2.5 games back)

Generals on a roll – Jackson has now won seven straight games and now owns the best record in all of Double-A.

ICYMI: Here’s @GalliCribbsJr on hitting for the cycle in yesterday’s 8-1 win over Birmingham. He’s the first General to do it since Abraham Almonte in 2013. Helped by Cribbs’ 1.400 OPS, the Generals are tied for the best mark in Double-A through 12 games (10-2). #GreenMeansGo pic.twitter.com/wbL4smSXNd

— Jackson Generals (@jacksongenerals) April 19, 2018

An unlikely cycle – Galli Cribbs has been regarded as a light-hitting prospect for most of his minor league career that began in 2014. Last season, in 327 at-bats split between Visalia and Jackson, Cribbs batted just .196 and did not hit a home run. That’s what makes what happened Wednesday so amazing. Cribbs became only the second Jackson player ever to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in an 8-1 win over the Birmingham Barons. Cribbs started his night with an inside-the-park homer in the second inning, then followed with a triple in the fourth, a double in the sixth and a single in the eighth. His HR was just the third of his pro career. The Texas native is doing his best to shed that “light-hitting” label in 2018, putting up a .452/.540/.786 line with 10 RBI in his first 13 games.

Tomas update – When the Diamondbacks outrighted Yasmany Tomas to Triple-A Reno in spring training, the move came as a bit of a surprise. After all, Arizona would be without starting right fielder Steven Souza Jr. for the foreseeable future and Tomas was due $10 million this season. He could easily slide into the right field spot. Instead, the D-backs wanted him to work on defense. Tomas has been playing more first base as of late, which doesn’t portend great things about a return to the bigs any time soon. At first, the Cuban native has a .978 fielding percentage, making only one error in 45 chances. At the plate, Tomas has put up a meager .219/.265/.375 line with two homers and eight RBI.

Duplantier debuts – The Diamondbacks’ top prospect, right-hander Jon Duplantier, made his 2018 debut Saturday night. In a 13-2 win over Chattanooga, Duplantier pitched five innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out six. He got plenty of offensive assistance, including two-run homers by Alberto Rosario and Marty Herum. It was rare territory for Duplantier, who allowed two or more runs only six times in 25 appearances in the minors last season.

The first of many @jacksongenerals strikeouts by @Dbacks top prospect @dup_thereitis pic.twitter.com/1Aa7JoAl6F

— The Southern League (@SLeagueBaseball) April 21, 2018

Vargas dealing in California League – Emilio Vargas, a 21-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic, has been tough on opposing hitters in 2018. Last week, Vargas allowed just four hits and one earned run while striking out 14 over two starts spanning nine innings. On the year, Vargas is 1-0 with a 1.45 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.

Smith goes deep – Top prospect Pavin Smith, last year’s top draft pick (seventh overall) out of Virginia, finally got his first professional home run. Smith clubbed a two-run shot off of San Jose reliever D.J. Myers in a 9-6 win Wednesday night. Two nights later, he left the yard again, hitting a solo blast off Stockton reliever Miguel Romero in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss.

Grey continues to dominate – Visalia right-hander Connor Grey got space in Farm Rumblings last week, and if he continues to pitch as he has so far, he’ll be a regular visitor to the column. Grey went seven shutout innings Friday night, allowing just three hits while striking out 12 in a 4-0 win over Stockton. The 23-year-old is now 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 18.1 innings in 2018.

Behind a career-high 12 strikeouts from Connor Grey, the #Rawhide rolled to a 4-0 win in Stockton tonight. RECAP: https://t.co/dWdJIhqXta pic.twitter.com/7WGQI9JsA9

— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) April 20, 2018

Chisholm off to a good start – Kane County shortstop Jasrado Chisholm, a 20-year-old Bahamian and one of Arizona’s brightest young prospects, is playing well in the Midwest League. Chisholm is hitting .290 and is responsible for two of the Cougars’ three home runs on the young season. His production will be put on hold for a bit, however, as he was placed on the 7-day disabled list Friday.

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