Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 4/24: Brandon Drury Coming On

Considered by most to be a long-shot piece of the Justin Upton trade, 3B Brandon Drury did not start out the season impressing anyone. But he has come to life over his last 10 games (just after landing on our Cold 9 list) hitting .375 with 7 doubles, 2 triples and a .975 OPS. Digging deeper into Drury's profile one notices he's still very young as he won't turn 21 until August. His first professional season in rookie ball was pretty bad, but his second season in high rookie ball was pretty darned good. But then the shine wore off last year when he barely broke .600 OPS at the Low A level. He's repeating that level this year and is hitting in the middle of the South Bend lineup so he's not someone who can be written off just yet.

Around the leagues Mobile held on in a 4-3 win over Mississippi in which Bradin hagens threw 7 shutout innings. The Visalia bats remained red hot in a 10-4 win as Michael Perez continues to heat up. And the strong pitching in South Bend came through again as Cody Wheeler featured in a 2-1 win over Great Lakes.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Bradin Hagens, Mobile 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 ER
2 Stars: Michael Perez, Visalia 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 DBL, 1 RBI
1 Star: Cody Wheeler, South Bend 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 0 ER
0 Stars: Evan Marzilli, Visalia 0 for 5, 1 K

Triple A: Reno. Travel day.

Double A: Mobile 4 Mississippi 3. Bradin Hagens was very good on the mound last night with 7 shutout innings on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out just 1. Ryan Stovall had 2 hits including a double and 1 RBI. Justin Greene had 2 hits with a triple and 2 runs scored. And Garrett Webber and Rossmel Perez both had a pair of singles.

High A: Visalia 10 Stockton 4. The Rawhide offense has scored 31 runs in their last 3 games with 10 of those coming last night. Andrew Barbosa was the beneficiary of all that offense and while he wasn't as good as he's been in his first 3 games, he was good enough to earn his second win. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4 in 5 innings. Michael Perez has gone from one of the coldest minor league hitters to one of the hottest as he went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI. He's 7 for his last 15. Gerson Montilla had 2 more hits including his 2nd homer of the year. Raul Navarro and Sean Jamieson each had 2 hits and 2 RBI.

Low A: South Bend 2 Great Lakes 1. Cody Wheeler did his part in a 2-1 pitcher's duel in which he tossed 5.2 shutout innings on 4 hits and 4 walks. South Bend only managed 3 hits including Alex Glenn's 2nd home run, a solo shot in the 2nd inning. Brandon Drury also added a triple.