Josh Naylor is making plenty of contact for the Missions, but his power has been absent. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
The TinCaps and the Storm have reached their respective All-Star breaks, so there were only three games on the schedule. Things will pick up Tuesday, as the AZL teams open play against each other. You can read up on their rosters here. El Paso was done in by an awful first inning, while the Missions missed an opportunity to win the first-half title. In Keizer, the Dust Devils won their second straight.
Memphis Redbirds 5, Chihuahuas 2
Key Statistics: CF-RF Forrestt Allday, 2-for-5, R, 2B; LF Wil Myers, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, SB (1); 2B Luis Urias, 1-for-4, BB, RBI; C Austin Hedges, 2-for-4, BB; 3B Carlos Asuaje, 2-for-4, BB; RHP Walker Lockett (L, 2-6) 7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 9 K; RHP Robert Stock, IP, K.
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas gave up five runs in the first, although all the runs were unearned, thanks to a Luis Urias error. The Redbirds followed with three hits, including a homer. … Rehabbing big leaguers Wil Myers and Austin Hedges each had a pair of hits, as they make their way back to San Diego. Myers also stole a base and started in left field. Franchy Cordero‘s rehab has been shelved for the moment after he hurt himself on a swing and had to come out of Sunday’s game. He was out of the lineup on Monday. … Carlos Asauje had a pair of hits and is 9-for-17 over his last four games. Asuaje continues to prove that he can mash PCL pitching, as evidenced by his current .341/.406/.495 slash-line through 25 games for the Chihuahuas. … After Walker Lockett weathered the rough first inning, he put up six shutout innings to finish the evening. The big righty pitched seven innings for the second time this year and struck out a season-high nine and did not walk anyone.
Corpus Christi Hooks 12, Missions 0
Key Statistics: LF Josh Naylor, 3-for-5; C Webster Rivas, 2-for-3, BB; 2B Peter Van Gansen, 1-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Colin Rea (L, 0-3) 3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, K; RHP Trevor Frank, 3 IP, 4 H, R, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: In a game that decided the first-half title, the Missions allowed eight runs in the first four innings and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. … Left fielder Josh Naylor had three hits, all singles, in the Missions’ loss. Naylor has hit all year but his power has largely disappeared over the last six weeks. He has only homered three times in his last 222 plate appearances and is slugging only .377 since May 1. On a positive note, Naylor’s strikeout rate has stayed around 11% this month. … Colin Rea struggled again, allowing eight hits and four earned in three innings of work. While health is the main priority for Rea, an ERA over seven is definitely a cause for concern. His 30 day rehab assignment will be complete before his next scheduled start on Saturday. The Padres will have to decide if they will seek league approval to extend that assignment an additional 10 days. … RHP Trevor Frank relieved Rea and allowed an unearned run in three innings of work, striking out four Frank, 26, attended Valhalla High in El Cajon and has pitched well for the Missions in a small sample. In 15 innings of work, Frank has a 2.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts and two walks.
Storm: The Storm are off until Thursday. Lake Elsinore will have outfielders Buddy Reed and Edward Olivares, third baseman Hudson Potts, righties Reggie Lawson, Chris Paddack, and Elliot Ashbeck, and lefty Adrian Morejon in the Cal League All-Star game tomorrow night. Paddack will not pitch as the Padres have him scheduled to get an extended layoff to help manage his pitch and innings count in his first year back from surgery.
TinCaps: The TinCaps have reached the All-Star break as well. Catcher Luis Campusano and left-handed pitchers Travis Radke, Aaron Leasher, and Nick Margevicius will represent the TinCaps on Tuesday night.
Dust Devils 8, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2
Key Statistics: CF Tre Carter, 1-for-5, R, HR (3), RBI; SS Owen Miller, 3-for-5, 2 R; 1B Luis Asuncion, 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B; RF Dwanya Williams-Sutton, 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB; DH Michael Curry, 2-for-5, R, HR (1), 2 RBI; RHP Sam Keating (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K; RHP Carter Capps, IP, K; RHP Andres Munoz, IP, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils won their second straight game, pounding two homers in the easy victory. … Outfielder Tre Carter homered for the third time in four games, this time out of the leadoff spot. Carter, an 11th-rounder in 2016, started the year in Fort Wayne and struggled to a .192/.310/.212 slash line. Carter is a tremendous athlete but he continues to struggle with too much swing-and-miss in his game (6 K’s in 17 at-bats). … Designated hitter Michael Curry had two hits, including his first professional homer. The former Georgia Bulldog played catcher in college until this year, when he moved to the outfield. Curry hit 13 homers this year for the Bulldogs and the Padres took him in the 16th round. … First baseman Luis Asuncion is back for his third year in the Northwest League, which is generally an ominous sign. However, Asuncion was arguably the best player for the Dust Devils last season and he has five doubles in three games so far in 2018. … Sam Keating picked up his first professional win, pitching five solid innings for Tri-City. Last year’s fourth-rounder had a pair of strikeouts without walking a batter. Drafted out of high school in Florida, the righty got hit hard in the AZL in limited action last summer. … RHP Andres Munoz made his second outing since coming off the disabled list and struck out the side. He’s K’ed five of the seven batters he’s faced. After the All-Star breaks in Single-A, he should move up to a more appropriate level of competition fairly quickly, though he’ll continue to work with some extra rest between outings for a little bit as he returns from elbow soreness this spring.
