San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: August 16

Chihuahuas 20, Albuquerque Isotopes 7

Key Statistics: C Brett Sullivan 3-for-6, 3 R; CF Oscar Mercado 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB; 1B Brandon Dixon 4-for-6, 3 HR (10, 11,12), 2B, 4 R, 8 RBI; RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-5, 3 R, RBI, BB; 3B Jantzen Witte 3-for-6, 2B, HR (15), 2 R, 3 RBI; SS Ray-Patrick Didder 4-for-6, 2 HR (2, 3), 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI; LF Matthew Batten 4-for-6, 2B, RBI; RHP Kevin Kopps 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, 4 K

Prospect Watch: The elevation in Albuquerque, N.M., came into play on Wednesday night. At nearly a mile high, the ball can fly out of the park, and the Chihuahuas took full advantage.  They hit six home runs on the night including three by first baseman Brandon Dixon in a rout of the Isotopes. …  Dixon had a player’s dream collecting a total of 14 bases in the game, equaling his total from the last 11 games combined.  Even this late in the season, one game was enough to bring up his season slugging percentage from .460 to .527.  Dixon had the hardest-hit ball in all of Triple-A at 111.7 mph on Wednesday. … If it wasn’t for Dixon, the story of the game would be 28-year-old Ray-Patrick Didder.  Didder had 11 bases on the day, coming a triple short of the cycle and settling for a second home run.  With Didder only being in El Paso for the past month, this one game raised his OPS from .786 to .929.  In nine August games, the veteran utilityman is hitting .467/.579/.900. … Left fielder Matthew Batten had six hits over his 35 days on the big-league roster.  He had four hits Wednesday and has eight over the last week since returning to El Paso. … Kevin Kopps made his Triple-A debut and immediately received a rude awakening with a walk and double to start the game.  He would almost pitch out of it striking out the next two batters, but a two-out error allowed both runs to score.  He would close out the inning then strike out two more in the next.  He maxed out at 96.4 with his fastball, generating 2987 RPM with his “cutter.” Across both levels, Kopps has a 2.54 ERA and an 11.3 K/9.

Midland RockHounds 7, Missions 5

Key Statistics: DH Jackson Merrill 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB; SS Ripken Reyes 2-for-4, HR (5), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (24); LF Korry Howell 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (13); RF Justin Farmer 2-for-3, R; RHP Michel Baez 3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K

Prospect Watch: Jackson Merrill had his first back-to-back, multi-hit games since July 20-21. In addition to the two hits, Merrill walked twice. Wednesday marked just his third multi-walk game of the year.  The 20-year-old top prospect seems to be working on being more selective at the plate.  He has walked eight times already in August, after walking five times in all of July and only twice in May.  His .393 OBP this month would be his highest of the year, and best since his first month in Lake Elsinore.  Merrill is hitting .313/.363/.473 on the season in Double-A.  … With Merrill at designated hitter, Ripken Reyes got the start at shortstop. Not only did he play solid defense, but the 26-year-old contributed offensively with his fifth home run and his 24th stolen base. The home run, which set a new career-high, was his first since June 16th. Reyes leads the Texas League with a .434 OBP, is sixth in runs, and 13^th in stolen bases. … Right fielder Justin Farmer, who showed flashes through the first half at Fort Wayne, had struggled mightily since his promotion to Double-A. At one point in July, he went 18 days without a hit. Since the calendar turned to August, the 24-year-old who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021, has turned over a new leaf. Farmer’s two hits Wednesday gave him his third multi-hit game in his last six starts. Through 20 August at-bats, he is hitting .400 with a .900 OPS.

TinCaps 6, Dayton Dragons 4

Key Stats: CF Jakob Marsee 2-for-4, 2B, HR (12), 2 RS, 2 RBI, BB; SS Nerwilian Cedeño 2-for-5, HR (2), 3 RBI; DH Ethan Salas 1-for-4; 2B Graham Pauley 2-for-3, 2B, R, BB; RHP Edwuin Bencomo 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K; RHP Cole Paplham IP, H, BB

Prospect Watch:  The TinCaps went just 1-for-11 with RISP in Wednesday’s win. However, the one hit was a walk-off three-run home run by Nerwilian Cedeño. It was his first career walk-off home run. The 21-year-old switch-hitter has an .800 OPS in August.  … After winning Midwest League Player of the Week last week, Jakob Marsee picked up where he left off with another double, a home run, and he scored two more runs.  Marsee now has five straight multi-hit games, an 11-game hitting streak, and a 19-game on-base streak.  In 14 games this month, he is hitting .458/.600/.750. … Graham Pauley reached base safely three more times on the night. While he has come down from hitting a home run nearly every other game, he is still hitting .339/.362/.625 in August and has posted a .935 OPS overall in 41 games since his promotion from Low-A. With a few weeks left in the season, Pauley sits at 17 home runs and 19 stolen bases. … Hard-throwing Cole Paplham made his TinCap debut.  While he allowed two baserunners, the undrafted free agent out of New Orleans settled down and threw a scoreless inning.

Inland Empire 66ers 2, Storm 0

Key Statistics: RHP Jose Luis Reyes 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K; LF Homer Bush Jr. 1-for-4, SB (4); CF Samuel Zavala 1-for-4, 2B; DH Griffin Doersching 2-for-4

Prospect Watch: The Storm struggled offensively, going 1-for-10 with RISP, and could not push across a run after winning in dramatic fashion on Tuesday. … Righty Jose Luis Reyes had his third straight solid start for the Storm. After being roughed up in his first few starts, the 20-year-old from Mexicali has allowed five earned runs over his last three starts.  He has a 2.93 ERA with four walks and 16 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. … With a hit in four at-bats Wednesday, Homer Bush Jr. just continues to reach base. He is 9-for-19 with four walks since joining Lake Elsinore.  He also has four stolen bases in seven games.  In 19 games since the Padres selected Bush in the fourth round, he has reached safely in 18 and has stolen 14 bases without being caught. … UC-Santa Barbara product Sam Whiting made his full-season debut. The 16^th round draft pick threw a scoreless inning walking one and striking out one. … Righty Francis Peña tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief with two strikeouts. The 22-year-old, who only signed as an international free agent in January of 2022, hasn’t allowed an earned run through his first nine innings since moving up to the Cal League.

There were no games played in the ACL.