Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 7/22: Chafin Developing Consistency

Andrew Chafin, the somewhat forgotten left-handed pitching prospect, continued on his very solid and consistent season with a rain-shortened 7-inning complete game victory. Chafin struggled to put up high draft pick-worthy numbers for Visalia last year with some wild swings in performance. One game he would pitch 7 shutout innings with 9 Ks, the next he would walk 6 and allow a 3-run homer. It seemed he was always trying to strike everyone out and he did get the desired K results with 150 in 132 innings. But since his arrival in Mobile it almost seems like a real pitching coach has gotten hold of him and is quietly turning him into a professional pitcher. His strikeouts are down but everything else is up. His walk rate has improved, his hit rate has improved, his HR rate has improved, his ERA has improved. If the Dbacks make a deal and refuse to part with an A prospect, don't be surprised if Chafin isn't the pitching piece that others focus on. He's only 23 and he's made huge strides in his approach this year. Don't sleep on Chafin just yet.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Chafin, Mobile 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 ER, W (7-5)
2 Stars: Zeke Spruill, Reno 5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 ER
1 Star: Dustin Martin, Mobile 2 for 4, 2 DBL, 2 RBI
0 Stars: Chase Stevens, Hillsboro 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K, 7 ER

Triple A: Reno 2 @ Las Vegas 7. Zeke Spruill was superb putting up 5 shutout innings on 2 hits and 1 walk, but he was yanked from the game after just 64 pitches. It was his first start in 3 weeks hence the pitch count limit. Brett Lorin and Matt Wright followed Spruill and they got hit hard and often to make a close game a semi-rout. Tony Campana went 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI, and Alfredo Marte went 2 for 3 with a double.

Double A: Mobile 6 Montgomery 1.Andrew Chafin tossed a complete victory in a 7-inning, rain-shortened game. He's having a very solid and consistent season. The offense did its part with 2 runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings. Nick Evans led the way with a 2-run homer in the 4th, and Dustin Martin had 2 hits and 2 RBI.

Low A: South Bend 3 @ Burlington 10. The bad Jesse Darrah showed up in this one as he allowed 8 runs and the game was out of reach fairly early on. There wasn't much offense to report with the exception of Brandon Drury who had a pair of hits.

Short Season A: Hillsboro 3 Spokane 11. Ben Eckels started and had another less-than-spectacular start as he pitched okay The really bad news came when Chase Stevens took over as he got blasted for 7 runs in less than 2 innings. And that, so they say, was that. Ryan Gebhardt went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. He probably deserved some snake stars.

Rookie: Missoula 3 @ Idaho Falls 5. Most of the scoring in this one occurred late and Idaho won the bullpen battle. Reliever Bud Jeter took one for the team as he allowed 7 runs in 1+ innings. Adam Miller had a terrific start tossing 5 shutout innings before Bud Jeter came on and got waxed for 5 runs in 2+ innings of relief. The top four hitters in order each had 2 hits.