El Paso got the only win in the system after dropping a resumed game, a pair of homers from the Missions wasn’t enough, nor was a late rally by the TinCaps. The Storm lost a tough one in extra innings on the road, while the newest members of the organization pitched a seven-inning gem in the ACL.
Taylor Kohlwey has been a key cog in the El Paso offense in 2021. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Albuquerque Isotopes 7, Chihuahuas 6 (game resumed after suspension July 6th)
Key Stats: RF Brian O’Grady, 2-for-4, CF Taylor Kohlwey, 2-for-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI; PH-1B Nick Tanielu, 1-for-2, HR, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: This game started on July 6th, and was suspended after a Taylor Kohlwey home run in the top of the fifth made it 5-3 Chihuahuas. It resumed in the same inning with a Nick Tanielu solo home run. From there, Albuquerque scored a pair of runs in the 6th, before walking it off with a home run in the seventh. For Kohlwey, it was his fourth home run since being promoted to El Paso, and his fifth of the season. It closes out his July stats with a slash line of .384/.430/.606 for that month. For Tanielu, he now has 13 home runs on the season. … A pair of base hits for Brian O’Grady were a welcome sight. After a red hot July, O’Grady slashed .229/.333/.479 in August.
Adrian Martinez is starting to get the hang of things in Triple-A. (Photo: Roy Burkhart/Round Rock Express)
Chihuahuas 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5
Key Stats: RHP Adrian Martinez, 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Steven Wilson (W, 3-0), 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K; CF Jose Azocar, 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI; 3B Ivan Castillo, 3-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas bounced back in the second contest of the evening, in which a five-run 5th inning for El Paso paced them to victory, helped by two runs scored on wild pitches in the inning. After allowing 12 runs in eight innings in his first two Triple-A starts, Adrian Martinez has shown more poise in the subsequent three starts for El Paso, allowing seven runs in 15 innings, including tonight’s four innings with two earned. The slider/sinker righty, who earned Double-A Central Pitcher of the Month honors for July thanks in part to his 0.32 ERA, now has a 4.00 ERA in September in nine innings of work between his two starts. … Tonight was the seventh straight appearance for Steven Wilson without allowing a walk. The 27-year-old Wilson has impressed this season with a 0.84 WHIP and only 11 walks in 34.2 innings pitched while striking out 57 batters. … Jose Azocar continues to perform at the plate, on the base paths, and in the field. The 25-year-old center fielder, acquired as a minor league free agent before the season after spending the duration of his career with Detroit, is slashing .293/.333/.465 in his first 99 at-bats at the Triple-A level. He’s also stolen 11 bases in that time, after stealing 15 in 301 at-bats in San Antonio. … Tonight’s three-hit game marked the third multi-hit outing for Ivan Castillo this September. The switch-hitting infielder is slashing .360/.407/.560 in 25 at-bats this month.
Eguy Rosario hit his 11th home run of the season. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Frisco RoughRiders 6, Missions 3
Key Stats: SS Eguy Rosario, 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB; 3B Olivier Basabe, 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI; 2B Ethan Skender, 1-for-4, RBI; RHP Tyler Viza, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Prospect Watch: The Missions took a two-run lead on a pair of home runs, but two three-run rallies by Frisco were fueled by errors, costing San Antonio the game. Only one run was charged to starter Tyler Viza as earned, while a full five runs were unearned due to the fielding miscues. The 26-year-old Viza now has a 4.37 ERA in four starts for San Antonio, walking seven and striking out 17 in 22.2 innings. The former Phillies farmhand was signed by the Padres to a minor league deal on August 18th, having last played affiliated ball in 2019. … One of those errors was charged to Eguy Rosario, his 24th of the season, and 14th since moving to shortstop in July. He made up for his misadventure in the field with a home run at the plate, his 11th of the season and first of September. … Also homering was Olivier Basabe, his fourth of the season. The 24-year-old Basabe, the Padres eighth-round selection in 2017, has had a hot start to September as he tries to finish the season on a high note. He is slashing .320/.346/.560 in 25 at-bats for the month, with half his home run production for the season coming this month. Ethan Skender is now on a four-game hitting streak and is batting .314 in September, and .333 since being promoted to San Antonio on August 27th. The 24-year-old Skender has shown versatility and an improved hit tool in his first full season of pro ball, as injuries have limited his playing time each year in the past.
Chase Walter has excelled in his first season of pro ball. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Lansing Lugnuts 7, TinCaps 4
Key Stats: LHP Fred Schlichtholz, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K; RHP Chase Walter, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K; CF Robert Hassell III, 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB; LF Angel Solarte, 2-for-4, R; C Victor Duarte, 2-for-4, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: Lansing jumped out to an early lead, and though Fort Wayne relievers kept the TinCaps in the game late, it wasn’t enough. The bleeding was stopped by a scoreless sixth inning courtesy of southpaw Fred Schlichtholz. Schlichtholz, a 2017 13th-round pick of Fresno State and a native of Chula Vista, is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in eight appearances for Fort Wayne. The 25-year-old has walked four and struck out 11 in 9.1 innings. … The impressive work continues for Chase Walter in his first professional season, posting a 3.12 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in six appearances for Fort Wayne since being promoted from Lake Elsinore, where his ERA stood at 2.28 to go with a 1.27 WHIP in 23 appearances for the Storm. The six-foot-seven Walter was signed after the 2020 draft by the Padres out of Western Carolina. … With another pair of base hits tonight, Robert Hassell III has now played in ten games for the TinCaps and has gone hitless in only two of them, while three of them have been multi-hit games. … The first two hits at the High-A level for Angel Solarte came in his second game since being promoted to Fort Wayne. Solarte, a 20-year-old outfielder from Caja Seca, Venezuela, was promoted from Lake Elsinore on September 4th after slashing .306/.351/.407 in 248 at-bats for the Storm. … We had an affiliate debut tonight in Fort Wayne, as Victor Duarte debuted in a TinCaps uniform after being promoted from the Complex League. The 20-year-old Duarte started behind the plate and is batting .500 in High-A after a pair of hits. The native of Tucupita, Venezuela was signed by the Padres in the summer of 2018 and debuted stateside this year in Arizona.
Visalia Rawhide 5, Storm 4
Key Stats: LHP Robert Gasser, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Keegan Collett, 2 IP 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; 2B Bryan Torres, 1-for-4, R, RBI; C Gilberto Vizcarra, 2-for-4, RBI
Robert Gasser is off to a great start following the 2021 Draft. (Photo: University of Houston Athletics)
Prospect Watch: The Storm mounted a late comeback in Visalia, with Bryan Torres driving in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th, only for Visalia to walk it off in the bottom of the inning. Torres, a 21-year-old infielder from Maracay, Venezuela, was promoted to the Storm from the Arizona Complex League on July 22nd. He joined the Padres as part of the 2016 signing class. … His fourth start in Low-A ball was more of the same from Robert Gasser, the lefty from the University of Houston the Padres selected 71st overall this summer. The 22-year-old threw a scoreless inning in Arizona before joining the Storm, where he has a 1.64 ERA and has struck out nine and walked two in 11 innings for Lake Elsinore. … The Storm got two innings of scoreless work from Keegan Collett in his fifth appearance since returning from injury on August 21st. The 23-year-old Collett was selected by the Padres in the 35th round of the 2019 draft out of Florida Gulf Coast, and is playing his first season of Low-A after spending all of 2019 in what was then the AZL. … In his second straight start behind the plate, Gilberto Vizcarra followed up a 1-for-4 game yesterday with two hits tonight. The 22-year-old Mexicali native joined the Padres organization in the fall of 2016 and is playing his first full season of professional baseball, after spending 2017 in the Dominican Summer League, followed by two seasons in Arizona.
Victor Lizarraga is the Padres’ youngest player in the ACL. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
ACL Padres 3, ACL Royals Gold 0
Key Stats: RHP Victor Lizarraga, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K; RHP Garrett Hawkins, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; LF Justin Farmer, 2-for-2, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB
Prospect Watch: It was a masterful pitching performance in the desert, as three Padres pitchers combined to throw a seven-inning shutout, not walking a single Royals batter, and striking out 14 of them. The game was started by Victor Lizarraga, the 17-year-old righty who was born in San Diego and raised in Mexico. Lizarraga bounced back from a five-walk performance on September 3rd with tonight’s gem, lowering his ERA to 5.67 in 27 innings while striking out 29 and walking 14. His stat line was replicated by Garrett Hawkins, who also struck out six batters in three innings while walking none. Hawkins, a 21-year-old right-hander from Saskatoon, Canada, was drafted in the ninth round of this summer’s draft. Hawkins is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 12.1 innings in his first professional season. The save went to Kobe Robinson, the first of his professional career. Robinson, drafted this year in the 13th round, was making only his second appearance and has yet to allow a run this season in two innings of work. Undrafted free agent Justin Farmer continues to make the most of limited playing time, reaching base in all three plate appearances tonight with a walk, a double, and a home run. For Farmer, it was his second home run of the summer, as he’s slashing .333/.500/.667 in 24 at-bats for the ACL Padres.
