Eguy Rosario turns on a ball for the Storm. (Photo: Connor Moore)
The Chihuahuas have reached the all-star break. Ty France, Austin Allen, and Luis Urias will play in the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday night in El Paso.
Peter Van Gansen was 2-4 with a double on the night. Photo: G Grant Wickes
Midland RockHounds 5 Sod Poodles 4
Key Statistics: DH Ivan Castillo, 3-for-5; CF Edward Olivares, 2-for-4, R; 2B Peter Van Gansen, 2-for-4, 2B, R; RHP Jesse Scholtens (L, 3-4) 6 IP. 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 K; RHP Dauris Valdez, 2 IP, H.
Prospect Watch: The Sod Poodles lost on the road in Midland. … Ivan Castillo had three hits — all singles — in the Sod Poodles’ loss. The three-hit night extended his hitting streak to seven games. Through eight games in July, Castillo is hitting .355/.375/.452. …Outfielder Edward Olivares had a pair of hits Monday, a day after his nine-game hitting streak ended. The 23-year-old outfielder has been red-hot since the all-star break, as evidenced by his .894 OPS over the 18 games since the break. He has also stolen eight bases in nine attempts since the break. … Jesse Scholtens pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs Monday night. The right-hander has pitched much better than his ERA suggests in 2019. The former 2016 ninth-rounder is averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings, which represents a career-high. Scholtens’ FIP (3.69) ranks sixth in the Texas League.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5 Storm 4 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: DH Travis Jankowski, 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB (1); LF Allen Córdoba, 2-for-4, R, RBI, SB (18); 3B Eguy Rosario, 1-for-4, R, HR (4), 3 RBI; RHP Gabe Mosser, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K; RHP Jordan Guerrero, 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K; RHP Tyler Higgins, IP, 2 K; RHP Franklin Van Gurp (L, 0-2) IP, H, 2 R, ER, BB, K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm lost in ten innings on Nothing Night at the Diamond. … Much of the Storm offense came on a three-run homer off of the bat of Eguy Rosario. The blast was Rosario’s fourth big fly of the season. The 19-year-old is repeating the Cal League this season after playing a full season with Lake Elsinore a season ago. Rosario’s wRC+ of 82 matches the mark he produced with the Storm in 2018. Through eight games in July, Rosario is hitting .333/.371/.485. He will be Rule 5 eligible this winter. … Allen Córdoba had a pair of hits and stole a base in the Storm loss. The 23-year-old has swung a hot bat since June and his production has been above league average overall. The former big leaguer has stolen 18 bases on the season and his 18% K-rate is the ninth-lowest in the Cal League. Barring injury, Córdoba will set a new professional high in plate appearances by the end of the weekend. … Gabe Mosser made his High-A debut and faired pretty well, although he did not factor in the decision. Mosser threw up four scoreless innings, before allowing a two-run shot in the fifth inning. He worked a clean sixth but allowed the first three batters to reach in the seventh inning before being pulled. The former 27th-rounder was fantastic with the TinCaps in 2019. He left Fort Wayne second in the league in FIP (2.44), second in walks per nine innings (1.44) and his K/BB ratio led the circuit.
Roster Moves: The Storm received Travis Jankowski from El Paso, as the outfielder continues his rehab. El Paso is off until Thursday, so Jankowski should play with the Storm tomorrow. The Storm leave for Modesto Wednesday, so Jankowski may go to Peoria for a few days, although that is speculation on my part. The Storm also got recently activated RHP Tyler Higgins from the Chihuahuas. Higgins threw a scoreless inning Monday and should go back to El Paso when they resume action.
Great Lakes Loons 3 TinCaps 0
Key Statistics: 3B Tucupita Marcano, 2-for-4; 2B Lee Solomon, 1-for-3; LHP Joey Cantillo (L, 6-3) 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K; LHP Cody Tyler, 3IP, 3 H, 3 K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps managed just five hits in the loss at Great Lakes. … Tucupita Marcano started at third base and singled twice. Marcano slumped through most of June but he has heated up over the last few weeks. Over his last ten games, Marcano is hitting .357 with just three punchouts over 45 plate appearances. Marcano’s SwStr% is the fourth lowest in the Midwest League. … Joey Cantillo struggled a bit Monday an ultimately took the loss. Cantillo ran into trouble in the first, allowing a leadoff double, followed by three consecutive walks. He limited the damage at two runs by retiring the next three consecutive hitters, one on an RBI groundout. The Hawaiian-born southpaw allowed more than two earned runs for the first time since April 26th. Cantillo’s ERA rose above two and currently sits at 2.07 through 15 starts.
Jordy Barley stole a pair of bases on Monday night. Photo: Mike Wilson.
Dust Devils 6 Spokane Indians 5
Key Statistics: SS Jordy Barley, 1-for-4, R, 2 SB (6, 7); CF Matthew Acosta, 2-for-4, R, BB, 2B; DH Mason House, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), RBI; RHP Nick Thwaits (W, 2-1) 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 K; RHP Tom Colletti (S, 1) 2 IP, 5 K.
Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils scored six runs in the first three innings and held on to win in Spokane. … Mason House had his first multi-hit game of 2019, including his first homer of the year. House has struggled to make contact in the early onset of the Northwest League season. Coming into Monday’s game, House was 1-for-22, with 14 strikeouts with the Dust Devils. The former third-rounder hit well in his pro debut in 2017 while with the AZL Padres but has scuffled since. House has struck out in more than 50% of his plate appearances over the last two seasons. … Jordy Barley had a hit in four trips to the plate and stole two bases for good measure. It seems like we have talked about Barley on a daily basis and his progression has been the biggest development in Pasco. The 19-year-old has provided league-average production at the plate with a little bit of pop. … Nick Thwaits earned the win, pitching 5.1 innings in the Dust Devils’ win. The 20-year-old allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out three. Through five starts with the Dust Devils, Thwaits has a 3.65 ERA.
AZL Rangers 7 AZL Padres-1 1
Key Statistics: SS C.J. Abrams, 1-for-4, 2 SB (9, 10); 3B Victor Nova, 1-for-4; C Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-3, BB, RBI; LHP Jesus Gonzalez (L, 1-1) 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 5 K; RHP Dylan Coleman, IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
AZL White Sox 8 AZL Padres-2 2
Key Statistics: CF Angel Solarte, 1-for-4; 2B Ripken Reyes, 1-for-4; 1B Emmanuel Guerra, 2-for-3, HR (2), 2 R, BB, RBI; LHP Alexuan Vega (L, 0-1) 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; LHP Sam Ballard, IP, H, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The AZL Padres both lost Monday night. … C.J. Abrams had a single Monday, extending his hitting streak to 16 games. Abrams has had at least one hit in every game of his professional career. Abrams led off the game with a single and stole second and third but was left stranded. The speedy infielder has 10 stolen bases which rank third in the AZL. … Speaking of hitting streaks, Victor Nova singled Monday, extending his own hitting streak to 15 games. The 19-year-old has swung the bat well in his stateside debut. Through 15 games, the 19-year-old infielder is hitting .442/.524/.635. … Emmanuel Garcia homered and singled in four at-bats for the AZL Padres-2. The six-foot-three Venezuelan has homered twice during his current six-game hitting streak. Guerra was signed in 2017 during the July 2 signing period. He has a .345/.424/.724 slash-line in nine games in the desert. … Alexuan Vega struggled Monday and took the loss for the AZL Padres-2. Vega, a sixth-rounder last June, allowed four earned runs in 3.2 innings. The 20-year-old was drafted out of high school in Puerto Rico and was expected to be a bit of a project when he was selected. Over 11.1 innings, Vega has notched 11 strikeouts but has walked 13 walks and 17 hits. The 30 baserunners have resulted in an unsightly ERA of 10.32. Through two seasons in the Padres’ system, Vega has a 10.59 ERA in 26.1 innings.
