Which Amarillo Sod Poodles Emerged This Year?

Find out below which Arizona Diamondbacks prospects had a standout season for Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles

Amarillo Sod Poodles Tim Tawa (10) slides in safely at second base, in a Texas League Championship game against the Arkansas Travelers, Tuesday night, September 26, 2023, at Hodgetown, in Amarillo, Texas. The Arkansas Travelers won 6-5. / Carter Pirtle for the Amarillo Globe-News / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, season ended on September 15, 2024 or this past Sunday. Three-fourths of the team's minor league team seasons have now ended.

It was a tough year for development in the hitter-friendly Texas League and Amarillo ballpark. Yet, there were far more breakout pitchers with the Sod Poodles this year than there were hitters. Very few hitters broke out.

This is partially due to the lack of top-end prospect talent. Not many top-30 prospects played for Amarillo and the ones that did were overwhelmingly pitchers. If you expand their top 30 prospects to 40, of their top 40 prospects, five of them were pitchers on Amarillo and just three were hitters.

This is due to the fact that a lot of prospects graduated to Triple-A Reno and the players from High-A Hillsboro just recently started moving up to Double-A late in the season like Gino Groover and Gavin Conticello.

While the Sod Poodles won the Championship last year, this year, they struggled with below .500 records in both the first half and second half of the season. In total, they had an overall record of 58-79 and finished in fourth place in their division.

They ended the season on a somber note with a stifled offense and pitching woes, but that doesn't mean that there weren't still some breakout players for the Sod Poodles.

Offensive Highlights

The star player for the Sod Poodles that played nearly the entire season for them was outfielder A.J. Vukovich. He recently got promoted to Triple-A, but prior to that, played in 121 games for for Amarillo. He led the team in OPS (.800), minimum of 100 at-bats, doubles (29), RBI (80), hits (123), and strikeouts (153).

Vukovich had a slash line of .270/.342/.458/.800 with three triples, 17 home runs, and 48 walks to go with it.

Multi-position player Caleb Roberts had a strong season as well. He played catcher, DH, and left field for the Sod Poodles, but focused mostly on catching. He posted strong numbers at the plate for a catcher.

Over 113 games, he had a slash line of .243/.339/.454/.793 with 101 hits, 68 runs, a team-leading four triples, 20 doubles, 20 homers, 65 RBI, 55 walks, and 120 strikeouts. Plus, he stole 11 bases.

Ivan Melendez showcased his power with 22 homers but that was the highlight of his season. He led the team in home runs but also struck out 133 times, a 33.3% rate of his plate appearances.

Tim Tawa had 21 home runs and 64 RBI to go with a .827 OPS before moving up to Triple-A and he did this in just 105 games. He recorded 111 hits plus 22 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He was the MVP of the team prior to moving up.

Deyvison De Los Santos had a standout season before moving up to Reno and then getting traded.

Andy Weber had a terrific year, over 34 games there, but he is 27 years old and was expected to do well. The same is true for Matt Beaty who is 31 years old. Both are well past the age of prospects at Double-A.

Groover impressed in his 13-game sample at Double-A. All he did was hit and make extremely loud contact. Over 50 at-bats, he led the team in OPS with 1.000 and had a triple-slash of .340/.400/.600.

Groover recorded 17 hits, four doubles, three homers, six RBI, five walks, and struck out just nine times. He stole a base and scored eight runs. Groover has set himself up for a major year next year in Amarillo. He might be a top-100 guy by the end of next season.

Pitching Highlights

The Sod Poodles saw a lot of pitchers experience relative success to the environment and reach multiple levels this year. Yilber Diaz was one who started the year in Double-A and is now with the Diamondbacks.

Top-five prospect, left-handed starter Yu-Min Lin was effective when healthy however he missed multiple months due to facial fractures thanks to a foul ball that hit him in the face. Still, over 19 games and 94.2 innings, Lin had a good 4.28 ERA for the league and stadium.

He walked 30 and struck out 94 while allowing 104 hits but just 14 home runs. His xFIP was 3.94 indicating that he was unlucky to have such a high ERA to some degree. He had the best ERA for a starting pitcher on this team.

Left-hander Spencer Giesting started the year at High-A before excelling there and moving up to Double-A. While he throws low-90s, he's found a way to be effective at missing bats and getting outs.

He had a 4.65 ERA over 15 games and 81.1 innings and allowed 84 hits, 10 homers, and just 31 walks. He struck out 87 hitters and had a 4.27 FIP. His xFIP was even better at just 3.71. Overall, it was quite a good season for Giesting and established himself as a top 30 prospect.

Joe Elbis was another starter who climbed up from High-A to establish himself as a top 30 prospect although he had some mixed results. In eight starts and 45 innings, he had a 4.60 ERA but walked just 18 and struck out 37. Plus, he had a much lower FIP at 4.19 and xFIP at 4.20.

Elbis limited loud contact and allowed just four home runs while generating ground balls at a 43% clip. Opponents hit just .235 against him which portends to potentially future success.

Two relievers stood out among the many bullpen arms. Right handed reliever Kyle Amendt who climbed from High-A to Triple-A this year was their best reliever. He had a pit stop of 18.2 innings in Amarillo.

Over those 18.2 innings and 19 games, he had just a 2.89 ERA and allowed only eight hits and six runs while walking eight and striking out an eye-popping 30 hitters. He had a 0.86 WHIP and opponents hit just .127.

His FIP was an outstanding 2.18 speaking to how good he did there. Amendt was drafted just last year in the ninth round and is setting himself up for a potential MLB call-up next year.

The other reliever was Jake Rice, a left-hander, who at 27 years old isn't a prospect but could be knocking on Chase Field's door next year after reaching Reno this year.

Over 41 games and 49.1 innings, Rice had a 3.47 ERA and allowed only 38 hits, three homers, 27 walks, and struck out 58. His FIP was a strong 3.61. While he walked a few too many hitters, the strikeout total is impressive and speaks to his ability to miss bats and locate pitches.

The Amarillo Sod Poodles struggled this year but have plenty to look forward to for next year. They are going to be getting an influx of talent to start next season and will see even more reach their level as D-backs prospects climb the ladder over the first half of next year. It's just one more stop after this from reaching the Arizona Diamondbacks.