San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 16

Chihuahuas 12, Albuquerque Isotopes 4

Key Statistics: RHP Lake Bachar (W, 2-0), 2 IP, 1 H, 2 K; RHP Kevin Kopps, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; 1B Nate Mondou, 2-for-2, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; CF Bryce Johnson, 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Prospect Watch: Lake Bachar has begun to make his case as a big league bullpen option. Bachar, a fifth-round selection in 2016, now owns a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings, including 11 strikeouts and three walks, in his first exposure to the Pacific Coast League. Now 28 years old, The Wisconsin-Whitewater product lost his entire 2021 season to Tommy John surgery. The recovery severely impacted a rough 2022, but he put together a stellar 2023 with San Antonio as he transitioned full-time to the bullpen, and now is doing his best to tame the Pacific Coast League. Bachar worked two scoreless innings and allowed only one hit, needing just  27 pitches, with 20 landing for strikes. … Another reliever hoping to wear brown pinstripes this year, Kevin Kopps, threw two innings of one-run ball in the victory. The 27-year-old Kopps was a third-round pick in 2021 who some thought could move very quickly through the minors, but found himself in an extended run in San Antonio, where the Arkansas product worked on locating his fastball to keep hitters from outright avoiding his excellent slider. The work bore fruit in 2023 as Kopps posted a 2.63 ERA and struck out 67 batters in 54.2 innings for the Missions before his first promotion to El Paso. In his first seven appearances of 2024, Kopps has struck out 10 batters in 9.1 innings but has walked eight, his biggest obstacle to a shot at the big leagues. … At the plate, Nate Mondou delivered a pair of doubles as the former Oakland Athletics farmhand enjoyed his third two-RBI game of the season. Primarily a second baseman in his career, the 29-year-old infielder has been the Chihuahuas’ nominal first baseman thus far. With Matthew Batten en route to Milwaukee and Brett Sullivan presumably in transit from Wisconsin, Tim Locastro played five innings at first base, his first appearance since 2018 and only the 15th outing of his professional career. …Despite plating 12 runs, only one El Paso hit left the yard, and that was Bryce Johnson‘s second home run of the season. The 28-year-old switch-hitting center fielder has had an interesting start to the Triple-A season, batting .231 but with a .446 OBP courtesy of 12 walks in 56 plate appearances. Of the former Giants farmhand’s nine hits, four have gone for extra bases, giving Johnson a slash line of .231/.446/.462, in the early going.

Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Missions 2

Key Statistics: LHP Austin Krob, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K; CF Jakob Marsee, 2-for-5, 2B; 1B Nathan Martorella, 1-for-5, R; SS Connor Hollis, 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI

Prospect Watch: The Missions got a solid start from Austin Krob, but unfortunately, it was all for naught as the Hooks walked it off in Corpus Christi. Krob, a 24-year-old lefty from TCU who was selected in the 12th round in 2022, has struck out 12 while walking two in 10 innings to begin the 2024 season thanks to tonight’s five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Since making a few mechanical adjustments last spring, the Iowa native has emerged as yet another prospect from his strong draft class. … With a pair of hits including a double, Jakob Marsee recorded his first two-hit game of the season. After entering spring training bolstered by the hype of earning the 2023 AFL MVP, Marsee went from the early frontrunner for the Padres’ center field job in some eyes to a return to San Antonio in which the Central Michigan product has slashed .154/.306/.333 in 39 at-bats to begin the season. … While Marsee looks to turn the corner on a tepid start to the season, Nathan Martorella reached base for the 10th consecutive game to begin the 2024 campaign. After seeing his first significant action in big league camp, Martorella is batting .417 with a 1.078 OPS in 36 at-bats to start his year in San Antonio. He has also walked nine times while only striking out six times. All three of his extra-base hits on the year came in the early games in Amarillo, so he’ll look to show more power at sea level in this series.  … The Missions got a pair of runs courtesy of the bat of 2022 Texas League batting champion Connor Hollis, who got the start at shortstop. The 29-year-old Houston alum kicks off the 2024 season in San Antonio after his 2023 was primarily lost to injury, aftereffects, and recovery.

Dayton Dragons 4, TinCaps 1 

Key Statistics: RHP Enmanuel Pinales 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 4 BB; LHP Mitch Miller, 2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K; C Ethan Salas, 1-for-4, 2B; 3B Devin Ortiz 1-for-4, HR (1); RF Tyler Robertson, 1-for-2, BB

Prospect Watch: After breezing through the first two innings with three strikeouts, starter Enmanuel Pinales allowed the first five batters in the third inning to reach on a pair of walks and a bit of bad luck with three straight soft-hit singles. He bounced back to get out of the inning and worked around a walk in the fourth. The righty, who only signed out of the Dominican Republic two years ago, was working on his 23rd birthday. He’s allowed only five hits and struck out nine through his first eight innings of the year. … Southpaw Mitch Miller delivered two scoreless innings to keep the TinCaps in the game late. The 26-year-old former Pirates farmhand, who stands 6-foot-6, has taken quite a journey on his way to signing a minor league free agent deal with the Padres this winter. He has allowed only one run in 4.2 innings of work in the early going. … Top prospect Ethan Salas legged out a double, his second extra-base hit of the season. The 17-year-old has thrown out 44% of would-be base stealers thus far in six starts behind the plate while batting .226 with a .604 OPS in the early going. … 6-foot-4 Tyler Robertson stands out due to his power and top-grade speed, and 2024 has been no exception. The outfielder went 1-for-2 with a walk, and has four doubles and a home run to his name so far in the season, earning him a whopping 1.012 OPS in 27 at-bats. A 14th-round pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2022, Robertson started to convert his great athleticism into on-field performance last year, and is building on that solid debut early this season.

Storm 11, Visalia Rawhide 5

Key Statistics: RHP Isaiah Lowe 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 2 BB; Xavier Ruiz (H, 1), 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez 1 IP, 2 K; RF Ryan Wilson, 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI; CF Dillon Head 0-for-3, 2 BB, SB (3); 1B Romeo Sanabria, 3-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; 3B Jay Beshears, 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, RBI

Prospect Watch: The Storm brought the power with 11 runs on 11 hits, but the pitching staff was inconsistent in an 11-5 victory. Isaiah Lowe, who hadn’t appeared in 10 days, made a scheduled one inning start as he continues to ramp up slowly following an injury-plagued 2023 campaign. The hard-throwing righty issued a pair of walks, but struck out two. He’ll look to work deeper than 27 pitches in his next outing. … Xavier Ruiz delivered a pair of scoreless innings, striking out one and walking one and allowing a hit in relief. Ruiz, a 21-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic, picked up his second professional hold and first stateside as he has thrown three scoreless frames since joining the Storm last week. The 6-foot-1 Ruiz is making a return trip to Lake Elsinore after posting a 2-1 record and 9.28 ERA in six appearances in 2023 after graduating from the Arizona Complex League. … At the plate, Ryan Wilson did damage from the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a run driven in. The 22-year-old outfielder was drafted in the ninth round out of Davidson last year and is batting a healthy .435 with a .980 OPS in 23 at-bats for Lake Elsinore so far this year after getting just 14 at-bats in Peoria last summer. … Your humble writer spent much of 2023 wondering when, exactly, Romeo Sanabria would graduate from the Arizona Complex League. It took 167 at-bats but a .359/.443/.617 slash line proved enough to get the 2022 19th-rounder to Lake Elsinore. Returning to the Storm for 2024, Sanabria is off to a hot start at the plate with a .361 average and .938 OPS. The 6-foot-3  Miami native, who converted from catcher to first base, has let his bat do the talking with a powerful lefty stroke at the plate. … A hit, a pair of runs scored, and a pair of walks put Jay Beshears on full display. The 2023 sixth-rounder out of Duke has reached base at a ridiculous .654 clip through his first 40 plate appearances, with three doubles, a home run, and 13 walks to his name in that span.