Dbacks Minor League Round-Up 8/5: Velazquez Coming On

Drafted in the 7th round last year infielder Andrew Velazquez was a pleasant surprise coming out of the gate. He put up some impressive numbers in the AZL Rookie League as an 17-year-old hitting .319 with a .906 OPS. That earned him a promotion to Missoula for their playoff stretch run playing shortstop in the middle of some high leverage situations. That in turn got him aggressively placed to South Bend this year where he struggled early on over the first three months hitting in the low .200s for most of the season. he didn't turn 19 until a few weeks ago and since then has started coming on and showing what he can do. Over his last 10 games he's hitting .343 with a .425 OBP and an .882 OPS. Odds are he'll be repeating at the same level next season with a chance for a mid-season promotion to High A if he performs well.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Kevin Medrano, Visalia 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 DBL, 2 RBI
2 Stars: Brandon Drury, South Bend 3 for 7, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 DBL
1 Star: Henry Garcia, South Bend 4 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 ER, W (7-0)
0 Stars: Trevor Cahill, Reno 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 6 ER

Triple A: Reno 3 @ New Orleans 7. Trevor Cahill made another rehab start and this one left a little to be desired. He was doing okay until the 5th inning which he couldn't escape before allowing 6 runs. He surrendered 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 home runs on the night. My guess is he needs another start before returning to the roster. Ed Easley had 3 hits and Matt Davidson went 2 for 4 with a double.

Double A: Mobile - Rained Out

High A: Visalia 10 San Joe 6. The offense cranked it up to overcome an early 6-2 deficit with 5 runs in the 6th and 2 more in the 7th. Kevin Medrano had a big day going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI. Steve Rodriguez hit a 2-run homer and walked twice. Eddie McKiernan got the win overcoming some early difficulties and some porous defense to get through 7 innings allowing 6 runs (3 earned) and getting the win.

Low A: South Bend 8 Bowling Green 7. The Silver Hawks used some more baseball magic to win a wild one in 15 innings. After giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th, the offense got it right back with 3 in the top of the 9th to tie it and send the game to extra innings. Rudy Flores hit a 2-run homer in that 9th inning and Roidany Aguila followed that with the game-tying homer. Fidel Pena delivered the game-winner on his own in the 15th when he singled, stole second, took 3rd on a throwing error and scored on a sac fly by Breland Almadova. Starter Brad Allen wasn't too good allowing 4 runs over 5 innings, and Yoimer Camacho surrendered 3 more in his 3 innings. But TYler Green, Henry garcia and Jose Jose were electric delivering 7 shutout innings on 2 hits with 9 Ks. Garcia alone went 4 innings and struck out 6 for the win. Carter Bell also contributed a nice game going 3 for 6 with a walk, a double and an RBI.

Short Season A: Hillsboro - Off Day

Rookie: Missoula 1 Billings 4. Starter Blayne Weller was so-so allowing 4 runs over 5 innings. The bullpen was great especially Eric Meyerchick who tossed 3 shutout innings. But the offense couldn't get it going picking up just 5 hits.