The AZL Rookie League got cranked up today meaning all 8 minor league affiliates are now in action. The AZL Dbacks have some interesting prospects worth keeping a close eye on. Second round compensation picks Marcus Wilson and Isan Diaz are the headliners and were slotted in the lineup batting 1st and 3rd respectively. Unfortunately they went 0 for 8 combined. Top international signee from 2013 Jose Herrera played his first professional game and went 1 for 2 with a triple. I'll be looking for Herrera to upgrade the organizational strength at catcher. I also expect Touki Toussaint to make his first appearance for the AZL Dbacks before long as well.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: John Omahen, South Bend 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 ER, W (2-2)
2 Stars: Daniel Palka, South Bend, 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR (11), 3 RBI
1 Star: Anderson Placido, Hillsboro 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 ER
0 Stars: Zeke Spruill, Reno 2 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 7 ER, L (3-4)
AAA: Reno 8 Oklahoma City 12. Zeke Spruill got rocked allowing 7 runs in the first 2 innings. The offense made a gallant effort to battle back but the relief corps allowed 5 more runs to end the threats. Nick Evans went 3 for 4 and Danny Dorn went 2 for 5 with his second home run.
AA: Mobile 5 @ Montgomery 3. Bradin Hagens threw 7 strong innings allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks. He was rewarded for his efforts when the offense scored 2 runs in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th. The attack was balanced with 5 different players delivering RBI. Sean Jamieson and Garrett Webber led the way with 2 hits each. Jake Lamb went 1 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.
A+: Visalia 5 San Jose 3. The Rawhide scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to break a 3-3 tie off a Rudy Flores sacrifice fly and Fidel Pena's RBI double. Spencer Arroyo had a quality start allowing 3 runs over 6 innings. J.R. Bradley got the win with a scoreless 8th and Enrique Burgos earned his 13th save with a couple of a strikeouts in the 9th.Socrates Brito went 2 for 4 with an RBI while Pena went 2 for 3. Brandon Jacobs hit his 10th home run in the 5th.
A: South Bend 8 @ Lake County 1. Six shutout innings by John Omahen combined with 3 home runs in an 11-hit attack spelled an easy win for the Silver Hawks. Stryker Trahan and Michael Perez hit solo shots in the 2nd, and Daniel Palka hit a 2-run blast in the 3rd. It was all downhill from there. Breland Almadova, Ryan Gebhardt, Trahan and Palka each had 2 hits.
A-: Hillsboro 2 Salem-Keizer 1. Anderson Placido had another fine start allowing just a solo home run over 5 innings and the bullpen was stout behind him to earn the hard-fought 2-1 walk-off victory. Alex Byo put in 3 shutout innings of work behind Placido and Dustin Loggins followed by striking out the side in the 9th. That set up Elvin Soto to deliver a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 9th. Pedro Ruiz and Todd Glaesmann each went 2 for 4 with a double.
R: Missoula 3 Great Falls 5. Trevor Mitsui hit a game-tying 2-run homer in the 6th but reliever Kevin Simmons surrendered 2 runs in the 7th that made the difference. Tyler Bolton started and allowed 3 runs over 4 innings. Dane McFarland went 2 for 4.
AZL: Dbacks 3 Giants 5. Anfernee Benitez and some shaky defense allowed 5 runs in the first 3 innings and the offense couldn't recover. Jacob Cordero had 2 errors and Isan Diaz had another. The bullpen held things in place with 5 shutout innings from Anthony Basora, Spencer Medick and Zachary Wasserman. Gerard Hernandez went 3 for 4 and Luis Veras went 2 for 3. Jose Herrera got his first professional hit, a triple that scored 2.