Reno Aces' Kohl Drake Earns PCL Pitcher of the Week Honors

Five no-hit innings at Isotopes Park is a rare accomplishment for any pitcher, let alone a visiting arm. Kohl Drake made it look inevitable. The Reno Aces left-hander retired 15 of the 17 Albuquerque Isotopes hitters he faced last Thursday, striking out five and walking two in a performance that earned him Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors, announced April 6.

Drake became only the second visiting pitcher since at least 2005 to throw five or more no-hit innings at Isotopes Park, a venue notorious for altitude-aided offense. The outing was his second start of the 2026 season and a no-decision in Reno's 3-1 loss, but the line was exceptional enough to stand apart from the result: five shutout innings, zero hits allowed, 15 batters retired across 17 plate appearances.

The performance pushed Drake's season numbers to a 3.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP across nine innings, with 11 strikeouts against just three walks. He also joined a short list in franchise history, becoming the seventh Aces pitcher ever to post a line of five or more innings with no hits allowed in a single start. His teammate Bryce Jarvis was the last to do it, on a May 30 outing last season that earned him the same PCL weekly honor.

Drake, 25, arrived in Reno as part of the deal that sent veteran Merrill Kelly to the Texas Rangers at last summer's trade deadline. He and fellow southpaw Mitch Bratt were the primary returns in that trade, immediately reshaping the Aces rotation around two left-handed prospects. Despite a rougher Opening Day in which he allowed three runs on three hits in four innings against the Tacoma Rainiers, Drake answered with his best stuff in Albuquerque. The SI.com analysis of the two prospects noted Drake had not had a strong spring training, making the turnaround in his Albuquerque start all the more significant.

Ranked No. 12 among all Arizona Diamondbacks prospects and regarded as the top arm in their farm system, Drake's early-season command and strikeout rate carry implications well beyond the PCL standings. A 0.67 WHIP through two starts suggests his four-pitch mix, anchored by a fastball with plus induced vertical break and a curveball that generates whiffs at a 30 percent clip, is proving durable and deceptive at Triple-A. The D-backs' front office will be watching closely as his innings total climbs.

Reno opened a six-game homestand at Greater Nevada Field this week against the Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. After the Aces went 3-3 against Albuquerque in their first road series of 2026, Drake gave the pitching staff a moment worth remembering on the way out of New Mexico.