A third-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016 out of Rice, Duplantier led all of Minor Leauge Baseball (MiLB) with a 1.39 ERA between Class A Kane County and Class A-Advanced Visalia. His ERA was the second-best mark in MiLB in the last 25 years, behind only Justin Verlander’s 1.29 ERA posted in the 2005 season. Duplantier was also third in MiLB with a .192 batting average against and 12^th with a 0.98 WHIP. Overall, Duplantier finished with a 12-3 record in 24 starts.

Duplantier was named to the Sirius/XM All-Star Future’s Game in Miami, Florida this July, was MiLB.com’s Midwest League Player of the Month in May, and was a Mid-Season All-Star for the Midwest League while with Kane County.

Duplantier pitched only one inning in his pro debut in 2016 and began 2017 by racking up 20 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. He gave up his first earned run on May 2 and went on to allow an earned run in just one of his first ten starts in the Midwest League.

Duplantier was promoted to the Rawhide from Kane County on June 22 following the California League All-Star break and made an immediate impact with a 1.56 ERA in 12 Visalia starts and 87 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings. Over his final three starts, Duplantier registered 14 consecutive scoreless innings. He struck out 44 hitters over 25 innings in his last five starts.

After missing the entirety of his 2015 season at Rice due to shoulder injury, Duplantier returned in 2016, finished second in NCAA Division 1 with 148 strikeouts, and was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year.

Duplantier was Arizona’s eighth-ranked prospect entering 2017 by MLB Pipeline and was elevated to their second-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update. Baseball America ranked Duplantier as Arizona’s number nine prospect at the beginning of the season.

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Almonte, who is currently 9-8 with a 3.63 ERA, has earned his second career All-Star nod after being named a Cal League Mid-Season All-Star this summer. Originally signed by the Boston Red Sox, Almonte was sent to the Diamondbacks along with 2B Luis Alejandro Basabe in the July 9, 2016 trade that sent RHP Brad Zeigler to the Boston.

This season, Almonte leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings among starters (10.47), is two wins shy of the league lead (9), is fourth in ERA, second in strikeouts (147), and third in batting average against among starters (.245). Almonte set a career-high when he struck out 11 against Lake Elsinore on May 27, and has twice this season won three consecutive starts. Almonte is 21-23 with a 3-36 ERA and 391 strikeouts in his five-year Minor League career. He was ranked as the 18^th-best prospect in the Arizona farm system this year by Baseball America and was ranked as the number-27 prospect in the Diamondbacks system by MLB Pipeline in their midseason update. Almonte is the lone representative Visalia representative on the California League Postseason roster after the Rawhide had one representative in 2016 (3B Marty Herum) and two in 2015 (LHP Anthony Banda and 2B Jamie Westbrook).

Bajenaru’s accolade marks the first time that he has won the California League Coach of the Year award. Bajenaru, who is in his second season with Visalia and his seventh in the Diamondbacks organization overall, has helped to guide the Rawhide pitching staff to a remarkable season. Visalia leads the California League in ERA (3.70), strikeouts (1,198), and WHIP (1.29), has allowed the fewest hits, and has hurled eight shutouts this season, two behind Stockton’s 10. Bajenaru was a 36^th round selection by the Chicago White Sox in the 1999 draft and made Major Leauge appearances with the White Sox in 2004 and 2005, and came up briefly with Arizona in 2006. He becomes the first Rawhide coach to be named California League Coach of the Year since Gil Heredia in 2015 and is just the second Visalia coach to earn the distinction since 2010.

James Templeton was also named the California League Groundskeeper of the Year, becoming the first ever Visalia Groundskeeper to claim the award after the Rawhide and city of Visalia installed a new playing surface prior to the 2017 season.

California League Postseason All-Stars are determined by votes from California League field managers, coaches, general managers, radio broadcasters, and media members.

For tickets and more information on the remainder of the Visalia Rawhide’s home schedule, please visit rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433. You can follow the Rawhide on Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide), Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@visaliarawhide) and Snap Chat (visaliarawhide).

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The Visalia Rawhide, in conjunction with the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced that RHP Jon Duplantier (Diamondbacks #2 prospect, MLB Pipeline) has been named the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July.

Duplanter, who was promoted to Visalia from Class-A Kane County on June 22, went 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA (5 ER in 24.2 IP) with 28 strikeouts and 6 walks in 4 starts for Visalia in July. He ranked among California League leaders last month in ERA (2^nd), wins (T-2^nd), opponent average (6^th, .250), and WHIP (7^th, 1.14). Duplantier was also named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April (1-0, 0.00) and May (4-0, 0.79) while with Kane County. He was selected by the Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player draft from Rice University.

Duplantier becomes the second player in Diamondbacks franchise history who has been named Minor League Pitcher of the Month three times in one season. Duplantier joins current Arizona RHP Archie Bradley, who was given the distinction three times during the 2013 season, five games of which he spent in Visalia.

Duplantier put up a career start in his final appearance of July, tossing seven shutout innings against Lake Elsinore while striking out a career-best nine hitters and scattering seven hits while walking none. He has allowed more than one earned run only once this season while in a Rawhide uniform. He is scheduled to start on Saturday for Visalia at Recreation Park against the Stockton Ports.

Every month during the season, the D-backs Player Development staff chooses the player and pitcher most deserving of the honors based on nominations from coaches at each affiliate along with input from the Minor League coordinators. INF/OF Yoel Yanqui (DSL D-Backs 1) was named the Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Month for July.

The Visalia Rawhide kick off a four-game series tonight where they will re-brand as the Visalia Toros to pay homage to the Hispanic culture of Tulare County. For tckets and more information visit Rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433. You can follow the Rawhide on Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide), Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@visaliarawhide) and Snap Chat (visaliarawhide).

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“The Central Valley, and Tulare County in particular, has an incredibly rich Hispanic heritage and we’re excited to pay homage to it over this weekend,” said Rawhide/Toros General Manager Jennifer Reynolds. “This is a full re-brand of the Rawhide with the goal of welcoming even more people into the Rawhide, and now the Toros, family. We encourage all members of the local community to join us for the weekend and make Visalia baseball history.”

The Toros re-brand will include all aspects of the Rawhide organization: the Visalia players will wear all-new uniforms and hats for the series and an all-new merchandise line will be available to fans with the new Visalia Toros emblem. Furthermore, Recreation Park will be transformed for the four-day event.

Food vendors representing various Hispanic style food varieties will be at the ballpark for the Taquiza y Toros weekend only, with foods such as tacos, tamales, papusas, and more. The Rawhide will also be bringing in new and distinct beer flavors to celebrate the weekend and will be offering margarita specials in the Hall of Fame Club. The event will feature a festive atmosphere and will include live music throughout the events, postgame fireworks on August 4, and a water slide in the Kid’s Corral on August 6.

The Taquiza y Toros weekend will be dedicated to the memory of George “Cuco” Serrato. Serrato was an employee of the Visalia Parks and Recreation department whose love for the game played an instrumental part in bringing baseball to the North side of Visalia. Serrato’s vision led to the beginning of the Visalia Angels baseball team. Because of his contributions to the Visalia baseball community, the baseball field at Crowley Elementary School was named in his honor in 1992. Mary Serrato, a relative of George, has been an employee of the Visalia baseball club for nearly two decades.

The re-branding of the Rawhide to the Toros is part of the “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan” initiative from MiLB, which coincides with MiLB’s “It’s Fun to be a Fan” slogan. The campaign’s goal is to become a nationwide event by 2018 that will help to include, and be more welcoming to, the Hispanic fan base that is integral to the game of baseball at all levels. This season, four teams, the Rawhide, the Las Vegas 51s, which will become the Las Vegas Reyes de Plata, the Charlotte Knights, to be renamed the Charlotte Caballeros, and the Kane County Cougars, will re-brand throughout the final month of the MiLB regular season

“One of the pillars of Minor League Baseball is to create an environment where all individuals feel welcome and included in our ballparks,” said Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner. “It is important to us that our teams are reflective of the communities in which they reside, offering a memorable entertainment experience for all members of those communities.”

2017 marks the 71^st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark. The Rawhide are chasing their fifth consecutive playoff berth. For tickets and more information, visit Rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433. Follow the Rawhide on Social media on Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide), Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@visaliarawhide) and SnapChat (visaliarawhide).

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The 14 U.S.-based leagues and 160 clubs that charge admission averaged 6,667 fans per game over the holiday
period, drawing 521,020 fans for 79 games on July 3, and 538,955 fans for 80 games on July 4. Each MiLB team hosted a game in its respective community over those two days.

“Our ballparks provide fun, memory-making experiences for our fans all year long,” said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O’Conner. “The fact that more than one million fans spent their Fourth of July holiday in Minor League Baseball ballparks solidifies our teams’ prominence in their respective communities.”

Thirteen clubs set new franchise single-game attendance records on July 3 or July 4: Connecticut Tigers, Fort Myers Miracle, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Durham Bulls, Hartford Yard Goats, Johnson City Cardinals, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Missoula Osprey, Nashville Sounds, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Portland Sea Dogs, Richmond Flying Squirrels and Winston-Salem Dash. Additionally, three teams set new marks in renovated ballparks, including the Akron RubberDucks, Memphis Redbirds and Oklahoma City Dodgers.

The Buffalo Bisons drew the largest crowd among Triple-A teams, with 16,647 fans on July 3; the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp recorded the highest figure at the Double-A level (11,398 on July 3); while the Lansing Lugnuts posted the largest total at the Class-A level (11,449 on July 4) and the Spokane Indians drew the biggest crowd among Short Season level clubs (7,029 on July 4).

Editor’s Note: A capacity crowd of 3,006 were on hand to see the first 4th of July Rawhide game in Visalia.

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Two pitches later, Lockhart took a 2-2 hanging breaking ball from Diaz (L, 2-1) and blasted his second homer of the season off of the roof of the barn in right-center, sealing the second walk-off win for Visalia on the season, and their first by walk-off home run. The shot gave Visalia (1-0, 37-34) their season-best sixth consecutive win dating back to the end of the first half, and got them started with a victory in the second half standings. Visalia has now also won five of their six straight against San Jose (0-1, 30-41).

Jeter (W, 2-3) blew his third save of the season, holding a 5-2 lead heading into the ninth inning. He surrendered and RBI double to Dillon Dobson and a two-run homer to Gio Brusa with nobody out, but, even with two runners on, was able to preserve the tie.

Cody Reed was solid for Visalia, allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in six innings, walking just one. He left in line for the win. Matt Krook pitched his shortest outing in almost a month for the Giants, going 4 innings and allowing 5 runs on just six hits.

Visalia took a 5-2 lead despite two solo homers by the Giants from Ryan Howard and Jalen Miller thanks to an RBI single by Sergio Alcantara, an RBI double by Austin Byler, and a two-run double by Jason Morozowski. Alcantara also grounded out to bring home an insurance run in the fourth inning.

Visalia’s offense went quiet, not getting a hit between the third and sixth innings, until Byler slashed his second double of the game. He and Alcantara had multi-hit nights for the Rawhide.

The Rawhide will look for their seventh straight win tomorrow and will send RHP Justin Donatella (3-8, 4.33) to the mound against San Jose right-hander Jake McCasland (2-7, 5.61). First pitch is at 7:00 and tickets are still available at rawhidebaseball.com.

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Each hitter will be given two minutes to hit as many home runs as he can in a bracket-style tournament. The representatives of the four South Division teams will square off against each other, followed by the North Division sluggers in the opening round. After each division holds their second round, the two division champions will square off to decide the California League’s top home run hitter.

“We’re excited to put a twist on the traditional home run derby this year by having each player represent their team in a tournament,” said Rawhide General Manager Jennifer Reynolds. “The group of players that has been selected to represent their team and division should put on an outstanding show for all fans in attendance.”

Rodgers, who is putting together a career year at the plate, was the first-round draft pick, third overall, of the Rockies in 2015 and will hit for the Lancaster Jethawks. He blasted 19 home runs with Class-A Ashville last season and, as he approaches the All-Star break this season, he already has hit 11 while maintaining a .404 batting average.

Herum is making his third Mid-Season All-Star appearance in the past four seasons and has hit 4 home runs for Visalia this year. He has tremendous gap-to-gap power, leads the league with 22 doubles, and ranks in the league’s top four with a .498 slugging percentage.

Isabel, the 21-year-old first-baseman from the Dominican Republic, leads the California league with 15 home runs in 61 games played and will represent the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. His home run production this season has already surpassed his total from last season (12) and has nearly doubled his career total to 38.

The representative of the Lake Elsinore Storm will be 19-year old first-baseman Josh Naylor. The Ontario, Canada, native has blasted 7 home runs this season and was a first-round draft pick of the Miami Marlins in 2015. Naylor was drafted for his tremendous raw power and was named as a Futures Game Selection while with Greensboro in the South Atlantic League last season. Naylor is San Diego’s 13^th-ranked prospect.

The San Jose Giants will rest their Derby hopes on the shoulders of Aramis Garcia. Garcia is putting together a solid year at the plate and has blasted eight home runs for San Jose while driving home a team-leading 44 runs. The 13^th-ranked prospect for San Francisco, Garcia was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2014 draft.

Seth Brown will be hitting home runs for the Stockton Ports. The former 19^th round draft choice of Oakland has blasted 11 homers this season, good for third in the league, after hitting eight with Stockton in 2016.

The Modesto Nuts will be represented by Logan Taylor, who has hit six home runs this year. Taylor was originally a 12^th round draft pick by Seattle out of Texas A&M in 2014.

Jose Rojas will stand in for the Inland Empire 66ers. Rojas is in his second year of professional baseball after being drafted by the Los Angeles in the 36^th round last year and has hit nearly as many home runs this season, four, as he did through the entirety of his debut season in 2016, five.

The Home Run Derby will take place as the grand finale of the All-Star Fan Fest, which will take place at Recreation Park in Visalia on Monday, June 19^th. The Groppetti Automotive Fan Fest will also include the Lions International Charity Beep Baseball Game to benefit the Tulare Blind Babies Foundation, the In-N-Out Burger High School Hitting Challenge where seven local high school baseball and softball players will compete to win scholarship money, and the All-Star Skills Challenge. The Skills Challenge will feature Cal-League All-Stars alongside fans competing in such events as a lemon throwing contest, a chicken chase for speed, precision lasso roping, and the traditional Visalia Cow Milking Contest.

Visalia will host the California League All-Star Game and Fan Fest for the first time in 28 years on June 19^th and 20^th. For tickets and more information visit Rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433. You can follow the Rawhide on Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide), Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@visaliarawhide) and Snap Chat (visaliarawhide). Players denoted with an asterisk will not participate in the All-Star festivities.

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With Giants closer Ryan Halstead on in a non-save situation, the Rawhide put together a ninth inning rally, starting with a one-out single by Francis Christy. On the next pitch, Henry Castillo would double Christy home to narrow the deficit to 5-2. Grant Heyman and pinch-hitter Jason Morozowski would draw walks to load the bases and put the tying run on base.

Rawhide Manager Shelley Duncan played all of his cards, pinch-hitting Matt Jones for Galli Cribbs, who had just one hit in his past 21 at bats, but Jones popped out to center. Matt McPhearson represented the last chance for the Rawhide, but after battling Halstead to a 2-2 count he grounded out to short to end the game.

Giants starter Matt Solter (W, 1-0) impressed in his San Jose debut, allowing only one run over his seven innings pitched, scattering seven hits with three strikeouts. Bo Takahashi (L, 0-2) pitched well in four of his five innings, but labored in the fourth and ended up giving up the three-run homer to Dobson that would be the difference in the ballgame.

Miguel Aguilar and Cameron Gann both gave up runs in their relief outings, going an inning and two innings respectively.

Grant Heyman had a three-hit night for Visalia, finished with three singles, and Marty Herum extended his hitting streak to six games with a first-inning RBI single, his third such streak of the season.

Visalia (21-20) earned a series win by taking the first two games of the set against San Jose, but are now five and seven in the final game of a series this year.

The Rawhide will hit the road for a four-game series against Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate Rancho Cucamonga. First pitch tomorrow evening is scheduled for 7:05 PM PM. Visalia will send right-hander Ryan Atkinson to the mound and the Quakes will counter with the righty Adam Bray.

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Then Almonte came back to strike out Gio Brusa looking on a fastball. Long’s pace slowed in the bullpen, and Almonte struck out both Matt Winn and Joneshwy Fargus to end the inning. Almonte (W, 3-3) would depart after the sixth, having struck out nine batters and holding San Jose to just four hits in his second shutout outing against San Jose this year. He also walked three batters and hit two.

Long took over in the seventh and gave up a double to Aaron Hill on a rehab assignment from San Francisco, Hill’s send double of the game. Two batters later, Dobson would take a two-strike offering from Long out of the ballpark to left to put San Jose on the board, 6-2. Long would strike out Quinn to end the inning.

Long gave way to Cody Clark, who struggled out of the gate in the eighth, walking Howard and giving up a single to Brusa. Clark would come back to strike out Winn and Fargus, but after allowing an infield single to Jalen Miller Clark was lifted in favor of the hard-throwing right-hander Mason McCullough. McCullough walked pinch-hitter Jonah Arenado to bring in a run that was charged to Clark, but would strike out Aramis Garcia to end the inning.

McCullough (SV, 3) struck out Dobson to start the ninth and then fell behind Quinn on a two-and-oh count before Quinn took him deep off the roof of the barn in right center to bring the Giants within three. McCullough would strike out Howard and induce a pop-out to Christy to end the ballgame.

Visalia (21-19) had won its second straight game while San Jose (15-25) had lost its seventh contest in its last eight and have sunk to ten games below five hundred for the first time since July 9, 2015.

Marty Herum paced the Rawhide offense, which got going in the first inning. Matt McPhearson was hit by a pitch from San Jose starter Mike Connolly (L, 3-4) and was quickly plated when Sergio Alcantara doubled into the right-center field gap. Two batters later, Herum flipped a broken bat bloop single into right to score Alcantara and make it a 2-0 Visalia lead.

Herum would plate two more in the third inning when he hit a two-hop double off the barn to bring home McPhearson and Austin Byler and Grant Heyman would hit his second home run in as many games to center field in the fourth, capping the Rawhide scoring and giving Visalia a 6-0 lead.

Herum finished with four hits in four at bats, his first four-hit game of the year and the seventh of his career. McPhearson added a three hit night and Henry Castillo put up his second multi-hit performance, collecting two hits in his four plate appearances.

The Rawhide will conclude the three-game series against San Francisco affiliate San Jose tomorrow evening with a chance to seal their first sweep of 2017. First pitch is scheduled for 7 PM. Visalia will send right-hander Bo Takahashi to the mound and the Giants will counter with the righty Matt Solter. Tickets are still available at rawhidebaseball.com.

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With Morozowski on in the ninth and two out, Marty Herum smoked a ground ball toward the five-hole, and it looked like the Rawhide would be able to extend the game and move the tying run into scoring position. But Brandon Montgomery took a quick step to his left, snared the hard hop and tossed to second to seal a 2-1 win for the Quakes.

Rancho Cucamonga (21-17) took one-run lead in the eighth inning in a bizarre sequence. Rawhide starter Justin Donatella (L, 0-6) retired Drew Jackson on a fly-out to start the frame and tie his career-high in innings pitched at seven and one-third. Then Omar Estevez blooped a double down the left field line, which ended Donatella’s day. He had allowed only one run to that point and the double was his second hit. Donatella had fanned eight batters and walked none, the latter of which he had not previously accomplished this season. Between the first and sixth innings, Donatella retired 13 consecutive Quakes hitters.

Mason McCullough was summoned from the bullpen and struck out Ibandel Isabel on three sliders, but then walked Ariel Sandoval. With Brandon Montgomery up, catcher Matt Jones suffered three passed balls, one of which brought Estavez home as the go-ahead run. McCullough struck out Erick Mejia to retire the side.

Rancho Cucamonga starter Mitchell White (W, 2-1) matched Donatella zero-for-zero on the scoreboard, taking a perfect game into the fourth inning before allowing an infield single to Sergio Alcantara. He then retired the next nine men he faced in order before Alcantara blooped a double into left field. Sandoval made a diving attempt at the ball, but it scooted under his glove and Alcantara wound up on second with a double. Two batters later, Marty Herum hit a booming double off the base of the wall in left center, mere feet away from giving the Rawhide their first lead. Alcantara came home to score and the Rawhide had tied the game up 1-1.

That was the only hit with a man on base that Visalia (19-19) managed today. White would depart after seven strong innings, allowing only three hits with eight strikeouts. Alex Hermeling (SV, 1) allowed the tying run to reach in each of his two innings, but stranded him both times and got the save. Isabel broke up Donatella’s no-hitter in the sixth with a laser of a solo home run to left, his league-leading 10th of the year.

The Rawhide will begin a three-game series against San Francisco affiliate San Jose tomorrow evening, with first pitch at 6 PM. Visalia will send right-hander Joel Payamps to the mound and the Giants will counter with the lefty Conner Menez. Tickets are still available at rawhidebaseball.com.

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