D-backs' Prospect Yu-Min Lin Shines in Arizona Fall League

Arizona Diamondbacks top pitching prospect Yu-Min Lin made his second appearance in the Arizona Fall League Wednesday night at Scottsdale Stadium. He tossed three scoreless innings for the Salt River Rafters, giving up three singles, a walk, and struck out four. The Scottsdale Scorpions defeated the Salt River Rafters however, by a score of 3-1.

That brings Lin's total in the fall league to six scoreless innings. All six hits against him have been singles, and he's walked just one while striking out seven.

Lin throws three different kinds of fastballs, a four-seamer, sinker, and a cutter. He also has a curveball and changeup he's been flashing. Lin explained his approach to the outing during a postgame interview.

"I had a decent first outing. I kept watching my first outing video and tried to do the same things, just try to execute the pitches well. I already knew I wouldn't pitch five or six innings, so I just tried to throw all my stuff."

Lin threw 49 pitches, 28 for strikes in the outing. Early in the outing he was missing arm side with his curveball and had to deal with some traffic on the bases, but he was able to get the outs he needed to keep runs off the board.

"Unfortunately my curve was a little off today, but my four-seamer and sinker were pretty good. I tried to work on every pitch. I wasn't trying to work on the movement, I'm just trying to execute the pitch well and have better command. That was the only thing I was doing today."

Explaining the choice between when he throws a four seam and sinker, Lin articulated a clear answer that shows his self-awareness. "I'm not a huge velo guy, so I need to throw pitches with different movement. So when you face a right-hand batter you can throw more four-seamers, and when seeing a left-hand batter you can throw more sinkers."

Related Content: D-backs' Yu-Min Lin Grateful to be Pitching in the Fall League

Several other Diamondbacks prospects appeared in the game.

Outfielder Kristian Robinson laced a long double on a line to the right center field gap in the fifth inning. The strikeout-prone Robinson struck out three times in his other at-bats. Be sure to also see our interview with Robinson from last week.

Tommy Troy continued his tough luck Fall League to date. He was robbed of extra bases on a terrific diving catch from Scorpions right fielder Sammy Siani (Pittsburgh Pirates). The ball was a sinking line drive tailing away from Siani that would have at least been a triple had he not come up with it.

Troy later drew a walk, and showed a better approach at the plate overall, despite the lack of results. It's been a tough go for the top-rated prospect. He's now 1-for-25 in the Fall League, the lone hit being a double in his first game. He's struck out 11 times. Most of his playing time has come at second base.

Right-hand reliever Kyle Amendt made his second appearance. He threw one inning, allowing an unearned run on a walk and a base hit. It was a passed ball that put a runner in scoring position after the walk.

Amendt struck out two batters however, showing why his unique, over-the-top delivery is difficult to pick up. His pitching style is reminiscent of former Diamondback Josh Collmenter.

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