San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report – June 15

Round Rock Express 8, Chihuahuas 1 

Key Statistics: LHP Jay Groome (L, 1-6), 2.2 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; 1B Alfonso Rivas, 1-for-3; LF Taylor Kohlwey, 1-for-2, HR, R, RBI, BB; C Brett Sullivan, 1-or-4, 2B

Prospect Watch: After a two-run second inning, a six-run third sank El Paso’s hopes, as they only managed three hits of their own in the game. All Round Rock’s  runs were on Jay Groome‘s watch, who was rung up for five earned runs and departed the game in the third inning. Groome, acquired from Boston at the trade deadline in 2022, has struggled with walks this season. He issued four free passes Thursday and now has 50 in 59.2 innings in 2023. His line for the season is now 1-6 with a 9.80 ERA, 2.26 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts. … One of the three El Paso hits came off the bat of Chula Vista’s Alfonso Rivas, who went 1-for-3 in the losing effort. Rivas, who earned a cup of coffee with the Padres recently, is batting .319 with a 1.007 OPS in 2023 for the Chihuahuas, his first season in the organization after signing as a minor league free agent following his time with the Cubs. … Taylor Kohlwey homered in the seventh inning to deliver El Paso’s lone run of the evening. After slashing .222/.297/.321 in April, Kohlwey has followed up that line with a .319/.474/.609 mark in May and a scorching .350/.460/.650 in June, putting himself back in the mix of players who could have their name called if the Padres need a left-handed bat. … Another familiar face to Padres fans, Brett Sullivan went 1-for-4 with a double. Sullivan, who made his Major League debut with San Diego this season, is batting .296 with an .868 OPS in 81 at-bats for the Chihuahuas in 2023, his second season with the affiliate.

Missions 11, Amarillo Sod Poodles 9

Key Statistics: RHP Efrain Contreras 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 6 K, 3 BB; RHP Alek Jacob (S, 4), 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; 3B Ray-Patrick Didder, 1-for-3, HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (11); RF Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB; LF Cole Cummings, 1-for-5, HR (3), 2 R, RBI; SS Ripken Reyes 1-for-3, HR (3), 2 BB

Prospect Watch: “Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone”, the latest installment of a classic Texas League series of two of the cities immortalized in the George Strait tune was a real barn-burner, with the Missions prevailing after a rally in the late innings. After a rocky start to the game for San Antonio’s pitching staff, Alek Jacob calmed the fury and was electric in securing a three-inning save, allowing only one baserunner while facing the minimum nine batters and needing only 38 pitches to navigate the Sod Poodles lineup. After his fourth save of the season, Jacob now sports a 0.81 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 22.1 innings of work for the Missions in 2023. … While the Missions struggled to keep runs off the board, they excelled in scoring them themselves, with Ray-Patrick Didder following up Wednesday’s five-RBI performance with a three-RBI night, hitting his third home run of the season while also working a pair of walks and stealing two bases. The 28-year-old Didder has found his groove in June, following up on May’s .192/.354/.231 slash line with a .333/.500/.639 mark in 36 at-bats this month. … Another bat catching fire is Tirso Ornelas, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to add on to a June slash line that is now .368/.429/.579 in 57 at-bats. For the season, the 23-year-old Ornelas is batting .255 with a .760 OPS in 212 at-bats for San Antonio. … Cole Cummings blasted his third home run of the season to add some insurance in the 8th inning. The 24-year-old UC Santa Barbara alum has hit all three homers since being promoted from Fort Wayne to San Antonio, where he is slashing .268/.359/.482 in 56 at-bats.

Dayton Dragons 8, TinCaps 6

Key Statistics: RHP Ryan Bergert 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 8 K, 2 BB; Edwuin Bencomo, 1.1 IP, 1 H; RHP Alan Mundo, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; SS Jackson Merrill, 3-for-4, 2B, HR (6), 3 RBI, BB; DH Carlos Luis, 2-for-5, HR (3), R, RBI; 1B Nathan Martorella 1-for-5, HR (11)

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps failed to protect an early lead and fell victim to a seventh-inning Dayton rally. Fort Wayne did get a couple of nice performances out of the bullpen, with Edwuin Bencomo turning in four innings of scoreless work. The 24-year-old Bencomo is 2-0 with a 5.84 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 24.2 innings of work in 2023, a season split between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. … Alan Mundo tossed two scoreless to finish out the game, striking out three batters. The 23-year-old Mundo returns to the TinCaps after finishing the 2022 season with Fort Wayne, a memorable season in which the righty not only posted a 2.29 ERA in 32 appearances, but also closed out the first no-hitter in Lake Elsinore Storm history. … Yesterday’s edition of the Daily alerted readers that Jackson Merrill seemed to be finding some stride. Thursday’s performance is perhaps the loudest demonstration yet of the top prospect’s progress at High-A. Merrill went 3-for-4 opened the game by turning on a breaking ball for a towering homer to right, later added a double and finished a triple shy of the cycle in an outstanding outing. The Severna Park, Maryland native is batting .267 with a .733 OPS as he catches up to a slow start to the season, but is batting an even .300 with an .804 OPS in professional 536 at-bats. … Carlos Luis, who went 2-for-5 in the designated hitter spot also left the yard. The 23-year-old Luis, like Mundo, returns to Fort Wayne after ending his 2022 season with the TinCaps following spending the bulk of the campaign in Lake Elsinore, where he took a tremendous leap in his development. The big left-handed batter slashed .319/.390/.465 in 310 at-bats at Low-A last year. While his strikeout and walk rates have stayed the same at the higher level, Luis has faced a tougher road while posting a .673 OPS since joining the TinCaps last August.

Stockton Ports 8, Storm 5

Key Statistics: LHP Robby Snelling, 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K; RHP Dwayne Matos, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; RF Albert Fabian, 1-for-4, HR (12), 3 RBI; 1B Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; CF Samuel Zavala 0-for-3, 2 BB, OF Assist

Prospect Watch: It says a lot about Robby Snelling‘s 2023 season that a no-decision while giving up three runs on eight hits is deflating, given the outstanding performances the 39th overall pick of the 2022 draft has delivered so far. Despite the eight hits, Snelling limited Stockton to one walk and struck out seven Ports batters in five innings. The southpaw from Reno, Nevada, is now 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 46.2 innings in his first professional season. … Dwayne Matos threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing two hits and striking out a pair of batters. The 22-year-old Matos is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22.2 innings this year, working exclusively in Lake Elsinore so far after spending 2022 split between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. … Albert Fabian continues to flex his power in Lake Elsinore, hitting his team-best 12th home run. The 21-year-old owns a .852 OPS in 210 at-bats and is on pace to shatter his career high of 16 home runs last year, and could earn a return trip to Fort Wayne sooner rather than later. … Devin Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a double, the first extra-base hit of his professional career. The 24-year-old Ortiz, signed after the draft last summer, was a two-way star at Virginia, playing all over the infield as well as pitching. While he was a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award after the 2022 collegiate season, he has not pitched in his pro career. He has appeared at both infield corners and designated hitter.

ACL Rangers 14, ACL Padres 5

Key Statistics: C Lamar King Jr., 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB; RF Braedon Karpathios, 1-for-4, R, 2 RBIs; 2B Max Schrock, 1-for-3; 3B-2B Alain Camou, 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, R

Prospect Watch: Lamar King Jr. is back in action in the desert after a minor muscle injury, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and working a walk. A 6-foot-3, 19-year-old catcher, King was selected in the fourth round last year and only had nine at-bats in his debut professional season. … Braedon Karpathios went 1-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs as the 19-year-old outfielder finds his footing in the 2023 season. After beginning the year batting .143 in 21 at-bats for Lake Elsinore, Karpathios is slashing .368/.556/.421 in 19 at-bats at the complex. … Max Schrock resumed his rehab stint with a 1-for-3 performance. The 28-year-old Schrock began the season with El Paso in his first season in the Padres organization before being sidelined after only 16 at-bats. He had initially begun a rehab assignment earlier this month, but was shut down after only one game. The lefty-swinging second baseman has 168 Major League at-bats, including 26 last year for Cincinnati. … All this offense and only one extra-base hit, a double courtesy of Alain Camou. The 19-year-old infielder comes stateside after slashing .333/.427/.443 in 201 at-bats in the Dominican Summer League in 2022, and has kicked off the 2023 season by batting .423 with a 1.093 OPS in 26 at-bats.