Diamondbacks Minor Leagues Recap 05/21/22: Lawlar likes em raw.

Triple A: Las Vegas Aviators 4, Reno Aces 5

Ace of the Day: Seth Beer went 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 RBI.

The Aces got back into the W column after beating the divisional leaders in the PCL West in extra innings in a game where both teams got 9 hits. A well-fought victory from the Aces who struck early against Adrian Martinez, currently ranked #22 on the Oakland A’s MLB Pipeline’s Top 30, with a Seth Beer homerun that also brought home Dominic Fletcher in the 2nd inning.

The Aces used the bullpen for this game, with Edwin Uceta issueing 3 free passes in 2 innings of work, but without further damage. That was followed up by clean performances from Taylor Widener and Paul Fry, recently acquired from the Orioles.

But Humberto Mejía let the Aviators back in the game, giving up 4 runs over 2 innings of work, raising his ERA to an unhealthy 9.60. In the 8th inning the Aces made the most of a series of singles and ground outs to get back to 4-4.

In the 10th it was the Manfred man who’d bring in the winning point when after intentional walks to Beer and Stone Garrett, Canzone reached base on a throwing error from shortstop Vimael Machín, letting Channy Ortiz cross home plate and giving Miguel Aguilar the win. Channy Ortiz was promoted the other day all the way up from Visalia Rawhide in a, maybe, all or nothing assignment?

Double A: Tulsa Drillers 6, Amarillo Sod Poodles 5

Happy Poodle: Leandro Cedeño, the DH, went 2 for 2 with two walks and a run.

The Drillers lead Double A and currently have 10 of the Dodger’s MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects on their roster. It was already the 11th time these teams met in this season, so they pretty much know each other by now and it should be no surprise that the Drillers with all that talent once again ended the day with a win over the Sod Poodles.

But the Sod Poodles gave a hell of a fight against Bobby Miller, currently the Dodger’s #2 talent and #53 nation wide according to MLB Pipeline. Both he and one of our top prospects, Bryce Jarvis, went 4 innings, both giving up 4 runs.

So it ended up on who had the longest breath, and that proved to be the Drillers. Josh Green, struggling in AA after struggling in AAA, gave up a double and a HBP that were brought both home by yet another one of those Dodger top prospects, Jacob Amaya, on a single in the 6th inning. That proved to be too much for the Sod Poodles. Both teams ran out of gas after that 6th inning and although the Sod Poodles got the tying run at 2nd in the 9th, they never came close to tying the game again. Corbin Carroll had a quiet evening for a change, with a walk, a stolen base and a run. Both teams got 8 hits, but the Sod Poodles also had 2 errores. It’s all in the details.

High A: Hillsboro Hops 4, Everett AquaSox 9

Hippety-Hop: Tristin English, playing 3B, went 2 for 3 with two walks, a run and an RBI.

The Hops were blown away by the Seattle Mariner’s High A affiliate who are currently ranked last in the Northwest League. That brings the Hops back to .500 which might reflect well the so-so season they are having this year.

The Hops had a tough assignment facing Mariner’s MLB Pipeline’s #10 prospect and lefty Adam Macko, although they got a run off him in the 3rd inning, at that moment tying the game at 1.

But in the 4th and 5th the AquaSox feasted off Hops’ starter Kenny Hernandez, back in Hillsboro after starting the season not so well in Amarillo. In the 4th a single, walk and double all crossed home plate giving Everett a 4-1 lead. An inning later a walk and two homeruns put the AquaSox at 7-1 and definitely out of sight. In the final two innings the Hops were able to start something and clawed some runs back, but too little and too late.

Single A: Lake Elsinore Storm 6, Visalia Rawhide 7

Like em raw: Jordan Lawlar will soon be up for a promotion after going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs, raising his average to .352 and the OPS to 1.049.

There isn’t much to like this year in Visalia, but they at least have Jordan Lawlar, Wilderd Patiño and Deyvison de los Santos. It is no surprise that these 3, batting in the heart of the lineup, propelled the Rawhide to another victory. That won’t change their outlook much, because Visalia is dead last in the California League, but winning against the San Diego Class A team and seeing the top prospects perform is something the 2,000 spectators will have enjoyed.

And getting the victory they got might have been pretty much unexpected as the Rawhide were expected to square off against Víctor Lizarraga, according to MLB Pipeline the Padres’ #13 prospect. Lizarraga was terribly wild, especially in the 1st inning, and the Rawhide took early advantage with back-to-back homeruns from Patiño and Lawlar.

They added to that with a 3 run homerun from De los Santos in the 3rd, after singles from Chen and Lawlar, extending the lead to 5-0. In the bottom of the 4th moar runs as Lawlar brought home two more.

But by then those RBI were already much needed as the Rawhide starter Yaifer Perdomo had become increasingly more wild as well and had given up 4 runs in the top of the 4th. After those 4 innings with pitcher changes and a 7-4 lead for Visalia, things settled down a bit. In the top of the 9th Lake Elsinore had already come back to 7-5 and although Junior Mieses clinched the save, he had people jumping in their seats because of the nerves after giving up a lead off homerun and with runners on first and second before getting the final out.