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Today's slate of minor league games featured top pitching prospects Archie Bradley, Anthony Banda, and Taylor Clarke. Bradley and Clarke both pitched well and could be in line for a potential promotion if they pitch well in the first two months. In the 4 games, the Dbacks split them 2-2 and got terrific pitching performances in 3 of them.
3 Stars: Jack Reinheimer (Reno) 3 for 5, HR (1), 4 RBI
2 Stars: Archie Bradley (Reno) 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K
1 Star: Taylor Clarke (Kane County) 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K
0 Stars: Wil Locante (Mobile) 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Reno 8, El Paso 0: The Aces quickly jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning and lead 5-0 after two innings while cruising to victory. Archie Bradley took the mound for the Aces and delivered 6 shutout innings while the offense made quick work of Jeremy Guthrie. Jack Reinheimer and Tuffy Gosewisch pounded homeruns for the Aces, with the former also picking up two more RBIs for a grand total of 4. Bradley was able to keep the opponent off the scoreboard, but the three walks still give some caution since command has been his biggest red flag in his pro career.
Mobile 3, Tennessee 7: The Baybears wasted no time taking the lead with 3 consecutive singles from Todd Glaesmann, Mitch Haniger, and Kevin Cron in the top of the 1st. In the bottom of the 1st, Anthony Banda seems to have caught the same bug that affected the Dbacks starting pitchers with 3 runs allowed with 2 HR. Banda struggled in this game, having to deal with a lot of traffic on the bases and caused his pitch count to climb quickly. Overall, he pitched 4 innings, allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks to go with 6 strikeouts. An ugly 5th inning where Banda, Wil Locante, and Nick Sarianides gave up a combined 4 runs with 3 of them coming on a bases loaded double. The bats were equally as bad, with only 5 singles to show for it. In other news, Dbacks 2B prospect Jamie Westbrook started off 0 for 4 in his AA debut.
Visalia 2, Bakersfield 1: This game turned out to be a pitcher's duel between Josh Taylor and Andrew Moore. Taylor allowed 4 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 5 for the Rawhide. The main form of offense came from Chuck Taylor, who is 2 for 4 with his first Visalia homer and double. Stryker Trahan pitched in a double in the 7th inning, which led to the go-ahead rally when Henry Castillo drew a bases loaded walk. Jimmy Sherfy pitched a shaky 9th, but was able to strand the tying run at 3rd to preserve the victory.
Kane County 1, Clinton 2: The Cougars opened up with a walk and single, with Luke Lowery driving in the first run on a groundout. Spotted with a 1-0 lead, starter Taylor Clarke pitched very well. Clarke went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 hitters. If he continues to pitch well in the first two months, his stay in Kane County might not be very long after being one of better starting pitchers in college last year. The Cougars were not able to sustain offense, with only 7 hits and Luke Lowery getting the only extra base hit in the game with a double in the 6th.