Matt Waldron delivered his strongest outing yet for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Chihuahuas 2, Round Rock Express 1
Key Statistics: RHP Matt Waldron (W, 2-4), 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; RHP Angel Felipe (H,1) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K; LHP Jose Castillo (S, 1), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6K; 3B Brett Sullivan. 2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI; RF Taylor Kohlwey, 2-for-4, R, RBI
Prospect Watch: We know all the jokes about the PCL and how it approximates pitching on the moon, so, give Matt Waldron the credit that’s due for earning his second Triple-A win in a 2-1 ballgame. Waldron lowered his ERA to 8.01 as the knuckleballer has had some struggles adapting to the highest level of the minors. … Speaking of adjusting to Triple-A, Angel Felipe earned his first hold at the level with his third scoreless appearance. In 3.1 innings, Felipe has walked one and struck out six. The former Rays farmhand joined the Padres as a free agent in the offseason, and was promoted to El Paso on August 9 after going 3-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 32 appearances for San Antonio. … Jose Castillo faced seven batters and struck out six of them to earn his first save since he was last a Chihuahua back in 2018. Castillo is now 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 34.1 innings in El Paso, striking out 45 and walking 13. … Brett Sullivan is a catcher on the roster, but Thursday he was the starting third baseman. The 28-year-old, who we just profiled for subscribers, did more than just capably man the hot corner, he hit a double and got El Paso on the board with an RBI sac fly in the top of the first. Sullivan, acquired in the Victor Caratini trade this spring, is batting .297 with an .809 OPS in 320 at-bats for the Chihuahuas. … Continuing a trend, Taylor Kohlwey delivered the go-ahead RBI on a sac fly. Kohlwey also contributed a pair of hits to bring his average up to .324. The outfielder/first baseman’s .399 wOBA is tops on the club and sixth among qualified PCL hitters.
Missions 8, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 5
Key Statistics: LHP Noel Vela (W, 1-1), 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K; LHP Fred Schlichtholz (S,2), 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; DH Juan Fernandez, 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; 2B Ethan Skender, 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
Ethan Skender continues to contribute when health allows him to be on the field. (Photo: Joe Alexander)
Prospect Watch: Hey, they only scored 13 combined runs this time! After setting records the night before, Thursday’s action felt tame, as San Antonio leveraged eight walks and a pair of hit batters to score eight runs without the benefit of an extra-base hit. Noel Vela racked up his first Texas League win. It was a quintessential look at the Vela experience, as he fanned six batters, but was adventurous at times with his command, walking four batters. Vela is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in his first two Double-A starts, striking out 10 but walking seven in 9.1 innings. … Fred Schlichtholz came to the rescue, escaping a bases loaded jam he inherited from Kevin Kopps, allowing a sac fly, but ended the game on a flyout to earn his second save for the Missions this year. The Coronado product boasts a 1.52 ERA in 23.2 innings for San Antonio since being promoted from Fort Wayne. … Juan Fernandez collected the only multi-hit evening for San Antonio, and is now hitting .279. Fernandez also walked twice, as the 23-year-old continues to contribute to the Missions lineup from third base, first base, DH, and catcher. … Ethan Skender drove in a pair of runs, his first RBIs since September of 2021. The 25-year-old infielder returns to action with a clear opportunity to move up the organizational depth chart, as he has a .272 average and .750 OPS in his career, with only injuries slowing the 2016 28th rounder.
Dayton Dragons 5, TinCaps 2
Key Statistics: RHP Keegan Collett, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K; RHP Seth Mayberry, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; RF Agustin Ruiz, 2-for-4, 3B, HR, R, 2 RBI; C Anthony Vilar, 2-for-3, BB
Seth Mayberry’s fastball/slider combo has played well this year. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: Things got rocky in the middle innings for Fort Wayne, but thankfully they had Keegan Collett to keep them in the game. Collett delivered three scoreless innings, striking out six batters, and the 24-year-old righty dropped his ERA to 2.98 in 51.1 innings in 2022. The 2019 35th-round pick has a 6-0 record in 35 appearances split between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne. … Seth Mayberry wrapped things up with a scoreless inning. Mayberry, a 2018 39th-round selection, is 3-1 with a 4.35 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 39.1 innings for the TinCaps this year. … All the TinCaps offense came courtesy of Agustin Ruiz, who tripled and homered, driving in a pair of runs. Ruiz is batting .181 but owns a .645 OPS for Fort Wayne because 13 of his 26 hits for the TinCaps have gone for extra bases. … Anthony Vilar contributed his second two-hit game of the month, raising his August batting average to an even .300. Vilar was the Padres’ 15th-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Miami. An infielder his entire career, Vilar began experimenting with catching when there was nothing else to do during the early stages of the pandemic, and is making the conversion as a professional.
Griffin Doersching adds some size to the Lake Elsinore lineup at 6-foot-4, 260-pounds. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Stockton Ports 9, Storm 4
Key Statistics: RHP Manuel Castro, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K; LHP Ben Miller, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; 1B Griffin Doersching, 1-for-3, HR (2), R. RBI, BB; SS Jackson Merrill, 1-for-4, RBI, BB
Prospect Watch: Stockton jumped on the visiting Storm early, scoring all nine runs in the first five innings. It was 20-year-old righty Manuel Castro who stopped the onslaught with a scoreless sixth. Castro, from Guasave, Mexico, has an 11.01 ERA in 10 appearances (five starts) for Lake Elsinore. … Ben Miller made quick work of things at the end of the game, needing 22 pitches to get through two scoreless frames. Miller, a southpaw from San Joaquin Delta Junior College, is 2-4 with a 3.10 ERA for the Storm in 49.1 innings. … The bad news is, after tonight, Griffin Doersching is batting .214 with three hits in his first five games for Lake Elsinore. The good news is two of those hits have left the yard, including one tonight, and the 2022 eighth round pick has walked eight times against five strikeouts, helping the former Oklahoma State Cowboy to a 1.165 OPS. …Jackson Merrill extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single. Merrill is now batting .328 in 119 at-bats for Lake Elsinore.
ACL Padres vs ACL Rangers (postponed)
Monsoon season is in full effect in the Valley of the Sun, and lightning in the proximity of Surprise Stadium canceled tonight’s game after three innings.
