The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) named Rookie League Missoula INF Paxton De La Garza and Single-A Kane County RHP Emilio Vargas the organization's Minor League Player-and-Pitcher-of-the-Month for August.
 
De La Garza, 22, hit .385 (35-for-91) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 22 games in August for the Osprey. He led the Pioneer League in RBI and ranked among the league leaders in homers (T-3rd), average (4th), OPS (4th, 1.050), total bases (5th, 55), on-base pct. (5th, .446) and slugging pct. (6th, .604). A 33rd-round selection in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, De La Garza earned a promotion to Missoula from Rookie AZL D-backs on July 31, and took home PL Player of the Week honors for Aug. 22-28.  
 
Vargas, 20, went 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA (5 ER in 29.0 IP) and 42 strikeouts in 5 starts for Kane County. He led the Midwest League in WHIP (0.59) and opponent average (.137), while ranking among the league leaders in strikeouts (5th) and ERA (8th). The right-hander recorded a career-high 17 strikeouts without issuing a walk in 8.0 innings on Aug. 20 at Quad Cities, retiring 17 consecutive batters at one point. A native of Moca, Dominican Republic, Vargas was signed by the D-backs as a Minor League free agent in 2013.
 
Every month during the season, the D-backs Player Development staff chooses the player and pitcher most deserving of the honors based on nominations from coaches at each affiliate along with input from the Minor League coordinators. Below is a list of the overall winners as well as player nominated by each affiliate:
 
AUGUST | OVERALL | RENO | MOBILE | VISALIA | KANE COUNTY
PLAYER: Paxton De La Garza | Ildemaro Vargas | Kevin Cron | Victor Reyes | Fernery Ozuna 
PITCHER: Emilio Vargas | Matt Koch | Matt Stites | Nick Baker | Emilio Vargas
 
AUGUST | HILLSBORO | MISSOULA | AZL | DSL1 | DSL2
PLAYER: Jason Morozowski | Paxton De La Garza | Myles Babitt | Luis Lara | Eddie Hernandez
PITCHER: Junior Garcia | Rafael Pujols | Jeremiah Muhammad | Bryan Valdez | Pedro Zorrila