Dbacks MiLB Round-Up 5/19: Velazquez and Triples

It's always been said that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Well the Dbacks have their own triples machine in South Bend shortstop Andrew Velazquez. Drafted in the 7th round in 2012 at the age of 17 Velazquez has taken another step forward in his development as he seeks to pass the host of shortstop prospects in front of him. Last night he went 3 for 6 with a double and 2 triples giving him 8 triples in just 40 games. In 148 professional games to date he has 19 triples, an astounding number. Those are Willie Wilson type numbers. All you youngsters don't remember him but look up his stats, he's a nice comp for Velazquez even though Wilson was an outfielder. Speed is a major part of his game and has 9 stolen bases on the year. That should put him somewhere in the mid-20s by season's end and he's a candidate to increase those totals as he matures. I rate him a future 30-40 stolen base guy. Velazquez is on a nice hot streak right now hitting .381 over his last 10 games with a 1.060 OPS. He's really coming into his own and is working his way up my prospect list.

Snake Stars
3 Stars: Andrew Velazquez, South Bend 3 for 6, 2 R, 1 DBL, 2 TPL, 3 RBI
2 Stars: Evan Marzilli, Visalia 3 for 4, 1 R, 2 DBL, 2 RBI
1 Star: Sean Jamieson, Mobile 2 for 5, 1 R, 2 DBL, 1 RBI
0 Stars: Henry Garcia, Visalia 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 5 ER

AAA: Reno 0 @ Tacoma 11. Bo Schultz got rocked. Offense was non-existent. End of story.

AA: Mobile 5 Chatanooga 6. Michael Lee was okay allowing 3 runs over 5 innings. Relievers gave up solo tallies in the 6th and 7th that tied the game. Jake Barrett and Jimmie Sherfy got the game to the 11th even though Sherfy walked the bases full in the 10th. But Blake Cooper lost it in the 11th. Jon Griffin went 2 for 4 and hit his 5th home in the 5th inning. Sean Jamieson had a pair of doubles while Jake Lamb and Dustin Martin each went 2 for 5.

A+: Visalia 8 San Jose 12. Aaron Blair started and got bounced around some allowing runs in 4 of the 5 innings he pitched. He left the game after 5 clinging to a 6-5 lead but Henry Garcia imploded in the 6th allowing 5 runs and the game was lost. Evan Marzilli went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to lead the offense. Brandon Drury hit his 9th home run, a 2-run shot in the 1st. Rudy Flores and Ryan Court had identical lines of 2 for 4 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Socrates Brito added a pair of singles.

A: South Bend 12 @ West Michigan 5. The Silver Hawks dug themselves a 5-1 hole after 4 innings but the offense exploded after that scoring 11 runs over the final 5 frames. Andrew Velazquez led the way with a double, 2 triples and 3 RBI. Michael Perez went 2 for 4 with a double and newly-acquired Marty Herum went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI in his debut. Hector Hernandez went 6 innings allowing 5 runs, but only one of those was earned.