San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 14

Reno Aces 8, Chihuahuas 3

Key Statistics: 2B/SS Matt Batten 2-4, BB; CJ Jose Azocar 1-3, H RBI, 2B, BB; LF Taylor Kohlwey 2-4; RHP Brett Kennedy (L, 1-4) 5.0 IP 6 H 5 R 5  ER 3 BB 4 K; RHP Parker Markel 2.0 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER BB 3 K; RHP Alex Powers 2.0 IP H R 4 K

John and Mark were at the game, you can read the game story here.

Missions 7, Midland Rockhounds 4

Key Statistics:  3B Allen Cordoba 3-4; 1B Kyle Overstreet 2-3; C Juan Fernandez 3-4, 2 RBI, BB; RHP Pedro Avila 4.0 IP H 2 BB 2 K; RHP Sam McWilliams 1.1 2 h 3 R 3 ER 2 BB K; RHP Nick Kuzia (W, 3-7) (BS,4) 2.0 IP H R ER 2 BB 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Missions won in Midland on a pair of dramatic home runs by Ben Ruta and Juan Fernandez in the tenth inning, the team’s only extra-base hits on the night, for a final score of 7-4.  San Antonio got a strong start from Pedro Avila who threw four shutout innings with Nick Kuzia picking up the win after giving up the tying run in the bottom of the ninth.  In the bottom of the tenth, Kuzia came back and struck out the side to preserve the victory. .. Allen Cordoba, the Padres former Rule 5 pick who played a full season with the Padres in 2017 at 21 is quietly putting together a solid season in Double-A after enduring multiple injuries since his big league year hitting .293/.379/.453.  In previous years he has bounced between the infield and outfield, but this year he has played all but four games at third base.  Despite beginning his pro career in 2013, Cordoba is still only 25 years old. … As with the big club, the minors are looking for starting pitching too and Pedro Avila, who had a brief cup of coffee in the majors in 2019 before Tommy John surgery could be someone to watch.  He made his fourth start for the Missions on Saturday and looked strong.  For the season, he has 29 strikeouts in 29 innings against 13 walks for a 3.64 ERA as he has only recently moved into the rotation as the organization sought to manage his innings.

TinCaps 6, South Bend 3

Key Statistics: 1B Yorman Rodriguez 2-4, HR (1) RBI; DH Luis Almanzar 1-4, 2 RBI; RHP Moises Lugo (W, 4-3) 6.0 IP 2 H R ER BB 8 K; RHP Wen-Hua Sung 1.0 IP H 2 K

• Prospect Watch: The TinCaps put up five runs in the sixth inning and added on one more in the seventh for a 6-3 win at Parkview Field.  Moises Lugo continues to have a strong year, only walking a single batter in six strong innings of work.  In June he walked 19 batters in 24.1 innings and in July and August he has cut it down to nine in 33 innings. Lugo is leading Fort Wayne in innings pitched with 75.1 and has a 3.46 ERA on the year in 16 starts. … Yorman Rodriguez cracked his first home run in High-A Central after some quick stops in El Paso and San Antonio.  With the Chihuahuas, the former Blue Jay farmhand who was selected in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft really hit with a .324/.378/.588 slash line in 37 plate appearances. He has mainly played at first base and designated hitter, but with El Paso also got some time in the outfield and at second base.  He has yet to catch, which he also did with Toronto.

Visalia Rawhide 11, Storm 10 

 Key Statistics: SS Euribiel Angeles, 3-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI; CF Robert Hassell III, 1-for-6, R, 2 RBI; C Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; DH Colton Bender 2-for-5, 2 RBI; RHP Alek Jacob, 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K 

 Prospect Watch: A furious Storm comeback almost turned the tables in a high-scoring affair, but in spite of a ninth-inning, two-RBI double off the bat of Euribiel Angeles, the Rawhide managed to move ‘em on. Angeles, who now has a hit in 10 of the 11 games he’s played in the month of August, including his current five-game hitting streak, commands an 18-point lead in the race for the Low-A West batting title with a .348 mark. … A pair of RBI groundouts went along with a single for Robert Hassell III tonight. Hassell, who leads current members of the club with 27 stolen bases, has delighted the home crowd with a .326/.421/.448 slash line at The Diamond. A pair of singles has Brandon Valenzuela batting 8-for-18 in the series vs Visalia, helping him to a .429 batting average in August.

Valenzuela’s 2021 slash line of .310/.393/.449 is by far the best of his career. … 2021 10th round selection Colton Bender has been on a tear at the plate since joining Lake Elsinore. Bender, a catcher who played his college baseball for Quinnipiac, has slashed .500/.522/.636 in 22 at-bats since being promoted on August 6th. … Although the game was mostly about offense, the Storm comeback was also fueled by a scoreless outing from Alek Jacob. Jacob, the Padres’ 16th round selection in this year’s draft out of Gonzaga, has begun his professional career with 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out 11 while walking none.  

ACL Padres 2, ACL Mariners 1  

 Key Statistics: RHP Trey Wingenter, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; RHP Wilton Castillo (W, 1-1), 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 0 BB, 3 K; RHP Jose Luis Reyes, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; CF James Wood, 2-for-3, R; C Jared Alvarez-Lopez, 2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI; 1B Cole Cummings, 2-for-2, 2B, RBI 

 Prospect Watch: A familiar face made the start in the desert, as Trey Wingenter began his rehab by taking the mound in competition for the first time since 2019. Wingenter fanned two batters in a scoreless inning. … Tonight’s game marked the first professional win for Wilton Castillo, who threw two scoreless innings, striking out three. Castillo, who signed in the offseason as a free agent from Havana, Cuba, stands six-foot-seven and is now 1-1 with a 5.75 ERA, striking out 33 batters in 20.1 innings of work in the Complex League. … Castillo was followed by a pair of scoreless innings for 18-year-old Mexicali native Jose Luis Reyes. Reyes, who signed with the Padres in September of 2019, is now 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 14 innings, striking out 13 and walking five. …

 A pair of base hits for James Wood has made for his fourth multi-hit game in his young professional career. Wood, the 62nd overall pick of the 2021 draft, has made 11 starts in center field, with a lone appearance as the DH thus far. He is slashing .368/.455/.421 in 38 at-bats. … It was the second straight two-hit night for Jared Alvarez-Lopez, who tied the game in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI double. Alvarez-Lopez, acquired in the 17th round of the 2019 draft, is in his second season of what is now the ACL. … Cole Cummings hit his third double in 14 games since signing with the Padres organization after this year’s draft. Cummings, a UC Santa Barbara product, has played nine of his games at first base, with the other five coming across the diamond at third base. Cummings, a Corona native, listed the Padres as his favorite professional team while he was playing for the Gauchos.