Druw Jones Shelved with Hamstring Strain

Jones will miss more time due to another injury, plus some performance update from the organization's top prospects.

Outfield prospect Druw Jones was pulled from his rehab assignment in the complex and reverted to the 7-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Jones will be sidelined until the "middle of next month" according to Nick Piecoro. It's the same leg that he suffered a quad strain on April 19th. Between Visalia and the complex, he's played just 14 games and has only one extra base hit.

Speaking of outfield prospects, we'll also will discuss how Kristian Robinson has done with Visalia. In 20 games he's hitting .243 with two home runs and a .717 OPS. Fangraphs rates his production at the plate as 1% better than the average hitter for the league with a 101 wRC+. The swing-and-miss issues still exist, with a 33% strikeout rate in 88 plate appearances. It may take a while before he fully adjusts to the grind of the minor leagues as a prospect who has missed the last three seasons. 

Top Prospect Performances of the Week

Brandon Pfaadt (No. 1) carved up the Albuquerque Isotopes on Saturday, allowing just one run on a solo home run in seven innings while striking out seven. Since being sent down to Reno, Pfaadt has a 3.16 ERA in 25 2/3 innings and a 27/8 strikeout to walk ratio in five starts. He'll need to continue to go deep into starts, as he's only cleared six innings three times, with two of them coming in his past two starts.  

Ivan Melendez (No. 14) had a big week for Hillsboro, batting .393 (11-for-28) with seven extra base hits and two home runs to fuel their offense. After a slow start to the year and a couple injuries, he's batting .279 with 14 home runs on the season. On Friday, he hit for the cycle, although it took a post-game scoring change for it to become official While the strikeout rate for the season sits just under 33%, it's starting to trend in the positive direction as he only punched out five times in 28 plate appearances. The biggest key in his development is to reduce the amount of swings and misses, because the other parts of his game will play in the big leagues.

Melendez was also named the Northwest League Player of the Week by Minor League Baseball.

#Dbacks No. 7 prospect Ivan Melendez hit .393 with two homers, four doubles, five RBIs and 23 total bases for @HillsboroHops. pic.twitter.com/WFILKTXMgY

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 26, 2023

Cristofer Torin (No. 18) might be the D-backs top prospect in the complex, as he continues to rake against young and inexperienced pitchers. In the past week, he collected six hits, six walks, and a home run. On the season, Torin is batting .304 with five extra base hits and a 6/10 strikeout to walk ratio. In two summers, he's shown an exceptional eye at the plate along with good bat to ball skills. There may be a solid chance he finishes the year with Visalia if he keeps up this pace.

Yu-Min Lin (No. 7) struck out 10 and didn't allow an earned run in six innings against Everett on Saturday. Not only was his signature changeup on display, but he also flashed some quality breaking pitches and spotted the fastball to the corners of the zone. Lin has the profile for a back of the rotation starter who is adept at moving the ball and changing speeds for his age, but smaller physical profile doesn't lend well for future velocity gains.