Hunter Cranton joins Amarillo following the Suarez Trade

The deadline has passed and the dust is settling for traded players to find out where they are going, and corresponding moves for others. Amarillo witnessed this when Kristian Robinson was promoted to Triple-A Reno due to outfielder Randal Grichuk being traded to the Kansas City Royals. This time, Amarillo will be adding to their roster as right-handed reliever Hunter Cranton is joining the team in Bomb City.

Cranton was one of the pieces coming in from the Eugenio Suárez trade along with 1B Tyler Locklear, who will join the Diamondbacks, and RHP Juan Burgos, who was assigned to the Aces.

A third-round pick for Seattle in 2024 out of Kansas, Cranton started the season on the IL after taking a liner off the side of his head in Spring Training, causing him to be sidelined until late June with a concussion. Since returning, Cranton has been amazing in the ACL and High-A with a 0.90 ERA and a 14/3 K/BB in 10 appearances. The reliever has also averaged 1.4 strikeouts per appearance so far and posted the second-highest swinging strike rate in the Northwest League at 22.4% in his 8 innings of work out of the bullpen.

The Sod Poodles will get an arm who will stay in the upper 90s with his fastball with the ability to touch 100, something that Amarillo doesn't currently have on the roster. Cranton pairs that with an upper 80s slider that will flash being a plus pitch at times.

The Diamondbacks #23 Prospect (per MLB Pipeline) will be a welcome addition to a team already rolling in the second half of the season.