The Diamondbacks need Brandon Allen to get ready for a return to the majors. If they trade Adam LaRoche later this month or sometime in August the D-Backs will likely give Allen another chance. Allen has played in 64 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 56 of 222 (.252 avg, .876 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 11 homers, 45 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks have plans for Allen in the future so they need him to start picking up the pace in the minors before they need him.

22-year old righty swinging outfielder A.J. Pollock was the D-Backs’ #3 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He was a first round pick (#17 overall) in the 2009 Draft. Pollock has played in 63 games in A-ball so far this season and he is 69 of 255 (.271 avg, .695 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 3 homers, 22 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He isn’t playing too bad in his first taste of professional baseball. The D-Backs will likely have him on the fast track to the majors as long as he can handle it.

23-year old lefty swinging outfielder Gerardo Parra is off to a blazing start in AAA. Many were wondering if Parra was going to mope when he got demoted but he hasn’t. Parra has played in 9 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 15 of 36 (.417 avg, 1.073 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 37 games earlier this year for the Diamondbacks in which he was 22 of 94 (.234 avg, .584 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 7 RBIs. I have a feeling that the D-Backs won’t be able to keep Parra in the minors much longer if he keeps hitting like he is in the minors.

The D-Backs have lost 25-year old lefty reliever Clay Zavada for the year due to Tommy John Surgery. The D-Backs knew something was wrong with Zavada based on his pitching in AAA this year. Zavada pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 30.00 ERA and a 5.33 WHIP. He gave up 6 hits and walked 10 batters in only 3 innings in the minors this season. This hurts the Diamondbacks as they were planning to bring Zavada up at some point this season as he pitched pretty good for them last year. Zavada pitched in 49 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last season and he was 3-3 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP as he whiffed 52 batters in only 51 innings in 2009.

The Diamondbacks are going to take it slowly with 19-year old switch hitting 3B Bobby Borchering. He came into this season as the D-Backs’ #2 rated prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 33 games in A-ball this season and he is 33 of 124 (.266 avg, .754 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 16 RBIs. But he has whiffed 32 times this season and he has already made 10 errors which shows that he has a lot to work on. But he’s young and time is on his side. Borchering has played in 55 games in his two years in the minors and he is 54 of 211 (.256 avg, .738 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers and 27 RBIs.