Goldschmidt smacks 30th home run

When Paul Goldschmidt broke into professional baseball, he quickly established himself as a power-hitting prospect. Two years later, he's building on that reputation.

The Diamondbacks' No. 3 prospect went deep in the first inning Tuesday, hitting his Minor League-leading 30th home run as the Double-A Mobile BayBears ripped the Mississippi Braves, 14-6.

Goldschmidt drove in three runs, walked three times and scored three runs and is 6-for-12 with three homers, nine RBIs and 10 runs scored in his last four games. On Tuesday, he became the first player in the BayBears' almost 15-year history to reach the 30-homer plateau.

The 23-year-old first base prospect sent a 1-1 pitch from Randall Delgado (5-5) over the center-field wall in the first inning to stake Mobile to a 2-0 lead.

Goldschmidt reached base in his next four plate appearances, drawing three free passes and getting aboard on second baseman Willie Cabrera's error. He was taken out for a defensive replacement to start the seventh.

A 2008 eighth-round Draft pick, Goldschmidt posted a 1.045 OPS for Rookie-level Missoula in 2009 before hitting .314 with 35 homers at Class A Advanced Visalia last year. This season, he's batting .306 and leads the Southern League in homers, RBIs (93), on-base percentage (.430) and slugging (.635).

Making his third Double-A start, Tyler Skaggs (2-1) allowed an unearned run on six hits over five innings. MLB.com's No. 15 prospect struck out six and walked one as he lowered his Southern League ERA from 6.52 to 4.02.

The 20-year-old left-hander went 5-5 with a 3.22 ERA and 125 strikeouts over 100 2/3 innings for Class A Advanced Visalia earlier this year.

Five BayBears recorded multi-hit games, with Adam Eaton also driving in three runs.

Delgado (5-5) concluded a winless July after surrendering 10 runs -- six earned -- on six hits and four walks over 2 2/3 innings.