San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 30

Chihuahuas 15, Las Vegas Aviators 14

Key Statistics: SS José Iglesias, 3-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B, BB, 2 RBI; 1B Alfonso Rivas, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, 4 RBI; 3B Tim Lopes, 2-for-5, R, BB, RBI; LF Taylor Kohlwey, 2-for-6, 2 R, HR (6), RBI; DH Yorman Rodriguez, 2-for-6, 2 RBI, SB (2); CF Luis Liberato, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, RBI; RHP Matt Waldron, 4 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Nabil Crismatt, IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K; LHP Jared Koenig (W, 1-1) 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB; LHP Ray Kerr (S, 5) IP, H, ER, 3 K

Prospect Watch: Isn’t Pacific Coast League Baseball the best? This wild one featured 29 runs, 35 hits, 17 walks, and four homers. When all was said and done, the Chihuahuas escaped with a victory in Las Vegas. … Center fielder Taylor Kohlwey had two hits, including a no-doubt blast to right. It was Kohlwey’s sixth homer of the year. After a slow start, the lefthanded outfielder has started to resemble the player who has been an above-average hitter in Triple-A for the last two years. He has a 1.040 OPS this month. … José Iglesias re-signed with the Padres and celebrated the occasion with three hits, including a pair of doubles. The 33-year-old veteran opted out of his contract on Saturday but reached a new agreement with the organization Monday. The former Rockie doesn’t have a clear path to a big-league job in San Diego, but he could be a valuable depth option down the stretch. In 22 games with El Paso, Iglesias is hitting .293/.350/.446. … Alfonso Rivas doubled, singled, drew two walks, and led the offense with four RBI. The big night raised Rivas’ May slash-line to .353/.446/.553. Overall, Rivas ranks sixth in the league with a 1.005 OPS. … Nabil Crismatt made a rehab appearance and allowed a pair of runs in an inning of work. Crismatt has allowed seven runs in 7.2 innings in five outings with El Paso.

Roster Moves: Catcher Brett Sullivan was optioned to El Paso thanks to the acquisition of Gary Sanchez. The Padres also placed Sean Poppen on the Development List.

Missions 9, Frisco RoughRiders 2

Key Statistics: RF Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-5, R, BB, 2 2B, HR (3), 2 RBI; 3B Connor Hollis, 2-for-4, R, 2B, BB; LF Jorge Oña. 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (2); DH Cole Cummings, 2-for-4, R, HR (1), BB, RBI; RHP Nolan Watson (W, 3-2) 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Seth Mayberry, 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Missions beat up on Frisco to take the series opener. At 24-22, they are tied with Midland for first place. … Right fielder Tirso Ornelas had one of his best games of the year in the win. The 23-year-old singled twice and connected on his third homer of the season. Ornelas limped through April and, while he has looked better at the plate this month, he has yet to fully break out at Double-A. In 25 May games, Ornelas has a .754 OPS. … 26-year-old Jorge Oña started the game on the bench but entered in the fifth when Korry Howell was pulled. Oña singled, doubled, and drove in a pair of runs. The 2016 international free agent signee had a miserable April, but he has been strong in May. With a multi-hit effort Tuesday, Oña is hitting .308/.345/.500 this month with a homer and seven RBI. … Cole Cummings had a pair of hits, including his first Double-A homer. The corner infielder started the season with the TinCaps and played sparingly behind Nathan Martorella and Marcos Castañon. Since being promoted to the Missions, he has found playing time to be more plentiful, and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity. In five games for the Missions, Cummings has two doubles, a homer, and a 1.075 OPS. … While the bats performed well for San Antonio, Nolan Watson gave the Missions another solid start. Watson earned his third win of the season, allowing just one earned run in five innings. He allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out two. The 26-year-old has been excellent at keeping runs off the board, despite not missing bats frequently. Watson has averaged just six strikeouts per nine innings, but hitters are batting just .228 on balls in play. Despite the lack of big-time stuff, Watson throws strikes and bears down in key situations. Opposing batters are hitting .174 off of Watson with runners in scoring position.

South Bend Cubs 11, TinCaps 8

Key Statistics: SS Jackson Merrill, 3-for-5, 2 R; 1B Nathan Martorella, 2-for-4, R, 2 2B, BB, 2 RBI; C Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-5, R, 2B; CF Jakob Marsee, 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2B; RF Joshua Mears, 1-for-3, 2 R, HR (4), RBI, BB; RHP Jairo Iriarte, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; RHP Bobby Milacki (L, 3-1) IP, H, 2 ER, 2BB, K; RHP Adam Smith, 1.2 IP, H, K

Prospect Watch: The Cubs used a six-run eighth to win the series opener in the battle for High-A supremacy in Indiana. After falling behind 11-3, the TinCaps scored five times in the ninth to make things interesting. … Jackson Merrill singled home a run in the ninth on his third hit of the evening. The 20-year-old shortstop has battled illness on a few occasions but has shown some signs of a breakout. He’s hit the ball hard, and his three-hit affair raised his May batting average to .321. His OPS sits at .777, in part because Merrill has walked just twice in 83 plate appearances. Merrill has shown a much more aggressive approach at the plate this year. It will be interesting to see if the power comes in June as he gets further away from missing two weeks earlier in the month. … Nathan Martorella had a pair of doubles and drove in a run in the loss Tuesday. It was Martorella’s tenth multi-hit game of the month. The power-hitting first baseman has been one of the best players in the Midwest League this season, as he has done it all offensively. Martorella ranks fifth in the league with a.886 OPS, including a .497 slugging percentage, ranking fourth in the circuit. …Right fielder Joshua Mears reached base twice and socked his fourth homer of the season. For Mears, it was his first homer since April 29. The big outfielder has still had issues with strikeouts, but he’s put together an encouraging .267/.378/.433 slash-line in May. … Righthander Jairo Iriarte battled command issues but was still able to put together a decent start. Iriarte walked five in his five innings of work but only allowed two runs. Iriarte has a 3.34 ERA in nine starts with 45 strikeouts in 35 innings.

Storm 3, Visalia Rawhide 1

Key Statistics: DH Ethan Salas (pro debut) 2-for-3, R, 2B, BB; 1B Griffin Doersching, 2-for-4, R, HR (4), 2 RBI; RF Albert Fabian, 1-for-4, 2B; LHP Austin Krob, 7 IP, 7 H, ER, BB, 8 K; LHP Adrian Morejon (W, 1-0) 2 IP, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm won their series opener against Visalia at home. The Storm are 10-0 against the Rawhide this season and 14-19 against the rest of the Cal League. … All eyes in the world of minor league baseball were on Lake Elsinore Tuesday night as 16-year-old Ethan Salas made his professional debut at designated hitter. He doubled in his first at-bat – a booming shot deep into left-center. He hit a screaming line drive in his second at-bat that would have gone for a double in most parks, but the short right field wall at The Diamond held him to a single. In his third at-bat, he struck out on a breaking ball that appeared to be several inches off of the plate before drawing a walk in his final at-bat. Salas turns 17 on Thursday. The top prospect showed a sweet left-handed stroke and impressive patience at the plate. Not too shabby for a player that is the same age as some high school sophomores. … The Storm took the lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run shot to right-center off of the bat of first baseman Griffin Doersching. It was part of another multi-hit effort for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy. Over his last nine games, Doersching has had six multi-hit games. The 24-year-old first baseman had a paltry .516 OPS in April, but he’s nearly doubled that mark in May. In May 21 games, Doersching is hitting .324/.369/.554 – good for a .923 OPS. While the Storm offense has cooled off considerably, the big first baseman has been a one-man wrecking crew. … The Storm has a bevy of talented young pitchers on the roster in 2023. Robby Snelling, Jagger Haynes, and Henry Williams have the prospect pedigree, but Austin Krob has arguably been the ace of the staff this season. Tuesday, Krob became the first Storm pitcher to throw seven innings in a game in 2023. He allowed just one run, scattering seven hits in the process. He walked one and struck out eight – a new career-high – as he lowered his ERA to 1.75. The biggest change for Krob in May has been improved command. In 14.2 innings in April, he walked 12 batters. This month, he has walked just five in 21.1 innings. Krob has the lowest ERA among qualified Cal League pitchers as the calendar approaches June. … Adrian Morejon, making his third rehab appearance, took over for Krob and earned the win, pitching the final two innings. Morejon retired all six batters he faced, notching three strikeouts on the evening.

Roster Moves: With Ethan Salas in Lake Elsinore, catcher Jacob Campbell was sent back to the ACL.