San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 15

Albuquerque Isotopes 7, Chihuahuas 4

Key Statistics: CF Oscar Mercado, 2-for-4, R, BB, RBI; LF Tirso Ornelas, 2-for-3, R, BB; 2B Max Schrock, 2-for-4, R; RF Taylor Kohlwey, 1-for-3, R, HR (10), RBI;  RHP Matt Waldron, 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K; RHP Jose Espada, 3 IP, 3 H, 3 K; LHP Adrian Morejon (L, 1-1) 0.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, BB; RHP Sean Reynolds, IP, H

Prospect Watch: El Paso kept the Albuquerque bats at bay for seven of the eight innings. However, a seven-run sixth inning doomed the Chihuahuas as they lost in New Mexico. … The offensive onslaught came at the expense of Adrian Morejon, who took the loss. Morejon faced seven hitters; all seven came around to score. After allowing a single and a walk to start the inning, Morejon served up a three-run homer to Coco Montes. Montes’ first (and only) big league homer came against the Padres this year. After the homer, Morejon allowed three straight singles and finally a double before being lifted without recording an out. The poor outing raised his Triple-A ERA from 1.04 to 8.31 as he tries to return from a knee injury. … Earlier in the game the club received an excellent outing from Jose Espada. The righthander threw three scoreless outings, allowing three hits while punching out three. In two outings with the Chihuahuas, Espada has not allowed a run. … Tirso Ornelas is back in Triple-A and he celebrated the occasion by swatting a pair of singles and drawing a walk. The 23-year-old has proven this year that he can excel against Double-A pitching, posting an .854 OPS in 72 games with San Antonio. In 24 games with El Paso however, he has a .686 mark. He will be a player to watch down the stretch for the Chihuahuas. … With two more hits Tuesday, Oscar Mercado has five straight multi-hit games. Mercado singled twice and drove in a run. He is 11-for-23 during his five-game hitting streak. 

Roster Moves: In addition to Ornelas’s return to fill Ben Gamel’s outfield spot, righty Kevin Kopps was also promoted to El Paso. It will be the 26-year-old’s first crack at the PCL.

Midland RockHounds 6, Missions 2

Key Statistics: SS Jackson Merrill, 2-for-4; 2B Ripken Reyes, 1-for-4, RBI; RHP Gabe Mosser, 5 IP, 4 H, BB, 4 K; RHP Raul Brito, 2 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 K; RHP Seth Mayberry (L, 3-2) 1.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, K

Prospect Watch: It was a quiet night for the Missions offense, as they mustered just four hits in a loss at home. … Shortstop Jackson Merrill had a pair of singles to push his Double-A batting average back above .300. He struck out once, marking just the 13th time he’s punched out in 109 Double-A plate appearances. If Merrill had enough plate appearances to qualify, his 11.9% K-rate would be the third-lowest in the league. … Despite the loss, the Missions got an excellent outing from system veteran Gabe Mosser. The 27-year-old threw five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. He walked one and struck out four batters. It was Mosser’s longest outing since a seven-inning stint last July while pitching with Fort Wayne.  In six games (five starts) with the Missions since opening the year on the IL, the Pennsylvania native has a 4.66 ERA. 

Dayton Dragons 6, TinCaps 4

Key Statistics: CF Jakob Marsee, 3-for-4, R, BB, RBI; C Ethan Salas, 2-for-4, R; SS Jarryd Dale, 1-for-4, R; DH Carlos Luis, 1-for-3, BB; LHP Robby Snelling (L, 4-2) 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K; RHP Jose Geraldo, 2 IP, H

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps returned home for a big series against Dayton but the Dragons took the first game. … After winning Midwest Player of the Week for his excellence last week, center fielder Jakob Marsee picked right up where he left off with three hits. He also drove in a run and scored a run as well. The three-hit effort raised Marsee’s hitting streak to 10 games. Over his last seven games, Marsee is 16-for-27 with a pair of homers. During August, Marsee is hitting a scorching .455/.600/.682. … The fans of Fort Wayne got their first in-person glimpse of Ethan Salas and his home debut went well. Salas singled twice and scored a run. He also made a throwing error. Salas played in four games last week and went 2-for-17 against Lansing. During his time in Lake Elsinore, Salas hit .267/.350/.487. … Despite allowing a fair amount of traffic on the bases early, Robby Snelling bounced back and turned in yet another strong start. The 19-year-old allowed just two runs on six hits over six innings, walking three and striking seven. Snelling loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but pumped a 95 mph fastball at the top of the zone to earn the strikeout with his 98th pitch of the night. After a rough start on July 18 in which Snelling lasted just two innings, he has worked at least five innings in four straight starts, allowing just three runs in 22 innings. In seven starts since joining the TinCaps, Snelling has a 2.34 ERA. … Righty Jose Geraldo pitched the final two innings and did not allow a run. The 24-year-old righty underwent Tommy John in 2021 and after a rough start to the season, he has thrown the ball well. In 20 innings since June 1, Geraldo has pitched to a 2.25 ERA. He hasn’t missed a ton of bats (18 strikeouts) but he has walked just five batters in that span. 

Roster Moves: As the TinCaps fight for a postseason berth, their pitching staff received some reinforcements. Henry Baez – who has won the last two MadFriars Pitcher of the Week honors – was promoted to the Summit City. Joining him there will be relievers Cole Paplham and David Morgan. Struggling righty Alan Mundo was sent back to the Arizona League. 

Storm 6, Inland Empire 66ers 5 (10 innings)

Key Statistics: RF Homer Bush Jr. 2-for-5, 2 R, SB (3), 2B; CF Samuel Zavala, 1-for-3, R, BB, RBI; 3B Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, R, RBI; 2B Charlis Aquino, 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, 2 RBI; RHP Miguel Mendez, 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, BB, 2 K; RHP Alejandro Lugo, 3.1 IP, 2 H, ER, K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 2 IP, H, 2 K; RHP Ruben Galindo (W, 2-1) IP, H, BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm won’t go down without a fight. Coming into Tuesday’s action, Lake Elsinore was six games behind Inland Empire for a playoff spot. Lake Elsinore fell behind 5-0 in this one before battling back to push across a run in the tenth inning. Charlis Aquino drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Storm an unlikely win. … Aquino had a nice night at the plate. He singled, drew two walks, and drove in a pair. He scored the tying run thanks to an error and sent home the Lake Elsinore faithful home with a victory. The 21-year-old infielder has some wiry strength and athleticism but he has yet to break out offensively. Tuesday’s effort raised his OPS to .598. … Homer Bush Jr. had two more hits, as the fourth-round pick continues to impress. Bush singled, doubled, scored a pair of runs, and stole his third base. In a small, six-game sample, Bush has a 1.008 OPS with Lake Elsinore. … After a rough outing from starter Miguel Mendez, righty Alejandro Lugo, 20, took over for him and kept the Storm in the game in his Single-A debut. In 3.1 innings, he allowed a run on two hits, notching a strikeout without walking a batter. The 20-year-old made his stateside debut this season in the desert after spending the 2019 and 2021 seasons in the DSL. In 14 games for the ACL Padres, Lugo pitched to a 6.67 ERA. 

Roster Moves: With three pitchers promoted to Fort Wayne, the Storm staff received reinforcements from the desert. Joining Lugo in Riverside County are undrafted free agents Breck Eichelberger and Will Varmette. 

ACL Giants 3, ACL Padres 2 (7 innings)

Key Statistics: RF Braedon Karpathios, 3-for-3, R, 2 2B; 1B Daniel Montesino, 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI; RHP Aldo Leija, IP, H, K; RHP Adan Moreno, 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K; RHP Jhosep Chirinos(L, 2-3) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Giants pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh to win this one in the desert. … Right fielder Braedon Karpathios had a pair of doubles as part of a three-hit night. The 20-year-old outfielder had a 31% walk rate with Lake Elsinore but outside of that, he failed to make much of an impact with his bat. It’s been a different story for him in the ACL. His perfect night at the plate raised his Arizona Complex League OPS to 1.091. … First baseman Daniel Montesino doubled and drove in a pair of runs. The 19-year-old showed a ton of potential in 2021 when he hit .316/.444/.489 in 56 games with the DSL Padres. He missed all of last year after having Tommy John surgery. In 39 games in his stateside debut, Montesino has a .630 OPS. … A pair of rehabbers made starts, each of them going hitless. Wyatt Hoffman started at third base and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Connor Hollis started at shortstop and drew a walk in four plate appearances. … The ACL squad received solid work from 18-year-old righthander Adan Moreno. Moreno pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. He walked one and struck out three. He started the year in the DSL where he pitched well in 10 starts.