Aces Roster Continues to Take Shape

Infielders Andy Young, Wyatt Mathisen, Kevin Cron, and two right-handed pitchers Taylor Clarke and Jon Duplantier were optioned to Reno from Arizona this month.

Young was optioned on March 9. He is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the D-backs’ No. 21 prospect in the farm system. He split last season between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Reno.

In 68 games with the Aces, the 25-year-old featured a .280 average, while hitting 21 home runs, and driving in 53 runs. During August, he enjoyed his best month of the season hitting .348 from the dish, totaling 10 home runs and 26 RBIs in 28 games. MiLB.com named him as an Organizational All-Star during the 2019 season and he was added to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster in November.

The 37th round pick was acquired by the D-backs’ in the deal that shipped Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018. During 2020 Spring Training, he hit .350 with four runs scored, two RBIs, and a double while also hitting a home run in 20 at-bats

Mathisen, also optioned on March 9, is a former 2012 second-round selection out Calallen HS in Texas. He appeared in 87 games with the Aces during the 2019 campaign and went .283 from the plate. He also added 23 home runs and 61 RBIs.

During June, he went .348 from the plate while also adding in 11 home runs and 28 RBIs in 25 games. MiLB.com named him to the Organizational All-Star team during 2019. In November, he was named to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster.

During nine spring training games this season, he hit .429 with one home run and five RBIs while adding in four runs.

Duplantier was optioned to Reno on March 20. He enters the 2020 season as the 13th rated prospect for the Diamondbacks according to MLB.com. The right-hander went 1-2 with a 5.21 ERA in 13 outings last season in Reno. He held opposing hitters to a .233 average during his time with the Aces. With the D-Backs a season ago, he had 15 appearances going 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA.

His 2017 campaign was amazing. He split the season between Kane County and Visalia. In 13 appearances for Kane County, he went 6-1 with a 1.24 ERA. He then went to Visalia, and went 6-2 with a 1.56 ERA in 12 starts and held opposing hitters to a .204 average. He was named as MLBPipeline.com Pitcher of the Year in 2017, as well as receiving Baseball America Minor League All-Star, and Futures Game selection accolades.

Infielder Kevin Cron was assigned to Reno on March 26. He posted a .241 average with three home runs during 14 games this Spring Training. His 2019 was quite possibly the best in team history as he hit .331 in 82 games last year with the Aces to go with a franchise-record 38 home runs and 105 RBIs.

He enters the season as the 26th prospect in the organization according to MLB.com. The 27-year-old hit six home runs last season after making his big-league debut in May with the Diamondbacks and added in 12 runs scored in 39 games.

Taylor Clarke enters his fourth season in Triple-A after being optioned on March 26. He spent a majority of last season with Arizona. He went 5-5 with a 5.31 ERA in 23 outings, 15 of which were starts for the D-backs. He made history during his Major League debut on April 20 against the Chicago Cubs becoming the first pitcher ever to record a save and hit during their debut.

Clarke is top-10 in almost every major Aces pitching category. He’s fourth in wins with 19, sixth in career strikeouts with 184, and eighth in innings pitched with 222.1.

Young, Mathisen, and Cron look to be staples in the Aces order when the season gets underway. The club will also likely rely on Clarke and Duplantier in the rotation during their chase for a Pacific Coast League Championship this season.