Sod Poodles win second TL crown in five years
Amarillo set up shop as a Double-A affiliate five years ago, and the Sod Poodles have scored two Texas League championships in that time. The second one was secured by D-backs affiliate in grand fashion Wednesday night. Behind a bases-loaded homer by Camden Duzenack, the Amarillo Sod Poodles routed the
Duzenack begins must-see double play for Amarillo
Tuesday night brought one of the craziest double plays that you’ll ever see in professional baseball. In a Texas League semifinal game at Hodgetown Stadium in Amarillo between Double-A Amarillo (D-backs) and San Antonio (Padres), Amarillo shortstop Camden Duzenack started a seemingly impossible play that you have to see with
Hops live out dream with Copa mascot
An alebrije is a spirit animal in Mexican culture, one with a predilection for dreams. And so with High-A Hillsboro's new Copa de la Diversión mascot, an alebrije named Bacaanda, the Hops -- whose Copa identity is the Soñadores, or "Dreamers" -- are paying homage to all their fans who
Get a Lawlar! D-backs calling up top prospect
PHOENIX -- Jordan Lawlar will be making his long-awaited arrival to the Major Leagues. The D-backs called up their top prospect from Triple-A Reno after their 12-5 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday afternoon. He will join the team in Chicago, where Arizona will play the Cubs in a crucial
Lawlar's latest firsts: Multihomer game, playing 3rd
Two home runs in the span of three innings, all while fielding an unfamiliar position. That's just the latest installment in the tale of Jordan Lawlar's tear through the upper Minors. When MLB's No. 10 overall prospect was promoted to Triple-A Reno in mid-August, Lawlar hit the ground running --
Druw Jones goes ahead and hits first homer
Just over 13 months removed from when the D-backs made him the second overall pick in the 2022 Draft, Druw Jones has his first professional home run. MLB’s No. 35 prospect notched the milestone in style. With Single-A Visalia knotted in the top of the ninth inning, Jones got an
Easier for Lawlar to play for Reno than to get there
After spending his summer demolishing Texas League pitching for Double-A Amarillo, Jordan Lawlar headed west to Triple-A Reno and wasted no time making an impression, swatting his first Aces home run in his second at-bat during the club’s 17-12 win at Greater Nevada Field on Tuesday night. Just over hours
D-backs' Lawlar ready to come up Aces (source)
Two summers ago, Jordan Lawlar was drafted sixth overall by the D-backs as a promising 18-year-old shortstop from Texas. Now he's only one call away from The Show. MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 ranked prospect has been promoted to the Triple-A Reno Aces, a source told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert on Sunday.
Lawlar, Lee show out in Texas League tilt
The stars were big and bright in Amarillo, Texas, as the Double-A Sod Poodles and Wind Surge faced off Wednesday in a game with a combined seven Top 30 prospects from the D-backs and Twins organizations, including each club's top-ranked player. Arizona's No. 1 prospect Jordan Lawlar and Minnesota's top-ranked
Melendez brings long ball streak home to Texas
Ivan Melendez can’t stop mashing in the Yellow City. The seventh-ranked D-backs prospect, who has homered in all of his last four games, went yard twice Tuesday night en route to Double-A Amarillo's 10-7 win over Wichita at HODGETOWN. But Melendez was reaching the fences before the All-Star break …
Sod Poodles celebrate 527-foot homer in style
On July 16, 2022, Leandro Cedeño of the Amarillo Sod Poodles took a mighty hack at a 3-0 pitch in his third trip to the plate. Instantly, knowing he had crushed it, he sauntered out of the box and took a well-earned trot around the bases. Little did he know,
MiLB Player of the Week Spotlight: Melendez
If there were any questions about why Ivan Melendez was nicknamed the "Hispanic Titanic" coming out of Texas, those were answered -- with an exclamation point -- last week. The seventh-ranked D-backs' prospect pulverized the ball over six games for High-A Hillsboro en route to being named the Minor League
The Road to The Show™: Futures Game rosters
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. A marquee event on the baseball calendar has come into focus with Monday’s announcement of the 2023 SiriusXM
Meet the 2023 Road to The Show Ambassadors
The Nationwide Road to the Show™ Ambassadors series, which provides fans an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at four of the best prospects in Minor League Baseball, returns for a third season in 2023.
Rawhide record two outs ... on a double?!
Some might call it your typical, run-of-the-mill, 9-4-2 double play. But it wasn't even that. Single-A Visalia didn't just record two outs on the play, the outs were made on what was officially scored a double and both players were tagged out at home plate. This was special. D-backs' prospects
Lawlar hits one to Sod Poodles' parking lot
Someone might have a windshield to replace in Amarillo. Jordan Lawlar crushed a 1-0 fastball from A's left-hander David Leal to lead off the fourth inning of Double-A Amarillo's 11-9 loss to Midland and sent it flying an estimated 471 feet to center and into the parking lot at 105
Hillsboro, Vancouver woman coaches make history
On paper, it was the start of a typical six-game series between the Hillsboro Hops and the Vancouver Canadians. On the field, it was anything but typical -- at least for now. For the first time at the High-A level, two women coaches faced off against each other when Ronnie
Hager, Reno offense come up Aces in rout
Not a single batter in Triple-A Reno's lineup went hitless on Thursday. And Jake Hager, well, he was just powerful perfection at the plate. Keyed by the shortstop's five-hit, eight-RBI night, the Aces racked up a 24-2 victory over visiting Sugar Land. Reno ended up one run short of the
Lawlar of the land: It's never too late to rally
AMARILLO, Texas – No lead is safe in HODGETOWN, a hitters' haven where ERAs and slugging percentages increase in identical measure. But this is ridiculous. After trailing, 11-1, entering the bottom of the seventh inning, top D-backs prospect Jordan Lawlar hit a three-run homer as part of a seven-run eighth
Lawlar slugs, dashes, wows for Calf Fries
A special night in Double-A Amarillo got a little added juice thanks to the talents of Jordan Lawlar. Baseball's No. 9 prospect homered, made a slick defensive play and swiped his fourth base of the year to lead the Sod Poodles, er, Calf Fries, to a 5-3 win over the
D-backs' Gajownik Hops into the history books
John Swanda delivered, Wilderd Patino watched it and Brendan Tinsman framed it to no avail. A first pitch like thousands of others in baseball history ... only there was nothing ordinary about this contest between High-A Hillsboro and Tri-City. Ronnie Gajownik eventually watched her leadoff batter strike out, but the
Gajownik shares road to Hillsboro dugout
Last Friday, Ronnie Gajownik made baseball history when the D-backs announced her as the new Hillsboro manager for the 2023 season. That made Gajownik the first-ever woman skipper in the history of the High-A level and the second ever at any spot in the Minors after Tampa’s Rachel Balkovec took
The Show Before the Show: Episode 391
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Stitcher and other podcast-listening apps. Send questions or feedback to podcast@milb.com, and follow hosts Tyler Maun (@TylerMaun), Sam Dykstra
Gajownik named first female High-A skipper
PHOENIX -- When Ronnie Gajownik was growing up in Orlando, Fla., her dad would sometimes take her out of school to go to a Spring Training game with him. Baseball was a passion for her, but as she would stare out onto the field, there was something she didn't see
The Road to The Show™: D-backs’ Pfaadt
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at D-backs’ No. 4 prospect Brandon Pfaadt. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. It took a drastic transformation for Brandon Pfaadt