Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 4/10: Bauer Outage Edition

I would guess that most people reading this report have already heard about top prospect Trevor Bauer's excellent second outing of the year last night. Bauer recorded 17 outs in the game against Pensacola, and a staggering 11 of them - 65% - came via the strikeout. Further, Bauer faced just 23 batters overall in the game, giving him a 47.8% K-Rate in the game. Basically, Bauer turned the opposing lineup into Yoenis Cespedes, just without any of the power that makes Cespedes valuable. Even still, the performance wasn't alone in its display of pitching dominance, joined by an slightly under-the-radar lefty at Hi-A Visalia.

Snakelet of the Day:

Trevor Bauer (Double-A): 5.2 IP (23 BF), 2 H, 0 R, 11:4 K:BB, 2:3 GO:AO

David Holmberg (Hi-A): 7 IP (23 BF), 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 9:0 K:BB, 8:3 GO:AO

Triple-A: Reno 1, Salt Lake 2. (2-4) Starter Barry Enright had a solid outing, throwing six shutout frames despite giving up four walks, holding the Bees potent lineup - featuring top prospects Mike Trout and Hank Conger, as well as Triple-A soldiers Jorge Cantu and Ryan Langerhans - to just three hits. Unfortunately, Randy Ruiz's solo home run was the only offense Reno could muster, and after two impressive scoreless innings from Mike Zagurski - striking out three with one walk and no hits - Jonathan Albaladejo blew the save in the top of the ninth by allowing a pair of solo home runs, one apiece to Cantu and Langerhans.

Double-A: Mobile 3, Pensacola 2. (5-1) Bauer happened, and Mobile made the most of it, hanging on to make Bauer a winner in this one. Matt Gorgen nearly blew it, giving up a pair of runs while getting two outs and allowing four hits and a walk in the eighth, but Evan Marshall came on to clean Gorgen's mess and finish off the ninth as well, sealing the victory for the BayBears. Mobile's offensive output came in the form of a three-run fourth inning spurred on by some defensive miscues from Pensacola, as two of the three runs allowed by opposing starter Pedro Villarreal were unearned. Matt Davidson and David Nick led the way at the dish, each notching a pair of singles.

Hi-A: Visalia 3, Modesto 1. (4-2) I wish I could have been at this game, as it looked like an incredible display of pitching prowess between Visalia's David Holmberg and Modesto's Tyler Matzek. Matzek was certainly impressive, striking out eight in five innings while allowing two runs on three walks and four hits, including a homer, but - for those who saw his line above - Holmberg won the duel. Holmberg allowed just two baserunners in seven dominant innings, with Chris Dickerson - who tripled and doubled, scoring on his triple due to a throwing error - being the only Modesto hitter to figure Holmberg out. As for the offense, Bobby Borchering and Jonathan Griffin each homered, while Chris Valencia scored on an RBI hit from Chris Owings.

Low-A: South Bend 1, Fort Wayne 8. (2-3) It was a rough outing for South Bend starter J.R. Bradley, who cruised through three innings before running into a gauntlet in the fourth. Bradley's fourth inning: one out (a strikeout), eight hits, seven runs. To be fair to Bradley, seven of the eight hits were singles - including a pair of bunt hits - although that other hit was a grand slam allowed to Austin Hedges. I couldn't get out to the Cove to see this game, but I'm planning to see J.R. on Sunday in the final game of South Bend's homestand - eight-month-old scouting reports aren't worth much, but he was a personal favorite a year ago and is still just 19 years old in full-season ball. The Silver Hawks offense did little to close the gap, with Chris Ellison doubling and Matt Helm singling and drawing a walk.