Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 8/10: Brad Allen Tosses No-Hitter

South Bend's Bradley Allen tossed a no-hitter for South Bend last night, and it was nearly a perfect game if not for a walk to the 3rd batter of the game. The 24-year-old minor league free agent signed in the off-season struck out 9 batters. It's hard to say anyone saw this coming. Allen wasn't drafted in 2012 and played for a couple of Independent League teams with some success before the Diamondbacks signed him prior to the 2013 season. He hasn't been having a particularly stellar season but he has flashed some ability from time to time. Consistency has been his main issue as his peripherals are actually pretty decent. He has 82 Ks and 29 walks in 106 innings. He has a respectable BAA of .223 allowing 88 hits in his 106 innings. The HR rate isn't great but it's not terrible either with 11 total home runs allowed. It's not like he's getting BABIP'd to death either at .268. To demonstrate the inconsistency, on June 26 he pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed 7 earned runs. On July 2 he pitched 7 innings of 1-hit ball with no walks. Go figure. He's a little old for the level so I'm not seeing some magical future for him. But for one night at least the magic was there and no one can ever take away the fact that Brad Allen threw a professional no-hit game. Congrats to Brad Allen.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Brad Allen, South Bend 9 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 ER, W (7-6)
2 Stars: Colin Bray, Missoula 3 for 5, 1 R, DBL, HR (2), 4 RBI, SB
1 Star: Andrew Chafin, Mobile 5 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 ER, W (9-6)
0 Stars: Garrett Mock, Reno 2.1 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 1 K, 7 ER, L (8-7)

Triple A: Reno 7 Memphis 8. Garrett Mock got bounced around pretty good to the tune of 7 runs in less than 3 innings. The offense battled to get within one run in the 8th but couldn't get over the hump. Brad Snyder went 3 for 5 including hid 7th home run and 3 RBI. Tyler Bortnick went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI, and Ed Easley went 3 for 5. Easley is hitting .333 on the year and might be a September call-up candidate.

Double A: Mobile 14 Birmingham 2. Andrew Chafin threw 5 sharp innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits and no walks, and the offense exploded for 14 runs on 18 hits. Chafin was limited to 73 pitches and it's clear they want to keep his innings under control with the season winding down. Rawilly Gomez went 4 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI to lead the outburst. Ryan Court went 3 for 5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI. Garrett Webber went 3 for 5 with a double and 4 RBI. Nick Evans went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. The BayBears had 9 doubles in the game.

High A: Visalia 6 @ Inland Empire 2. Keith Hessler started and was wild but effective going 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks. The bullpen was superb going 3.2 innings without surrendering a run, a hit or a walk. The offense cranked out 15 hits led by Sean Jamieson and Evan Marzilli who each went 3 for 5 with a double.

Low A: South Bend 2 @ West Michigan 0. Brad Allen tossed a no-hitter with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. The offense came up with 2 runs in the 6th inning on an Andrew Velazquez walk, a Fidel Pena single, a sac bunt that turned into an error, and an RBI single by Socrates Brito. The offense only managed 4 hits in a game that only lasted 2:20.

Short Season A: Hillsboro 6 Tri-City 3. Braden Shipley started and finally went beyond 3 innings, this time going 4 as he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Shipley currently has a 7.80 ERA in his first 7 pro starts leading some to wonder why our first round pick isn't dominating at such a low level. The K/BB numbers are very good with 24 Ks and 6 walks in 19 innings. The big problem it seems is Shipley is one of those guys getting BABIP'd to death as he's currently sporting a ridiculous .451 BABIP. I wouldn't be too worried about him yet. The K/BB numbers tell a better story and he's only allowed 1 home run. The bullpen was great following Shipley with 5 shutout innings as J.R. Bradley got the win. Randy McCurry led a balanced offense going 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Rookie: Missoula 6 @ Great Falls 7.The bullpen let this one get away late as Tyler Toyfair surrendered 3 runs in the 8th inning to blow a 6-4 lead. Tom Jameson had an okay start allowing 3 runs in 5+ innings. Colin Bray had a huge game going 3 for 5 with a double, his 2nd home run and 4 RBI. Jake Mayers went 3 for 4.