Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 8/29: 36 Innings Edition

News has broken that Charles Brewer, who started for Double-A Mobile on Monday, will be headed to the Arizona Fall League this off-season.  With Brewer missing time this year because of a pair of injuries - a concussion early in the year and a broken hand that he's just returning from - it only makes sense to send him to the AFL to get more innings in.  I imagine that Chase Anderson is another candidate for AFL time if his elbow is fully healed in time for the Fall League.

Now for the real action on the day.  Just two days after seven affiliates combined for 81 innings of baseball, the D-backs' stateside farm teams played just 36 innings on Monday.  You'd think that could have been scheduled a bit more smoothly...  Regardless, there were still a few key performances worthy of recognition, including a six-total-base effort from Double-A Mobile's third baseman, and this line from the BayBears' starting pitcher:

Snakelet of the Day:

Charles Brewer (Double-A): 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 8:4 K:BB, 3:3 GO:AO

Triple-A: Reno 5, Fresno 2.  (74-63)  Right-hander Barry Enright didn't exactly light the world on fire with his 1:4 K:BB ratio, but he did manage to give up just two runs in seven innings of work, allowing just four singles to the Fresno lineup.  With a scoreless inning apiece from Alberto Castillo and Ryan Cook, that proved to be more than enough for the Aces offense to seal a victory.  In just his second game back at Triple-A, Cody Ransom hit his 27th home run of the season for Reno, while Tony Abreu tripled and Andy Tracy reached base three times on a single and two walks.  Reno clinched the PCL's Pacific Northern Division Title with the win.

Double-A: Mobile 4, Chattanooga 2.  (82-52)  It seems that right-hander Charles Brewer is still trying to re-build his stamina since returning from a broken pitching hand, as he hit a wall in the sixth inning and completely lost his control.  He recorded a strikeout and got another out on batter interference, but walked three batters and hit another, turning a fantastic line through five innings - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 7:1 K:BB, 3:3 GO:AO - into a more wild 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 8:4 K:BB, HBP, 3:3 GO:AO.  Given his recent injury and the fact that he has to re-build pitching stamina, it's certainly understandable and by no means a damning sign.  Just because Arizona has numerous starters on the farm with higher ceilings than Brewer doesn't mean we should all sleep on the right-hander: he might just be the third-most-polished starter left in the minors, behind Trevor Bauer and Tyler Skaggs.

The MVP of this one at the plate was clearly Ryan Wheeler, who whacked his 16th home run of the year - a three-run blast - in the fifth inning after doubling in the third.  Adam Eaton had a fantastic game as well, going 3-3 with a walk, while Josh Ford went 2-4 with a homer and Daryle Ward singled and walked twice.

A final note: the BayBears' webpage still has Bauer scheduled to start today's game.  We'll have to see how many innings Bauer works in this one, as he's already accumulated 24 innings in the minors this year.  With Jerry Dipoto recently saying that he wants Bauer to work just another 30 innings after signing, with 35 an agreeable possibility, there won't be many bullets left if Bauer works a full five innings for Mobile tonight.

Hi-A: The Rawhide were off, and play Tuesday at Lancaster - should be some offensive excitement in that hitter's haven.

Low-A: South Bend 2, Lake County 1.  (65-67)  The offense was generally morose on Monday night, as the Silver Hawks bats managed just six hits, all of which were singles.  However, the two runs they managed to manufacture proved to be enough to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.  That, of course, is because the pitching staff was phenomenally effective, beginning with right-hander Bradin Hagens.  Hagens worked six innings in this one, posting a 3:3 K:BB ratio but giving up only one run on six hits, in large part due to his 9:2 GO:AO ratio.  He was followed by two scoreless innings from reliever Chris Odegaard, then finally a scoreless ninth inning from flame-throwing left-hander Eury De La Rosa, who struck out one and earned the win.

I'll be headed to tonight's South Bend game, the team's last home game of the season, to get a final glimpse at right-hander J.R. Bradley.  Odds are that he'll be exhausted after the long season, but I'll be trying to see in particular if there's any improvement in his fastball command, which I see as the biggest thing standing between him and becoming a big-league starting pitcher.

Short-Season-A: Yakima also had the night off, beginning a five-game set at home against Eugene on Tuesday.

Advanced-Rookie: After a series at Ogden, the Osprey had the day off to travel back home for a three-game set against Great Falls.

Low-Rookie: D-backs 5, Angels 9.  (20-36)  Derek Luciano tripled while Pedro Ruiz, Michael Perez, and Joseph Weik doubled for the AZL D-backs, and the team has a 10-hit night to put five runs on the board.  Unfortunately, despite that solid effort from the offense, the D-backs fell as the pitching staff crumbled late in the game.  2011 second-round pick Anthony Meo made his professional debut with the D-backs yesterday, working a perfect first inning with a pair of strikeouts.  Meo was reassigned to Missoula after the game, where he'll join Archie Bradley and Andrew Chafin as new additions to the Osprey staff.  We'll be sure to pick Missoula Osprey Fan's brain for first-person testimonials when these young studs first take the mound.

It all went downhill as soon as Meo left, beginning with Jason Postill, who gave up three runs in five innings while posting a 3:2 K:BB ratio and giving up five hits.  Reliever Juan Falcon was awful, giving up four runs in 1.2 innings on four hits - including a home run - and a 2:2 K:BB ratio.  Finally, Austin Platt made things even worse, allowing four hits, a walk, and two runs while recording just one out, pitching three batters into the ninth inning without retiring a single one of of them.