Patrick Kivlehan earned Player of the Week honors after homering in four straight. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Round Rock Express 9, Chihuahuas 4 (Game one – suspended from Sunday)
Key Statistics: SS Matthew Batten, 2-for-4, R, BB; RF Patrick Kivlehan. 1-for-4, BB; C Luis Campusano, 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Jesse Scholtens, 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Pedro Avila, 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Jose Quezada (L, 0-1) 0.1 IP, H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K.
Chihuahuas 6, Round Rock Express 3
Key Statistics: 3B Matthew Batten, 2-for-3, BB, RBI; SS Pedro Florimon, 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; CF Taylor Kohlwey, 1-for-1, 2B, 2 BB; RHP Caleb Boushley (W, 2-0) 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 K.
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas lost the first game, which was a nine-inning affair. They took the nightcap – a seven-inning battle. … Infielder Matthew Batten had a great day at the plate, reaching base six times combined in the two games. The versatile infielder has been a steady contributor throughout his time in the organization, playing all over the diamond and holding his own at the plate. Between San Antonio and El Paso, Batten is hitting .256/.347/.376 this season. … Patrick Kivlelan had just one hit in the two games bur earlier in the day he was named Triple-A West Player of the Week. He went 11-for-20 with six doubles, four homers, and 15 RBI last week. Overall, Kivlehan leads El Paso with a .986 OPS which ranks 11th in the league. … RHP Caleb Boushley pitched a seven inning complete game in the second game, allowing three runs on eight hits to earn the win. The 26-year-old was pummeled in the first two starts of the year in Double-A, but righted the ship after that and pitched well in his next six outings to earn a promotion to Triple-A. Boushley tops out in the low-90s but has a solid curveball that sits in the high-70s. In his first 12 Triple-A innings, he’s walked just one batter and hasn’t allowed a homer. If those trends continue, he should be able to give El Paso some useful innings this summer.
San Antonio Missions Week-in-Review (Lost all six games vs. the Frisco Roughriders).
Eguy Rosario. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Top Prospects: It was a brutal week for the Missions as they lost all six games on the road in Frisco. … Infielder CJ Abrams had a good series, hitting safely in five of six games. Abrams had a double in four consecutive games to start the series but went just 1-for-8 in the final two games of the set. Overall, Abrams did his part in the series, hitting .304/.385/.478 with three walks while striking out in just four times in 26 plate appearances. Abrams has reduced his K-rate this month to 18% – roughly five points lower than May. Overall, Abrams has a 115 wRC+ this season. … Eguy Rosario was just 3-for-22 through the first five games of the set but he finished with a bang by homering twice on Sunday as part of a three-hit effort. After a miserable start to the season, Rosario has caught fire in June, thanks in part to a drastic reduction in his strikeout rate. In May, Rosario whiffed in 35.1% of his plate appearances and hit just .206/.276/.309. In June, Rosario has cut the strikeouts nearly in half – down to a very manageable 19.8%. The increased frequency in contact has led to a June slash-line of .306/.406/.575 with five homers and 22 RBI. … Outfielder Jack Suwinski had a rare poor series, going just 3-for-26 in six games. He still connected on a pair of homers and walked at a nearly 20% clip, so it wasn’t all doom-and-gloom. Suwinski has 13 homers this year, tied with three other players for the league lead. He has out-homered two of the top prospects in baseball: Bobby Witt Jr. and Nolan Gorman. His 36 RBI are also tied for the league lead and his 159 wRC+ ranks third. The outfielder’s performance has been the most surprising breakout in the system this year.
On the Comeback Trail: RHP Jordan Humphreys made his organizational debut with the Padres and struggled in his first outing since 2019. He lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed four runs, three earned. The Padres claimed him off of waivers from the Giants in February. He had Tommy John surgery in 2018. … RHP Reggie Lawson also made a start last week and struggled. Lawson worked into the third inning but allowed three earned runs although he did rack up five strikeouts. The 23-year-old looked solid in big league camp in 2020 before going down with an elbow injury that ended up requiring Tommy John surgery. He has struggled to return to form for the Missions so far in 2021 but he has been able to increase his workload each outing and that’s a positive sign.
Justin Lopez has had a strong June. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Fort Wayne TinCaps Week-in-Review (Won four of six against the South Bend Cubs):
Top Prospects: The TinCaps managed to take four of six on the road in South Bend. Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had another rough series, notching just two hits in 19 plate appearances, with seven strikeouts. Over the past two weeks, Ornelas is hitting just .161/.350/.258 with a 40% K-rate. Thanks to a hefty walk rate, he has maintained an 87 wRC+ which is close to his season mark of 89. Ornelas was been able to get on base during the rough stretch which is encouraging but the rise in strikeouts and the lack of power does give cause for concern. … Infielder Justin Lopez had a big series for TinCaps, going 8-for-20 with two doubles and a homer. The 21-year-old infielder has had arguably his best month as a professional, hitting .309/.390/.456. He has been a bit lucky with a .452 BABIP, but he has also been able to increase his walk rate to a solid 11.7% in June. His strikeout rate (31.2%) is still an issue but for a player who has posted a sub-.300 on-base percentage in each of his three previous seasons, the improved walk rate indicates growth from a talented player.
Keep an Eye On: RHP Gabe Mosser turned in an excellent outing last Wednesday, when he pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit. The 25-year-old Mosser has been a solid contributor throughout his time in the Padres’ system. He started 19 games between Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore in 2019 and Wednesday’s start lowered his ERA to 4.71. He doesn’t possess big-time stuff but he’s been able to give the organization dependable innings throughout his career.
Euribiel Angeles is making consistent impact at the plate. (Photo: Antonio Gonzalez)
Lake Elsinore Storm Week-in-Review: (Split six-game series with the Modesto Nuts):
Top Prospects: Robert Hassell III had a solid series, hitting .316/.458/.368 in the five games he played. Hassell walked five times in the series, after drawing just three walks all month coming into the series. Overall, the 19-year-old is hitting an excellent .287/.374/.461 in 43 games for the Storm . … Joshua Mears homered on Saturday but otherwise had a quiet series. The former second-rounder went 3-for-19, with six walks and nine strikeouts. As we have mentioned this year, Mears has flashed prodigious power this season but has struggled to make consistent contact. His 38.7% K-rate is the sixth highest in the Low-A West but he has still managed to put up a wRC+ of 118. The key for July will be for Mears to make more contact so that his game-changing power can play more in-game situations.
Keep an Eye on: Infielder Euribiel Angeles had a monster series, hitting .542/.621/.667 with a double and a triple. Perhaps more impressively, he struck out just once in 29 plate appearances. The 19-year-old is fifth in the circuit with a .323 batting average – including a .373 mark in June. The infielder hasn’t shown much power this season but his advanced ability to make consistent contact makes him one to watch.
