Minor League Report: Answering the Call

A good week all around down on the farm, and a closer look at a largely-unknown member of the Reno bullpen

Including players on the injured or ineligible lists, there are somewhere around 5,000 domestic minor league players at any given time. On the one hand, it’s a tiny number; the total domestic player pool for every organization combined could fit in Chase Field over nine times. On the other, it’s a huge number. For each of those 5,000 players has a unique story, events that have made them who they are, set their lives on a path that has led them to this point. Tales of triumph and tragedy; stories of chance meetings, of being in the right place at the right time, and especially all of the work that it has taken them to reach this point, as well as the work they have yet to do. We’ll never know the majority of those stories. Telling one is an honor.

In from the bullpen jogs the new pitcher, summoned from the mound in a difficult situation. It’s a close game; his team is behind by a single run. There are two outs, but the previous pitcher has run out of gas, having walked two and given up a line drive that was thankfully right to a fielder. Up steps a slugger into the batter’s box, and out walks the manager. The pitcher just needs to get this guy out.

Stressful situation? Adrenaline rush? Yes, it is stressful, and for many pitchers this situation may be the most stressful thing they have faced. But not for Taylor Rashi, right-handed reliever of the Reno Aces. He’s faced far greater stress, and was doing so long before he threw a pitch for a major college program, let alone a professional team.

In addition to being a professional pitcher at the second highest level in the country, Rashi is a certified EMT. He has been since he was 18, over a decade ago. He was answering calls as a first responder before he was answering a coach’s or manager’s call in the bullpen. It puts pitching in perspective. “There’s [nothing] that I’ve found in my life that compares to the responsibility…of trying to save someone’s life or even bring them back from being basically dead.” While he has not worked as an EMT since his time at El Camino College, he has kept up his certification. Every two years, Rashi takes 24 hours of continuing education classes, a written test, and a skills test to maintain that certification. When his baseball career finally reaches its end,

Baseball has been part of Rashi’s life for as long as he can remember, playing in his California back yard with his grandfather. He grew up always playing the game, and when he started playing organized baseball, always pitching. He pitched for West Torrance High School in his hometown of Torrance, CA. He stayed in Torrance for junior college, at El Camino College, where he made 28 starts, and then went on to play for UC Irvine. It was as an Anteater that he made the transition from starting to the bullpen.

He went undrafted for the third time in 2018. Heading into his final season in 2019, Rashi made a determination. “I kind of let any expectation of what could happen, go. I knew I was a little bit older. I knew I didn’t throw as hard as everybody else. So during that entire season, I focused on enjoying the time I had left playing baseball and enjoying the people I was around, my teammates, my coaches…just enjoying the moment.” When the 2019 draft happened, Rashi was focused on finals. UC Irvine’s quarter system meant the school year was a little longer, and the draft was earlier in those days. That combination meant that, on the third day of the draft, he was walking to the baseball field to rest between finals when he got a text from coach Ben Orloff congratulating him. But it hadn’t been a focus. “I was just kind of playing and I knew I was having a pretty decent year, and whatever happened, happened.” (Pretty decent would be one way to describe it; Rashi was having a season that saw him named a third-team All American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, along with then-Georgia Tech player and future teammate Tristin English.)

The Giants had drafted him in the 23^rd round of the draft, a round which no longer exists. He signed for a bonus of $2000. But thanks to the support structure he had in place, it wasn’t a hard decision to forgo firefighting for baseball. “It’s always been a dream to play major league baseball, and with the people I had around me and the support I had from my mom, it was a very easy decision.” Firefighters will always be needed and firefighting will always be a career available to Rashi, but having not been called by professional baseball out of high school, junior college, or after his junior year at UC Irvine, Rashi knew the chance wasn’t coming again, and he wasn’t done playing yet.

Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images

After nine appearances at the complex in 2019, he had a single appearance in the Northwest League, then short-season A-ball. And thanks to the reshuffling of the minor league system after 2020, he went back to the Pacific Northwest in 2021, pitching well for Eugene. He was pitching even better for AA Richmond in 2022 (posting a WHIP of 0.971 in 30 appearances) when his season came to an abrupt end in August. He needed a complete repair of his latissimus dorsi tendon in the back of his shoulder. Surgery was performed by Dr. Anthony Romeo and the process of rehab and return started.

Hardcore baseball fans (and plenty of casual fans, even) are aware that the winter meetings end with the Rule 5 draft. Most are familiar with the major league portion of the draft, in which teams may select players with a certain amount of minor league service time who are not on the 40-man roster. What fewer fans know is that there is a minor league portion as well. Players not on the AAA roster are available for selection in that portion. It is easy to find articles about major league Rule 5 selections, and being selected in the major league Rule 5 portion is doubtless a moment of excitement for players, as they have the inside track towards a major league roster spot. The minor league portion goes largely unnoticed.

On December 7, 2022, Rashi was sitting in a hotel room playing video games with a teammate when he happened to glance at his phone. “I got somewhere around like 50 or 60 messages on my phone. And I was like, ‘what can this be about?’ And it was just a bunch of teammates of mine texting me saying ‘good luck this, good luck, we’re gonna miss you.’ And I was super confused…for the first couple of hours.” But he was in the Diamondbacks’ complex the next day, beginning to “work with a new set of people, a new set of trainers, physical therapists. [Figuring out] how do I get back on the field as soon as possible to help this organization?”

Five days short of one year after his last appearance in the Giants’ organization, Rashi made his first appearance in the Diamondbacks’ organization, a rehab appearance in the complex. After three rehab appearances, it was on to Amarillo, where he struck out 23 against just four walks in 17 innings. 2024 saw him make the journey between Amarillo and Reno several times. In 2025, he began the season in AAA for the first time.

Even at 29, Rashi knows that he is newer to the level, and he appreciates the way the bullpen construction in Reno provides development beyond coaching. “There’s a lot of good mentorship from the older guys teaching us newer and younger guys how things are done, the professionalism of being able to last an entire year in a bullpen.” And even as he is getting that mentorship, he is passing it along to the next generation. Rather than go to commercial pitching labs like so many, Rashi works in the offseason at UC Irvine, where he maintains a relationship with the coaches and they invite him and other players to work during the offseason. “They have all the equipment that you really need…to measure your progress through the offseason.” The relationship with the coaches at UC Irvine ties back into the support network that has been so important throughout Rashi’s career.

Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Will we see Taylor Rashi in a (regular season) Diamondbacks’ uniform at some point? It’s always been a long shot. He barely hits 90 MPH, and velocity is the calling card of a lot of relievers these days. But what he does have is a curveball and a delivery that combine to keep hitters off balance and have proven effective at every level. If he does get the call, it will be the result of his perseverance and the support received from family, friends, and coaches. And if he never appears for the Diamondbacks, he’ll return to a more important uniform.

Last Week: A Brief Recap

For the first time this season, no affiliates lost a series. Amarillo, Reno, and Visalia all pulled out 4-2 series wins, while Hillsboro fell just short, splitting the home series against Tri-City.

Offensive Players of the Week: A.J. Vukovich and Kristian Robinson

The outfielders were far and away the best bats in the organization for the week, despite there being other excellent performances. Vukovich tied for the lead in hits for the week with ten, hit three home runs, and drove in more runs than anyone else (nine). Robinson collected the most true total bases on the week (total bases plus walks and times hit by pitch) with 23, also hit three home runs, and had more walks (six) than strikeouts (four). His 1.483 OPS for the week led the organization.

Starting Pitcher of the Week: Tommy Henry

Henry got off to a dismal start, giving up four runs in his first inning of work. But over the next eleven innings, he gave up just three runs, including a quality start on Sunday. He struck out 12 and walked just four in his 12 innings of work for the week. While other pitchers had more dominant outings, Henry’s week was the most well-rounded.

Relief Pitcher of the Week: Hayden Durke

While Durke made just two appearances, he faced eight batters and recorded eight outs. He allowed just one batter to reach base, and that via the hit by pitch, and he erased that baserunner via the double play. He struck out four of the eight he faced. He threw 33 pitches, 22 of them for strikes. He’s harnessing his stuff better, and the results were obvious last week.

Numbers of the Week

9, which, in case you missed it, was the number of pitches Daniel Eagen threw in the first inning this week. His immaculate inning was the single most notable individual achievement down on the farm this week.

216, which was the number of strikeouts recorded on the week, from Tommy Henry’s 12 to Tristin English’s single strikeout. Across the system, there were 2.1 strikeouts for every walk.

4, the number of home runs hit by LuJames Groover, most in the system. The rest of his numbers were also solid, but not quite at the level of Vukovich or Robinson, but he still deserves a shout out here.

46, the percentage of the time Ben McLaughlin, Caleb Roberts, and Jack Hurley struck out this week. The trio of left handed bats struggled mightily, managing five singles and one walk between them while striking out 23 times. Hurley, however, walked in his final plate appearance Saturday and got his lone hit on Sunday, so perhaps he is breaking out of his funk.

15, the number of players in the system who posted an OPS over 1.000 last week. This includes top prospects starting to find their bats (Demetrio Crisantes, Abdias De La Cruz), players continuing to mash (Jordan Lawlar, Groover, Gavin Conticello), and players sent down to find their bats again (Jake McCarthy). It also includes Manny Pena, who made his 2025 debut and his AA debut, and went 7-for-16 with each type of extra base hit. He’s added noticeable muscle from last year and is finding his power.

1.095, Jordan Lawlar’s PCL-leading OPS. He leads the league in OPS despite being third in OBP and second in SLG. In addition to walking 13% of the time, he is getting extra base hits 14.6% of the time. Add in his two times hit by pitch, and Lawlar has either gotten an extra base or a free base in 29.3% of his plate appearances.

2, the number of major leagues that would be led in stolen bases by Lawlar’s 12. (He’d be tied for first in the NL with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Oneil Cruz.) This, despite 67 total bases, a number which leads all minor leaguers and would trail just Aaron Judge and Corbin Carroll among big leaguers.

Some Plays of the Week

No particular order, just some highlights from down on the farm.

That Crisantes-bomb was measured at 457 feet. You can see that it not only cleared the outfield wall comfortably, it landed on the other side of a chain link fence 15 feet or so beyond the outfield wall.

Congratulations are due to Vargas, who has had an incredible career, most of it in the Diamondbacks system. And he had a game saving (and ending) defensive play as well.

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Next Up

Be on the lookout for some movement between Hillsboro and Visalia this week. Not because of performance (good or bad) but because the Hops are heading north of the border to Vancouver. It’s not unusual for a player not to have a visa (last year, Neyfy Castillo had this issue) and so they would be moved elsewhere.

Amarillo travels to face archrival Midland. Reno is in Sacramento. And Visalia will return home to face Fresno. Both Reno (14-13) and Visalia (8-13) are facing teams with identical records, and given the split-season system, having a good performance this week is key.