Hit parade: Aces lead PCL in batting average

The Reno Aces took advantage of a home sellout, putting their offense on display in an 8-2 win over the Salt Lake City Bees on Saturday.

The Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate has the best batting average in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) through June 3 and was able to showcase it over the weekend.

Jorge Barrosa went 2-for-4 with an RBI, seeing his batting average level out at .326 through 46 at-bats this season.

Barrosa, a 23-year-old, is one of the Diamondbacks’ top prospects, checking in as the organization No. 7 ranked prospect, per FanGraphs.

The center fielder boasts a .946 OPS and has a home run to go with 13 RBIs in his time in Reno.

ACES AT THE PLATE

Other Aces’ batting leaders:

• Outfielder Kyle Garlick is tied for the third-most home runs in the PCL with 13.

His 13 long balls leads the Aces as do his team-leading 46 RBIs.

• Catcher Adrian Del Castillo has a gaudy .340 batting average in 206 at-bats in Triple-A.

The No. 36 ranked prospect in the organization is tied for second on the team in home runs (10) while his 37 RBIs is the most by a catcher in the PCL.

His 1.003 OPS ranks second in the PCL.

Wednesday, Del Castillo was named the PCL Player of the Month for the month of May.

• At third base, Andrés Chaparro has matched Del Castillo’s 10 home runs while putting together a .311 batting average of his own alongside a .389 on-base percentage.

• Outfielder Albert Almora is also over the .300 threshold, hitting .307 in 215 at-bats.

ACES ON THE MOUND

Though the PCL is an extremely hitter-friendly environment, the Aces pitching staff ranks seventh out of 10 teams in ERA (5.88).

Despite the inflated team ERA, the Aces are third in the league in strikeouts.

• Christian Mena, a 21-year-old and Arizona’s 10^th-best prospect, has a team-high 63 strikeouts in 61 innings of work.

Those 63 strikeouts rank Mena with the third-most in the league.

His 4.43 ERA is the lowest among qualified pitchers for Reno.

• Humberto Castellanos has a 4.57 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 43.1 innings for the Aces through June 3.

• Dakota Chalmers has had a tough time consistently finding the strike zone with 25 walks in 22.2 innings of work.

However, the prospect does have 39 strikeouts during that span.

• Slade Cecconi, who has been up and down this season with the big-league club, has recorded a 3.38 ERA in 26.2 innings of work in PCL action.

The Aces are on the road this week, playing a six-game set at Tacoma.

Reno returns home June 11-16 for six games against Sacramento, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.