San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 16

It was a good night on the farm, as four of the five squads found the win column. Only the Chihuahuas lost Tuesday night.

Round Rock Express 9, Chihuahuas 4

Key Statistics: C Luis Campusano, 2-for-4, R; 3B Brett Sullivan, 2-for-4, R; Luis Liberato, 1-for-4, R, HR (16), 3 RBI; RHP Jesse Scholtens (L, 3-4) 2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 K; LHP Drew Pomeranz, 0.2 IP, H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Angel Felipe, 1.1 IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Express scored five runs in the first two innings to cruise to a win against the Chihuahuas. … Catcher Luis Campusano singled twice and scored a run. It was the sixth multi-hit game of the month for Campusano. The 23-year-old catcher is hitting .302/.354/.581 in August. … Left fielder Luis Liberato connected on a three-run homer in the eighth inning to help the score look a little more respectable. It was Liberato’s 16^th blast, extending the career-high he has set this season. The 26-year-old is in the midst of his finest season in his first season as a Padres farmhand. His .846 OPS is a career-high, in addition to his 16 homers. Liberato hit just .172/.256/.388 through May but has hit .314/.388/.616 since the first of June. … Jesse Scholtens started the game and lasted just two innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits which included a pair of homers. The 28-year-old hurler has bounced back and forth between the rotation and bullpen. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in July but has mad a pair of starts in four outings this month. The righty has a 4.74 ERA as a starter and a 4.66 ERA as a reliever. … Rehabbing big leaguer Drew Pomeranz got roughed up in his first Triple-A appearance. He recorded a pair of outs but walked two and allowed a three-run homer to top Rangers prospect Josh Jung. Pomeranz has made four appearances in the system as he continues his path towards joining the Padres’ bullpen. His fastball was clocked at 90-93 mph, well below the 94 mph he averaged last season.

Missions 5, Northwest Arkansas 3

Key Statistics: DH Domingo Leyba, 2-for-5, R; 1B Brandon Dixon, 1-for-3, R, HR (8), 3 RBI; 3B Juan Fernandez, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (6, 7); LHP Ben Krauth (W, 1-2) 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Kevin Kopps, IP, K; RHP Lake Bachar (S, 3) IP, H, K

Prospect Watch: The Missions won on the road in Springdale, Arkansas. … Not every Double-A team has players with MLB experience, but the Missions are not most teams. Brandon Dixon hit a three-run homer in the Missions’ win. The blast was Dixon’s eighth of the year. The former big leaguer was born in La Jolla and played his high school ball in Murrieta, where he was a high school teammate of Cubs slugger Patrick Wisdom. He spent four months on the injured list but has made up for lost time. Despite appearing in just 20 games for the Missions, he’s hit 8 homers and has a 1.137 OPS in 89 plate appearances. … Domingo Leyba, a big league veteran of 55 games, started at designated hitter and had a pair of hits. In five starts in August, Lebya has three multi-hit games. … Juan Fernandez reached base three times with two singles and a walk and he also stole two bases. The 23-year-old has shown some versatility, transitioning to third base due to a need for the club. Fernandez makes consistent contact (17.4% walk rate) but has not shown much power. After hitting a career-high eight homers last season, Fernandez has yet to connect on one this year in nearly 300 plate appearances. … Left-hander Ben Krauth survived five innings to notching his first win since joining the Padres organization. The 28-year-old Krauth allowed three runs on three hits, walking three and striking out two. Krauth began the season in the bullpen of the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate before being released and signing with the Padres. In his four professional seasons prior to 2022, Krauth had started just four games. He has started seven for the Missions, posting a 5.90 ERA.

TinCaps 4, Dayton Dragons 2

Key Statistics: C Brandon Valenzuela, 1-for-3, R, HR (7), RBI, BB; 1B Cole Cummings, 1-for-4, R, HR (5), 2 RBI; DH Carlos Luis, 1-for-3; RHP Efrain Contreras, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K; LHP Gabe Morales, 4 IP, BB, 8 K; LHP Ramon Perez (W, 1-2) IP, 2 K; RHP Nick Thwaits (S, 1) IP, H

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps used a pair of homers to defeat their rival Dayton and snap a six game losing streak. The two clubs are separated by a mere 131 miles. … Catcher Brandon Valenzuela connected on his seventh homer of the season and drew a walk Tuesday. The 21-year-old from Hermosillo, Mexico has struggled offensively this year after breaking out with the Storm last year. Between Lake Elsinore and a late-season appearance in Fort Wayne, Valenzuela produced a .822 OPS in 2021. This season, his OPS stands at .664. Valenzuela is hitting just .257 on balls in play – the seventh-lowest mark in the Midwest League. He has shown good discipline at the plate and his strikeout rate is just a point higher than it was last season in Lake Elsinore. … First baseman Cole Cummings had the club’s other homer – a two-run shot in the eighth inning to put the TinCaps ahead for good. After a hot start upon his promotion to Fort Wayne, the 24-year-old Cummings has struggled at the plate. He’s hitting .179/.289/.385 this month with a pair of homers. The former UCSB star has still produced above-average offensive output in his time in the Midwest League overall. … Left-hander Gabe Morales had one of his best outings of the year and displayed what he can do when he is going right. The southpaw took over for starter Efraín Contreras and fired four innings, allowing just one walk to go with eight strikeouts. Morales has shown lethal stuff out of the bullpen but his lack of command has led to struggles. He didn’t allow an earned run in June despite walking a batter per inning. Since then, his good luck has faded a bit. In July, he allowed 10 earned runs in eight innings, in addition to allowing four runs in six innings to start August. In 36.1 innings with Fort Wayne, he has struck out 57 batters. … Joshua Mears got hit in his right (back) elbow by a pitch in the fourth. While the big man stayed in the game and scored, he was lifted when his turn in the order came around again. Sounds like, for the second time in a week, he’ll be day-to-day.

Storm 18, Stockton Ports 2

Key Statistics: 2B Nerwillian Cedeño, 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR (6), 6 RBI; DH Juan Zabala, 2-for-7, R; 1B Griffin Doersching, 2-for-3, 4 R, 2 BB, HR (1), 2 RBI; CF Samuel Zavala, 2-for-4, 4 R, 3B, HR (2), 2 BB, 4 RBI; C Colton Bender, 3-for-4, 3 R, BB, 2 RBI; LF Charlis Aquino, 2-for-6, 2 RBI; RHP Duncan Snider (W, 5-0) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm started off a 12-game road trip on the right foot, clobbering Stockton on a hot evening in Northern California. Ports pitching walked 10 Storm batters, hit two, and uncorked seven wild pitches. … It was a career night for 20-year-old infielder Nerwillian Cedeño, who had the first multi-homer game of his career. Cedeño hit a solo shot in the sixth inning and capped off his night with a grand slam in the ninth inning when the game was already out of reach. The six RBI were also a career-high.

… First baseman Griffin Doersching had a pair of hits, including the first homer of his professional career. Doersching also drew a pair of walks and scored four runs. Doersching, who turned 24 last Friday, is the first position player from the 2022 draft the Padres have moved to full-season ball. The former Oklahoma State slugger socked 15 homers in 42 games for the Cowboys in 2022. He was drafted in the eighth round last month. … Center fielder Samuel Zavala registered a pair of extra-base hits, including a triple and his second homer as a member of the Storm. The 18-year-old has been impressive in his first foray into full-season ball. His big night at the dish raised his OPS to .813 with the Storm. … As the Storm march towards the Cal League playoffs, it appears that an independent league import has emerged as the staff ace. 24-year-old Duncan Snider won his fifth game, allowing just two earned runs on four hits in five innings of work. Snider walked one and struck out seven. The former Upper Iowa University pitcher has a 2.38 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 34 innings with the Storm.

ACL Padres 7, ACL Rangers 5

Key Statistics: CF Jacob Marsee, 1-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, RBI, 2 SB (2, 3); 1B Nathan Martorella, 4-for-5, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI; DH Lamar King Jr., 1-for-4; RHP Jordan Guerrero, IP, H, K; RHP Carter Loewen, IP, H, R; RHP Wilton Castillo, IP, H, 2 K; RHP Miguel Rondon, (W, 2-4) 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K

Prospect Watch: It was an interesting juxtaposition in the desert as the position players were mostly draft picks in the first few weeks of their pro career while the pitching staff featured a quintet of pitchers who are on the rehab trail. In the end, the ACL squad defeated the ACL Rangers. … Outfielder Jacob Marsee had a single, drew three walks, and stole a pair of bags out of the leadoff spot. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .214/.476/.321 in his first 12 games. … First baseman Nathan Martorella had four hits, including two doubles to go with three RBI. Martorella, 21, went to high school in the Salinas area and went to college at Cal-Berkeley. He was the Padres’ fifth-rounder in last month’s draft. The left-handed hitting first baseman hit .333/.424/.553 with 11 homers for the Bears. He is hitting .333 in his first 24 at-bats as a pro in the desert. … Two right-handers – Jordan Guerrero and Carter Loewen made their season debuts as they look to blaze the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery. Guerrero started and pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a hit while striking out one. Loewen – an undrafted free agent from Hawaii who impressed in Fort Wayne last summer, pitched the third inning and allowed an unearned run. Both pitchers will probably head to an affiliate down the stretch when the ACL shuts down next week.