D-backs Farm Rumblings: Vargas streaking (still) and Duplantier returns
Jul 23, 2018, 7:37 AM
Reno Aces (Triple-A Pacific Coast League)
For the Week: 4-3
On the Season: 50-51
In the Standings: 3rd place in Pacific Northern Division; 8.0 games behind Fresno
• Late rally for win – The Aces rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run single by Socrates Brito and a two-run double by Kevin Cron to beat Tacoma 10-9 Tuesday night. Jake Barrett came in and worked the ninth inning for his third save of the season.
• The redhead is back! – Barry Enright, a popular member of the Diamondbacks’ big league pitching staff from 2010 to 2011, is back with the organization. Enright was traded to the Angels in July of 2012 and after stints with the Halos, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres and Rockies, along with a couple of seasons in Mexico, the 32-year-old is back in Reno.
Barry Enright puts up a zero in the top of the 9th. We need one to tie and two to win. pic.twitter.com/NFknF3c4zx
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 22, 2018
• Yes, Yasmany – Outfielder Yasmany Tomas went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in a 7-3 win over Tacoma Wednesday night. Tomas led off the third with his eighth homer of the year off of Rainiers starter Christian Bergman. Tomas added a single in the sixth and a two-run blast in the eighth inning. It was Tomas’ first multi-home run game of the season.
Yasmany Tomas does it again! This one goes to right field.
It's his first multi-HR game since 04/22/2017 against the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/WNuHV3Tn5b
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 19, 2018
• Still Streaking – Aces infielder Ildemaro Vargas extended his hitting streak to 19 games in grand fashion Thursday, banging out five hits in Reno’s 5-3 win over Tacoma. It was Vargas’ 10th multi-hit game during the streak and the first five-hit game of his minor league career, which has spanned 866 games over the last 11 seasons. Vargas also got hits Friday, Saturday and Sunday, extending his hitting streak to 22 games.
Ildemaro Vargas records a double in the bottom of the 8th inning to extend his hit streak to 22 games! pic.twitter.com/tJ5ftjI8Bn
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 22, 2018
• Walker heroics – Christian Walker went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI in Reno’s 11-8 win over in-state rival Las Vegas Friday night. Walker drove in 10 runs on the week.
Christian Walker just hit a ball to the moon!
His 14th bomb of the season (in Triple-A) gives us a 7-1 lead after two innings of play. pic.twitter.com/xRVqPcxk7u
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 21, 2018
Jackson Generals (Double-A Southern League)
For the Week: 3-3
On the Season: 14-16 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied for 3rd place in North Division; 3.0 games behind Birmingham
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• Working overtime – Jay Gonzalez’s RBI single in the top of the 10th scored Jose Vinicio and lifted the Generals to a 2-1 win over the Birmingham Barons Thursday night. Reliever Wei-Chieh Huang, the 27th-best prospect, according to MLB.com, pitched four innings of scoreless relief, yielding just two hits while striking out five to pick up his second win of the season.
• Avoiding overtime – Kevin Medrano clubbed a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning off of Birmingham’s Jose Ruiz, lifting the Generals to a 4-3 road win over the Barons Saturday night. It was Medrano’s first home run since June 14.
ICYMI: @jacksongenerals infielder @Medranamo13 rocked a three-run pinch-hit homer last night as part of Jackson's ninth inning rally. pic.twitter.com/8XXJihN4xF
— The Southern League (@SLeagueBaseball) July 22, 2018
Visalia Rawhide (High-A California League)
For the Week: 3-3
On the Season: 13-18 (2nd half)
In the Standings: 2nd place in North Division; 4.0 games behind Stockton
• Return nearing? – Right-hander Clay Buchholz, in the first game of a rehab assignment as he works his way back from an oblique strain, pitched well for the Rawhide. Buchholz went six innings, allowing four hits, two runs and one walk while striking out six in a 5-2 win over Inland Empire Thursday night. Buchholz was efficient as well, throwing just 78 pitches during his stint. In fact, Buchholz’s rehab stint will be a short one; he’ll make his return to the D-backs’ rotation Tuesday at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
• Advancing – Jasrado Chisholm, a 20-year-old Bahamian shortstop and the D-backs’ third-best prospect, according to MLB.com, made his High-A debut Thursday night in the win over Inland Empire. Chisholm went 1-for-4 on the night and two days later, hit his first home run with his new team, supplying all of the Rawhide’s offense in a 6-1 loss to Lancaster Saturday night.
Jasrado Chisholm, who collected a career-high five hits on Monday, has been promoted to @VisaliaRawhide from @KCCougars. Chisholm is the #Dbacks No. 3 prospect: https://t.co/QXr05IVtBq pic.twitter.com/dAwUmR2Sz0
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 19, 2018
• Solid effort – Right-hander Connor Grey pitched six strong innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out six and walking four in a 9-4 win over Lancaster Sunday night. Drew Ellis, Luis Alejandro Basabe and Stephen Smith helped jump-start the offense with home runs.
Kane County Cougars (Single-A Midwest League)
For the Week: 3-2
On the Season: 13-16 (2nd half)
In the Standings: Tied for 6th place in Western Division; 8.5 games behind Cedar Rapids
• A nice way to say goodbye – It was a huge game for Chisholm, who went 5-for-6 with two home runs and five runs batted in during a 13-4 win over Dayton on Monday. Chisholm paced the Cougars’ attack, which pounded out 19 hits against Dayton. Gabriel Maciel and Yoel Yanqui each delivered three hits while catcher Tim Susnara drove in three.
• Continued excellence – Right-hander Jeff Bain was outstanding Saturday night, giving up just three hits over six scoreless innings while striking out three. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Cougars’ bullpen crumbled in a 4-2 loss to South Bend. Over his last 10 starts, Bain is 5-3 with a sterling 1.97 ERA, 55 strikeouts and just eight walks in 59.1 innings of work.
• More extra-innings heroics – Left fielder Ryan Grotjohn smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Cougars to a 5-4 victory over South Bend Sunday — their second walk-off win of the week.
.@Ryan_Grotjohn's heroics power walk-off win for #YourCougars
RECAP: https://t.co/OYx41I4ypp pic.twitter.com/CgX1E54Vt5
— Kane County Cougars (@KCCougars) July 22, 2018
• Danke shoen – The Cougars celebrated “Save Ferris Night” — a nod to the legendary 1986 John Hughes comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — and they drew almost 10,000 fans to the ballpark in the process Thursday night.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. #SaveFerris pic.twitter.com/PriC0neomw
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 20, 2018
Hillsboro Hops (Short Season-A Northwest League)
For the Week: 2-5
On the Season: 23-14
In the Standings: 1st place in South Division; 3.0 games ahead of Boise
• Champs! – The Hops clinched the first-half South Division title Friday night with a 10-1 win over Vancouver.
WE’VE DONE IT! YOUR HILLSBORO HOPS ARE FIRST HALF CHAMPIONS! THERE WILL BE POSTSEASON BASEBALL IN HILLSBORO FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON!#ALLHOPPEDUP pic.twitter.com/AHoyX6AXcR
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) July 20, 2018
• Rallying for a win – The Hops were blanked until they got three runs in the ninth to tie it and three runs in the 10th to beat Boise 6-5 Tuesday night. Joey Rose hit a two-out, two-run homer to tie it in the ninth, and Jorge Perez knocked in Jake McCarthy and Jose Caballero in the 10th to give Hillsboro a walk-off win.
Missoula Osprey (Rookie Pioneer League)
For the Week: 2-4
On the Season: 18-18
In the Standings: 2nd place in North Division; 3.0 games behind Great Falls
• A regular visitor to the basepaths – Second baseman Eddie Hernandez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan prospect, had quite the night in a 9-8 loss to Ogden on Wednesday. Hernandez went 5-for-5 with four singles, a double and three runs scored in the contest. It was Hernandez’s second career five-hit game, with the first coming on June 23, 2017 when he was playing in the Dominican Summer League.
Eddie Hernandez became the 11th player in Osprey history to record five hits in a game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ez6MTJJZF1
— Missoula Osprey (@ospreybaseball) July 19, 2018
• Explosion – The Osprey banged out 20 hits in an 11-1 win over Idaho Falls Saturday night. Second baseman Brandon Leyton led the way with three hits and four RBI, while Geraldo Perdomo, Eddie Hernandez, Zack Shannon and Joe Robbins also had three hits apiece.
• More on Shannon – Shannon, a 15th-round pick out of Delta State in Mississippi last month, had a great week at the dish for Missoula. Shannon hit .429 (9-for-21) with two home runs and seven RBI while posting an OPS of 1.264, which was the fourth-best among D-backs minor leaguers in that span.
DSL D-backs 1 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)
For the Week: 5-0-1
On the Season: 28-13
In the Standings: 1st place in Baseball City Division; 3.0 games ahead of Orioles
• Setting the tone – Francis Beriguete, an 18-year-old lefty, allowed just one hit over five shutout innings, leading the D-backs to a 7-4 rain-shortened win over the White Sox. Beriguete didn’t walk a single batter and struck out six.
• More pitching – Youngsters Rigoberto Borbolla, Eurys Henriquez, Eric Mendez and Cristofer Ogando combined to hold the Padres to just one hit over nine innings during a 7-1 win Wednesday night. The quartet did walk a total of nine batters but struck out 12.
• Eyepopping numbers – Yaramil Hiraldo, a 22-year-old right-hander, had been unhittable as a member of the D-backs’ bullpen this season. That was even more evident in his first start of the year. Hiraldo pitched five perfect innings with seven strikeouts Saturday night in a 5-1 win over the Orioles. Hiraldo is now 4-0 on the season and sports a ridiculous 0.41 ERA in 22 innings. Opposing hitters are batting .088 against him.
DSL D-backs 2 (Rookie Dominican Summer League)
For the Week: 1-5
On the Season: 16-26
In the Standings: 7th place in San Pedro Division; 10.0 games behind Rangers and Phillies White
AZL D-backs (Arizona Rookie League)
For the Week: 4-1
On the Season: 16-10
In the Standings: 2nd place in East Division; 0.5 games behind Cubs 1
• Welcome back – Outfielder Anfernee Grier, the D-backs’ top draft pick in 2016, went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI in the D-backs 10-4 over the White Sox at Salt River Fields Wednesday night. Grier was in his third game on a rehab assignment. He had been out of action for three months after starting the season at High-A Visalia. For the week, Grier hit .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, a triple and five RBI.
• Standing out – Outfielder Kristian Robinson, a 19-year-old Bahamian native and the D-backs’ 12th-best prospect, had two hits, including a solo home run, in a 9-8 win over the Indians Thursday night in Goodyear.
• He’s back! – Jon Duplantier, the D-backs’ top prospect, pitched Sunday night in the Arizona League, going 3.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five in a 12-0 win over the Mariners in Peoria. He has been sidelined since May 27 with right biceps tendinitis.
Top #Dbacks prospect Jon Duplantier retires the last 10 batters he faces in an Arizona League rehab start. https://t.co/4VnpdRQWGb pic.twitter.com/QR5oF5W1O1
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 23, 2018
