Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 7/11: Munoz Making Some Noise

The team's second round pick from 2012 shortstop Jose (Joe) Munoz got off to a rough start at the beginning of last year as he piled up strikeouts and errors. He turned things around in the final month hitting .347 and cutting down on his errors. This season got of to a similarly slow start hitting just .161 in June for Missoula with a miserly .349 OPS. But he has suddenly found his stroke and a little power to go with it hitting 3 home runs with 7 RBI in his last 4 games. Munoz was a bit of a surprise pick in the 2nd round last year not being rated in anyone's Top 100 or even Top 250 for that matter but the Dbacks saw something in him others didn't. He's still just showing flashes here and there and the errors are still an issue with 5 in his first 16 games this year. I suspect they like his size and athleticism and in that respect he fits into the teams organizational philosophy of drafting athletic up-the-middle guys. If the flashes can start becoming more regular the Dbacks might have something in this 6-3, 195 19-year-old infielder.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Joe Munoz, Missoula 3 for 5, 3 R, 1 DBL, 1 HR (3), 3 RBI
2 Stars: David Peralta, Visalia 3 for 4, 3 R, 2 DBL, 1 HR (2), 2 RBI
1 Star: Matt Davidson, Reno 2 for 3, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 HR (14), 1 RBI
0 Stars: Jon Griffin, Visalia 0 for 4, 2 K

Triple A: Reno 6 @ Tacoma 1. Mark Serrano made his second start since being called up from Mobile and it was even better than his first posting 7 strong innings with just one run surrendered. Matt Davidson had another nice game going 2 for 3 with 2 walks and his 14th home run. Tony Campana had a pair of hits and 2 stolen bases giving him 26 on the year.

Double A: Mobile 1 @ Jacksonville 6. Bo Schultz finally hit a bump in the road in his effort to become a starter. He allowed 6 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings. He's been very consistent in his first 6 starts and this was his worst to date, though hardly a full-on disaster. The offense never made any serious noise. Nick Ahmed and Justin Greene each had a couple of hits. Ahmed officially has his season turned around hitting .287 in June and .300 so far in July.

High A: Visalia 6 @ San Jose 5. The Rawhide rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to pull off the walk-off, come-from-behind win. Tom Belza and David Peralta led off the 9th with back-to-back doubles to tie the game. After a couple of strikeouts Evan Marzilli singled home Peralta for the game winner. Diogenes Rosaio started and didn't have it getting pulled in the 2nd. Conrad Flynn came on and pitched 5+ innings of 1-run ball. Anthony Meo got the win pitching 1.2 innings at the end with 3 strikeouts. Peralta had the big game going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a home run and 2 RBI.

Low A: South Bend 6 Kane County 1. Jesse Darrah picked up his 9th win with 5 innings of work allowing 1 run on 7 hits. Four relievers combined for 4 shutout innings on 1 hit. Socrates Brito went 3 for 4 with a double to lead the 12-hit attack. Andrew Velazquez went 2 for 4 and stole 2 bases.

Short Season A: Hillsboro 6 @ Tri-City 4. Aaron Blair made his second professional start and tossed 3 shutout innings on a hit and a walk while striking out 4. He has 6 Ks in 5 innings so far allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. Yoimer Camacho followed with 3 innings allowing 2 runs and he earned the win. Daniel Gibson pitched the 9th for his 1st save. Zach Esquerra went 2 for 5 and hit his 4th home run. Randy McCurry went 2 for 2 with 2 walks, a double and 2 RBI.

Rookie: Missoula 8 @ Ogden 7. The Osprey won a wild one with a walk-off walk by Colin Bray in the bottom of the 10th. They tied it in the 8th on an RBI single by Antonio Alvarez. Adam Miller and Bud Jeter got bounced around some to the tune of 7 runs in 8 innings. Luis Ramirez pitched a perfect 10th with 2 Ks to get the win. Joe Munoz was the offensive star going 3 for 5 with a double and a home run, his 3rd in four days. Tyler Linton went 2 for 4 with a double and Jake Miller went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles.

AZL Rookie: Dbacks 6 Rangers 2. Anferneee had his best start of the season with 6 shutout innings on 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks. 2nd round pick Justin Williams continues to hit going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI. He's hitting .362 through 11 games. Matt McPhearson went 3 for 4 and scored twice, and Cesar Carrasco went 3 for 5.