San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 4

Salt Lake Bees 4, Chihuahuas 3

Key Statistics: RF Oscar Mercado, 1-for-4, R, HR (4), RBI; 1B Rangel Ravelo, 1-for-3, BB; 3B Jantzen Witte, 1-for-3, 2B, RBI; RHP Nolan Watson, 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; LHP Jared Koenig (L, 2-4) IP, 2 H, ER, 3 K

Prospect Watch: Friday was an unusually low-scoring game in the elevation of Salt Lake City but in the end, the home team defeated the Chihuahuas. … For the second time in the series, outfielder Oscar Mercado connected on a homer. Mercado’s blast was of the solo variety – his fourth since joining the Padres’ organization. The former big leaguer is hitting .324/.372/.549 in 18 games with El Paso while striking out in 24% of his plate appearances. … On the mound, El Paso received a quality start from Nolan Watson. The 26-year-old completed six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out two. The Indianapolis native is starting to put something together for the Chihuahuas. Over his last three outings, Watson has allowed just three runs (all Friday night) in 15 innings. Watson doesn’t miss bats, which typically isn’t a recipe for success in the hitters’ paradise that is the Pacific Coast League. The righthander has punched out just nine batters over those 15 innings but he has done a good job of keeping the ball out of the air. … Lefthander Jared Koenig took the loss after allowing a run to score on a squeeze play. In his inning of work, gave up two hits while punching out three. The 29-year-old southpaw pitched to a 2.19 ERA in nine outings in July. His 3.34 ERA is the third-lowest mark for any Chihuahuas pitcher who has thrown at least 15 innings this year, behind only Drew Carlton and Ray Kerr. 

Missions 4, Arkansas Travelers 3

Key Statistics: 2B Michael De La Cruz, 2-for-5, R, HR (6), RBI, SB (6); 3B Marcos Castañon, 2-for-4; 1B Cole Cummings, 2-for-4, R; RHP Henry Henry, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K; RHP Raul Brito (W, 4-1) 3 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Justin Lopez (S, 2) 1.2 IP, BB, K

Prospect Watch: The Missions erased an early 3-0 deficit by scoring three in the sixth and one more in the seventh to defeat Arkansas in the City of Roses. … Catcher-turned-infielder Michael De La Cruz had a pair of hits, including his sixth homer of the year. He also showed off the wheels by swiping his sixth bag. The 30-year-old has set new career highs in both categories. The veteran has delivered a .744 OPS this season for the Missions. … Third baseman Marcos Castañon had a pair of singles, as he continues to hit well. His multi-hit effort raised his average to .310 with the Missions. He is 7-for-19 in August, with hits in all four games. The 24-year-old will look to add a little slug this weekend; all seven hits this month have gone for singles. … After Henry Henry started, righty Raul Brito took over and pitched well again. He completed three innings and allowed a run on three hits, walking two and striking out three. The minor league free agent signee has continued to dominate out of the bullpen since being promoted from Fort Wayne. In 17.2 innings for San Antonio, Brito has a 1.02 ERA with 27 strikeouts against eight walks. Opposing batters are hitting just .203 against the 26-year-old in his first taste of the upper minors. … Justin Lopez recorded the final five outs to notch his second save of the season. The 23-year-old has a 3.21 ERA in 33.2 innings this season – his first full season as a pitcher. While he has walked 20 batters, opposing hitters are batting just .184 off the former switch-hitting shortstop. The Padres will have to consider adding him to the 40-player roster this winter to keep him from minor league free agency.

Great Lakes Loons 8, TinCaps 4

Key Statistics: DH Graham Pauley, 3-for-5, 2 R, HR (12), 2 RBI; SS Kervin Pichardo, 2-for-5; LF Kai Murphy, 2-for-3, BB; LHP Austin Krob (L, 2-2) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 2 K; RHP Carter Loewen, 3 IP, 5 H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps took the field once again as the “Tenderloins” but the Loons took a bite out of them to win at Parkview Field. … While Graham Pauley has impressed since he joined the organization last year, I don’t think anyone could have predicted what he is currently doing. Pauley had three hits, including his 12th homer of the season. The 22-year-old has homered in three of his last four games and six of his last nine starts. Despite playing in just 31 games, Pauley is tied for 10th in the league and he’s just four behind teammate and league-leader Nathan Martorella. Pauley’s big night raised his TinCaps OPS to .985. … Outfielder Kai Murphy had two hits and drew a walk. The two-hit effort raised his average to .306. In nine games with the TinCaps, the former Oregon State and Arizona State outfielder has a .748 OPS. … After winning MadFriars Pitcher of the Week for his stellar effort last week, Austin Krob struggled a bit on Friday night. Krob pitched into the fifth inning and allowed five runs, though only two were earned. He struck out a pair but walked four. The four free passes were the most he’s allowed since his second start of the year for Lake Elsinore, way back in April. Despite the tough outing, Krob has pitched to a sparkling 2.30 ERA. … Righty Carter Loewen pitched the final three innings and put up zeroes in the run column, despite scattering five hits. The three innings thrown set a new career-high for the undrafted free agent from Hawaii. Friday’s outing lowered his ERA to 3.00 with Fort Wayne. 

Modesto Nuts 4, Storm 2

Key Statistics: LF Tyler Robertson, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; CF Samuel Zavala, 1-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios, 1-for-1, R, 3 BB; RHP Dylan Lesko (L, 0-2) 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm’s rough series in Modesto continued Friday night, as they lost their fourth straight to the Nuts. Lake Elsinore has scored just four runs in the first four games of the series. If the Storm can win the two games this weekend, they can salvage a .500 road trip. … Righty Dylan Lesko took his weekly turn in the rotation and suffered his second straight defeat. He allowed just one infield single in the first inning, but gave up three hard-hit doubles as part of a five-hit, four-run second inning. He bounced back nicely with a 1-2-3 third inning and finished the game with three strikeouts without walking anyone. In three outings with Lake Elsinore, Lesko has allowed seven earned runs in eight innings with an 11:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio as he makes his debut following pre-draft Tommy John surgery. … At the plate, Tyler Robertson doubled, singled, and drove in a run. The outfielder extended his hitting streak to five games with the multi-hit effort. Prior to the five-game hitting streak, Robertson was mired in a 1-for-25 slump. Overall, Robertson has been a solid contributor for the Storm this season. He has a .825 OPS this season. … Outfielder Braedon Karpathios reached base in all four of his plate appearances with a single and three walks. The 20-year-old outfielder signed with the Padres last season out of Harford Community College in Maryland. While Karpathios hasn’t hit much, he’s drawn a staggering 30 walks in 97 plate appearances for the Storm. Those 30 walks have led to one of the strangest slash-lines we’ve ever seen. Friday’s effort has his slash-line at .197/.454/.227.

ACL Padres 6, ACL Royals 3 (7 innings)

Key Statistics: LF Homer Bush Jr., 1-for-4, R; CF Dillon Head, 1-for-4, R, RBI, SB (2); RF Juan Murillo, 1-for-3, R, RBI, SB (6); 3B Alain Camou, 1-for-2, BB, RBI; LHP Adrian Morejon, IP, 2 K; RHP Michel Baez, 2 IP, 4 K; RHP Jonney Rosario (W, 2-1) 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres took advantage of four Royals errors and won in a seven-inning game in Surprise. For all of you weather enthusiasts, the temperature at game time was a balmy 108 degrees. … Center fielder Dillon Head went to the plate four times and singled and stole the second base of his young career. The 18-year-old is off to a 5-for-16 start in the first four games of his professional career. … Is it 2017 again? The starter for the ACL Padres was none other than lefty Adrian Morejon. The Cuban-born rehabbing Padre pitched a scoreless inning, punching out a pair of Royals prospects. Coming into Friday, Morejon’s only career outing in the complex league had come way back in 2018. The 24-year-old lefty will look to get his knee healthy and perhaps help the Padres down the stretch. … After Morejon took off, Michel Baez took over and pitched two scoreless innings of his own, striking out four. It’s been a rough year for Baez, who lost his 40-man roster spot and struggled with the Missions before hitting the injured list. In 21 outings between the ACL, El Paso, and San Antonio, the 27-year-old has a 6.93 ERA.