MadFriars Padres Daily Farm Report: May 4

Blake Snell and Luke Voit continue their minor league rehab stints, but it was Ryan Weathers who stole the daily show by tossing a career-high seven innings to lead El Paso to victory. Further down the system,  the Storm walked their way to an extra-inning loss, and the TinCaps are still looking for their first runs in May.

Chihuahuas 7, Sugar Land Space Cowboys 1

Key Statistics: LHP Ryan Weathers 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K; DH Luke Voit 0-for-4, BB, K; C Luis Campusano 2-for-4, 2 RS, BB; LF Tyler Kohlwey 2-for-6, 2 RS, SB (3); 1B Aderlin Rodriguez 2-for-4, 2B, RS, 3 RBI, BB; 2B CJ Hinojosa 1-for-3, HR (2), 2 BB, RBI

Prospect Watch: The original idea was for Luke Voit to play two games in El Paso before rejoining the big league club on Thursday.  However, in two games with El Paso, Voit has yet to make hard contact.  Whether that plan changes until Voit regains his rhythm is up to the Padres. … While Voit was struggling, another player not currently on the big league roster, Ryan Weathers, had easily his best start in a very long time.  One of the noticeable differences between Weathers in previous years compared to this year is he is attempting to pitch to more contact and morph himself into a groundball pitcher.  His strikeout rate has dropped from nearly nine K’s per nine innings pitched to 6.5 K/9 in San Diego last year, to just over 5 K/9 this year.  The precipitous drop could be a cause for concern or a byproduct of Weathers adopting a new way to pitch lower in the zone that will lead to fewer home runs.  Only time will tell, but after allowing nine earned runs over his first three starts, Weathers has now allowed one run or fewer in two of his last three starts. … Catcher Luis Campusano came back to Triple-A and casually picked up where he left off. The top prospect had two singles and reached via a walk.  He has now hit safely in all but one minor league game in 2022 and has collected two or more hits in half of his Triple-A games.

Missions 9, Corpus Christi Hooks 6

Key Statistics: Esteury Ruiz 0-for-5, BB, 4 K; RHP Matt Waldron 4.2 IP,7 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K; 3B Connor Hollis 4-for-5, 2B, 3 RS, RBI, SB (3); SS Domingo Leyba 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RS, 3 RBI, 2 BB; DH Jorge Ona 1-for-3, HR (4), RBI, BB; LF Korry Howell 1-for-3, 2 SB (6), RBI, C Chandler Seagle 2-for-4, 2 RBI, RBI, 2B, SB (1)

Prospect Watch: Some days the knuckleball works and some days it doesn’t.  Today was an uneven day for knuckleballer Matt Waldron.  The good news was that when he hit his spots he was extremely effective.  He tallied six punchouts in only 4.2 innings.  The bad news was that he allowed seven hits, a walk, and hit a batter.  Clearly, Waldron can be successful when he hits his spots, however, at the Double-A level hitters are less forgiving when a pitcher doesn’t. …  Third baseman Connor Hollis broke out in a big way.  In one day, he raised his batting average by 40 points, and his OPS by 70. His four-hit night tied his career-high and must be a welcome sight, as the former Ray prospect had been struggling since signing with the Padres.  … Jorge Ona hit his fourth home run of the season.  This puts him one fewer than he had the last three years combined.  He also has his first four-game hitting streak of the year.  While it has only been one hit in each game, it is still has managed to raise his OPS over 100 points during that span. … Chandler Seagle had a pair of hits, including a double, and even managed to chip in on the basepaths with his first stolen base of 2022 and just the fifth of his professional career. Seagle hasn’t hit much during his pro career but he has been lauded for his defensive prowess behind the dish. Thanks to Seagle’s hot stretch, the 25-year-old from Appalachian State is hitting .250/.350/.385. He’s a career .203 hitter as a professional.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4, TinCaps 0

Key Statistics: CF Robert Hassell III 1-for-3, BB; RF Josh Mears 0-for-4 K; SS Jarryd Dale 2-for-4, 2B; 2B Justin Lopez 2-for-4, 2B; LHP Jackson Wolf 5.1 IP, H, 3 BB, 6 K

Prospect Watch: It has been a tough week offensively for the TinCaps.  They have yet to score a run in any of their last three games.  During this mini-slump, their top three hitters Corey Rosier (2-for-11, K), Robert Hassell III (1-for-11, 4 K), and Joshua Mears (1-for-12, 7 K) have struggled to reach base or provide power.  Today was the first time that Joshua Mears put the ball in play three times in a game since his mammoth 504-foot home run on April 20^th.  Since then, he averaged three strikeouts a game.  Hopefully, this is a sign that he is coming out of it.  He has immense talent but has to make contact. … The only player to make consistent contact this week has been Aussie Jarryd Dale.  He has back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time this season.  His double tonight gave him the team lead, one ahead of the beforementioned Mears. The versatile infielder has played mostly shortstop this year after seeing time all over the diamond a season ago in Lake Elsinore. … On the pitching side, Jackson Wolf seems to be getting better with each start and proving that he is one of the better pitching prospects in the system.  Over his last two starts, Wolf has gone 10.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, and 13 K.  Wolf is a tall, college lefty, who has an advanced feel to pitching.  He uses his height and delivery extremely well, to allow his fastball to generate swing and misses up in the zone and provide extra drop on his breaking pitches.  If he keeps this up, he could be one of the first names promoted when the waves start happening closer to the draft.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 9, Storm 7

Key Stats: LHP Blake Snell 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K; LHP Bodi Rascon 2 IP, H, 2 BB, K; 2B Max Ferguson 1-for-3, 3 RS, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 3 SB (22); 1B Lucas Dunn 2-for-6, 2B, RBI; CF James Wood 1-for-3, 2B, RS, 2 BB;

Prospect Watch: It was a strange game and zone for the home plate umpire.  It was wildly inconsistent for both teams throughout the night and ended up seeing a Quakes pitcher get ejected for an obvious strike being called a ball.  All this is to say when Blake Snell took the mound and realized what was happening, he got hyper-aggressive and just started throwing the ball over the plate hoping he would get the call. Even doing that, Snell still struck out eight.  He needed 66 pitches to get through the four innings but 40 were for strikes. Despite his protests that he is ready, the Padres seem content that he will need one more rehab outing (probably Tuesday at some level) before possibly rejoining the Padres next weekend.  … The Storm used the inconsistent strike zone to their advantage, adding 11 more to their league-leading walk total.  Max Ferguson walked three times and stole three more bases.  The speedy middle infielder now has 25 walks in 21 games (.434 OBP) to go along with his baseball-leading 22 stolen bases.  … Speaking of walking, teams are still doing their best to not get beat by James Wood.  The top draft pick reached base three more times tonight.  He has now reached 30 times in 14 games, raising his on-base percentage to .462.