San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 2

On one of the busiest and most important days in the history of the San Diego Padres, the farm system carried on, albeit a little lighter than it was 48 hours ago. As a whole, the system went 4-1 despite all the attrition. Wednesday should be another busy transaction day with several moves expected. In the meantime, here is the action for a Tuesday night.

Chihuahuas 13, Albuquerque Isotopes 9

Key Statistics: RF Matt Beaty, 4-for-5, 2 R, 3B, 3 RBI; SS Eguy Rosario, 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI; CF Taylor Kohlwey, 3-for-5, R, 3 RBI; 1B-RF Kyle Martin, 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (9), RBI, BB; DH Jack Stronach, 2-for-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI; RHP Pedro Avila (W, 4-2) 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; LHP Jose Castillo, IP, H

Prospect Watch: After a quiet offensive week in the Pacific Northwest, El Paso returned home to West Texas and a high-scoring game broke out. The two teams combined for 22 runs but the Chihuahuas came out on top. … With the flurry of moves the organization made today, it would be easy to forget that Matt Beaty is still around, but he is. The rehabbing big leaguer had four hits, including a triple. He also drove in three runs. The former Dodger has dealt with a shoulder issue this season and is in the midst of his second rehab assignment. Beaty has a .993 OPS with El Paso. One important note on Beaty; he does have a minor league option left so the team could assign him to El Paso without having to expose him to waivers. He is on the 60-day injured list so he will need to be re-added to the 40-man roster when he is officially activated. … Eguy Rosario is rising up the prospect charts like a Kate Bush single. Rosario was running up that hill with a three-hit effort, including a double. The 22-year-old leads the PCL with 28 doubles. He has 47 extra-base hits this season, tying the career-high he set last season. With roughly two months left in the Triple-A season, Rosario should obliterate that total when all is said and done. … Former Helix High star Jack Stronach started at designated hitter and had a pair of hits and drove in a pair. The versatile Stronach has been pressed into duty in Triple-A but has not seen much playing time. … Center fielder Taylor Kohlwey had three hits and drove in three runs Tuesday night. Kohlwey had a quiet month of July by his standards (he hit .273/.387/.352) but overall, he has had his finest season as a professional. He is tied for second in the PCL in batting average with a .324 mark.

Missions 4, Wichita Wind Surge 3

Key Statistics: 2B Connor Hollis, 2-for-4, RBI; 1B Yorman Rodriguez, 2-for-4, R, 2B; CF Thomas Milone, 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI; RHP Nolan Watson (W, 3-4) 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 8 K; LHP Fred Schlictholz, IP, K; RHP Jose Quezada (S, 2) IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Missions scored three in the first and were able to hold on to win at home against the Wind Surge. … Another day, another multi-hit game for second baseman Connor Hollis. The 27-year-old infielder had a pair of singles and drove in a run. The multi-hit effort extended Hollis’ hitting streak to 13 games. Hollis lost his grip on the Texas League batting title but he still ranks second in the league with a .325 average. … First baseman Yorman Rodriguez had two hits, including a double. The two-hit effort raised his average to .301. Rodriguez doesn’t possess a ton of power nor does he draw a lot of walks but he’s struck out in just 17% of his plate appearances. Thanks to a 5% walk rate, his production is actually just a tick below league average. … Right-hander Nolan Watson pitched well again and earned his third win of the year for his effort. He pitched six strong innings and allowed just an earned run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. The former Royals draft pick has turned in solid work for the Missions over the last few months. During April and May, Watson had a 9.70 ERA in 21.1 innings. Since then, the Indianapolis native has a 3.29 ERA over his last 45 innings. For a team starving for upper-level pitching depth, Watson has placed himself in the discussion, should the Padres need another arm at the big league level. … Left-handed pitcher Fred Schlichtholz pitched a scoreless inning, notching a strikeout in the process. The former Coronado High star didn’t make a club out of spring training but he has turned in the best stretch of his pro career with the Missions. His scoreless outing Tuesday lowered his Double-A ERA to 1.02. He’s had luck on his side, yielding 21 hits in 17.2 innings, but he’s also made a remarkable improvement in his command. He walked about five batters per nine innings last season between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. This year, the 26-year-old is walking just 2.16 per nine innings pitched.

South Bend Cubs 5, TinCaps 4

Key Statistics: SS Jarryd Dale, 2-for-4, 2B; CF Joshua Mears, 1-for-4, R, HR (11), 2 RBI; LF Olivier Basabe, 2-for-3 R, BB; RHP Jose Espada (L, 0-1) 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 K; RHP Luis Madrazo, 2 IP, H, 5 K

Prospect Watch: Thanks to the flurry of trades completed by the Padres, The TinCaps started Tuesday’s game with just 10 position players. … Right-hander Jose Espada made the start for the TinCaps and ended up taking the loss. Espada was moved into the rotation after Robert Gasser was traded to Milwaukee. Oddly enough, Espada also pitched for Milwaukee this year. No, not the Brewers but the independent Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association. Espada worked four innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He has a 4.05 with the TinCaps in 13.1 innings this season. … Jarryd Dale slid back over to shortstop and had a pair of hits, including a double. The 21-year-old from Australia spent most of the first half firmly entrenched at the shortstop position but moved over to the keystone position to accommodate Max Ferguson. With Ferguson no longer in the organization, Dale should receive the bulk of playing time at short going forward. Over his last three games, he is 4-for-9. … Righty Luis Madrazo pitched the final two innings and struck out a career-high five batters. The 24-year-old from Cuba signed with the Padres in January. He has a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings. For the second time in as many games, Joshua Mears connected on a two-run homer and struck out two more times in four trips to the plate. He currently has a six game hitting streak.

Storm 9, Visalia Rawhide 1

Key Statistics: 2B Nerwilian Cedeño 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B; LF Albert Fabian, 3-for-3, 3 R, BB, HR (12), 2 RBI; DH Charlis Aquino, 2-for-4, R, HR (3), 3 RBI, SB (17); RHP Duncan Snider (W, 3-0) 5.1 IP, 8 H, ER, 9 K; LHP Ben Miller, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Despite being outhit 12-10 by the Rawhide, the Storm cruised to a win to open their series in the Central Valley. … With the departure of James Wood, Albert Fabian stepped up and carried the Storm offense. He had three hits, including his 12^th homer of the season. With Wood on his way to the Nationals organization, Fabian is tied with Marcos Castañon for the team lead in OPS with a .864 mark. … Charlis Aquino had two hits including his third homer of the year. He stole his 17^th base as well for good measure. The 20-year-old infielder has played all over The Diamond for the Storm this season but has mostly struggled at the plate. He still has plenty of room to grow and add strength. He is a tremendous athlete and is a guy to watch down the stretch. … The Padres have dipped their toe into the independent league pool a few times this year but no player has made a bigger impact than Duncan Snider has. The big righty won his third game since signing at the start of July, firing 5.1 innings of one-run ball. He did allow eight hits but mitigated the damage with nine strikeouts. In six games (three starts) with the Storm, the 24-year-old has a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings. He’s struck out 29 batters while walking just two in that time span.

ACL Padres 9 ACL Rangers 4 (11 innings)

Key Statistics: RF Kai Murphy, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI; CF Samuel Zavala, 3-for-4, R, 2B; DH Ruben Salinas, 2-for-6, 2B, 3 RBI; RHP Miguel Rondon, 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 K; LHP Mason Feole, IP, BB, 2 K; RHP Justin Lopez (W, 2-0) 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 5 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres scored five runs in the 11^th inning to even their record at .500 (20-20). … Right fielder Kai Murphy entered the game as a defensive replacement and notched the first two hits of his career. Murphy doubled, singled, and drove in two runs. Murphy, 21, is the son of former Padres interim manager Pat Murphy. The left-handed Murphy started his collegiate career at Oregon State before transferring to Arizona State. Murphy was a two-way player in college. This year with the Sun Devils he hit .286/.359/.432 with five homers and he pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings. As of now, the Padres are deploying him as a position player. … Outfielder Samuel Zavala had three hits, including a double. The 18-year-old outfielder dealt with injuries early in the season but appears to be healthy now. Tuesday’s excellent night at the plate raised his slash-line to .345/.412/.621. … Right-handed pitcher Miguel Rondon pitched well but he ultimately did not factor in the decision. He worked six innings and allowed just one run on four hits, striking out three without walking a batter. The six innings were a season-high for Rondon. The 21-year-old has a 6.00 ERA in 30 innings. … Righty Justin Lopez earned his second career victory by firing the final three innings. The shortstop-turned-pitcher allowed two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts. Lopez has seven strikeouts without a walk in his first action as a professional pitcher.

Roster Moves: It might have been the busiest transaction day in Padres history as the team made a total of five trades over the last 48 hours. Here are the moves that impacted the farm system.

Chihuahuas: RHP Michel Baez was optioned to Triple-A. Outfielder Jose Azocar, right-hander Reiss Knehr, and right-hander Tayler Scott were promoted to San Diego. Outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker was traded to Kansas City for catcher Cam Gallagher. Left-handed pitcher Jay Groome was added to the Chihuahuas roster.

It was a busy day for El Paso, as they shook off the roster upheaval and one at home. El Paso lost one of their big bats as Rooker hit .272/.385/.605 with 19 homers and 55 RBI. He will head to Kansas City where he may have more of an opportunity to crack the big league roster.

Coming over to the Padres as part of the deal to move Eric Hosmer to Boston is lefthander Groome, who represents an intriguing option. Groome, 23, was the 12^th overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Boston Red Sox. Groome underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and threw just four innings in pro ball in 2019. He threw a career-high 97.2 innings in 2021 and has been solid this season. In 19 games (17 starts) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, Groome has a 3.59 ERA in 92.2 starts. He is not on the 40-man roster currently but will need to be added this off-season to avoid the Rule 5 draft and minor league free agency.

TinCaps: The TinCaps lost a staggering four players off of their roster, and we expect to see some reinforcements by Wednesday’s game. Here are the players leaving the organization:

Lefty Robert Gasser (traded to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader deal), outfielder Corey Rosier (traded to Boston in the Eric Hosmer deal), infielder Max Ferguson (traded to Boston in the Eric Hosmer deal), outfielder Robert Hassell III (traded to Washington in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell deal).

The TinCaps lost the #2, #12, and #16 prospects on our updated MadFriars Top-20 prospect list. Hassell III is the headliner of the TinCaps lost. He is the number-two prospect on our list was hitting .299/.379/.467 with Fort Wayne and has been assigned to Wilmington, the High-A affiliate of the Nationals.

Rosier has come on the last six weeks or so. He is hitting .263/.381/.396 this season. Ferguson struggled with the bat upon his promotion to Fort Wayne but his speed on the basepaths was one of the more fun stories this year. Between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne, Ferguson was hitting .247/.403/.364 with 55 stolen bases in 60 attempts.

Gasser had a 4-9 record with Fort Wayne with a 4.18 ERA in 18 starts and had 115 strikeouts in 90.1 innings.

Storm: The Storm lost just one player, but it was a big one. Outfielder James Wood, was our fifth-ranked prospect earlier in the year, but likely would have moved to the top of the list had he remained with the organization. His combination of speed and power made him one of the most exciting prospects in the system. Wood’s swan song in the Padres’ organization showed what he is capable of; he had four hits, including a long home run to the opposite field. In 50 games with the Storm, Wood hit .337/.453/.601 with 10 homers and 45 RBI.

ACL Padres: The ACL Padres lost a pair of big-time prospects off their roster. Big righty Jarlin Susana will head to the Nationals as part of the Juan Soto/Josh Bell deal. The 18-year-old had a 2.45 ERA in eight games (seven starts) in the desert. The hard-throwing righty threw 29.1 innings and struck out 44. In addition, shortstop Victor Acosta– our #11 prospect – will head to the Reds’ organization. In 32 games, Acosta was hitting .243/.346/.360 with two homers and 11 RBI.

We’ll restack our rankings of the much thinner system in the coming week.