2019 Playoff Hero, 2020 First-Rounder Join Hops

Tristin English, who hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Hillsboro Hops franchise history, has rejoined the team, and right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi—a 2020 first-round draft choice—has also been added to the Hops’ roster. The Hops made six other roster moves between Monday’s home doubleheader and Thursday night’s game in Eugene, including placing outfielders Corbin Carroll and Dominic Canzone on the injured list. [UPDATE 11:29 PM: Carroll injured his right (non-throwing) shoulder on the follow-through of his home run on Monday night at Ron Tonkin Field. He will have surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.]

English, a third-round selection in 2019 out of Georgia Tech, joins the Hops from Arizona’s training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. He spent his first full pro year, 2019, with Hillsboro, and was a postseason hero as the Hops won their third league title in their seven-year history. With the best-of-five 2019 championship series tied 1-1, and the Game Three score 0-0 in the top of the ninth at Tri-City, English clubbed a two-run home run which proved to be the difference in the Hops’ 2-1 win. He also singled and drove home a run in Hillsboro’s 3-1 win in the decisive fifth game. According to MLBpipeline.com, English is Arizona’s #28 prospect.

Cecconi will be making his professional debut when he takes the mound to start Saturday’s game in Eugene. The Diamondbacks took him with the 33rd-overall pick in the 2020 draft out of the University of Miami. He spent the summer of 2020 pitching at Arizona’s alternate training site as part of the D-backs’ 60-player pool. With a fastball that tops out at 97-98 and a slider considered one of the best in the Arizona system, he has been tabbed as the Diamondbacks’ #6 prospect, and #2 pitcher.

Right-hander Luis Frias has been promoted to Double-A Amarillo. Frias was dominant in his two starts for the 2021 Hops, going 2-0 with an ERA of 0.82. He allowed just five hits and one run in 11 innings, with four walks and 15 strikeouts.

Another right-hander, Denson Hull, was sent to Low-A Visalia. Hull worked in two games for the Hops, allowing four runs on three hits in 3.1 innings.

Left-handed pitcher Julio Frias—no relation to Luis Frias, though both are from the Dominican Republic—has been added to the Hops’ roster from the Arizona complex. He was acquired last September from the Miami Marlins as the player-to-be-named-later in the trade that sent Starling Marte to Miami. A seventh-year pro, Frias will be making his Diamondbacks’ organizational debut.

Infielder D.J. Burt has also joined the Hops and will be making his first appearance in the Arizona chain. Originally a 2014 fourth-round draft choice by the Kansas City Royals out of high school in North Carolina, Burt spent the first six years of his career in the K.C. chain, reaching Double-A in 2019. In his last season in High-A ball, with Wilmington N.C. in 2018, he hit .280 and stole 32 bases. The D-backs signed him as a minor-league free agent on April 5th.

Carroll and Canzone have gone to Arizona to be evaluated by the Diamondbacks’ medical staff. Including Canzone and Carroll, the Hops’ roster now stands at 31 players—16 pitchers and 15 position players.