26-year old righty swinging 3B Jamie D’Antona is off to an excellent start in AAA ball for the D-Backs. He has played in 64 games in AAA this season and he is 92 for 232 (.397 avg, 1.043 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. Unless something happens to Mark Reynolds, D’Antona won’t likely get a shot with the D-Backs until rosters expand in September. But, he could be a very attractive trading chip for the Diamondbacks around the trading deadline because he does appear major league ready.

19-year old righty starter Jarrod Parker is the #2 prospect in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook and he is off to an outstanding start this season. Parker has started 5 games in A-Ball this season and he is 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Parker also has exhibited outstanding control this season as he has only walked 2 batters and whiffed 19 in 20.2 innings. The Diamondbacks will probably take it slow with Parker as he is still pretty young but he has a huge upside.

24 year old lefty swinging Chris Carter will likely battle Conor Jackson for the first base job on the Diamondbacks next season.  Carter has played in 111 games in AAA ball this season and he is 145 for 439 (.330 avg, .916 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 15 homers and 70 RBIs.  Look for Carter to join the Diamondbacks in September if not before to help them make a run at the playoffs.

The D-Backs have placed Carlos Quentin on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring.  Quentin has had a rough season as he has been banged up all year long.  He has played in 71 games this season and he is 45 for 216 (.208 avg, .640 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers and 28 RBIs.  To replace Quentin on both the roster and in the starting lineup the D-Backs have recalled 19 year old Justin Upton from AA ball.  Upton’s brother is one of the up and coming players in the American League (B.J. of the Devil Rays) and Justin has a very similar skill set.  Upton has played in 103 games in A+AA ball this season and he was 123 for 385 (.319 avg, .961 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 18 homers, 70 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.  It will be very interesting to see if Upton can handle major league pitching at such a young age.

Minor league infielder Donnie Sadler has been suspended for 50 games for violating the minor league drug policy.  This will likely end his season and quite possibly his career with the Diamondbacks.  He has played in 52 AAA games this season and he was 24 for 112 (.214 avg, .714 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Sadler also played in 1 game for the Diamondbacks and he was 0 for 1 (.000 avg.).  The loss of Sadler will not hurt the Diamondbacks one bit this season.