Ivan Castillo provides versatility for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Sugar Land Skeeters 10, Chihuahuas 1
Key Statistics: CF Taylor Kohlwey, 1-for-3, R, BB; C Luis Campusano, 1-for-4; 3B Ivan Castillo, 2-for-4; RHP Jesse Scholtens (L, 2-5) 3 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Pedro Avila, 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K.
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas allowed 24 runs Sunday in a lopsided defeat. On Monday, they allowed ten more and were beaten by nine runs for the second straight day. … Third baseman Ivan Castillo was the only Chihuahua to have a multi-hit game – both of them singles. Castillo, 26, got his first cup of coffee with the big league club in May and went 1-for-3 in three games with the Padres before being sent back to Triple-A. The one-time minor league free agent signee has had an awful June, putting together a woeful .158/.197/.228 slash-line. Despite his current struggles at the dish, Castillo has routinely hit in the minors and offers defensive flexibility with his ability to play almost anywhere on the diamond. … RHP Jesse Scholtens had his worst start of the year and earned his fifth loss. Scholtens gave up 11 hits – a season-high – and six earned runs. After earning our Player of the Month honors in May, the 27-year-old righty has been knocked around a bit in June. He has lost all four starts and has a 5.75 ERA this month. If there is a silver lining, it is that Scholtens has had a pair of solid starts sandwiched in-between two poor outings. … Luis Campusano was back in the lineup after missing two straight games and collected one of El Paso’s five hits.
San Antonio Missions Week-in-Review (split a six-game series against Northwest Arkansas):
Reggie Lawson is finding his rhythm after Tommy John surgery. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Top Prospects: RHP Reggie Lawson continued his return from Tommy John surgery with a pair of starts with mixed results. Tuesday, Lawson threw a pair of perfect innings to start the game with two strikeouts. On Sunday, Lawson failed to get out of the first inning, allowing a three-run homer to first baseman Nick Pratto, one of the Royals’ top prospects. The ineffective outing raised Lawson’s ERA to 9.00. The right-hander from the High Desert is one of the most talented arms in the organization and the club will be patient with his return from injury. When healthy, Lawson has a mid-90s fastball, a good changeup, and a curve. He threw a slider prior to his injury but that may be shelved as he works his way back from elbow reconstruction. … Jack Suwinski was not one of the 38 players who received a vote for our MadFriars Top-25 Prospect List back in March but his progress this year is worth tracking. Suwinski had a quiet series against the Naturals, going 4-for-20, although he did draw five walks in the six-game tilt. Suwinksi had a three-hit game on Saturday, which included a pair of doubles. Suwinski is second in the Double-A Central with a wRC+ of 172 and he leads the circuit in slugging percentage (.661).
Keep an Eye on: Outfielder Jose Azocar was signed by the Padres in the offseason as a minor league free agent and he’s been a key contributor for a Missions team that has played much better than this writer expected. In the six-game series last week, Azocar hit .348/.423/.435 and scored eight runs while hitting at the top of the order. The 25-year-old was signed by the Tigers in 2013 and played his whole professional career in their system before 2021. He doesn’t possess much power but he has above-average speed and has posted a 10% walk rate that is more than double his career average.
Fort Wayne TinCaps Week-in-Review (Lost four of six at Dayton).
Jonny Homza has had plenty to cheer this season. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Top Prospects: Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had a rough series overall, hitting .188 (3-for-16) with four walks and nine strikeouts. The outfielder managed a pair of doubles and leads the High-A Central with 17. Ornelas’s overall batting line of .238/.319/.373 is six percent below league average. He has yet to homer in 141 plate appearances. … After three straight hitless games in the middle of the series, catcher Jonny Homza erupted Sunday with a four-hit effort – a career-high. The catcher has had a breakout start to the 2021 season and has found a new gear in June. Homza is hitting a ridiculous .350/.426/.583 with six doubles, a triple, and two homers this month and is fifth in the league with a 144 wRC+. His .390 on-base percentage ranks seventh. … LHP Ethan Elliott had one of his shortest outings of the year, pitching just four innings on Sunday. The lanky lefty allowed a pair of runs – both solo homers – and did not factor in the decision in a game Fort Wayne won. The 24-year-old walked just one and struck out five. Overall, Elliott has the second-lowest ERA in the league (2.17) and his 62 strikeouts rank first. Elliott does come with one flaw – his propensity for allowing homers. He’s allowed 10 this year – tied for the most in the league and his HR/9 of 1.97 is the third highest.
Keep an Eye on: RHP Moises Lugo. Lugo, 22, struck out a career-high ten batters in four innings Saturday night. Lugo has started eight games for the TinCaps and has only worked more than four innings twice but has been able to give the TinCaps a good effort every time out. Lugo has a solid 10.38 K/9 and a 3.12 ERA. He throws his fastball in the 91-93 mph range.
Lake Elsinore Storm Week-in-Review (split a six-game series at Inland Empire).
Matt Acosta turned it on in Inland Empire. (Photo: Antonio Gonzalez)
Top Prospects: Outfielder Robert Hassell III had his worst series as a professional, notching just three hits in the six-game series. Hassell sat out the first two games with a minor neck strain and went 1-for-5 in his next three games before taking an 0-for-4 Sunday. Hassell III has had a solid June, with a .306/.333/.500 slash-line. The one flaw is Hassell has walked just twice in June, after posting a 17% walk rate in May. It could be a byproduct of Hassell trying to be more aggressive at the plate Overall, Hassell has a wRC+ of 123 which leads Storm qualifiers ,but ranks 18th in the Low-A West. … Joshua Mears hit four homers at The Diamond last week but struggled a bit against Inland Empire, going 3-for-18 in four games. He sat out the last two games for undisclosed reasons. Mears has reduced his K-rate a bit in June (35.7%) but hasn’t been able to put together a sustained stretch of dominance, outside of the last three games during the last homestand. Mears’ slash-line of .214/.370/.419 is good 18 percent above league-average.
Keep an Eye on: Outfielder Matthew Acosta carried the Storm offense in San Bernardino, hitting .444/.524/.944 with two homers, a double, a triple, and seven runs scored. The former USC outfielder has flashed considerably more power with the Storm than he did in Tri-City back in 2019. Acosta hit just two homers in his pro debut but already has four this season. Acosta’s big weekend raised his slash-line to an excellent .257/.382/.486 on the year.
