Arizona Diamondbacks minor league players
Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players of the minor league affiliates of the Arizona Diamondbacks:
Luis Alejandro Basabe
Luis Alejandro Basabe is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.In 2012, the Boston Red Sox made a pair of international signings that were unusual. The organization signed identical twins from Venezuela, both named Luis Basabe, both switch-hitters who throw right-handed, both were around the same size and weight, and each of whom signed for a $450,000 bonus when they turned 16 on August 26. Relatively new to baseball, the Basabe twins started to play the game a short time before signing, as they spent most of their childhood playing soccer. Luis Alejandro is a middle infielder with plus speed, an advanced glove and limited power but outstanding feel to reach first base without the benefit of a base hit. He also has shown better ability to manipulate the bat head than his brother, Luis Alexander, a speedy center fielder with a strong arm who has raw power and potential to add strength. They debuted with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox in its 2013 season.
In his season debut, Luis Alejandro appeared in 58 of the team's 70 games. He hit just.192 with one home run and 14 RBI, but compiled a.332 on-base percentage with 25 runs scored and nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. He then was limited to 29 games in 2014 because of injury, and finished with a.222/.403/.273, 19 runs and nine stolen bases.
Once recovered from his injury, Basabe joined the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2015, where he divided his playing time between second base and shortstop in only 28 games, as he was sidelined by another injury. Even so, he improved his average to.260 and recorded a.387 OBP, while scoring 22 runs with six RBIs and eight steals.
In 2016, Basabe was moved up two levels and rejoined his sibling twin with the Greenville Drive, where he had his breakthrough season. Luis Alejandro was unstoppable out of the leadoff spot since the beginning, reaching base safely in 46 of his first 50 games, including 17 multi-hit contests, 38 runs, 18 RBI and a club-high 13 stolen bases, all while posting a.311/.414/.463 line. He was selected as utility infielder for the Southern Division team at the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
On July 9, 2016, the Arizona Diamonbacks acquired Basabe and starting pitcher Jose Almonte from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for relief pitcher Brad Ziegler. Basabe was assigned to the Kane County Cougars. Arizona assigned him to the Kane County Cougars and he finished the season there. In 109 total games between Greenville and Kane County, he batted.272 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs. He returned to Kane County in 2017 and played in 53 games, batting.229 with two home runs and seven RBIs. He missed the last three months of the season due to a knee injury that ultimately required surgery.
In 2018, Basabe split time between Kane County and the Visalia Rawhide, batting.249 with two home runs and 22 RBIs in 90 games between the two clubs. He spent 2019 with Visalia, slashing.293/.402/.390 with four home runs, 51 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases over 117 games.
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Matt Brill
Matthew Ryan Brill is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Brill attended Moline High School in Moline, Illinois, where he played baseball and soccer. In 2013, his senior year, he went 6-2 with a 1.76 ERA alongside hitting six home runs. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 24th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead chose to play college baseball at Appalachian State University.
In 2014, Brill's freshman year at Appalachian State, he spent a majority of the year as a designated hitter, batting.306 with four home runs and twenty RBIs over 39 games. As a sophomore in 2015, he began to pitch, going 0-2 with a 10.12 ERA over innings, alongside hitting.277 with two home runs over 26 games. Brill missed all of the 2016 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to play in 2017, batting.261 with five home runs over 25 games alongside pitching to a 1-3 record and 4.45 ERA over twenty relief appearances. After the season, Brill was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.
Brill signed with Arizona and made his professional debut with the Hillsboro Hops, compiling a 0.89 ERA and 25 strikeouts over relief innings. In 2018, Brill began the year with the Kane County Cougars, with whom he was named a Midwest League All-Star, before earning a promotion to the Visalia Rawhide in June. Over 43 relief appearances between the two clubs, Brill went 6-4 with a 3.74 ERA, striking out 65 batters over 53 innings. Brill began 2019 with Visalia and was promoted to the Jackson Generals in May. He finished the year with a 4-5 record and a 5.11 ERA over 44 relief innings pitched. He was assigned to the Salt River Rafters after the season.
Corbin Carroll
Corbin Franklin Carroll is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Carroll attended Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. As a senior in 2019, he hit.540 with nine home runs and a 1.859 OPS. He committed to play college baseball at UCLA.
Carroll was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $3.7 million, and was assigned to the Arizona League Diamondbacks. After batting.291 with two home runs, 14 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases over 31 games, he was promoted to the Hillsboro Hops on August 8. Over 11 games with Hillsboro, he batted.326 with six RBIs.
Trevor Cliton
Trevor Blaine Clifton is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent.Chicago Cubs
Clifton attended Heritage High School in Maryville, Tennessee. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Kentucky. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 12th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Cubs and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Cubs. He spent 2014 with the Boise Hawks, posting a 4-2 record with a 3.69 ERA in 13 starts and 2015 with the South Bend Cubs,posting an 8-10 record with a 3.98 ERA in 23 games. Clifton spent 2016 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans where he went 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA, along with 129 strikeouts in 119 innings. He spent 2017 with the Tennessee Smokies where he posted a 5-8 record with a 5.20 ERA in 21 starts, and 2018 with both the Smokies and the Iowa Cubs, compiling a combined 7-7 record and 3.43 ERA in 26 games between both teams.
Clifton returned to Iowa in 2019, going 4-8 with a 5.18 ERA over 24 games, striking out 84 over 99 innings.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Clifton signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on January 9, 2020. He was released on May 22, 2020.Drey Jameson
Drey Matthew Jameson is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Jameson attended Greenfield-Central High School in Greenfield, Indiana. In 2017, his senior year, he went 6-1 with a 0.65 ERA. He went undrafted in the 2017 MLB draft and thus enrolled at Ball State University where he played college baseball for the Ball State Cardinals.
In 2018, Jameson's freshman season at Ball State, he went 7-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 18 games. He was awarded Mid-American Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year. As a sophomore in 2019, he pitched to a 6-3 record with a 3.24 ERA in 16 starts and was named the MAC Pitcher of the Year.
Jameson was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 34th overall pick of the 2019 MLB draft. He signed for $1.40 million, and was assigned to the Hillsboro Hops. Over innings, he gave up eight earned runs, 14 hits, and nine walks, striking out 12.
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Levi Kelly
Kelly began his high school career at Nitro High School in Nitro, West Virginia. As a freshman, he committed to play college baseball at Louisiana State University. Following his freshman year, he transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. After his sophomore year at IMG, he transferred to Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Florida. In 2017, as a junior, he went 7-1 with a 0.62 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 56 innings. Following his junior year, he transferred back to IMG Academy for his senior season. After his senior year, Kelly was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.
Kelly signed with the Diamondbacks, and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Diamondbacks of the Rookie-league, pitching six scoreless innings. In 2019, Kelly spent the season with the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League. Over 22 starts, he pitched to a 5-1 record with a 2.15 ERA, striking out 126 over innings.
Wyatt Mathisen
Wyatt Lane Mathisen is an American professional baseball infielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Mathisen attended Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. He committed to play college baseball for the Texas Longhorns. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round, with the 69th overall selection, of the 2012 MLB draft. He signed with the Pirates for a $746,300 signing bonus.
Mathisen spent the 2012 season with the GCL Pirates, hitting.295/.388/.374/.762 with 1 home run and 15 RBI. He split the 2013 season between the GCL, the Jamestown Jammers, and the West Virginia Power, hitting a combined.228/.323/.251/.574 with 15 home runs. He spent the 2014 season with West Virginia, hitting.280/.344/.360/.704 with 3 home runs and 42 RBI. He spent 2015 and 2016 with the Bradenton Marauders, hitting.263 with 4 home runs and 34 RBI in 2015, and.296 with 1 home run and 18 RBI in 2016. He spent the 2017 season with the Altoona Curve, hitting.272/.357/.365/.722 with 5 home runs and 31 RBI. He split the 2018 season between Altoona and the Indianapolis Indians, hitting a combined.261/.363/.440/.803 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI.
Mathisen became a free agent following the 2019 season, and signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He split the 2019 season between the AZL Diamondbacks and the Reno Aces, hitting.288/.412/.592/1.004 with 23 home runs and 64 RBI.
Mathisen was added to the Diamondbacks 40–man roster following the 2019 season.
Geraldo Perdomo
Geraldo Rafael Perdomo is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Perdomo signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agent in July 2016. He made his professional debut in 2017 with the Dominican Summer League Giants, batting.238 with one home run and 11 RBIs over 63 games. In 2018 he played for the Arizona League Diamondbacks, Missoula Osprey and Hillsboro Hops, slashing a combined.322/.438/.460 with four home runs, 24 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases over 57 games.
Perdomo started 2019 with the Kane County Cougars and was promoted to the Visalia Rawhide during the season. Over 116 games between both clubs, Perdomo hit.275 with three home runs, 47 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League and was selected to play in the Falls Stars Game.
Kristian Robinson
Kristian Devaughn Robinson is a Bahamian professional baseball outfielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Robinson signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agent in July 2017. He spent his first professional season in 2018 with the Arizona League Diamondbacks and Missoula Osprey, slashing.279/.363/.428 with seven home runs, 27 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 57 games. He started 2019 with the Hillsboro Hops before earning a promotion to the Kane County Cougars in August. Over 69 games between both teams, he batted.282 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases.
Riley Smith
Riley Wade Smith is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Smith attended Hudson High School in Lufkin, Texas. Undrafted out of high school in 2013, Smith attended San Jacinto College for two years. He went 6–2 with a 2.30 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 70 innings in 2014. He posted a 7–2 record with a 2.96 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 75 innings in 2015. Smith helped lead the San Jacinto Gators to the NJCAA World Series in 2015. Smith was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB draft, but did not sign and transferred to Louisiana State University for the 2016 season. Smith went 2–1 with a 7.22 ERA over 32 innings in 2016. Smith was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 24th round, with the 719th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft and signed with them.
Smith spent his professional debut season of 2016 with the Hillsboro Hops, going 2–0 with a 2.51 ERA over 32 innings. He split the 2017 season between Hillsboro and the Kane County Cougars, going a combined 7–4 with a 3.07 ERA over innings. He spent 2018 with the Visalia Rawhide, going 8–6 with a 3.57 ERA over 151 innings. He split the 2019 season between the Jackson Generals and the Reno Aces, going a combined 6–6 with a 4.43 ERA over innings.
Smith was added to the Diamondbacks 40–man roster following the 2019 season.
Alek Thomas
Thomas attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois. He committed to play both college baseball and college football at Texas Christian University. During his high school career he hit.423 with 39 home runs and 158 runs batted in. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.
Thomas spent his first professional season with the Arizona League Diamondbacks and Missoula Osprey, batting.333 with two home runs, 27 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 56 games between the two teams. He started 2019 with the Kane County Cougars. In July, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. In August, he was promoted to the Visalia Rawhide, with whom he finished the year. Over 114 games between the two teams, Thomas slashed.300/.379/.450 with ten home runs, 55 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.
Emilio Vargas
Emilio Vargas is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Vargas signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agent on January 23, 2013. He spent his first two seasons with the DSL Diamondbacks, going 1–2 with a 6.35 ERA in innings in 2013 and 4–4 with a 2.21 ERA in 61 innings in 2014. He split the 2015 season between the Arizona League Diamondbacks, Missoula Osprey, and Visalia Rawhide, going a combined 6–1 with a 2.70 ERA over innings. His 2016 was split between the Kane County Cougars and Visalia, combining to go 5–6 with a 4.10 ERA over 85.2 innings. he spent the 2017 season with Kane County, 5–7 with a 4.02 ERA in innings. His 2018 season was split between Visalia and the Jackson Generals, combining to go 9–8 with a 2.88 ERA in innings.
The Diamondbacks added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.
He spent the 2019 season back with Jackson, going 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA over 17 starts, striking out seventy over innings.
Blake Walston
Matthew Blake Walston is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Walston attended New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. In 2019, his senior year, he went 12-0 with a 0.20 ERA, striking out 129 batters in 68.2 innings pitched. He was named North Carolina's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. Walston was also named the 2019 North Carolina High School Player of the Year by Perfect Game. He committed to play college baseball at North Carolina State University.
Walston was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 26th overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $2.45 million, and was assigned to the Arizona League Diamondbacks before earning a promotion to the Hillsboro Hops. Over 11 innings between both teams, he compiled a 2.45 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
Andy Young
Andrew Jacob Young is an American professional baseball infielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.Young attended West Fargo High School in West Fargo, North Dakota. As a senior in 2012, he was named the North Dakota Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after he batted.389 with six home runs and 38 RBIs and pitched to a 5-0 record with a 1.47 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched. Undrafted out of high school in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at the University of Jamestown to play college baseball. After his freshman year, he transferred to Neosho County Community College. Following his sophomore season at Neosho, Young enrolled at Indiana State University. In 2015, as a junior at Indiana State, he batted.296 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs in 54 games and was awarded Missouri Valley Conference Honorable Mention. As a senior in 2016, Young slashed.299/.414/.480 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in 56 games, earning himself a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference Second Team. After his senior year, he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 37th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.
Young signed with St. Louis for $3,000 and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals before receiving a promotion to the State College Spikes. In 53 games between the two clubs, he batted.271 with three home runs and 24 RBIs. He began 2017 with the Peoria Chiefs and was named to the Midwest League All-Star Game along with being invited to participate in the Home Run Derby. After batting.284 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs in 58 games with Peoria, he was promoted to the Palm Beach Cardinals in June. In 57 games for Palm Beach, Young slashed.265/.327/.388 with five home runs and twenty RBIs. He also played in two games for the Springfield Cardinals at the end of the season. Young began 2018 with Palm Beach, with whom he was named a Florida State League All-Star and represented in the Home Run Derby, and was promoted to Springfield in July. In 119 games between the two clubs, he slashed.289/.379/.479 with 21 home runs and 58 RBIs. After the season, he played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.
On December 5, 2018, the Cardinals traded Young, Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, and a draft pick to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Paul Goldschmidt.
Young was assigned to the Jackson Generals to open the 2019 season, hitting.260/.363/.453 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs over 65 games. He was promoted to the Reno Aces on June 16 and finished the year there. Over 68 games with Reno, Young batted.280 with 21 home runs and 53 RBIs.
Young was added to the Diamondbacks 40–man roster following the 2019 season.