Minor league free agent Ivan Castillo has been a key contributor for the Sod Poodles in 2019. (Photo: Grant Wickes)
New Orleans Baby Cakes 7 Chihuahuas 6
Key Statistics: 2B Luis Urías, 1-for-4, R, HR (15); 3B Ty France, 1-for-4, R, HR (12), RBI; C Francisco Mejía, 2-for-4, 2B, R; LF Michael Gettys, 1-for-4, R, HR (14), RBI; LHP Dillon Overton, 3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 K; RHP Trevor Megill, 2 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Phil Maton, 2 IP, 2 H, K.
Prospect Watch: El Paso fell behind early and lost at home to New Orleans. … Luis Urías homered for the 15th time this season — his only hit in four at-bats. Urías has a fantastic .302/.375/.605 slash-line in June but it comes with a bit of a caveat. After cruising through May with a 16% walk rate and a 17% K-rate, his walk rate has fallen to 8% and struck out at a 23% this month. While neither result is concerning, it’s clear that Urías’ stay in El Paso isn’t related to production so it’s important to look beyond his traditional stats. Those tell us that Urías might be the best player in the PCL. … Francisco Mejía had a pair of hits including a double and scored a run Thursday night. The multi-hit effort extended Mejía’s hitting streak to eight games. In 63 plate appearances, Mejía is hitting .379/.426/.759 with four homers for El Paso. … RHP Trevor Megill threw two innings out of the bullpen and allowed his first earned run as a Chihuahua. The Padres took Megill, 25, in the seventh round way back in 2015. He has battled various injuries over the years but has generally pitched well as a reliever. Megill has allowed just one earned run in ten innings for El Paso, striking out ten and walking two. The former Loyola Marymount star was exposed in the Rule 5 draft last winter and could be once again this off-season. If Megill can maintain health and consistency, he could be the seventh player from the Padres’ 2015 draft to crack the big leagues.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals 10 Sod Poodles 8
Key Statistics: 2B Ivan Castillo, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 3B; SS Owen Miller, 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI; 1B Kyle Overstreet, 2-for-5, R, HR (3), RBI; RHP Ronald Bolaños. 3 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Darius Valdez, 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K; RHP David Bednar, IP, K.
Prospect Watch: Amarillo allowed five runs in the first and, despite a late rally, went down at home. … Second baseman Ivan Castillo reached base four times and scored a pair of runs in the loss. Castillo walked twice, tripled and singled. The 24-year-old has swung a hot bat in June, posting a .353/.382/.510 slash-line this month. The switch-hitting utility man has also played all over the infield and saw some time in the outfield this week. … RHP Ronald Bolaños pitched well in his Texas League debut but got clobbered Thursday night. The Cuban righthander allowed a single to begin the game, followed by three more singles after a strikeout. The big blow came off the bat of former big leaguer Taylor Featherston, who slugged a three-run homer. Overall, Bolaños surrendered eight runs in three innings of work. The righty pitched well in Lake Elsinore but will face with a greater challenge in the Texas League.
Storm 14 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8
Key Statistics: LF Allen Córdoba, 3-for-6, 2 R, 2B, SB (7); 2B Esteury Ruiz, 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, SB (24, 25); C Luis Campusano, 3-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB; DH Connor Panas, 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, SB (1); RF Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-6, 3 R, 2B, RBI; 1B Olivier Basabe, 4-for-6, 2 R, 3B, 3 RBI; CF Aldemar Burgos, 3-for-5, R, HR (1), 4 RBI; RHP Caleb Boushley, 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 7 K; RHP Nick Kuzia, IP, 2 H, ER; RHP Evan Miller (W, 2-1) 1.1 IP, H, K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm won a slugfest in a four-hour tilt against Rancho Cucamonga, posting season highs with 14 runs and 19 hits in the win. … Catcher Luis Campusano had a second consecutive three-hit game in the Storm victory. The catcher continues to be one of the best players in the Cal League in 2019, with excellent bat-to-ball skills. The 20-year-old hasn’t had a multi-strikeout game since May 30 and has punched out just six times in 47 plate appearances in June. … Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had three hits — his first multi-hit game since May 23. Ornelas has limped through the last two months and was in a 3-for-31 slide coming into tonight. Despite the lack of production, Ornelas has a 13% walk rate in 2019. … Outfielder Aldemar Burgos joined the Storm from Fort Wayne earlier in the day and had three hits, including a homer. The 22-year-old spent most of the spring in Arizona, before joining the TinCaps at the start of the month. The outfielder had decent numbers in Tri-City last year and should get some playing time with the Storm as the all-star break approaches. … RHP Evan Miller got the final four outs to pick up his second win of the season. The 24-year-old has worked as the Storm closer and has 10 saves while posting a 1.20 ERA. Opponents’ .143 average on balls in play suggests Miller has had some good fortune this year, but his FIP and XFIP still show that he has pitched well overall.
Roster Note: After pulling up with a leg injury in Tuesday’s game, outfielder Jeisson Rosario hit the Injured List Thursday. The dynamic 19-year-old was finally going well, posting a .817 OPS for the month after a slow start to the season.
TinCaps 8 Bowling Green Hot Rods 3
Key Statistics: 2B Xavier Edwards, 2-for-4, 3 R, BB, 2B, RBI, SB (15); C Blake Hunt, 1-for-2, R, 2 RBI; DH Luis Roman, 2-for-4, R, HR (2), 3 RBI; LHP Ramon Perez, 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 4 K; RHP Henry Henry (W, 7-1) 2 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps used a six-run third inning to get past Bowling Green. … Xavier Edwards did it all Thursday, as the infielder had a double, single and stole his 16th base of the season. Edwards has 80 hits on the season, which leads the Midwest League by a wide margin. His .349 average is 24 points higher than the next hitter on the leaderboard. Subscribers can read our interview with Edwards today. … Designated hitter Luis Roman had a pair of hits, including his second homer in 10 games since joining the club. Roman, a 27th-rounder out of Texas Wesleyan back in 2017, has seen time at third and behind the plate and has a .781 OPS in 39 plate appearances. Aside from a single game in El Paso last year, this is his longest exposure to full-season ball. … RHP Henry Henry earned his league-leading seventh victory out of the bullpen. The 20-year-old has fared well in his conversion to relief this year but has allowed runs in each of his last four outings. The rocky stretch has raised his ERA from 1.99 to 3.66. The righty with the excellent name has seen an uptick in strikeouts out of the bullpen and he’s allowed just one homer in 39.1 innings in 2019.
Coverage Updates
If you didn’t catch Ben’s interview with Jim Callis about the Padres’ draft, he (as always) offers great analysis. You can catch up on all our draft coverage here. We’ll finish off our series of Q&A’s with Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. You’ll also start getting more in your Daily Farm Report with the opening of the Northwest League season Friday. The AZL gets underway next week. We’re so thankful to all of you who support our work. If you haven’t before, please consider subscribing to help us continue to grow our coverage.
