Welcome to the 2026 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 complete with their first trip to west Texas, the Reno Aces return to friendly confines as they prepare for a six-game series that begins on Tuesday with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.
While last series ended in favor of the El Paso Chihuahuas by a 4-2 margin, the Reno Aces still had memorable highlights and moments.
Three times last series the Aces clobbered three homers, which included the first two-homer game of the season by an Ace from Jacob Amaya. Jack Hurley was on fire in four games, finishing with a team-best .643 (9-for-14) batting average while his nine hits were also a team best. Troy also had a hot series, and finds himself on a Triple-A best 10-game run scored streak.
This week’s series against Sugar Land will be the first meeting of the two teams in 2026, and the Aces will look to change their fortunes after losing each of the last two season series meetings with Sugar Land. In 2025 it was a 9-3 edge for the Space Cowboys, coming on the heels of an 8-4 edge in 2024.
Pitching struggled against Sugar Land in 2025, as the Aces pitched to a 7.23 ERA (83 er, 103.1 ip) which was their worst ERA against any opponent last season (second worst: 7.03, SAC). While their 99 total runs allowed were just sixth most of their nine opponents, the 8.25 runs per game average allowed to Sugar Land was Reno’s worst of any opponent in 2025.
Though Reno’s .286 (122-for-427) batting average against Sugar Land ranked fourth of nine opponents in 2025, their production in terms of runs scored (80, seventh), doubles (25, seventh), home runs (17, sixth), and walks (68, sixth) were all in the bottom half of opponents.
Though the Aces won each of the first two season matchups in 2022 (5-1) and 2023 (8-4), it is the Space Cowboys that hold the lead in the all-time matchup by a 20-22 margin. In the 42 total matchups, the Aces are batting .283 (415-for-1465) with 134 extra-base hits (55 home runs) and a .838 OPS. Of opponents with at least 42 games against Reno, the batting average against Sugar Land ranks ninth of 16 total opponents.
Meanwhile from the mound, Reno has worked to a 4.88 ERA (201 er, 370.2 ip) while punching out 379 total Space Cowboys to 216 walks. Of opponents with at least 42 games played, Reno’s 4.88 ERA ranks sixth of 19 opponents and is just mere points behind the similar 4.88 ERA (208 er, 384.0 ip) logged against Omaha.
Sugar Land enters the series with a 15-12 record, sitting two full games above the Reno Aces in a four-way tie for first place in the PCL standings. Entering at 5-5 in their past 10, the Space Cowboys are coming off a 4-2 series loss to Texas rival Round Rock, a series that featured a pair of doubleheaders. The Space Cowboys failed to score above five runs in any game and were outscored by a combined 32-23.
Leading the way at the dish last week was James Nelson, as he was 9-for-25 (.360) with two doubles, a homer and two RBI. He was one of two Space Cowboys over the .300 mark, as the other was Cavan Biggio who batted .308 (4-for-13) with two runs scored.
Sugar Land starters struggled to a 7.11 ERA (15 er, 19.0 ip) last week, going 0-2 despite allowing only one homer and striking out 24 to 10 walks. The bullpen struggled to keep it together, recording a 4.20 ERA (14 er, 30.0 ip) while picking up both wins with 32 strikeouts to 20 walks.
This Sugar Land squad features five of Houston’s top-30 prospects per MLB Pipeline, all of which are pitchers. The group is led by No. 6 overall prospect Ethan Pecko and No. 11 prospect Miguel Ullola, and Reno will see both in this series as Ullola is scheduled to start the opener on Tuesday while Pecko is slated for Friday’s contest.
So far in 2026 Pecko has made just one start, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing two hits. Meanwhile, Ullola is 1-2 in five starts with a 5.68 ERA (12 er, 19.0 ip).
Infielder LuJames Groover has been named the Player of the Week by the Pacific Coast League after a scorching hot week at home against the Salt Lake Bees, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.
The 23-year-old led the Aces to a series victory with a slash line of .476/.571/.762 for a 1.333 OPS. He recorded 10 hits, four of which went for extra bases, along with six walks and four runs scored. His 13 runs batted in throughout the week led all of Triple-A with no other player even reaching double-digits.
Reaching base in all six starts last week, he recorded at least one hit in five of the six contests and two-plus hits in four. In game two, the Georgia native logged the best performance of his young Aces’ career, connecting for his first home run at the Triple-A level, a grand slam in the eighth inning, to cap off a 3-for-5, six RBI night.
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.
Join us for the Reno Aces’ First-Ever Charity Poker Tournament! An exciting night of cards, competition, and community, all supporting a great cause!
Taking place on Wednesday, July 8th at Greater Nevada Field, this one-of-a-kind event brings together fans, players, and coaches for an unforgettable evening. Whether you're a seasoned player or just in it for the fun, you’ll enjoy a high-energy atmosphere with plenty of chances to win.
Hitting the road for the first time in two weeks, the Reno Aces traveled down to Texas to take on the El Paso Chihuahuas for a set of six games last week.
Reno scored three runs in each the third and the fourth to helped them stay locked at 6-6 entering the latter stages, but the Chihuahuas scored seven times in the bottom of the eighth for a 13-6 win on April 21. Tommy Troy drove in a pair of runs while going 2-for-4, as did Ivan Melendez who was 1-for-4.
On April 22 the Aces were able to eliminate what was a seven-run deficit by scoring once in the seventh and once in the eighth, forcing extra innings. However, Reno failed to score the free runner and watched Nick Schnell hit a walk-off, two-run homer to clinch a 13-11 win in 10 innings.
In spite of the loss, the seven-run deficit that the Aces eliminated was the largest deficit they had escaped since they came back from down eight runs against Las Vegas on July 23, 2024. Reno also lost that game in 10 innings, 13-12.
Reno also crushed three homers in defeat, the first time this season they hit two or more homers in a loss. Two of those came from Jacob Amaya, marking the first multi-homer game by an Ace this season.
The game was a slugfest, as the two teams combined for combined for eight home runs (five by El Paso), which is the most in a Pacific Coast League game this season and tied for second most in all Triple-A. Even further, the two teams combined for 33 hits, which is the most of any Triple-A game this season and second most in any level of baseball. First on that list is a fellow Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, Double-A Amarillo when they combined for 36 hits with Frisco on April 14.
Jack Hurley had a 4-for-5 effort from the ninth spot in the order, just the 10th time in franchise history a player has recorded four hits from the last batting spot. Three others had multiple hits including Troy, who was 2-for-5 with a triple, two run scored, an RBI and a walk.
Power kept surging for the Aces in game three on April 23, but it once again ended in defeat as they cut the deficit to one but could not get over the hill, 8-5. Reno scored four times in the fourth, a frame that featured a pair of homers from Kristian Robinson and Troy. That is already the fourth time that the Aces have hit multiple homers in the same inning, a feat they accomplished 12 times in 2025.
The last homer of the night came from Christian Cerda, his second in just four games played at Triple-A. This contest marked the first time that Reno has hit three homers in consecutive games since they did so in three straight games from Aug. 5-7, 2025 at Tacoma.
For the second time in three games the Aces played an extra-innings contest, this time ending in Reno’s favor as they secured a 7-6 win in 10 innings on April 24. El Paso had scored once in four of the first five frames, but a five-run eighth briefly put the Aces in front until single tallies from the Chihuahuas in the eighth and ninth innings.
It took until the sixth inning for the Aces to break through onto the scoreboard, striking first on an RBI triple from Luken Baker. It was just the third triple of his professional career, the last coming as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 17, 2024 against Pittsburgh.
That was also the 15th three-bagger of the season for the Aces as a team. Not only does that lead every level of professional baseball, but it puts Reno on pace to end the season with 90 triples which would easily be a franchise record (current: 70, 2017) and would be five shy of the all-time PCL record set by the Phoenix Giants in 1973.
Aiding Reno’s victory was four errors by the Chihuahuas, just the 30th time in franchise history that an opponent has made four or more errors in a game against the Aces, the first since Sept. 17, 2025 on the road at Albuquerque. That win marked the first of the year for the Aces against El Paso and stopped a previous nine-game skid that Reno held against the Chihuahuas.
Reno made it consecutive wins over El Paso with an 8-2 victory on April 25, putting the game away with a six-run sixth inning. Doubles were a theme, as both Anderdson Rojas and Baker ripped two-RBI doubles, both of which came in that sixth frame.
Pitching was strong throughout, all starting with Mitch Bratt as he allowed only one on three hits in 4.1 innings, striking out five while walking two. Right-hander Drey Jameson (1-0) followed with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief, earning his first win of the campaign.
Unfortunately the Aces, the series ended with a 9-5 loss on April 26 as the Reno offense could not keep up with El Paso in the first third of the contest. A trio of Aces ended on a high note, including Hurley who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a solo homer.
Overall, it was quite the impressive series for Hurley, who played in four games and was a combined 9-for-14 (.643) with five runs scored, a double, a homer, three RBI and two walks. Troy was the only other Ace to close with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. The run scored extends his streak to 10 consecutive games crossing home plate, extending what was already the longest such streak (both active and overall) in Triple-A this season.
For the series, Hurley’s nine hits and .643 batting average were both team bests, while Troy and Amaya both tied for the team lead with six RBI. Four total Aces were over the .300 mark, which includes the duo of Robinson (6-for-20) and Cerda (3-for-10) each checked in right at .300.