San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 16

Las Vegas Aviators 7, Chihuahuas 3

Key Statistics: LHP Ryan Carpenter 4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K; LHP Paul Fry IP, H, 3 K; RHP Kevin Kopps 0.2 IP, H; 2B Matthew Batten, 3-for-5, 2B; LF Tirso Ornelas, 1-for-3, HR (4), R, RBI

Prospect Watch: The Aviators got the early jump on El Paso, and the Chihuahuas failed to respond in kind. After Las Vegas rolled to an early lead, Paul Fry helped mitigate the damage by striking out the side. The 31-year-old lefty with 188 games of big league experience lowered his ERA to 6.14 in 22 innings. This is his first season in the Padres organization after spending 2023 in Triple-A for Toronto. … Kevin Kopps, scattered a hit and got a pair of outs to finish things off for El Paso. The former third-rounder boasts a 3.26 ERA in 19.1 innings in 2024 and owns a 2.61 ERA in the seventh inning this year, where he has seen most of his work. … Matthew Batten had a big night, going 3-for-5 with a double. The veteran utility player has started to heat up some in El Paso, batting .400 with a 1.005 OPS in 55 at-bats in May after batting .193 in his Triple-A at-bats in April. The Quinnipiac product’s recent play has kept him in the mix as a depth option for the Padres. … The lone El Paso big fly came off the bat of Tirso Ornelas, who crushed a 449 foot bomb for hit his fourth home run of the season. After finishing strong in April to end the month with an .840 OPS, the 24-year-old outfielder owns a .943 mark this month as he tries to separate himself among the outfield depth options in the organization.

Corpus Christi Hooks 8, Missions 1 

Key Statistics: RHP Ryan Bergert (L, 0-4), 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Carter Loewen, 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 K; RF Robert Perez Jr., 2-for-4; 3B-SS Ripken Reyes, 1-for-1, 3B, BB, HBP, RBI

Prospect Watch: It’s been a tough go lately for Ryan Bergert, who has run into a rough patch just as observers began to take note of his status as a dark horse pitching prospect in the Padres organization. The 2021 sixth-rounder allowed four runs on nine hits in four-plus innings of work, giving the righty an 11.57 ERA over his last starts after he posted a 4.24 mark in the month of April. After walking one batter and not allowing a home run in 17 innings in the previous month, Bergert has issued seven free passes and given up two round-trippers in 9.1 innings of work in May. … Carter Loewen made his fourth consecutive appearance without an earned run. The 25-year-old righty is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 9.2 innings and is a sleeper reliever prospect worth keeping an eye on, especially if the depth in El Paso thins out to bolster the Padres’ roster. … Robert Perez Jr. had one of the standout performances of the game at the plate, going 2-for-4. The 23-year-old native of Venezuela is batting .325 with an .825 OPS in 40 at-bats this month, a far cry from the respective .200 and .596 marks in 70 at-bats in the month of April. … Ripken Reyes played two positions in the game while only getting one official at-bat, but he was efficient and effective with a triple and RBI. The veteran utility player has appeared at five different defensive positions in 2024, led by 15 starts at second base. With his 13th hit-by-pitch of the season, Reyes is now ahead of the pace that took him to a minor league record 49 last year.

TinCaps 5, South Bend Cubs 1

Key Statistics: LHP Miguel Cienfuegos (W, 3-3), 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K; RHP Ruben Galindo (H,1) 2 IP, 2 K; CF Homer Bush Jr. 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB (18);  C Ethan Salas 1-for-4, 2B; 1B Griffin Doersching 1-for-2, HR (4), HBP

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps pulled even in the standings with South Bend at 14-22 with this win. On the mound, Miguel Cienfuegos continued to shine for Fort Wayne and give them serious innings with another six-inning gem. The 27-year-old southpaw from Laval, Quebec, Canada is 3-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 33.1 innings of work across seven starts. The lefty is old enough to have a veteran presence, but he had only played independent ball and in Australia before joining the Padres organization last season. … The TinCaps received two scoreless innings of relief from Ruben Galindo, who continues to be one of the most reliable bullpen options in a solid Fort Wayne bullpen. The 23-year-old righty from Colombia owns a 3.57 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17.2 innings in 2024 after posting a miniscule 1.02 ERA in 44 innings for Lake Elsinore in the 2023 season. … Homer Bush Jr. went 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs while driving in one himself as the GCU product has bounced back from a .213 average and .546 OPS in April with a .353 average and .803 OPS in May.  Power continues to be a concern for the 22-year-old outfielder, who only has two doubles in 112 at-bats, but he wiped two more bases and now has 18 in 22 attempts to lead the Midwest League. … Bouncing back from going 0-for-10 in his previous two games, Ethan Salas hit a double while going 1-for-4. After finishing the 2023 season in San Antonio, an aggressive move that was either praised as challenging the prospect or a foolhardy way to treat a teenager depending on who you asked, Salas has returned to Fort Wayne to begin 2024 and is batting .174 with a .524 OPS in 115 at-bats. These stats certainly do not indicate that Salas is not the elite prospect he appeared to be at the time of signing, but rather an indicator that patience appears to be virtue in the case of Salas, as it is with nearly all prospects in baseball at some point.

Storm 7, Visalia Rawhide 2

Key Statistics: RHP Sam Whiting 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; RHP Kobe Robinson (W, 3-0), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K; 3B Ethan Long 2-for-5, 2B, R; 1B Romeo Sanabria 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R

Prospect Watch: The Storm played one of their most complete games of the season, thanks in large part to a stellar start from Sam Whiting. The 23-year-old threw four one-hit innings in his longest start of the season as the organization stretches him out as a starter.  The 2023 16th-rounder owns a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings with 10 strikeouts split between the Storm and Fort Wayne. … Kobe Robinson earned his third win of the season with two scoreless innings despite giving up a pair of hits and walking three batters. A 13th round pick in 2021, Robinson has struggled with consistency in 2024 with a 4.91 ERA to go along with a 1.59 WHIP. … At the plate, Ethan Long went 2-for-4 with a double to continue a hot start to the 2024 season. The Arizona State product went 3-for-4 in one game of rookie ball before joining the Storm, where he has hit .333 with a 1.034 OPS in 18 at-bats while appearing at both corner infield positions and designated hitter. … Romeo Sanabria also went 2-for-4 with a double. The 22-year-old first baseman is batting .328 with a .965 OPS for Lake Elsinore in 2024 and is batting… .328 with a .976 OPS in 360 professional at-bats dating back to 2022.

ACL Rangers 4, ACL Padres 3 (7 innings)

Key Statistics: RHP Henry Martinez 2 IP, 2H, 3 ER, BB; RHP Jesus Lopez 3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 4 BB, K, HBP; RHP Miguel Valdez IP, H, K; 1B Addison Kopack 1-for-3, 2B, R; LF Kashon Conliffe 1-for-3, 2B, RBI

Prospect Watch: In one of the most bizarre occurrences I’ve seen in my tenure at MadFriars, there was an Arizona Complex League game that featured a total of only seven runs, on only seven hits, with only one error. For the Padres, who came out on the losing end of the deal, Jesus Lopez kept the club in the game with three innings with one unearned run, but in true ACL fashion the 18-year-old righty walked four batters and managed to escape relatively unscathed. After finishing 2023 with three appearances in Arizona, Lopez returns to the desert for 2024, owning a 5.40 ERA in five innings of work. … After a rough start to the season, Miguel Valdez closed the game out with a scoreless inning, reducing his ERA to 9.00 on the young season. The 20-year-old has struck out three batters in three innings of work. … Continuing a hot start at the plate, Rhode Island alum Addison Kopack went 1-for-3 with a double, maintaining a start to the season which includes a .393 average and 1.095 OPS in 28 at-bats. After making two appearances behind the plate in Arizona in 2023, Kopack has exclusively played first base in his nine games in 2024 thus far. … Also going 1-for-3 with a double while driving in a run was Kashon Conliffe, an 18-year-old outfielder from the Bahamas. The righty-swinging Conliffe is batting .143 with a .631 OPS in 21 at-bats in his first professional season stateside.