Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 8/9: Barbosa Ks 14 in Shutout

Visalia's Andrew Barbosa had his best outing as a professional with a complete game shutout on 3 hits and 1 walk with 14 strikeouts. it's the kind of a game that could have been a no-hitter with a little luck. Barbosa has been pitching about as well as someone can pitch over the last month in which 4 of his 5 starts have been highlight reel outings. In 3 of those starts he only allowed 1 hit, and in this last one it was 14 Ks. Even the not-so-god outing was pretty decent. If Barbosa wasn't 26-years-old we'd be talking about him like Bradley or something. But he missed 2 full years in college to injury and is now clearly coming into his own. Mobile should be on the agenda immediately in my opinion and maybe he can still be someone who arrives in the big leagues at the late age of 27 or 28 and can offer 3-5 good years of pitching. Because right now, he's pitching as well or better than anyone in our system over the last month, and as a 6'-8" lefty with a classic fastball/slider repertoire there's nothing in his way going forward. Keep an eye out for him. He could arrive suddenly.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Barbosa, Visalia 9 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 0 R, W (9-7)
2 Stars: George Roberts, Hillsboro 4 for 5, 3 R, 1 HR (3), 3 RBI
1 Star: Archie Bradley, Mobile 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 K, 2 ER, W (8-5)
0 Stars: Tyler Green, South Bend 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 4 ER

Triple A: Game 1. Reno 5 Memphis 2.This was the continuation of the previous night's game that was rained out after one inning. Tyler Skaggs started that game and pitched one shutout inning before the game was called. In the continuation Charles Brewer took over and pitched the final 8 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits to get the win. Matt Davidson had a pair of doubles, Chris Owings had an RBI triple and Ed Easley went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.

Triple A: Game 2. Reno 11 Memphis 3. The Aces made it a sweep of the doubleheader with an offensive blitzkrieg. Mike Jacobs went 3 for 4 with a 2-run homer in the 1st. Tyler Bortnick went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI and 3 runs scored. Tony Campana went 2 for 3 and stole his 32nd base. And Chris Owings had a double, a walk, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. It should be noted that Owings' K rate from last year to this has improved from 23.2% to 17.6%, even though his walk rate is the same at about 4%. The small sample size advocates can point out that he has walked 4 times and struck out 9 times over his last 10 games cover 41 at bats. (Note my excitement anytime Owings walks.) The pitching was pieced together with 6 relievers holding the Redbirds to 3 runs over 7 innings.

Double A: Mobile 3 Birmingham 2. Archie Bradley was his usual dominating self with 7 strong innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. More importantly he walked none while striking out 10. He was able to celebrate that outing by going to a bar for the first (yeah, right) because he turns 21 today. Happy Birthday Archie!! Let's assume he'll celebrate his 22nd birthday at Jackson's on Third. Justin Greene led a balanced offense going 2 for 4.

High A: Visalia 2 @ Inland Empire 0. Andrew Barbosa was totally dominating with a complete game shutout on 3 hits and 1 walk with 14 Ks. Jake Lamb went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI to give Barbosa all the offense he would need.

Low A: South Bend 7 Fort Wayne 6. The Silver Hawks got out to a 7-2 lead behind 3 RBI from Breland Almadova and 2 more from Alex Glenn, and held on for dear life for a 7-6 win. Blake Perry provided 5 nervous innings allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks. Tyler Green made things more dicey when he allowed 4 runs in the 6th. But Yoimer Camacho calmed things down with 2.1 shutout innings, and Jose Jose pitched a clean 9th for his 5th save.

Short Season A: Hillsboro 15 Tri-City 4. The Hops finally got some offense going, though of course they saved it all for 1 game, with 15 runs on 20 hits. Ben Eckels had a decent outing allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 over 5 innings. George Roberts had a huge game going 4 for 5 with a 3-run homer and 3 runs scored. Randy McCurry went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI, Taylor Ratliff went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, Cesar Carrasco went 3 for 6 with a double, and Yosbel Gutierrez had a triple and 4 RBI.

Rookie: Missoula 4 @ Helena 5. Felipe Perez allowed 4 runs over 5 innings, but all 4 runs were unearned as the defense committed 6 errors, 3 by shortstop Jake Miller. The offense did well to overcome all that with 2 runs in the 9th to tie the game at 4-4. The game went all the way to the 15th before Helena scored on a walk-off sacrifice fly to end it. Eric Meyerchick and Geordy Parra each threw 3 shutout innings of relief. Antonio Alvarez went 4 for 5, Yorman Garcia went 3 for 6 with a double and an RBI, and Jake Mayers went 3 for 6. Since we hyped Jose Queliz a few days ago he is 0 for 14.

AZL Rookie: Dbacks 10 Athletics 5. Brad Keller had another solid start allowing 3 runs over 6 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. Basha High's Jamie Westbrook is swinging a hot bat and went 2 for 3 with a walk, a triple, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. he has 6 hits in his last 3 games. Justin Williams continues to produce going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Williams has 31 RBI in 34 games. Toolsy Dane McFarland went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. McFarland has struggled to start his pro career but that was expected and it's good to see a little progress as he's 4 for his last 11.