Taylor Trammell had one of two home runs for Amarillo. [Photo by John Moore/Amarillo Sod Poodles]
Midland RockHounds 8 Sod Poodles 3
Midland leads a best of 5 series 1-0
Key Stats: CF Taylor Trammell 1-4, HR (1), RBI; 2B Owen Miller 2-4; 3B Hudson Potts 2-4, HR (1), RBI; DH Tyler Kohlwey 2-3, 2 2B, RBI
Prospect Watch: The good thing about the playoffs is it gives players one more chance to show up before the end of the season. Show up is what the top two offensive prospects in Amarillo did as both Taylor Trammell and Hudson Potts homered. For Potts, it continued a month-plus rebound that saw him raise his season line to a more respectable .240/.302/.423 with 17 home runs. While his .575 OPS away from Hodgetown is troubling, Potts was one of the youngest players in the Texas League, rebounded solidly after missing a month on the IL, and got his strikeout rate below 25% in the second half. … Trammell finished the regular season on a 13-for-33 run, his first productive stretch after the Padres acquired him at the trade deadline. The organization will hope that the Sod Poodles’ playoff run will last long enough to see if he can carry over the run when they hit the road.
Roster Moves: The Padres reloaded the Amarillo roster before the game, backfilling for the three arms promoted directly to the big league club and returning a few players who made the jump to El Paso for the final few weeks of the season. Taylor Kohlwey and Peter Van Gansen came back to bolster the positional depth while Evan Miller, Travis Radke and Emmanuel Ramirez – all stalwarts of the 2019 pitching staff – headed Northeast to join newly-promoted Elliot Ashbeck.
Xavier Edwards has sparked the Storm offense from the top of the lineup. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Storm 2 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 0
Storm lead best of five series 1-0
Key Stats: RHP Garrett Richards 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K; RHP Mason Fox IP, 3 K; 2B Xavier Edwards 2-3, RS, BB, 2 SB; C Luis Campusano 1-4, 2B, RBI;
Prospect Watch: Wednesday’s Storm lineup was so young that only two position players are old enough to drink. Recently-turned 21-year-old Jack Suwinski and 22-year-old Olivier Basabe were joined by rehabbing big leaguer and virtual senior citizen, 33-year-old Garrett Richards. After his last difficult start, Richards more than made up for it with a near-perfect four innings. Only one runner managed to get into scoring position, but the next two batters both struck out to end the inning. Provided he has no further setbacks from this outing, there is no reason the righty, who showed both stuff and command should not be ready to return to the big league club in some capacity before the end of the season. … The Storm plated the only runs the game scored in the sixth. Xavier Edwards, who reached three times in the game, led off by beating out an infield single, proceeded to steal second and scored on a Luis Campusano RBI double. The Storm managed just five hits in the game, but with Edwards as the catalyst, still got just enough to take game one. … Henry Henry worked a pair of clean innings with four strikeouts in his Cal League debut, shutting down the Rancho offence after his club had taken the lead. The lanky 20-year-old made a convincing move to the bullpen this season, posting a strong 80:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio as he worked in multi-inning, higher-leverage situations. … Mason Fox, who didn’t make it out of extended spring training until Tri-City’s season opened, is finishing with a flourish. The live-armed righty struck out the side to pick up a save and has now struck out 59 in 33.2 innings of work in his first full professional season after the Padres drafted the converted outfielder from tiny Gardner-Webb in the 21st round last year.
Transactions: Before the game, the Padres made a slew of moves to set the playoff roster. Most notably, Tucupita Marcano, Efraín Contreras, and Henry all got their first promotions to High-A. Allen Córdoba, who left Monday’s season-ending game with an injury, was officially transferred to now-finished Fort Wayne’s roster to inactivate him for the series.
Dust Devils 4 Spokane Indians 3 (12 innings)
Dust Devils lead a best of three series 1-0 and look to clinch at home Thursday night.
Key Stats: LHP Jason Blanchard 3.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K; RF Logan Driscoll 2-5, 2 RBI, BB, SB; SS Jordy Barley 2-6, 2 RBI; CF Matthew Acosta 2-5, R
Prospect Watch: If the Dust Devils win the series, second-round pick Logan Driscoll is taking home the MVP award. Not only did Driscoll drive in the game-winning run with a two-out hit in the 12th inning, but the part-time outfielder collected two outfield assists. The Competitive Balance pick gunned down the would-be winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 11th to extend the contest and give himself the chance to win it in the next frame. Driscoll played the outfield in more than half his games after missing a month with a quad injury during the season. It remains to be seen where the Padres ultimately see him, but you can never have too much catching depth.
For Subscribers: Day three college pick Jack Stronach flashed some surprising power down the stretch to help the Dust Devils make the playoffs. John’s got an interview with his fellow East County high school product here.
