Taylor Kohlwey had a big night with 8 total bases. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Oklahoma City Dodgers 16, Chihuahuas 1
Key Statistics: LF Taylor Kohlwey, 3-for-4 R, 2 2B, HR (11), RBI; SS Jarryd Dale, 1-for-2; DH Brett Sullivan, 1-for-2; RHP Matt Waldron (L, 3-8) 4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 2 K; LHP Ray Kerr, 0.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R (3 ER), BB, K; RHP Mason Fox, IP, 2 K
Prospect Watch: With just nine games left in the PCL regular season, the Chihuahuas entered Tuesday night with a one-game lead for the division title over Oklahoma City. And well, the Dodgers responded to the pressure by blowing out El Paso. … Outfielder Taylor Kohlwey was the lone bright spot for the El Paso offense on Tuesday, as he doubled twice and swatted his 11th homer of the year. The 28-year-old Kohlwey broke out in June this season, producing an OPS north of 1.000 to go with five homers. However, he’s mostly struggled since then. Coming into Tuesday night, Kohlwey was hitting just .253/.340/.341 over his last 63 games. He still made plenty of contact but he struggled to drive the ball over the last few months. Perhaps his effort Tuesday signifies that he has found his power stroke. … Right-hander Matt Waldron made the start and had a rough one. He had trouble throwing strikes consistently and when he did, the Dodgers took him deep three times. Overall, Waldron allowed 12 baserunners in four innings of work – seven hits and a season-high five walks while relying on his knuckleball on over 80% of his pitches. The 25-year-old righty has shown signs of putting things together with El Paso but overall he’s struggled to limit hard contact. Tuesday’s poor outing raised his Triple-A ERA to 8.25. He’s allowed 10 homers in 64 innings pitched, with opposing batters tagging him for a .311 batting average.
Frisco RoughRiders 7, Missions 3 (Frisco leads the best-of-three series, 1-0)
Alek Jacob’s low release point makes him a difficult match-up. (Photo: Vashaun Newman)
Key Statistics: SS Connor Hollis, 1-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, SB; DH Juan Fernandez, 2-for-4, R, BB; 1B Yorman Rodriguez, 1-for-4, BB; RHP Thomas Eshelman, 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB; RHP Alek Jakob, 1.1 IP, H, 2 BB; LHP Fred Schlichtholz (L, 0-1) IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K
Prospect Watch: The Missions jumped out to a 3-0 lead before allowing the final seven runs to lose their playoff opener against Frisco on the road. The Roughriders scored four in the eighth to put this one away. The two teams will travel Wednesday and the Missions will have a chance on Thursday to extend their season. … Designated hitter Juan Fernandez singled twice and drew a walk in the loss. Fernandez struggled down the stretch for the Missions, hitting just .203/.309/.203 in 66 September plate appearances. His last extra-base hit came on August 26. Outside of the swoon in September, Fernandez has swung the bat well and been a contributor with his new-found positional versatility. … Connor Hollis singled, stole a base, and drove in a pair of runs. The lead-off man hit .333 this season in winning the Texas League batting title. … Right-hander Thomas Eshelman is a pitch-to-contact pitcher and he proved that Tuesday. Eshelman completed five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. He walked one and didn’t strike out a soul. The veteran has completed five innings in each of his previous two starts and has not tallied a strikeout. … Side-winding righty Alek Jacob recorded four outs, pitching around a pair of walks. In 23 outings for the Missions this season, Jakob has pitched to a 1.83 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. He will be part of the Padres’ delegation in the Arizona Fall League next month.
Victor Lizarraga delivered all year as the youngest pitcher in the Cal League.
Storm 4, Fresno Grizzlies 2 (Storm win the California League Championship, 2-0)
Jakob Marsee was a key contributor for the Storm through the final month of the season. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Key Statistics: CF Jakob Marsee, 3-for-4, 2 RBI; SS Jackson Merrill, 2-for-4; RF Albert Fabian, 2-for-4, 2 R; RHP Victor Lizarraga (W, 1-0) 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; RHP Duncan Snider (S, 1) 2.2 IP, H, BB, 3 K
Prospect Watch: It was a momentous evening in Fresno as the Storm took down the Grizzlies to win the 2022 California League championship. It is the Storm’s first Cal League Championship since 2011 and their fourth overall. … Center fielder Jakob Marsee singled three times and drove in a pair of runs. The Padres’ sixth-round pick in 2022 went 5-for-8 in the series against Fresno. He displayed a penchant for coming through in clutch situations and was big for Lake Elsinore down the stretch. In 18 regular season games, Marsee drew 16 walks and delivered with a .882 OPS. … Jackson Merrill capped his strong debut season with two more hits, finishing the playoffs 11-for-17 with four doubles for a nifty .647/.684/.882 line. … If there was a vote for Storm MVP, right-hander Victor Lizarraga would have to be considered. The 18-year-old pitched into the seventh inning. He went through six innings without allowing a run, but in the seventh, he allowed a two-run homer that was just out of the reach of Storm right fielder Albert Fabian. Lizarraga left having surrendered just those two earned runs on four hits, walking three and striking out four. He won two of the four Storm playoff games and allowed four runs in 13 innings. … Right-hander Duncan Snider recorded the final eight outs and earned the save in the process. Snider allowed just one hit and one walk, to go with three strikeouts. The 24-year-old has been a valuable contributor for the Storm down the stretch. He spent last year in the PECOS league and began this year in the American Association before inking a minor league deal with the Padres. Snider started the decisive game for the Storm in their division series against Inland Empire. He didn’t earn the victory but he gutted out 4.2 solid innings.
Congratulations to the STORM! They should be very proud of their accomplishments and season. Again, the MadFriars team did a outstanding job of covering the Padres farm teams! 🔥🔥🔥🔥. You are the reason I cry every time AJ makes a trade. Love the teams, players and coverage. 🥰🥰🥰 The MadFriars always bring the positive stories. Love all of you! MadFriars have a lot of faithful fans.
Thank you! Hopefully we will see you one time on the road or at Spring Training.
We always spend two weeks at Spring Training. Already have reservations and can’t wait until tickets go on sale! Also, we loved seeing the Storm in Stockton and will be looking at the MiLB schedules to plan our trips next season! Going to go to Texas to see our future Pads there too! Looking forward to your articles on AJ’s International signings too!