Diamondbacks Minor League System Updates for Reno and Amarillo

As the minor league season winds down, here is a look at several players in the high minors to keep an eye on.

Sep 25, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar (10) gets a force out against New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

As the MLB regular season winds down, so too does the Minor League season. Here are a few notes about the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate Reno Aces and Amarillo Sod Poodles. These are the higher levels of the system and as such have a better chance to produce players that will appear in the majors soon.

The AAA Reno Aces' regular season ends on September 22nd.

Jordan Lawlar: It's not known at this time whether Lawlar will make it back in time from his hamstring injury to play in any games for the Aces. Torey Lovullo was hopeful, but also said that the team is planning for Lawlar to play Winter Baseball to make up for at-bats lost.

The Diamondbacks' top-rated prospect last played in an affiliated game on July 8th, and has just 58 plate appearances this year due to various injuries. Still just 22 years old, there is plenty of time for Lawlar to make up some at-bats playing in one of the Caribbean winter leagues and get ready for 2025.

While they're not prospects, the D-backs have two veteran catchers with MLB experience playing for Reno. Catching depth came to the forefront during Friday night's game in Houston when Jose Herrera was hurt on a backswing (he is back in the lineup Saturday however).

Michael Perez was released by the Mariners on July 9th and signed by the D-backs July 31st. In18 games, 73 PA for the Aces he's batting .424 with 10 doubles, a homer, and nine RBI. He's thrown out five of 12 base stealers. He's rated positive on defense for most of his career, but is also a lifetime .179 batter.

Andrew Knizner was selected off waivers from the Texas Rangers August 8th. A product of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, he struggled with -4 defensive runs saved for the Rangers this year. He's started 15 games at catcher for the Aces since August 9th and thrown out six of 25 base stealers while batting .274 with a .732 OPS in 67 PA.

Yilber Diaz is a player many have wondered if he should be recalled for the stretch run to work out of the bullpen. It's notable perhaps that his most recent outing on September 1st came working out of the pen in long relief. Entering in the third inning he threw four innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits, four walks and three strikeouts.

Called up to the majors midseason, he made four starts, three very good ones, and only one poor start. Overall, he posted a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. Since returning to Reno he's thrown 26.2 innings across five games, and pitched to a 3.42 ERA and .688 OPS against. He's struck out 33 and walked eight.

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, the AA affiliate in the Texas League will play their final game of the season on September 15th.

Recently promoted Gino Groover has been hot since moving from Hillsboro to Amarillo. In five games he's 9-for-21, .429 with three doubles and a homer. He hit .272 with an .817 OPS and seven homers in 40 games. He missed significant time earlier in the year with a thumb injury.

Groover has started 27 games at third base, eight at second base, and just one game at first base. He'll likely begin the 2025 season back with Amarillo, but could be in line for an early promotion to Triple-A Reno mid season, and could wind up as major league depth as early as the second half of 2025.

Yu-Min Lin, the the top ranked pitching prospect heading into the season, has had a tough year. The left-hander from Taiwan's season began with four rough starts and a 7.00 ERA and a .924 OPS against in 18 innings. Then he suffered a horrific injury when he was hit in the face by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout.

Lin had multiple facial fractures and required surgery. Since his return to the Amarillo rotation on June 14th, he's posted a 3.67 ERA in 14 starts, 68.2 innings. On the surface that appears very good for the turbocharged offensive atmosphere of the Texas League. But it should be noted he's also allowed 12 unearned runs, and has a .812 OPS against in that span. His full season ERA is 4.36 and FIP is 4.85.

Still just 21 years old, Lin may still have done enough to earn a promotion to Triple-A Reno to start the 2025 season.

Right-hander Joe Elbis is not among the organization's highly-ranked pitchers on prospect lists, but all he's done is perform in 2024. After going 7-3 and posting a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts for High-A Hillsboro he was promoted to Amarillo.

In seven AA starts he has a 3.70 ERA and a 3.78 FIP to match in 41.1 innings. Those are excellent numbers in that environment, and make him a true sleeper in the system. Elbis, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, turns 22 years old on September 24th.

Ivan Melendez has had a disappointing season repeating in AA. In 2023 he hit .275 with 12 homers and an .891 OPS in 175 PA. That was good for a 126 wRC+. The main red flag was the 35.3% strikeout rate.

In 2024 he's managed to reduce the strikeout rate slightly to 30%, and his walk rate improved from 6% to 8%. He's also knocked 20 homers, but his triple slash is a very mediocre .231/.310/.421, .731 OPS. That works out to a 106 wRC+.

The 24-year-old Melendez turns 25 in January, and is therefore considered an older prospect for his level. He's played mostly third base this season, but has been playing more first base since Groover was promoted.

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