Diamondbacks Minor League Report: April 22, 2023

The Diamondbacks minor league affiliates combined for a record. Both Reno and Hillsboro played seven-inning doubleheaders to make up games lost earlier in the week due to weather.

We also have a couple injury updates on a pair of Top 10 prospects. Outfielder Druw Jones (No. 4) and infielder Ivan Melendez (No. 10) were placed on the 7-day injured list. Jones suffered a right quad strain in Wednesday's game and will be out for a couple weeks. Melendez was hit in the head by a pitch in the fourth inning of last night's game. According to Josh Barfield, Director of Player Development, nothing is broken and he is in good spirits, but is being evaluated for a concussion. 

Triple-A: Reno Aces

The Aces split a doubleheader, losing the first game 4-3 in extra innings and winning the second game 3-2. Reno's record improves to 9-10 on the year.

Slade Cecconi allowed three consecutive solo home runs with one out in the first inning, but settled in to deliver six innings with two walks and five strikeouts for Reno in Game 1. His fastball sat 88-95 MPH and used his slider as his main secondary pitch, with both offerings generated a called strike or a swing-and-miss over 30% of the time. 

Dominic Fletcher went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, hitting a third inning double that keyed a two-run inning. Both his double and a deep flyout registered as barrels on Statcast, hitting more than 101 MPH exit velocity. With two more hits in Game 1, Fletcher is now hitting .290 with a .902 OPS and a 10.5% barrel rate in 17 games with Reno. 

Justin Martinez fired two scoreless innings and struck out four batters in Game 2. Martinez's fastball was 97-101 MPH and he was throwing it for strikes. Since batters had to cheat to get his high velo fastball, his two secondary pitches generated three whiffs on four swings. 

Double-A: Amarillo Sod Poodles

Amarillo got shutout for the second night in a row, 5-0, as the Sod Poodles managed only three hits in this game. They fall to 7-7 on the season.

Ryan Bliss walked and doubled in his first two trips to the plate. That was Bliss' first walk of the season and the double keeps his batting average north of .400 for the season. 

High-A: Hillsboro Hops

The Hops were swept in their doubleheader, pushing their losing streak to seven games right after a six-game winning streak that got them off to a 6-1 start. Hillsboro is now 6-8 on the season.

Yu-Min Lin allowed just one run in three innings, throwing 46 pitches on his second start of the season in Game 2. Lin allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out 4 on the start. It was a nice bounce back outing after the prospect from Taiwan had a rough outing in his first start. 

Low-A: Visalia Rawhide

Visalia won their fifth game in a row, defeating Stockton 7-2 after scoring six runs between the fourth and sixth inning. The Rawhide held Stockton to just one hit in the entire game. Their record sits at 8-6 on the season.

Alvin Guzman had another strong game, collecting three hits, a double, drove in a run, and scored a run. As a result of this recent hot streak, Guzman is hitting .311 on the year with a .948 OPS. 

Andrew Pintar had two hits, a double, a walk and a run scored from the cleanup spot in the order.