D-backs Farm Rumblings: Reno’s Taylor Clarke continues his roll

Here’s a quick look at what went down in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor league system this week.

	Team	League	Week/Overall	Standing
	Reno Aces	Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)	4-3 / 25-33	4th place in Pacific Northern Division (9.5 games back)
	Jackson Generals	Southern League (Double-A)	2-4 / 30-25	2nd place in North Division (2.5 games behind Chattanooga)
	Visalia Rawhide	California League (High-A)	2-5 / 29-28	3rd place in North Division (6.0 games behind Stockton)
	Kane County Cougars	Midwest League (Single-A)	4-5 / 29-26	4th place in Western Division (2.0 games behind Peoria)

Another gem from Clarke – Reno right-hander Taylor Clarke is, quite simply, in a zone. Clarke pitched five scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and two walks in a 6-1 win over Salt Lake Monday. The 25-year-old has earned wins in four straight starts and is now 6-5 on the season. Over those last four outings, Clarke has a 1.59 ERA with 29 strikeouts and six walks in 22.2 innings of work.

Clarke is so hot right now 🔥 https://t.co/gaRtQ4cHZi

— Reno Aces (@Aces) May 29, 2018

Have yourself a week, Kevin Cron! – Reno third baseman Kevin Cron tore the cover off the ball all week for the Aces. The 2014 14th-round pick out of TCU batted .357 (10-for-28) with four homers and 14 RBI. Cron had more RBIs than anyone in Triple-A for the week.

Team-wide explosion – Reno belted 21 hits in a 20-3 pasting of Las Vegas Thursday night. Cron led the way with two doubles, a HR and drove in six. Anthony Recker had three hits and drove in four and Cesar Puello scored five runs in the game.

Takahashi gets a promotion – Bo Takahashi, a 21-year-old right-hander, made his Double-A debut for the Generals Wednesday and allowed four hits and four earned runs over 5.2 innings in a 5-4 loss to Montgomery. Takahashi struck out nine and walked two.

Smith finding his power stroke – The Diamondbacks’ top overall prospect, first baseman Pavin Smith, took a while to get his first professional home run, but those days are long gone. Smith, last summer’s first-round pick out of Virginia, clubbed three home runs last week and now has six on the season. One of the home runs came against San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who was making a rehab start for San Jose Thursday night.

After homering off of Madison Bumgarner last night, Pavin Smith bats sixth as he and the #Rawhide come home for a three-game set against Stockton.
First pitch: 7 PM
Postgame Fireworks
Tickets: https://t.co/M0bwy5iQq8
Listen: https://t.co/pwrSYSsccz pic.twitter.com/7RPg7MtJaQ

— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) June 1, 2018

Big day for Duzenack – Rawhide infielder Camden Duzenack, a ninth-round pick out of Dallas Baptist last summer, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and five RBI in an 11-0 win over Stockton Sunday. While Duzenack was supplying more than enough offense, the trio of Emilio Vargas, Wei-Chieh Huang and Tommy Eveld blanked the Ports on a seven-hit shutout during which they combined for 12 strikeouts. Vargas, a 21-year-old Dominican right-hander, is now 4-1 with a microscopic 1.24 ERA this season. Vargas leads the California League in ERA by a comfortable margin — Modesto’s Darren McCaughan is second in the league with a 2.04 mark.

Emilio Vargas dealt 7 shutout innings and struck out 9 as the #Rawhide rolled to an 11-0 win over Stockton!
RECAP: https://t.co/HqDYRnfFiB pic.twitter.com/cGA5LmOFtV

— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) June 4, 2018

Positive signs for Shelby – Shelby Miller made his first organized baseball start since April 23, 2017 Wednesday night as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Miller went 5.0 innings for Visalia, giving up four hits and one earned run while striking out eight and walking nobody. He didn’t get a decision in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to San Jose. Miller threw 65 pitches, 52 for strikes. The right-hander has another rehab start scheduled for Monday night for Double-A Jackson.

Shelby Miller was outstanding in a rehab appearance, striking out 8 over 5 dominant innings, but the #Rawhide fell in extras, 2-1. pic.twitter.com/gtsYHLhkq7

— Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) May 30, 2018

Quite the busy week – The Cougars, due to early-season rainouts that needed to made up, played nine games in a seven-day period — and that included a postponement on Saturday. Yup, that means three double-headers. Kane County split a pair against Beloit Tuesday, dropped both games against the Snappers Thursday and split a twin-bill against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Sunday.

Duran, Duran – 20-year-old Dominican right-hander Jhoan Duran has been pitching very well for the Cougars. In his latest start Wednesday, Duran went five innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out six. In his last three outings, Duran has posted a 0.64 ERA with 15 strikeouts and four walks over 14 innings.

Quick Hits

• Reno right-hander Jake Buchanan had a no-hit bid spoiled in the seventh inning Saturday night when Las Vegas’ Todd Frazier singled. Buchanan would end up allowing three hits and two runs while being saddled with a loss in a 2-1 decision against the 51s.

• Jackson slugger Rudy Flores homered twice last week, giving him 10 for the season — which is tied for second-most in the Southern League behind only Birmingham catcher Seby Zavala.

• Reno’s Cesar Puello had a hot week at the plate, hitting .400 (8-for-20) with a double, triple, home run and five RBI. His teammate, Kristopher Negron followed suit, hitting .379 (11-for-29) with three doubles and a triple on the week.

• Kane County’s Eduardo Diaz took home an award.

Congratulations to Eduardo Diaz, your Midwest League Player of the Week for May 21-27! During that stretch, Diaz posted a .391 batting average going 9-for-23 with two home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored.

📸: Justin Edwards pic.twitter.com/rRU1FXb7m2

— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) May 30, 2018

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