The Padres believe Luis Urias is their second baseman of the future. (Photo: Grant Wickes)
Three teams were in action Monday, as the Storm got the day off. In Albuquerque, the Chihuahuas lost a slugfest, while the Missions won once again in dramatic fashion. The TinCaps opened a road trip with a win in Quad Cities — a rematch of the Midwest League championship series of a year ago.
Albuquerque Isotopes 11, Chihuahuas 7
Key Statistics: SS Luis Urias, 2-for-4, R, BB; RF Franmil Reyes, 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB; 1B Allen Craig, 1-for-4, HR (4), RBI; CF Dusty Coleman, 2-for-4, HR (5), 2B, 3 RBI; RHP Michael Mariot (L, 0-1) 1.2 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Robert Stock, IP, K.
Prospect Watch: El Paso lost their third straight game, losing a morning game to the Isotopes. … Franmil Reyes didn’t homer but he did have two hits and a walk in the Chihuahuas’ loss. Reyes won PCL Player of the Week Monday for the ridiculous hot stretch he had last week. Reyes hit .607 (17-for-28) with eight (no, that’s not a typo) homers, that included three straight multi-homer games. Reyes is the first PCL player in 11 years to hit eight homers in a week. Reyes’ 13 homers lead all of Minor League Baseball. … Luis Urias had two more hits to raise his on-base percentage to a robust .438. He ranks sixth in the league with 20 walks. … RHP Michael Mariot made a spot start in place of RHP Walker Lockett, who was scratched without comment from the organization. Mariot did not fare well, as he allowed eight earned runs while recording just five outs. Mariot, 29, has 44 games of big league experience with the Royals and Phillies, with his most recent stint coming in 2016. The Padres signed the former Nebraska hurler in the offseason and he has had a brutal campaign pitching in the PCL. Mariot has a 12.15 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs in 13.1 innings, while also allowing five homers. … Lockett was likely held back in conjunction with the big league club’s decision to move Bryan Mitchell to the bullpen.
Missions 5, Corpus Christi Hooks 4
Key Statistics: SS Fernando Tatis Jr., 1-for-4, R, BB; 3B Ty France, 1-for-4, HR (6), 4 RBI, BB, R; C Austin Allen, 2-for-4, 2B, R; RHP Cal Quantrill, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Rowan Wick (W, 2-1) 2 IP, H, BB, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: For the second time in less than a week, the Missions won a game on a walk-off grand slam, this time coming off of the bat of third baseman Ty France. … France, 23, slammed his sixth homer in the ninth to give the Missions their seventh straight win. While the season is still very young, France is in the midst of a career season. France is hitting .258/.425/.495 while maintaining an 11% walk rate, while striking out in only 12% of his plate appearances. We’ve said it before but the former 34th-rounder out of San Diego State continues to do nothing but hit and get on base. … RHP Cal Quantrill struggled with his command and gave up four runs in 5.2 innings. Quantrill, 23, has gone at least five innings in six consecutive starts, allowing two earned runs or less in four of them. Quantrill has allowed weaker contact in his second stint in Double-A, although his control has been spotty at times.
Storm: The Storm had the night off and will open a series at home tomorrow night against Rancho Cucamonga.
TinCaps 6, Quad Cities River Bandits 3
Key Statistics: CF Jeisson Rosario, 2-for-3, BB, 2 RBI; SS Gabriel Arias, 2-for-5, 4 RBI; 3B Justin Lopez, 2-for-4, R, 2B; LF Jack Suwinski, 2-for-4, 2 R; RHP Mason Thompson (W, 3-3) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K; RHP Jordan Guerrero, IP, H, ER, BB, 2K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps had four players with multi-hit games, winning 6-3 on the road. … CF Jeisson Rosario had two more hits and a walk to pace the TinCaps’ offensive attack. Rosario, 18, is second in the Midwest League with a .474 on-base percentage. While the teenager has not shown much power at the plate, his approach has made him the breakout star of a young TinCaps roster so far in 2018. … Gabriel Arias drove in a career-high four runs on a pair of singles Monday night. The talented shortstop has scuffled out of the gate, which isn’t surprising, as he turned 18 in February. … RHP Mason Thompson had his second straight solid outing and earned his third victory of the season. Thompson, 20, has struggled with his command early in the season but has allowed just two earned runs in 11 innings over his last two starts.
Some roster moves: The Padres released a trio from extended spring training, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The players released were C/1B Luis Anguizola, OF Cole Gillespie and OF Angel Santos.
Anguizola, 24, was a 25th-round pick in 2016 out of Loyola (La.). He played last year for Tri-City and Fort Wayne, hitting a collective .255/.358/.351.
Gillespie, 33, was signed as a minor league free agent in February but didn’t make the El Paso roster out of spring. He has some big league experience and could be a candidate to return to Mexico, where he played last season.
Santos, 22, had a monster season last year in the Arizona League, hitting .310/.408/.586 but was unable to make a full-season squad. It would not be a surprise to see another organization take a flier on him.
The Padres also traded RHP Emmanuel Clase to Texas to complete the Brett Nicholas trade. Clase, 20, pitched to a 5.30 ERA in nine games for the AZL Padres last year.
