Cal Quantrill turned in his second straight more stable outing. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
A tough month of July for the Padres has spilled its way to the minor leagues as three of the four full season clubs lost including two in extras.
Chihuahuas 4 – New Orleans Baby Cakes 3
Key Stats: RHP Brett Kennedy 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 K; 2B Luis Urias 1-4, K; C Raffy Lopez 2-3, HR (9), 2 RBI, BB; LF Shane Peterson 2-4, HR (9), RBI; SS Javier Guerra 1-4, 2B, RBI;
Prospect Watch: The hero of the night was catcher Raffy Lopez whose two-run shot in the eighth gave the Chihuahuas the win and kept Brett Kennedy‘s record on the year perfect. It was Lopez’s first extra-base hit in just his second start since being sent down last week. With top prospect Francisco Meija and club leader in most offensive categories Brett Nicholas sharing catching duties, Lopez becomes the third catcher. … Kennedy allowed three runs and five hits through his first three innings, but then settled in and faced the minimum after giving up a one-out triple in the third. The three runs allowed were the most by Kennedy in over a month, but on the positive side he did not walk a batter for the first time in eight starts. He was helped by three double-play balls and a nice defensive play by shortstop Javy Guerra, who has done a good job keeping his offensive struggles from affecting his glove this year.
Corpus Christi Hooks 3 – Missions 2 (10 innings)
Key Stats: RHP Cal Quantrill 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; CF Buddy Reed 1-4, R, SB (41), 2 K; LF Josh Naylor 0-4, 2 K; 1B Kyle Overstreet 1-3, HR (8), 2 RBI
Prospect Watch: After a brutal July, Cal Quantrill had one of his better starts of the last two months. He only walked one, and was able to keep the ball down. Despite that, he once again struggled to finish off batters when he got ahead and still needed 95 pitches to get through five innings. On the recent MLBPipeline podcast, Jonathan Mayo said Quantrill had just missed their top 100, stating that he has all the tools to be a top 100 prospect and a solid #2/3 starter, but the location and results haven’t been there. If you want to grasp for positives, Quantrill has improved on his walk rate year over year (3.10 vs 2.92 BB/9), but the problem has stemmed more from missing with location and leaving balls up in the zone. … The Missions struck out 14 times while not walking once. Michael Gettys wore the sombrero striking out in all three at bats. By getting swept in their series with Corpus, the Missions fell to 3.5 games back and third place in the division.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 11 – Storm 5
Key Stats: RHP Nick Margevicius 5.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 9 K; RHP Carter Capps IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB, K; CF Edward Olivares 2-5, RBI; 2B Eguy Rosario 1-4, 2 RS, BB; SS Allen Cordoba 2-4, 2B, RS, RBI
Prospect Watch: It was another hot night with the wind blowing out in the Cal League. While the Storm gave up five home runs, the offense struggled to get the ball out of the infield. Everyone, save Jorge Oña, struck out at least once, and the offense managed only two doubles among seven hits. Shortstop Allen Cordoba collected a pair of hits and has five in his last three games, but that has only raised his average to .204 from a season-low .183. … Nick Margevicius has been quite good in his two starts at home for Elsinore, but has drawn a pair of starts in Lancaster and Wednesday’s game in Rancho, in which he’s given 18 runs on 28 hits in 14.1 innings. The Ohio native crossed over the 100 innings threshold for the season with his outing.
Dayton Dragons 7 – TinCaps 5 (10 innings)
Key Stats: LHP Tom Cosgrove 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K; SS Gabriel Arias 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB; 1B Nick Feight 2-5, 2 RBI; LF Jack Suwinski 2-3, 2 2B, R
Prospect Watch: To call this a disappointing year for leftfielder Jack Suwinski is an understatement. After he finished 2017 hitting .255/.331/.373 for the TinCaps, Suwinski was hoping to turn that momentum into an All-Star season. Instead he has managed just a .208/.282/.339 line this season. His two doubles gave him his first multi-hit game in nearly three weeks as he finished hit .151/.195/.247 for July, easily his worst month as a professional. The 15th-rounder from Chicago has still played above average defense the outfield, which is a positive in an otherwise forgettable season. He improbably has just a .256 average on balls in play this year despite increasing his line drive rate and reducing his strikeout rate on the season. … 2B Esteury Ruiz stole his team leading 34th base. He trails only Buddy Reed in the organization. While the stolen bases have been a bonus, Ruiz has just a .730 OPS – slightly above league average – after posting a .997 OPS last year in the AZL.
Dust Devils 3 –Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2
Key Stats: LHP Omar Cruz 4 IP, 4 H, 5 K; RHP Jordan Guerrero (S, 6) IP, K; 3B Olivier Basabe 2-4, 2B, RS, RBI, SB (5); Blake Hunt 1-4, 2B, RBI
Prospect Watch: In an organization so deep lefty Omar Cruz‘s professional debut might be drawing more attention. The 19-year-old native of Mexico has thrown five shutouts in his eight starts, striking out 49 in just 33.2 innings between the AZL and Tri-City. He’s used a low-90s fastball and big curve to excel at both spots. Cruz threw 76 pitches in four innings, 50 for strikes… RHP Jordan Guerrero allowed a solo home run on June 2 in Fort Wayne. Since then, the big-bodied righty has gone 18 innings without allowing a run. He’s struck out 20 and, most encouragingly, walked only four in that stretch.
AZL Padres-1 7 – AZL Brewers 1
Key Stats: RHP Kyle Lloyd IP, 2 K; RHP Jeferson Garcia (W, 3-1) 4 IP, 3 H, R, 10 K; SS Xavier Edwards 2-5, RBI, SB (11); 1B Lee Solomon 2-4, RS; LF Jaquez Williams 2-3, HR (2), RBI, BB; RF Agustin Ruiz 2-4, RS, RBI
AZL Padres-2 5 – AZL Mariners 2
Key Stats: RHP Jean Cosme IP, 2 K; RHP Trevor Megill IP, 2 H, ER, K; SS Tucupita Marcano 2-4, 2B, RS; C Alison Quintero 3-4, 2B, RS, RBI; 1B Michael Suarez 2-4, 2B, RS, 2 RBI
Prospect Watch: Rehabbing minor leaguers Jean Cosme, Trevor Megill, and Kyle Lloyd all threw an inning in the games. All are coming off extended stints on the DL and in the case of Cosme coming back from Tommy John. Lloyd also worked one inning on Monday and should be ready to return to an affiliate quite shortly. … Jeferson Garcia produced one of the better outings in the AZL this season. The 18-year-old Venezuelan struck out a career high 10 batters without walking a batter. In addition to the big strikeout numbers, he is averaging less than two walks per nine in his first professional season. … While both Xavier Edwards and Tucupita Marcano continued their ridiculous assaults on the AZL Wednesday – both infielders have an OPS above .900 and more walks than strikeouts – catcher Alison Quintero also added three hits of his own. The 18-year-old was one of the prize 16-year-olds in the Padres’ 2016 J2 class, but missed most of last year with injuries.
