D-backs Prospect Groover Stays Hot in Amarillo's High Scoring Affair

Could a promotion be on the way soon for the Sod Poodles third baseman?

Feb 19, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder LuJames Groover (91) poses for a portrait for MLB Media Day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks affiliates went 2-2 on Friday night, with a football score highlighting one victory and a shutout the other.

Arizona Diamondbacks Affiliated Minor League Notes

Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles 17, Arkansas Travelers 15

Christian Cerda hit a ninth-inning, two-run homer to walk off the Travelers. The blast ended a wild, high-scoring, back and forth affair. The Sod Poodles jumped out to a 12-4 lead, but the Travelers scored an incredible 11 runs in the seventh inning to take a 15-12 lead. Manuel Pena's two-run triple and Tommy Troy's sacrifice fly tied the game in the eighth, setting up Cerda's game winning opportunity.

LuJames Groover went 3-for-4 including his 10th homer. Don't be surprised if Groover is promoted to Triple-A before too long. He's batting an even .300 with an .854 OPS, or 126 wRC+.

The Sod Poodles rapped out a ridiculous 21 hits and seven homers. Five hitters had three-hit games, and two more picked up two hits. Ryan Waldschmidt hit his first Double-A homer, but went 1-for-6 and is still batting just .167 for Amarillo since being promoted.

Ivan Melendez is on fire, going 3-for-4 with a homer as well. He's batting .258 with an .889 OPS. That has him up to a 132 wRC+, or roughly 32% better than league average. Notably, his strikeout rate is down to 25.1%. That's not a great number by any means, but it's a marked improvement for the 25-year-old. A bit old for his level, he may be a late bloomer.

It should be noted that the Travelers Reid Van Scoter, a 26-year-old, was left in the game to give up 10 of the Sod Poodles' runs on 14 hits in four innings of work. Four relievers who are between 26-28 years old followed. These are very old pitchers for the level.

Class-A Visalia Rawhide 4, Inland Empire 66'er 0

Junior Sanchez is a 19-year-old pitcher that's turning heads with his pitch ability and continued strong run prevention. He threw six shutout innings, giving up five hits and one walk while striking out four.

Sanchez now has a 2.40 ERA in 63.2 innings. He doesn't strike out a lot of hitters, having done so 49 times this year, which works out to a below average 18.9%. But he has a better than average 7.3% walk rate and has given up only three homers.

Outfielder Jakey Josepha went 3-for-4 with a triple and drove in three of the four runs. In 20 games since getting promoted to Visalia the 21-year old is batting .265/.351/.412, 114 wRC+ in 77 PA.

Triple-A Reno Aces 4, Salt Lake Bees 7

Spencer Giesting gave up three runs, two earned in five innings. He only allowed four hits, none of them homers, but walked five batters. His own throwing error on a pickoff attempt in a three-run second inning was the cause of the unearned run.

Giesting is having a rough go of it in Triple-A in four starts thus far. In 19.2 innings he's walked 12 batters and struck out 14 while giving up four homers. He has a 5.49 ERA and 7.24 FIP. He's still only 23 years old and this is his first taste of Triple-A.

Giesting's numbers will almost certainly improve, but it's important to note for those clamoring for the D-backs to sell before the trade deadline that there is not much, if any MLB-ready starting pitching depth in Triple-A.

Dylan Ray has a 7.32 ERA and 6.49 FIP. 21 year-old Yu-Min LIn has a 5.40 ERA and 6.65 FIP. Bryce Jarvis, who of course has experience in the MLB bullpen, has been working as a starter in Reno. He has 6.10 ERA, albeit with a more encouraging 3.5 FIP.

High-A Hillsboro Hops 4, Spokane Indians 9

It was a game to forget the Hops. Big John West had his worst game of the year, lasting only 2.2 innings and giving up nine runs, eight of them earned. He allowed 11 hits, but just one double as he unluckily gave up 10 singles. He never made it out of of a five-run third inning. West's ERA is now 5.40 for the year, but his 4.30 FIP indicates he's pitched somewhat better than that ERA indicates.

The Hops' bullpen pitched shutout baseball and the offense tried to climb out of the hole, scoring four runs. But they were handicapped by a struggling Slade Caldwell batting at the top of the order. He wore the platinum sombrero, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.

Caldewell has a .160 batting average in 68 PA. His 15 walks have allowed him to put together a .368 OBP, and his .228 BABIP might suggest some bad batted ball luck. But it's been a tough adjustment to his new level for the 19-year-old so far.

Arizona Complex League Notes

Drey Jameson made a rehab appearance, facing five batters. He gave up two hits, a walk, and struck out one. He allowed three runs, one earned.

J.D. Dix went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in a run, upping his batting average to .342 and OPS to .914. Catcher Ivan Luciano had two hits, getting his average up to .299 along with a .742 OPS.