Luis Patiño on the mound for Amarillo. ( Photo: John Moore)
Fresno Grizzlies 9 Chihuahuas 4
Key Stats: RF Michael Gettys 1-4, R, RBI, BB, SB (14); C Austin Allen 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI; 3B Jason Vosler 1-4, 3B, RBI
Prospect Watch: With a full-fledged battle for playing time already underway at catcher in the big leagues, one level down, Austin Allen continues to destroy Triple-A pitching. Allen collected his fifth multi-hit game in the last week and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Allen is hitting .406/.426/.797 in August, including 15 extra-base hits in as many games. Outside of May, when he spent a majority of the time with the Padres, Allen has posted an OPS over .940 in every month. … For the first time since July 13, Michael Gettys came to the plate multiple times and didn’t strike out in a game. While the 23-year-old has actually cut his K-rate below 30% this month, his swing-and-miss issues continue to limit his overall productivity even as he looks to break the El Paso franchise record with his next home run.
Tulsa Drillers 4 Sod Poodles 3
Key Stats: RHP Luis Patiño 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K; CF Taylor Trammell 1-4, CS; SS Owen Miller 2-4, R; 3B Hudson Potts 2-4, SB (3), R, RBI;
Prospect Watch: Luis Patiño cruised through the first three innings of his second start in Double-A. Then, as he warmed up for the fourth inning, it appeared he developed a blister on his finger and was quickly removed. To look at positives, Patiño was matching Dodgers prospect Josiah Gray pitch-for-pitch. In addition, after walking four in his first Double-A start, the only teenager in the Texas League threw just seven balls in three innings (28 strikes). With just under two weeks left in the season, we will have to see if Patiño hits the IL or not. Either way, Patiño has already set career highs in nearly every category, and should compete for a spot in the big league rotation at some point next year. … This time last year, Hudson Potts was, himself a teenager in the Texas League, after dominating in High-A. Now, after a season to forget, he is trying to end 2019 on a positive note. After two singles Tuesday, Potts has back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time in over a month. The right-handed slugger has made improvements in his contact rate; after striking out in a third of his plate appearances in the first half, he’s down to 23% for August. However, that’s small solace for a bat-reliant prospect carrying a .190/.261/.429 line this month.
Roster Moves: Reliever Javy Guerra, who has been stellar since coming off the IL in July, has made the jump to the Texas League. The 23-year-old’s conversion to the mound has been one of the more interesting storylines of the year in the system, even with a bit of a delay in the process because of a strained side. Kaz Makita moved up to El Paso to create space in Amarillo.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4 Storm 2
Key Stats: RHP Reiss Knehr 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K; 3B Eguy Rosario 3-4, HR (6), 2B, 2 RBI; SS Gabriel Arias 2-4; 2B Xavier Edwards 2-4;
Prospect Watch: It’s been a tale of two Knehrs in Lake Elsinore. In five of his last eight starts, Reiss Knehr has gone 30.1 IP, allowing just five earned runs on 23 hits while striking out 37. In the other three other outings though, Knehr was tagged for 22 earned runs in just 11 frames. The Padres’ 20th-round pick last summer, Knehr has struck out 75 in 59.1 innings since getting underway with the Storm at the end of May. … Speaking of hot and cold, Eguy Rosario had arguably his best game of the year, coming within a hit of the cycle. The infielder, who finally turns 20 on Sunday having already logged 950 High-A plate appearances, has gone 11-for-26 with a pair of homers over his last seven games, boosting his line for August to .313/.390/.507. Rosario is yet another Padres hitter who has significantly reduced his strikeout rate in the second half of the year, fueling an impressive breakout in production.
Bowling Green Hot Rods 6 TinCaps 5
Key Stats: LHP Omar Cruz 5 IP, 3 H, 6 K; SS Tucupito Marcano 2-5, 3B, 2B, R; LF Michael Curry 2-3, R, 2 BB; CF Juwan Harris 2-4, BB
Prospect Watch: Beyond the premium talent at the top of the system, the Padres also have incredible depth among their prospects as well. While few people outside the organization yet know Omar Cruz, he continues to assert himself as yet another lefty starter to watch. Tuesday, he outpitched top 100 prospect Shane Baz, holding the Hot Rods to just three hits over five frames. Over his last four starts, the 20-year-old lefty has allowed one run in 21.2 innings with 22 strikeouts. This hasn’t been a smoke and mirrors show either, as Cruz has shown the ability to consistently hit the corners with good movement on his fastball and torment batters with a big curve. … While Tucupita Marcano has not gotten the notoriety of some other Padre middle infield prospects, he remains an interesting player in his own right. At 19, Marcano hasn’t developed any power yet, but he’s consistently making great contact. While he came into Tuesday’s multi-hit game in a 3-for-31 slump Marcano has struck out multiple times in just one game this month.
Dust Devils 4 Vancouver Canadians 2
Key Stats: LHP Jason Blanchard 4 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Wen-Hua Sung 3 IP, 2K; SS Kelvin Melean 3-4, 2B, RBI; RF Logan Driscoll 1-4, RS; LF Jack Stronach 1-4, 2B, RS, 2 RBI
Prospect Watch: The Dust Devils jumped top draftee Alek Manoah for three runs in the first and cruised to victory as the staff one-hit the Canadians. … Over the past month, LHP Jason Blanchard has been exactly the type of pitcher the Padres were hoping to get when they took him as a low-bonus senior out of Lamar in the ninth round. The 22-year-old righty has allowed just one earned run while striking out 28 over 23.2 innings since his lone bad outing as a professional. He is putting himself in line to contribute with the TinCaps next year. … SS Kelvin Melean collected another three hits to push his average .346. Playing against opponents largely his own age for the first time, the 20-year-old is putting up a strong performance after a disastrous month in both Lake Elsinore (.529 OPS) and Fort Wayne (.431 OPS) earlier this year. The Venezuelan infielder’s work in the Northwest should give him another opportunity to turn it around in full-season ball next spring.
AZL Padres-1 10 AZL Royals 2
Key Stats: RHP Luarbert Arias 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 K; RF Joshua Mears 2-5, 2 R, 3B; RBI; CF Payton Smith 3-4, 2 R, 2B
AZL Padres-2 10 AZL Indians Blue 2
Key Stats: RHP Jeferson Garcia 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 11 K; LF Taylor Lomack 2-5, 2 R; RF Junior Perez 3-5, 2 RBI, 2B; 1B Luis Almanzar 2-5, 3 R, SB (4); SS Yeison Santana 2-4, 2 R, SB (4)
Prospect Watch: As good as the two Padres teams have been this year, the Indians-Blue squad has been the best team in the league. Until they faced Jeferson Garcia. The 19-year-old Venezuelan struck out a career high 11 over five one-run innings. Garcia is part of a long line of AZL players with “loud tools” who have struggled putting it all together. In starts when Garcia doesn’t walk a batter, he has allowed just four earned runs while striking out 32 in 17.1 innings. When he does walk a batter, his ERA has hovered near nine. … Not to be outdone Luarbert Arias had one of his better outings of the year allowing only one earned run in five innings. While the 18-year-old has posted a similar ERA to last year, his BAA has dropped from .274 to .222, his strikeouts are over one an inning, and his WHIP is down to 1.01, which rank as one of the best in the league.
