D-backs Affiliates Show Offensive Outburst and Display MLB Depth

The Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league affiliates performed well on Saturday. Some high scoring offense highlighted the day's slate, but a few standout pitching performances deserve a call to attention as well.

I take a dive into what happened, and what player performances stood out at each minor league level.

Minor League Action:

Triple-A: Reno Aces 11, Albuquerque Isotopes 1

The Aces were the biggest offensive story of the day, defeating the Isotopes by a margin of 10 runs. With multiple major league options filling the lineup, it is almost no surprise that Reno has managed to slug to an incredible level.

Saturday's star was young infielder Blaze Alexander who is coming off a rehab assignment and has been scorching hot, hitting to a .922 OPS. The 25 year old mashed two home runs against Albuquerque, driving in three runs by himself.

Some other potential MLB contributors were alongside him. Jake McCarthy, who has already spent time in the big leagues during 2025, continues to impress in the minors. He went two for three, scoring two runs and driving in another pair.

Ildemaro Vargas who was a finalist for the utility man role during spring training also drove in four runs on two hits, extending his lead on the Reno Aces RBI record.

The Aces opted for a bullpen game, showcasing a couple lefties which could see time in the big league in Kyle Backhus and Jake Rice. Rehabbing Kevin Ginkel also made an appearance, throwing a scoreless inning and striking out one batter as he works his way back to the big leagues.

Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles played two seven-inning games on Saturday against the San Antonio Missions, making up Friday's postponement

Game 1

Amarillo jumped out in front to an early 4-0 lead with two in the first and two in the second. LuJames Groover had an RBI single and Kristian Robinson stayed hot, blasting a two-run homer, his fifth of the season.

The Missions tied it up in the fifth however with three runs against the struggling Roman Angelo, who gave up four runs in five innings. That actually lowered his ERA to 10.13.

Jose Fernandez, hit a Texas League double to right to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Alfred Morillo worked around two walks to record his second save. He has a 3.68 ERA.

Game 2

Groover continued his onslaught against Texas League pitching by blasted two home runs during the match, part of a three hit outing. This raised his 2025 Batting average to .343 and OPS to 1.010, seemingly another step towards his quickly ascending path to the big leagues.

JINKIES! ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR LUJAMES GROOVER! pic.twitter.com/yigmfdhHYW
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 27, 2025

Other home runs came off the bats of Manuel Pena and Gavin Conticello, with both continuing to impress offensively for Amarillo.

Starter Jose Cabrera performed quite well. The 22 year old right-hander went six frames, allowing three runs but striking out seven hitters earning himself the win.

Behind him was Jhosmer Alvarez pitched one inning, striking out two hitters. This earned him his first save of 2025, as Amarillo's record improved to 8-12 with the sweep.

High-A: Hillsboro Hops 4, Tri-City Dust Devils 3

The Hops delivered another exciting win as they took a close match against the Tri-City Devils. This came on the back of recently drafted Mason Marriott who in his professional debut season has impressed considerably.

The 22 year old right-hander struck out six in six scoreless frames, allowing only three hits. This dropped his ERA to a fantastic 2.29 across 19.2 innings in 2025.

The offense also took shape, with a pair of RBI doubles early in the game from Jackson Feltner and Demitrio Crisantes. Fellow top prospect Druw Jones also reached base twice, scoring a key run, and still batting a strong .296 on the year.

The Dust Devils rallied back against the Hillsboro bullpen, sending the game to extra innings. In the 10th however the Hops walked things off on a throwing error, allowing Cristofer Torin to reach, and Anderson Rojas to score the winning run.

Class-A: Visalia Rawhide 4, Lake-Elsinore Storm 8

The Rawhide were the sole loser throughout the D-backs' minor league system on Saturday, falling to a record of 7-13 for 3rd in the California League South.

Starting pitcher Wilkin Paredes pitched well, going six innings and allowing only two unearned runs to score. He did, however, not strike out a single batter during his outing, raising some questions on his ability to fool batters going forward. He has just five strikeouts in 20.1 innings on the season.

The biggest blow of the game came against 20 year old Joangel Gonzalez who surrendered three earned runs in only .1 innings of work. He walked three batters without striking any out, blowing the save opportunity, and raising his ERA to 5.40.

In terms of offense the Rawhide continue to sit in a lull. Top prospect and Visalias best bat in Slade Caldwell was held hitless in four at-bats, leaving the rest of the struggling lineup with a mountain to climb.

A home run from catcher Alberto Barriga, and a two-RBI game from Yerald Nin gave the club a shot. Abdias De La Cruz also recorded a pair of hits, but was stranded each time.