Joey Cantillo, Padres prospect pitching for Fort Wayne TinCaps

Joey Cantillo delivers yet again for the TinCaps in a dominant 2019 season. (Photo: Stephen Zabrecky)

Memphis Redbirds 2 Chihuahuas 0

Key Stats: C Webster Rivas 1-for-3; LHP Dillon Overton 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 K, 1 BB; RHP Gerardo Reyes 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: After the Chihuahuas and Redbirds waited almost three hours for the rain to clear and start the game, El Paso’s bats never showed up. Webster Rivas hit a one-out single in the fifth inning but was thrown out trying to extend it into a double. They put only one other man on base after that as Boog Powell drew a ninth-inning walk. The atypically quiet offense squandered a solid outing by veteran lefty Dillon Overton, who allowed just one earned run over five innings of work. The 27-year-old has put together a stretch of five solid outings, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 22 strikeouts against five walks over 26.2 innings.

Sod Poodles 2 Frisco RoughRiders 1

Key Stats: RHP Lake Bachar 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB, HBP; RHP Dauris Valdez 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K; RHP David Bednar 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R , 1 K, 0 BB; 2B Owen Miller 2-for-2, 2 2B, BB, E (9); LF Buddy Reed 2-for-3, SB (16), PO/CS

Lake Bachar, Padres prospect pitching for Amarillo Sod Poodles

Lake Bachar has turned it on in the season’s second half. (Photo: Grant Wickes)

Prospect Watch: Righty Lake Bachar delivered his fourth fantastic outing in a month, allowing just one earned run over 6.2 innings of three-hit ball. In the second half, the 24-year-old pitcher has significantly reduced his walk rate while posting a 2.11 ERA. He’s struck out 102 in a team-high 104 frames — he also tossed six innings for Lake Elsinore — and after walking 21 through his first 34 innings, has shaved almost two walks per nine off that pace since June. His lively fastball has always been a weapon when he can keep it in the zone, so the improved control is an important development in his fourth year in the organization. … While Luis Torrens saw his hitting streak stop after 16 games, Owen Miller kept his most recent hot stretch going with a pair of doubles and a walk. The 22-year-old infielder, who was still in short-season ball a year ago, has hit in six straight with four doubles and a pair of homers to jump his slugging percentage 30 points to .453. … Brad Zunica drove in the game-winning run with an eighth-inning single. The big first baseman has also turned up the power over the last 10 days, slugging eight extra-base hits while striking out only seven times in 35 plate appearances. … Rightfielder Edward Olivares left the game after hitting his left knee on the Frisco bullpen bench chasing a foul fly ball. He walked off gingerly but on his own, and is listed as day-to-day for now.

Stockton Ports 12 Storm 7

Key Stats: 3B Ruddy Giron 4-for-5; C Jalen Washington 2-for-4, HR (GS, 3), BB; DH Luis Campusano 2-for-5; SS Gabriel Arias 2-for-5; RHP Reiss Knehr 1 IP, 5 H, 8 ER, 2K, 3 BB, HBP; RHP Gabe Mosser 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 7 K, 1 BB

Prospect Watch: The Storm gave up 10 runs on four homers over the first two innings and fell in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final lopsided score. Righty Reiss Knehr, who has looked dominant at times since joining Elsinore in late May, got hit hard, allowing three runs in the first and putting the first five men on in the second inning before giving way. The 22-year-old from Long Island has struck out 63 in 46.2 innings but has surrendered nine homers. … Gabe Mosser, making his second relief appearance, came on with the bases loaded. After getting the first out, he gave up a grand slam to “LazaritoArmenteros to blow the game open. The 23-year-old righty has kept up a solid strikeout rate since his promotion to High-A, but his walk rate has more than doubled. … Ruddy Giron collected four singles in his first appearance in a week. The 22-year-old infielder had been 1-for-11 in very limited playing time since coming down from Amarillo more than two weeks ago. … Catcher Jalen Washington gave the Storm a brief lead in the top of the second with a grand slam. The Ohio State product, who singled later in the contest, hadn’t had a multi-hit game since mid-June. He’s hitting .214/.307/.344 as Luis Campusano‘s backup at catcher.

TinCaps 8 West Michigan White Caps 0

Key Stats: LHP Joey Cantillo 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 7 K, 3 BB; RHP Sam Keating 1 IP, 0 H, 1 K; RHP Jose Quezada 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 K; RF Dwanya Williams-Sutton 1-for-2, 2 HBP; DH Agustin Ruiz 2-for-3, 2B, SF; 2B Justin Lopez 2-for-4, HR (10); 3B Ethan Skender 2-for-4, 2B

Jose Quezada Padres prospect pitching for Fort Wayne TinCaps

Jose Quezada is small but mighty on the mound. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before West Michigan’s nine-hole batter Daniel Reyes lined a clean single to left field for their only hit of the day. Joey Cantillo issued three walks through the first two frames, but then settled in and retired the final 13 batters he faced. The big lefty struck out seven while dropping his season ERA to 1.93. He now paces the Midwest League in both categories. His 0.87 WHIP is also the best mark on the circuit. … Sam Keating, who has been hit hard in his last four starts, came on and worked a perfect seventh before giving way to Jose Quezada. The Texas Tech product hit a batter to open the eighth, then struck out the side to put himself in position to close out what would have been the franchise’s third no-hitter. After the single, he made quick work of the rest of the outing, striking out two and getting an assist from Blake Hunt, who threw out Reyes when he tried to take second. Quezada, who barely scrapes his listed 5-foot-9 height, has struck out 29% of batters he’s faced this year. … The TinCaps offense blew the game open with a seven-run seventh inning. Justin Lopez led off the frame with his 10th homer of the season then four straight batters walked. Dwanya Williams-Sutton, who had already extended his on-base streak to 22 games by getting hit twice, singled to drive in two. After an Agustin Ruiz sacrifice fly, Ethan Skender doubled before coming around on Lopez’s second hit of the frame, a single. Williams-Sutton has been hit by 24 pitches on the year, a new team record. Skender and Ruiz joined Lopez in finishing the game with two hits. Ruiz connected on his 20th double of the year earlier in the game.

For Subscribers: You can read more about the impressive progress Ruiz has made this year here.

Dust Devils 2 Vancouver Canadians 1

Key Stats: SS Jordy Barley 1-for-3, 3B, BB, K; DH Nick Gatewood 1-for-4, HR (1); RHP Jason Reynolds 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, 1 BB, WP; RHP Connor Lehmann 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 BB; RHP Deacon Medders 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 1 BB, WP

Prospect Watch: Nick Gatewood hit a homer in the bottom of the sixth that proved to be the decisive blow. The left-handed slugger, who was second on the AZL squads with five home runs last season, posted a .446 OPS in 13 games for the TinCaps over the season’s first month before returning to the desert for the rest of extended spring training. His run with the Dust Devils has seen only some improvement as the 22-year-old has hit .232/.313/.303. … Jordy Barley added another extra-base hit to his tally, tripling to lead off the game. He has hit in eight of nine games, edging his on-base percentage up to .324 for the year. … Amid so many strong pitching performances in the system, five Dust Devils pitchers combined for a five-hit, one-run performance. Jason Reynolds and Connor Lehmann carried Tri-City through the first six innings and Deacon Medders finished off the win with 1.2 scoreless frames. The righty, drafted out of Alabama on day three this year, has gone more than one inning in five of his last six outings.

AZL Giants-Orange 6 AZL Padres-1 2

Key Stats: Yerry Landinez 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K; 1B Michael Suarez 2-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Pedro Avila 3.1IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 1 BB; RHP Dylan Coleman 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1 BB

AZL Padres-2 6 AZL White Sox 0

Key Stats: RF Junior Perez 2-for-4, HR (9); LF Taylor Lomack 3-for-4; 1B Luis Almanzar 1-for-4, 2B, BB; LHP Gabriel Morales 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K, 2 BB; RHP Eudi Asencio 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 K, 1 BB

Padres prospect Junior Perez bats in the AZL

Junior Perez has put himself on the map in the AZL. (Photo: Joseph Coblitz/BRBaseball)

Prospect Watch: Lefty Gabriel Morales and righty Eudi Asencio carried a no-hitter through seven innings against the White Sox. Morales, 20, has not allowed a run over his last 13 innings and his 2.45 ERA is sixth on the circuit. The Venezuelan lefty was left to repeat the AZL this season to improve his command and in-game focus. He’s responded by cutting his walk rate in half while continuing to strike out more than a batter per frame. Batters own a .207 average against him this year. … Junior Perez keyed a six-run rally to support Morales with a two-run, two-out homer off rehabbing big leaguer Manny Bañuelos. The blast was Perez’s ninth overall and eighth in 16 games. While his slugging percentage still trails CJ Abrams by nearly 70 points, his isolated power rate is the best among all AZL Padres hitters. … Outfielder Taylor Lomack collected three more hits to push his line to .338/.392/.437 in his professional debut.  The speedster, drafted after his second year in community college in Florida, chose to sign rather than head to Jacksonville University. He’s been an extreme groundball hitter so far. … Back in Peoria, Pedro Avila made his third rehab appearance. Through his first three innings, the 22-year-old righty allowed a pair of hits and a walk while striking out seven. In the fourth, he allowed a one-out triple before hitting his pitch limit and giving way. We expect him to get back to an affiliate for his next outing. … Even by the standards of the many raw high school draft picks the Padres have made over the last few years, Michael Suarez is a wildcard. The left-handed 19-year-old from Miami had virtually no public profile before the Padres tapped him in the 38th round last year and gave him a full $125,000 bonus. After looking over his head in his professional debut last year, the first baseman has posted a .471 OBP in limited action this summer. He had a pair of hits and walked twice Sunday.

Posted by David Jay

David has written for MadFriars since 2005, has published articles in Baseball America, written a monthly column for FoxSports San Diego and appeared on numerous radio programs and podcasts. He may be best known on the island of Guam for his photos of Trae Santos that appeared in the Pacific Daily News.

2 Comments

  1. Why did the Padres give Michael Suarez a full $125,000 bonus? What’s the story there?

    Reply

    1. As noted, it’s part of an approach they’re taking in general. Raw or weakly-committed high school guys who they can get into the system and have the luxury of a slow development path. Three this year, four last (plus a group of JuCo guys who fit the same profile).

      Reply

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