Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 4/20: Rising Star Daniel Watts

Second year pro Daniel Watts continues to impress since being drafted in the 32nd round last year out of Jacksonville State. It didn't take him long to become the ace of the Yakima staff last year and he's well on his way to doing the same for South Bend this year. Watts tossed another 6 innings of shutout ball last night on 4 hits and 3 walks. In his first three starts in the Midwest League Watts is sporting a 2.00 ERA, a WHIP of 1.05 and a K/BB of 2.4. He doesn't rack up piles of strikeouts, but his combination of good control, low H/9 and keeping the ball in the park portends an interesting future. The 23-year-old lefty will not be pitching in the Midwest League much longer at this rate.

Across the minors last night, Reno fell to Sacramento again for the 5th straight time as Randall Delgado was fairly awful yet again. Mobile threw one away against Mississippi when reliever Eric Smith got shelled in the 9th inning. Archie Bradley led Visalia to a 4-3 win in which they produced more runs than hits. South Bend split a doubleheader with Daniel Watts tossing 6 shutout innings in the opener, and JR Bradley taking a hard luck 1-0 defeat in the nightcap.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Daniel Watts, South Bend 6 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 ER, W (2-0)
2 Stars: JR Bradley, South Bend 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 R, 0 ER
1 Star: Archie Bradley, Visalia 6 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 3 R, 2 ER
0 Stars: Randall Delgado, Reno 3.1 IP, 6 H, 7 BB, 4 K, 6 R, 5 ER

Triple A: Reno 4 @ Sacramento 6. Randall Delgado couldn't find the plate last night and when he did he got hit. He walked 7 in 3+ innings and couldn't get out of the 4th before 6 runs had crossed. In 15 innings across 4 starts Delgado has allowed 19 hits and 14 walks and boasts an ERA of 10.80. Tony Campana and Evan Frey each had a pair of singles and an RBI to pace the offense. Kila Ka'aihue hit a solo home run his 3rd of the season.

Double A: Mobile 5 Missisippi 8. Mobile was on the way to victory holding a 5-3 lead entering the 9th. But Eric Smith couldn't seal the deal and surrendered 5 runs in the top of the 9th. Michael Bolsinger made his first start of the year and was pretty good going 4.2 innings allowing 3 runs (just 1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Nick Evans was the heart of the offense going 2 for 4 with a 3-run homer in the 3rd, his 3rd of the year. Bryan Woodall struck out 4 in 2 innings of shutout relief.

High A: Visalia 4 Lake Elsinore 3. The Rawhide was outhit 12-3 but got the win as Archie Bradley made his 4th start and was good enough to keep it close for a late rally from the offense. Bradley wasn't as sharp as he was in his first three starts but still struck out 8 in 6 innings while allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits and 1 walk. Visalia rallied from a 3-1 deficit with 2 runs in the 7th and 1 in the 8th on one total hit. Kaleb Fleck pitched out of a jam in the 9th to earn the save.

Low A: Game 1, South Bend 3 @ West Michigan 2. Daniel Watts earned his second win of the year with 6 shutout innings as he aims to claim the top spot in the Silver Hawks' rotation. RJ Hively surrendered 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th but still got the save. Brandon Drury had a pair of singles and Ryan Court had a double to lead the offense.

Low A: Game 2, South Bend 0 @ West Michigan 1. JR Bradley got the start in the nightcap and was pretty darned good as he went 5 innings allowing 1 unearned run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Unfortunately the offense went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and couldn't do the outing justice. Brandon Drury and Michael Lang each rapped a double.