Slaten sharp with Reno

The following are updates on area athletes playing minor league baseball.

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Doug Slaten (Glendale Community College, 1999) Reno Aces relief pitcher: Slaten, a left-hander, last pitched July 6. Slaten, 29, allowed a run and two hits in Reno’s 7-4 victory against the Sacramento River Cats. Slaten, who began the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, worked the eighth inning, striking out one.

Through Sunday, Slaten is 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA and two saves. Slaten has yielded 23 hits and 10 runs and struck out 25 in 23 2/3 innings.

Reno, the triple-A team of the Diamondbacks, is 46-45 and in second place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific South Division.

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Michael Valadez (Glendale Community College, 2006) Lake County Captains catcher: Valadez, 23, has struggled as of late with the Captains, who are a single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians in the South Atlantic League.

Through Sunday, Valadez, who attended Lee University in Tennessee, is hitting .211 (28 for 133) with three home runs and 16 runs batted in. Valadez did have a three-hit game, which included a solo home run, to spark Lake County to a 4-2 road victory against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on July 7.

Valadez homered to begin the fifth inning to give Lake County a 3-0 lead. He also had singles in the second and seventh. He’s recorded three doubles and four stolen bases on the year.

The Captains are 40-43 and in fourth place in the league’s Northern Division.

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Marco Estrada (Glendale Community College, 2003) Syracuse Chiefs starting pitcher: Estrada suffered a loss in his most recent outing. The right-hander allowed six hits and three walks over six innings in Syracuse’s 2-0 loss to the visiting Lehigh Valley IronPigs on July 5. Estrada allowed one run in an 81-pitch performance.

Through Sunday, Estrada is 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA with the triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. In 17 appearances, Estrada has struck out 68 and allowed 42 runs in 87 innings.

The Chiefs are 48-40 and in second place in the International League’s North Division.

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Jason Hirsh (St. Francis High, 2000) Colorado Springs Sky Sox starting pitcher: Hirsh and the Sky Sox are in first place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific North Division. Colorado Springs is 51-39 through Sunday.

Hirsh, a right-hander, last pitched July 7. He allowed seven runs (all earned) and six hits to take the loss in a 7-3 defeat against the Portland Beavers. Hirsh walked four and surrendered a pair of home runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Through Sunday, Hirsh is 5-6 with a 6.73 ERA. The California Lutheran University graduate has appeared in 17 games and has struck out 52.

He’s allowed 72 runs and 119 hits in 92 1/3 innings for the triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

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Trevor Bell (Crescenta Valley High, 2005) Salt Lake Bees starting pitcher: The right-hander turned in another gem on Sunday, tossing his second shutout of the year.

Bell, 22, scattered five hits and struck out five to help Salt Lake pick up a 5-0 victory against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Bell improved to 3-2 with the Bees, who are the triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and lowered his earned-run average to 1.57 during his 110-pitch effort that included a pair of walks. He pitched to former major leaguers Mark Bellhorn and Sal Fasano, who went hitless in eight combined plate appearances. It marked the second time in less than three weeks that Bell has blanked Colorado Springs, as he did so in his Salt Lake debut, as well.

In six starts with the Bees, Bell has thrown two shutouts. Bell has struck out 26 and walked 10 in 46 innings. He’s allowed eight earned runs and 29 hits for the Bees, who are 47-44 and in second place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific North Division.