Welcome to the 2026 Second Edition of Leading Off, the official publication of the Reno Aces Baseball Club. This season-long publication will release an updated edition before every homestand. Stay up-to-date with everything happening at Greater Nevada Field, and learn more about the opponent coming to town! Its logos and graphics are trademarks of the Reno Aces. All rights reserved—Aces photos provided by Aces Team Photographer David Calvert.
Now with a series win under their belt, the Reno Aces return to Greater Nevada Field for a 12-game homestand. The longest Reno stretch at home of the 2026 campaign starts with six games against the Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.
The Aces scored 25 runs (4.2 per game) while batting .270 (55-for-204), crushing four homers amongst their 14 total extra-base hits. However, the impressive part of last series was the pitching, as Reno’s pitchers allowed just 11 runs (10 earned) on 38 hits in 52.0 innings for a 1.73 ERA. That was the best ERA last week in all Triple-A (second: SUG, 2.25).
This series marks the first meeting of the season between the Aces and the Bees, and Reno will look to right the ship after the Bees won last season’s series meetings, 10-8. That was the first time that the Aces have lost the season series to Salt Lake since 2016, as Reno had won all but two season sets from 2017-2024 (no season in 2020; split twice).
Dating back to the start of 2017, the Aces hold an 88-62 (.587) edge in head-to-head meetings, which helps them maintain a 151-127 (.543) edge in the all-time series. The 151 wins are the third-most by Reno against any Triple-A team in Aces history (second: Las Vegas, 157).
Salt Lake enters the series sitting at 3-6 on the year, most recently coming off a series split at home against Sacramento. After earning a 13-5 win for their first victory of 2026 in game one, the Bees saw the River Cats reach double digits in a 10-5 loss. Unplayable conditions turned game three into a later doubleheader, but before that could happen Salt Lake snatched a 6-5 win on Friday.
There are just four of Los Angeles’ top-30 prospects featured on the Salt Lake roster, but tops among them is No. 2 prospect and outfielder Nelson Rada. Unfortunately, Rada has gotten off to a slow start in his first Triple-A action, batting just .174 (4-for-23) through his first six games with four runs scored, one double, and three RBI.
It has been a likewise start for Los Angeles’ No. 7 prospect Denzer Guzman, as he is hitting .188 (6-for-32) in eight games with four runs scored, one double, two homers, and four RBI. Sam Aldegheri checks in as the Angels’ No. 16 prospect, the highest pitching prospect on Salt Lake, but he is 0-1 in two starts with a 11.88 ERA (11 er, 8.1 ip).
Leading the way at the dish is Vaughn Grissom, batting .429 (9-for-21) in six games with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Jose Siri and Chris Taylor each check in at .400 or better, with the former scoring three runs while adding a double, triple, homer, and four RBI.
From the mound, no Salt Lake starters have earned a win this season, and thus far this year they are a combined 0-5 with a 10.31 ERA (34 ER, 29.2 IP) and 29 strikeouts to 17 walks.
The Reno Aces kicked off their season this weekend with a three-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers, Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. A total of 16,400 enthusiastic fans entered Greater Nevada Field across those three games, the highest attendance total since the Aces’ first three games in 2015.
“Welcoming more than 16,000 fans and having our highest opening three-game attendance since 2015 is an incredible accomplishment for our organization,” said President Eric Edelstein. “We are humbled by the overwhelming support from our Northern Nevada community as we enter our 17th season in downtown Reno. We’re proud to create an atmosphere that brings people together, and this support sets the tone for the best Aceball season yet at Greater Nevada Field.”
On Opening Day, a total of 6,055 fans spent their Friday afternoon at the ballpark representing the largest Opening Day attendance number at Greater Nevada Field since the 2016 season. It was the earliest Opening Day for the BLC-Nine in team history, and their first time opening at home since 2023.
During their two-week road trip, the Reno Aces have welcomed a lot of new faces to the roster whether it was by way of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ trade deadline moves or call-ups from Double-A Amarillo. Among them are some of the D-backs’ top ranked prospects and some organizational fan favorites.
#7 Tommy Troy | Position: 2B/SS | Hometown: San Jose, CA
Troy was called up from Double-A Amarillo just over a week ago, on August 2, and made an immediate impact in the Aces’ lineup recording six hits in his first 13 at-bats including four extra-base hits. A first-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, he spent most of his life in Northern California growing up in San Jose, Calif. and playing college baseball at Stanford University. While playing at Stanford, he was a first-team All-American and all-PAC 12 recipient, helping the Cardinal to back-to-back conference titles in 2022 and 2023. The 23-year-old ranks as the Diamondbacks’ No. 5 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline and earned his promotion after hitting .286 with a .875 OPS this season in Amarillo.
#60 Ivan Melendez | Position: 1B/DH | Hometown: El Paso, TX
Melendez got the promotion to Reno at the same time as Tommy Troy and wasted no time showing off his raw power at the plate. In his Triple-A debut in Las Vegas, the Texas native launched a grand slam as part of a multi-hit performance in his first game with Reno. The right-handed slugger became Double-A Amarillo’s all-time home run leader earlier this year launching 50 homers in parts of three seasons with the Sod Poodles. A second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Melendez had a tremendous career at the University of Texas, winning the Golden Spikes Award (best collegiate player) and breaking the BBCOR single-season collegiate home run record in 2022.
#57 Kristian Robinson | Position: OF | Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas
Robinson was moved from Amarillo to Reno on July 26 and brings a unique combination of speed and power to the Aces’ lineup. At the age of 16, he was signed as an international free agent in 2017 and skyrocketed through the D-backs’ system becoming the organization’s No. 1 prospect in 2020 and 2021. Following personal mental health issues during the COVID-pandemic, he was sidelined for three years and remained out of the game until May 2023. With his career back on track, he looks to become just the 10th player from the Bahamas to make it to the big leagues.
#49 Kohl Drake | Position: Starting Pitcher | Hometown: Orem, UT
Drake was the premier piece of the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly trade with the Texas Rangers at the July 31 MLB trade deadline. The left-handed pitcher started his season in Double-A Frisco before a promotion to Triple-A Round Rock brought him to the Pacific Coast League. In four games with the Express, he pitched to a 5.19 ERA none of which came against the Aces. In his organizational debut, the 7th-ranked Arizona prospect turned a solid outing picking up a win over Las Vegas on August 2. A 11th round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft from Walters State Community College, the Drake helped lead his team to back-to-back NJCAA Division I World Series appearances in 2021 and 2022.
Two new arms will also be coming out of the bullpen at Greater Nevada Field in #61 Brandyn Garcia and #23 Juan Burgos. Burgos (25th ranked prospect) and Garcia (20th ranked prospect) were both acquired in trades with the Seattle Mariners at the end of July.
Looking to rebound from their Opening Weekend series, the Reno Aces played a hard-fought six-game set against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Four of six games were decided by two runs or less (three by a single run), but in the end Reno came out on top while setting some franchise history in the process.
Only two contests had final score gaps larger than two runs, which included the series opener on March 31. While that contest ended 8-1, it was a bit of a deceptive score as the game sat at just 2-1 in favor of the Aces heading into the eighth inning.
In that late frame Reno dropped six runs, which included a bases-clearing three-RBI double down the left-field line from Ryan Waldschmidt, which matched him with Wily Mo Peña for the most consecutive games to start a season with an RBI in team history (four). Oddly enough, the last time the Aces tallied a six-run inning was against this same Albuquerque squad, coming on Sept. 16, 2025.
Yet more team history was made in games two and four, as the Reno Aces earned a pair of shutout wins. That marked just the third time in franchise history that Reno has done so, the last coming on July 27 and July 29 in the 2018 campaign against Round Rock in Texas. The only other time it had happened was Aug. 9 (1-0) and Aug. 10 (5-0) in Reno’s inaugural season of 2009 on the road against Omaha.
Starting pitching was excellent throughout, as Aces starters allowed just four runs on 16 hits in 27.0 innings for a 1.33 ERA. That mark was not only the best in the Pacific Coast League but also the best mark in all Triple-A (second: ABQ, 1.99).
As a staff, Reno’s pitchers allowed just 11 runs (10 earned) on 38 hits in 52.0 innings for a 1.73 ERA. Again, that ERA was the best in all Triple-A last week, with the next closest in Sugar Land coming in at 2.25 (13 er, 52.0 ip).
The 11 runs allowed in the series match another franchise record for fewest runs allowed in a six-game series, with the only other instance coming from April 18-23, 2023 at Sugar Land. Reno surrendered just one home run during the series with the Isotopes, which is the fewest by Aces pitching in any six-game series and the fewest allowed in a series of any number of games since July 2024 against Round Rock (one home run allowed in five games).