Reggie Lawson bounced back for Elsinore. (Photo: Cherished Memories)
Chihuahuas 6 – Albuquerque Isotopes 4
Key Stats: RHP Walker Lockett 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 5 K; RHP Carter Capps IP, H, ER, 2 BB; 2B Luis Urias 2-4, K; C Francisco Mejia 1-4; 1B Ty France 1-4, HR (19), RBI; LF Shane Peterson 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI; SS Javy Guerra 2-4, 2B, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: We’ve written about Mejia and Urias ad nauseam, but just two quick notes. Francisco Mejia gunned down the only runner of the night who tried to steal off him. Luis Urias now has a 10 game hitting streak, one off the current Chihuahuas season high of 11 games held by Franmil Reyes. … SS Javy Guerra raised his average up to .226 and his OPS close to .700. That represents a 70 point jump over last season, a minor improvement even given the league contexts. His .868 second half OPS, combined with his glove and his age (it’s hard to remember, but Guerra is only a year older than Urias and Mejia) all look much more like a guy who was a top 100 prospect. You can see his swing is a lot shorter to the ball than earlier in the year and he is doing a better job being aggressive earlier in the count, but his strikeout rate is still hovering above 35% in the second half.
Frisco RoughRiders 9 – Missions 0
Key Stats: RHP Jesse Scholtens (L, 7-3) 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; LF Josh Naylor 1-3, C Austin Allen 1-3
Prospect Watch: No walks, three singles, and two errors. Not a lot to report. After snapping his nine game hitting streak yesterday, LF Josh Naylor had one of the three hits in the game. He also threw a runner out at the plate. CF Buddy Reed is in a 1-for-22 slump and has a .397 OPS in August.
Storm 1 – Inland Empire 66ers 0
Key Stats: RHP Reggie Lawson (W, 7-5) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Ronald Bolaños 3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Travis Radke (S, 1) IP, H, 2 K; CF Edward Olivares 1-3, HR (10), RBI, BB, SB (18), C Luis Torrens 2-3, 2B
Prospect Watch: On June 14, Reggie Lawson did not allow a run over five innings, lowering his ERA to a Cal League best 2.61. In the 10 starts that followed Lawson gave up 39 earned runs in 44 innings with batters hitting .362 off him. That implies both that he was hit around a lot, and that he lasted less than five innings per start over a three months span. The Padres have been giving him a week between starts as he approached and went past 100 innings in hopes that helps. … After Hudson Potts’s promotion to Double-A, the top hitting prospect in Lake Elsinore became Edward Olivares. Tuesday he showed what makes him an interesting prospect with a home run, stolen base, and flashy defense. However, prior to the home run, he was 3-for-30 with no extra base hits.
Great Lakes Loons 6 – TinCaps 3
Key Stats: LHP Ryan Weathers (L, 0-1) 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 K; CF Jeisson Rosario 1-3, 2B, BB; LF Jack Suwinski 2-4, R; SS Gabriel Arias 1-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, BB
Prospect Watch: First round pick Ryan Weathers made his MWL debut for the TinCaps, becoming the first Padres high school pitcher to reach full-season ball in his draft year in his lifetime. He finished the first two innings with one hit, no runs, and three strikeouts. The third inning, he gave up a one-out single, and then rolled a double play ball to second… error. Then got another grounder to third… error. He reached back, recovered and got a strike out, before a balk was called and his body language told the tale of someone upset. A single would get two more in, and what could have been an easy inning ended up with three unearned runs scoring. Frustrating outing aside, the talent is there, as the lefty touched 94 a few times with his fastball. It is easy to see why the Padres wanted to take him so high. … SS Gabriel Arias is hitting .313/.405/.578 in August.
Vancouver Canadians 5 – Dust Devils 2
Key Stats: RHP Henry Henry (L, 4-3), 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 K; CF Grant Little 1-1, 2B, R, HBP; Tucupita Marcano 1-4, RBI
Prospect Watch: Another game with not a lot of positives. CF Grant Little left the game after being hit by a pitch. There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury, but he is listed as day-to-day. … Henry Henry was knocked around in the game, but managed to escape. On the positive note, Henry has allowed just one walk in his last four starts (22.1 innings).
AZL Mariners 9 – AZL Padres (1) 2
Key Stats: RHP Frank Lopez 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, ER, 2 BB, 7 K; Jawuan Harris 1-3, 2 BB; 1B Carlos Luis 1-4, 2B, RS; SS Reinaldo Ilarraza 3-4, 2 RBI
AZL Indians 4 – AZL Padres (2) 3
Key Stats: RHP Manny Guzman 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 7 K; 3B Jonny Homza 2-5, HR (3), 2 RBI; 2B Sean Guilbe 1-3, 2B, BB
Prospect Watch: While the offenses struggled in both games, the starting pitchers produced high strikeout games. Both starters struck out seven. Seventeen-year-old Venezuelan Frank Lopez has now struck out 29 in 24.2 innings of work. Outside of one bad start he hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any game. … Meanwhile, 18-year-old Manny Guzman has struck out 50 over 49.2 innings, including 15 over his last two starts (10 innings).
“in his lifetime”? In whose lifetime? 🙂