The Missions did it again. For the second time in three games, San Antonio delivered a combined no-hitter. Elsewhere, the Chihuahuas got big performances from Mazara and Campusano to cruise to a win. The Storm won again in Visalia while the TinCaps were blanked at home.
Luis Campusano has had plenty to celebrate in the early going for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado/El Paso Chihuahuas)
Chihuahuas 9, Oklahoma City Dodgers 1
Key Statistics: SS CJ Abrams 2-for-5, 2 R; DH Luis Campusano 1-for-2, 3 R, 3 BB; RF Nomar Mazara 2-for-4, HR (5), 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB; 1B Taylor Kohlwey 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B, BB; RHP Pedro Avila 4.2 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: El Paso drew 10 walks and scored nine runs to avenge a series-opening loss to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Nomar Mazara paced the Chihuahuas offensive attack with his fifth homer of the year as part of a multi-hit effort. The 27-year-old doubled, scored three runs, and drove in four. Mazara is making the most of the first regular playing time he has received since he hit .268/.318/.469 with 19 home runs for the Rangers in 2019. He is now hitting .344/.447/.602 for El Paso. He hasn’t always been successful, but he has shown a propensity to have really good at-bats. … Of course, the main reason people are reading this is for updates on the top two prospects, shortstop CJ Abrams and designated hitter Luis Campusano. Both had solid days that speak to their status. Abrams had two hits and scored two runs. Batting at the top of the order, a .400 OBP, and two runs scored is exactly what you want to see. Campusano reached base four times ahead of Mazara, and ended up scoring three runs. Not only is he hitting a stellar .375/.451/.597 this year, but he has walked nine times against only 12 strikeouts. His 165 wRC+ puts him firmly among the best offensive performers at catcher in the minors this year. Offensively, he has little left to prove in Triple-A.
No, it's not a flashback.
Led by @Padres prospect Ryan Lillie, @missionsmilb put together their second no-hitter in four games: https://t.co/Z3iVKt1O8Y pic.twitter.com/xTWFCQswcN
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 19, 2022
Missions 4, Midland Rockhounds 0 (NO HITTER)
Key Statistics: Esteury Ruiz 1-for-4, 3 RBI, 3B, BB SB (24); 1B Yordany Rodriguez 2-for-3, RBI, BB, SB (2); 2B Chris Given 2-for-4, RS; RHP Ryan Lillie 4 IP, BB, 4 K; RHP Michel Baez 2 IP, BB, 5 K; LHP Osvaldo Hernandez 2 IP, 0’s; RHP Mason Fox IP, BB
Prospect Watch: For the second time in three games, the Missions threw a combined no-hitter. Originally, RHP Matt Waldron was slated to make the start but he was a late scratch for an undisclosed reason. The game was started by former Marlins draft pick RHP Ryan Lillie, who signed a minor league free agent deal this winter. Lillie, who had been working primarily out of the pen, needed 56 pitches to face just over the minimum in four innings of work. … Rehabbing RHP Michel Baez came in and immediately lit up the gun. The broadcast had him sitting mid-90s with his fastball, and while location is still off (23 strikes, 13 balls) when he is even close to the zone, he can be unhittable. He struck out five of the first six batters he faced. … LHP Osvaldo Hernandez threw two perfect innings. He has allowed only two runs in ten innings in May and has retired 17 straight batters across four different performances. Note: his ERA is still incredibly high (6.91) because he gave up seven earned runs while only recording one out in his first appearance. … RHP Mason Fox finished off the game. Fox is rebounding nicely after a disastrous 2021 campaign that saw him end with a 10.53 ERA across 33.1 innings. After hitters hit almost .350 off of him last year, they are hitting just .184 this season. … As many of us at MadFriars have pointed out the last few weeks, our biggest miss on the season might be how low we ranked center fielder Esteury Ruiz. We were all high on him after he posted a .997 OPS in the AZL in 2017. But after a few ho-hum years, we knew the talent was there but the likelihood of reaching that talent was dimming. This year, he has put it all together. In the first month-and-a-half, Ruiz is hitting .354, second in the league with a .503 OBP, and ranks in the top ten in both slugging and OPS while leading the league in stolen bases and runs scored. Ruiz has quickly moved from “it’s a nice hot streak to start the season,” to “glad he is finally showing that talent we saw a few years ago,” to now “we should probably start working on our midseason rewrite and move Ruiz into the top-ten”
There is a lot of length to Jackson Wolf. (Photo: Jeff Nycz).
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, TinCaps 0
Key Statistics: CF Robert Hassell III 0-for-4, LF Corey Rosier 0-for-4, 1B Matt Acosta 2-for-3; LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 1-2) 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
Prospect Watch: An epic win in San Antonio is followed up with a colossal loss for Fort Wayne. The team managed only four baserunners on only three singles and a walk. … The one plus side of the game was LHP Jackson Wolf. While the overall numbers (1-2, 4.11 ERA) are not fantastic, his peripherals look a lot better. Wolf is averaging nearly 12 strikeouts per nine while allowing hitters to bat just .221 off of him. The biggest issue for development is pitch location. He is averaging over 15 pitches per inning and walking nearly four per nine innings. Those numbers are already leading to added baserunners and an inflated ERA in High-A. A correctable problem, but hopefully one that gets corrected sooner rather than later. … Matthew Acosta had two of the three TinCaps hits. In his first two games with Fort Wayne, Acosta is 5-for-7 with a homer.
Lucas Dunn just keeps producing. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza).
Storm 10, Visalia Rawhide 7
Key Stats: 2B Max Ferguson 1-for-4, RS, 2 BB; LF Lucas Dunn 3-for-5, 2 2B,2 RS, 2 RBI, BB; DH Cole Cummings 2-for-4, 2 RS, HR (2), 4 RBI, 2 BB; 3B Marcos Castanon 2-for-4, HR (2), RS, 2 RBI, BB
Prospect Watch: 10 days ago, the Storm carried the best record in the league. With their top two players down, they were beaten handily last week. A new week, a new series, and even if they are still without those top players, and facing Jordan Lawler, one of the top prospects in the game, the Storm have taken the first two games of the series. After reaching base just one time in last week’s series, second baseman Max Ferguson has reached base six times in the last two nights with three stolen bases. … Left fielder Lucas Dunn was the only player to have consistent success against San Jose. However, the one hit a game has quickly turned into three hits per game with two extra-base hits in each game. Dunn now has a nine-game hitting streak, and thanks to his ability to walk (second in the league with 27 walks), his .453 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the league … With Justin Farmer’s stolen base today the Storm now have three players with double-digit stolen bases. Only four other teams in all of minor league baseball can make that claim. Ferguson and Ruiz are two of only three players in the minors with more than 20 stolen bases.
