Plus, Deyvison De Los Santos is a beast
Due to unexpected travel, this will be a bit of a shorter update this week. Also, my apologies for not posting recaps the last couple of days.
Reno went 1-5 on the week, with credit due to a couple of big bullpen meltdowns that wasted good starting outings. Amarillo and Hillsboro both went 3-3. Visalia went 5-1, and now is the only affiliate sitting at .500 or better, with their 10-10 record somewhat (extremely) boosted by nine games against last place Inland Empire, against whom they’ve gone 8-1.
Injury Bug
The injury bug continues to bite all levels of the Diamondbacks system. With Tommy Troy going on the IL with a hamstring injury sustained about 10 days ago, and Yu-Min Lin being hit by a foul ball in the dugout, Druw Jones is the only one of the consensus top-five prospects to have avoided injury thus far. Chris Rodriguez (a pitcher in the bullpen for Reno) joined the long list of damaged snakes. And, late last night, Zane Russell gestured to his forearm while meeting with the trainer and manager before leaving the game mid at-bat. Russell is one of the potentially quick-moving arms the Diamondbacks have drafted the last couple of years. Here’s hoping that things are not as bad as they looked.
Signings
With so many players going down, new players have to come in. Chris Ellis was signed and got the start in Reno on Saturday. It didn’t go great, but it was a first appearance. Ellis is a right-handed pitcher with ten appearances (eight starts) in the majors from 2019-2021. He had shoulder surgery in 2022 and hadn’t appeared in affiliated ball since. Ellis is a Birmingham, Alabama native and went to college at Ole Miss.
The most recent signing of Ian Clarkin gives the Aces yet another story of a one-time top prospect who is still fighting his way towards the major leagues. The southpaw was drafted out of Madison High School in San Diego by the Yankees in 2013; he was drafted 33rd overall, one pick after Aaron Judge. (Also, one pick before Sean Manaea and three picks before Aaron Blair.) He’s been mostly a starter, but was working out of the bullpen for Jalisco (Mexican League) this season. His AAA numbers are dismal, with the necessary caveat that he was pitching in Albuquerque. The Diamondbacks mark his fifth major league organization.
Batter of the Week: Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B, Amarillo
How much longer De Los Santos will be terrorizing Texas League pitching before he moves up to Reno is uncertain. What is certain is that any pitchers facing the Sod Poodles will breathe multiple sighs of relief. While the Guardians probably aren’t regretting their decision to return him to the Diamondbacks (given that Josh Naylor has been one of the best bats in the majors so far) he is beginning to look more like a potential successor to Christian Walker. Yes, his defense still needs some work; so did Goldy’s and Walker’s, and they were older than De Los Santos, who is still too young to buy a beer in the US.
Anyway, this week De Los Santos went 13-for-24. He got four hits in two different games. He hit three home runs. He only struck out three times. His season slash line now stands at .395/.449/.716. Yes, he’s still struck out a lot, but 12 of his 21 strikeouts came in the first nine games of the year, and his rate has slowed since. Yes, his BABIP is .472, which is unsustainable, but if you take 11 singles away (more than half of his singles) his slash line is still .259/.326/.580. That’s an OPS of .906 with a BABIP of .264, which is a bit low. He’s going to mash.
Pitcher of the Week: Spencer Giesting, LHP, Hillsboro
Giesting was far from the only great pitching performance this week, but he deserves a call-out because he’s yet to allow an earned run this season. (And, given how poor the defense has been in Hillsboro this year, allowing only one unearned run also deserves a shout-out.) Pitching in Eugene on Wednesday, he allowed just one hit and one walk over six innings, striking out five. Although the Hops did win the game, he left guaranteed a no decision as no one scored until the eighth inning.