Memphis Redbirds 5 Chihuahuas 3
Key Statistics: 2B-3B Ty France 3-4, 2 2B, HR (26) 3 RBI; RHP Bryan Mitchell 5.0 IP 2 H R ER 5 K; LHP Robbie Erlin (BS,2) 1.0 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER K; RHP Tyler Higgins (L, 3-1) 2.0 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER BB.
Prospect Watch: Ty France’s best positions are first and third base, where the San Diego Padres have over $400 million invested in Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado until at least 2025. Still, the former San Diego State Aztec is making a great case in 2019 that he belongs somewhere in the major leagues. Saturday, the 25-year-old got his eighth start of the season at second base, a position his manager Edwin Rodriguez believes that he can fill in at, but not play every day. He accounted for three of the Chihuahuas six hits, blasting a double and two more home runs. Even with the current environment in the PCL, what France is doing is impressive. He leads the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging at .402/.479/.792, good for a wRC+ of 200. He has 26 home runs, 50 extra-base hits and 80 RBI in 67 games. That is a good audition for someone. … Bryan Mitchell had his best start of the season on the road in Memphis. After giving up 26 earned runs in his four previous starts, the righty allowed just one run on two hits.
Edward Olivares keeps hitting for the Sod Poodles. (Photo: Grant Wickes)
Sod Poodles 7 Frisco RoughRiders 4
Key Statistics: RF Edward Olivares 2-4, 2 SB (26) ; DH Owen Miller 2-4, HR (12), 2 RBI; C Luis Torrens 2-4, HR (11), 2 RBI; RHP Jesse Scholtens (W, 5-5) 5.0 IP 7 H 4 R 4 ER BB 4 K; RHP David Bednar (S, 9) 1.0 IP 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The Sod Poodles bounced back from Friday’s loss with a come-from-behind victory at home over Frisco. Edward Olivares, Owen Miller, and Luis Torrens combined for six of Amarillo’s 10 hits on the night. …While much of the focus has understandably been on the acquisition of Taylor Trammell at the trade deadline, Olivares, 23, is having a great year. The outfielder, acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Yangervis Solarte in 2018, has a slash line of .298/.363/.498 and a wRC+ of 135. He’s played primarily right field this year, but has still logged some time in center. Since the Texas League All-Star break he has a slash line of .344/.394/.550. Solarte is now starring with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League. … The Padres also got infielder Ivan Castillo out of the Blue Jays organization. Signed as a minor league free agent last winter, the switch-hitter continues to lead the Texas League in batting average. Torrens, whose homer Saturday night leaves him one away from matching the 12 career blasts he had coming into the season, is closing on him quickly. The catcher has hit in 16 straight games, raising his average nearly 40 points to .303. … In his first three games in the Padres’ organization, Trammell is 1-12 with five strikeouts.
Stockton Ports 1 Storm 0
Key Statistics: DH Luis Campusano 1-4, BB; CF Jeisson Rosario 1-3, BB; RHP Caleb Boushley (L, 4-4) 7.0 IP 5 H R ER 4 K; LHP Jose Catillo 1.0 IP 3 K.
Prospect Watch: The Storm only managed three singles on the night, wasting a great start by Caleb Boushley. Boushley has given up two earned runs or less in five of his last six starts. The 33rd- round pick out of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2017 has 91 strikeouts against only 16 walks in 88.2 innings for the Storm. Now that he’s worked enough innings to qualify, his 3.35 ERA is good for fifth on the circuit. … Jose Castillo had his third straight dominant outing, striking out the side in order. The rehabbing lefty has eight strikeouts in three perfect innings of work on this attempt to get back from a forearm injury this spring. The 6-foot-5, 246-pound lefty should be back to the big league club soon. Castillo was acquired with Wil Myers from Tampa Bay in 2015, a trade that seems like a lifetime ago.
Ethan Skender was 2-4 on Saturday. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 7 West Michigan Whitecaps 4
Key Statistics: 2B Tucupita Marcano 4-4, 2 2B RBI; LF Dwanya Williams-Sutton 3-4, 2B, RBI, SB (10), BB: 3B Ethan Skender 2-4, RBI; SS Justin Lopez 3-4, RBI; LHP Cullen Dana (W, 2-0) 5.1 IP 6 H 3 ER 4 BB 2 K; RHP Henry Henry 2.1 IP 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps pounded out 14 hits on Saturday, with Tucupita Marcano contributing four of them. Last year the 19-year-old left-handed hitter scorched the AZL with a .395/.497/.444 line before being promoted to Tri-City. On the season he is hitting .290/.339/.363, but there is a lot of physical projection left in the lean 6-foot-1, 185-pounder. Marcano leads the team with 32 multi-hit games this season. He can play second, third and shortstop and is someone to watch going forward. … Dwanya Williams-Sutton doubled and added two singles to extend his hitting streak to 21-games. He is one game shy of equaling Xavier Edwards for the longest hitting streak of the season by a TinCap. Since the all-star break, the 22-year-old outfielder out of East Carolina University is hitting .275/.472/.418. … Cullen Dana, who the Padres gave a full day-three bonus last year to rehab from Tommy John surgery as a professional rather than at Seton Hall, went into the sixth inning for the second straight outing. The big lefty got underway by overmatching opponents for Tri-City where he didn’t give up a run in 15 innings. In three Midwest League outings, the New York native sports a 3.86 despite only six strikeouts in 14 innings.
Dust Devils 2 Vancouver Canadians 1
Key Statistics: CF Reinaldo Ilarraza 2-4; 2B Jordy Barley 1-3, BB, SB (12); RHP Ignacio Feliz 5.0 IP 3 H R ER BB 4 K HR, RHP Wen-Hua Sung (W, 2-1) 2.0 IP 2 H 3 K; Tom Colletti 2.0 IP 2 K
Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils staff held the Canadians to only one run for the second consecutive night as they won their third straight and moved their second-half record back up to .500. …The Dust Devils only managed five hits but made the most of them, doing all of their scoring in the sixth inning. … Wen-Hua Sung, a 2016 signee out of Taiwan, continues to have a strong year after struggling to bounce back from arm injuries thought to stem from overwork as an amateur. The strong-bodied hurlerhas 43 strikeouts against only 10 walks in 29.1 relief innings this year. … Ignacio Feliz might be the best starting pitching prospect in Tri-City. The 19-year-old Dominican has made eight starts, thrown 42 innings with 40 strikeouts against 17 walks.
AZL Padres-1 3 Brewers Blue 2
Key Statistics: SS CJ Abrams 2-4, 3B; CF Payton Smith 1-2, BB; LHP Jesus Gonzalez 5.0 IP 3 H 2 R (1 ER) BB 4 K; RHP Martin Carrasco 1.0 IP H 2 K
AZL Padres 2-6 Brewers Gold 2
Key Statistics: DH Junior Perez 2-5, 2 RBI; RF Cristian Heredia 2-3, BB; Ripken Reyes 2-4, BB; RHP Brett Kennedy 1.0 IP 2 1 H, 1 ER, BB, K; LHP Alexuan Vega 5.0 IP 5 H, 1 ER, BB, 4 K; LHP Fernando Sanchez 3.0 IP H 3 K.
Prospect Watch: Ty France isn’t the only Padres minor leaguer with a .400 average. CJ Abrams is hitting .401 and leading the AZL. He’s hit in all but four of his 32 professional games and has only struck out 14 times in 152 plate appearances. His wRC+ is 183. He made his eleventh error tonight in 28 games in the field and has run into some outs stealing bases with 14 stolen bases in 20 attempts, but neither are major concerns at this point. Suffice it to say, the Padres are very happy with their first-round pick. …Brett Kennedy made his season debut, working one inning. The 25-year-old righty was shut down in big league camp with shoulder and back pain, then had a setback in late spring. Kennedy was one of the best performers in the system last year before struggling in his major league debut. His 30 day rehab period will coincide with the end of the minor league season and expansion of big-league rosters. … Ripken Reyes, who the Padres drafted out of University of San Diego in the 30th round this June, continues his strong professional debut. The 22-year-old switch-hitter has a .318/./.427/.442 line in the desert. He could have a shot to open the year with Fort Wayne in 2020.
For the box scores of all the games please go to the MiLB.com scoreboards.
