Under 25 Aces

When you watch Minor League Baseball, you're watching the next crop of young stars that will be playing in the big leagues in the next couple years. After all, baseball's stars are constantly getting younger. The Reno Aces are currently carrying five players who are 25 and under, two of which are in the top 11 Arizona Diamondbacks prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Taylor Widener is the highest-rated of the two, at number three in the Diamondbacks system according to MLB Pipeline. Widener was a 12^th round pick by the New York Yankees in 2016. In his first season of professional baseball, he played between two levels, Class-A Short Season Staten Island and Single-A Charleston. He was mostly a reliever in 2016 and allowed only two runs in 38.1 innings.
The right-hander was transitioned into a starter in 2017 when he was promoted to High-A Tampa. He started 27 games and put up a 3.39 ERA while going 7-8. In February of 2018, Widener was dealt to Arizona in a three-team traded that included the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. For the season, he was sent to Double-A Jackson where he was terrific.

In 25 starts, Widener complied a 2.75 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 137.1 innings. His ERA was second among all starters in the Southern League in 2018, and his WHIP, 1.034, and strikeouts were the best in the Southern League.
The 24-year-old was a non-roster invite to Spring Training by the Diamondbacks in 2019 but was ultimately assigned to the Aces. With Reno, Widener has started 19 games and has gone 6-5 in 86.2 innings. Widener has the third-most strikeouts in the PCL with 97, which puts him at a 10.1 K/9 for the season.
The next top Diamondbacks prospect on the Aces under 25 is Andy Young. Young was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 37^th round of the 2016 draft. Young moved quickly through the Cardinals system, reaching Double-A in just his second season in 2017. Across three levels that year, the infielder hit .278 with 17 home runs, 20 doubles and 59 RBI.
In 2018, Young played at both Double-A and High-A, hitting at a .289 clip with 21 home runs, 13 doubles, and 58 RBI. Then, in December of 2018, Young was traded to the Diamondbacks along with two other prospects for Paul Goldschmidt.
The 25-year-old is now the Diamondbacks 11^th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He opened the season with Jackson and hit .260 with eight home runs, 15 doubles, and 28 RBI. On June 16^, he was promoted to Reno. Since joining the Aces, Young has played in 27 games, with five homers, two doubles, and 16 RBI.
Joel Payamps is a 25-year-old pitcher, who has pitched for the Aces off and on since 2017. He was signed by the Colorado Rockies out of the Dominican Republic in 2011 and played four seasons in the Rockies system.
He pitched in the Dominican Summer League his first two seasons, going 2-5 with a 3.12 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 90 innings. In 2013, he pitched in Rookie Ball, going 4-7 with a 6.06 ERA and in 2014, he was promoted to Class-A Short Season and went 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA. He was released after the season and didn't pitch at all in 2015.
In November of 2015, the Diamondbacks signed him to a minor league contract, and he pitched in Single-A and High-A that season. With Single-A Kane County, Payamps went 3-3 with a 2.36 ERA and was later promoted to High-A Visalia, going 7-5 with a 4.75 ERA. Over that entire season, the right-hander went 10-8 with a 3.86 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 133 innings.
In 2017, he pitched across three levels, including two starts with Reno. In those starts, he went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings. In 2018, he pitched in six games for the Aces and started five of those. He went 0-4 with a 7.18 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.
He opened the 2019 campaign with the Aces but was placed on the 7-day Injured List in April with a fractured bone in his foot. In his lone start before getting injured, Payamps went four innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and struck out four. After the seven games with Double-A Jackson he spent rehabbing, he returned on July 14, starting and going five innings, allowing one run on four hits, striking out six and walking six.
Riley Smith, a 24-year-old right-hander was a 24^th round draft pick by the Diamondbacks in 2016. After signing, he was sent to Class-A Short Season Hillsboro, pitching in 25 relief appearances. He saved two games, compiling a 2.51 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

In 2017, he started eight games for Hillsboro, posting a 3.06 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 47 innings while going 4-3. He also pitched for Kane County that season, pitching in 14 games and starting eight. Smith pitched in 58.2 innings, putting up a 3.07 ERA and struck out 49.
He spent all of 2018 with Visalia, starting 25 games. The right-hander put up a 3.57 ERA in 151.1 innings, striking out 148 batters.
He opened 2019 with Jackson, starting 13 games with a 2.27 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 71.1 innings. On June 29, he was promoted to the Aces, starting his first game that same day. In his three starts since his promotion, Smith has put up a 6.11 ERA while striking out 13 batters in 17.2 innings, going 1-0.
The final 25-and-under player on the Aces roster is the newest of the bunch, Ben DeLuzio. DeLuzio, 24, is an outfielder who was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the third round of the 2013 draft. DeLuzio didn't sign, instead deciding to attend Florida State University. After his colligate career, the Diamondbacks signed him as a minor league free agent.
DeLuzio played 34 games in 2016, 30 of which were with Hillsboro. In those games, DeLuzio hit .313 with a .412 on-base percentage, two doubles, seven RBI and 14 stolen bases. In 2017, he played for both Kane County and Visalia and hit .330 with 18 doubles, four triples, and 26 RBI and swiped 25 bags.
He spent most of 2018 with Jackson and hit .262 with 12 doubles, three triples and his first two professional home runs with a team-best 34 stolen bases. He opened 2019 with Jackson, hitting .269 with 10 doubles, four triples, one home run with 22 RBI and 14 stolen bases. DeLuzio was promoted to the Aces on July 4 and has since played in seven games. In his seven games at Triple-A, DeLuzio has hit .250 with two doubles and three RBI.
With Taylor Widener and Andy Young leading the way as the top prospects, the Aces are set with the young talent like Riley Smith, Joel Payamps and Ben DeLuzio to lead them to a strong rest of the season. With younger players and prospects becoming more important in today's baseball, the Aces are playing to their strengths in that regard. There are two more prospects under 25 that could be joining the Aces as soon as next year in infielder Jazz Chisholm and catcher Daulton Varsho. These young players are not only the present for the Aces but the future for the Arizona Diamondbacks.