MadFriars Week in Review: May 14-19

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost series at Las Vegas Aviators 1-5)

Top Performers: Matthew Batten, 29, had the best week of his career as he hit .577 in 27 plate appearances with 15 hits, seven of them doubles and a triple, as he posted a ridiculous 1.456 OPS.  Batten was briefly up with the Padres for a game this year and is in his sixth year with the Chihuahuas. He went into Las Vegas, hitting .263, and left with a .321 batting average.  While continues to play all over the field, he has seen the most time at second and third base this year. … Any six-game series at the Las Vegas Ballpark will not deliver great pitching performances. Still, Nick Hernandez, 29, threw the third most innings of any El Paso pitcher at 4.1 and didn’t give up a run in his two appearances while striking out four against a walk and three hits. For the season, the former Houston Cougar has a solid 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings and a 21:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: The Chihuahuas had four hitters with an OPS above 1.000. Most notably, Tirso Ornelas had three home runs and two doubles for an .895 slugging percentage and 1.276 OPS.  He’s fourth on the team, slugging at .492 during the season, and his wRC+ is at 107. It’s amazing that after seven years in the Padres’ minor league system, he is still only 24. … Eguy Rosario, 24, had another solid week, hitting .350 and drawing four walks with four extra-base hits, including two home runs. Rosario has mainly played third base since being sent down but also has a few games at second. … Graham Pauley, 23, also had a nice week after a brief slump, drawing five walks and notching six hits for a .375 batting average and .500 on-base percentage.  The former Blue Devil has been rotating defensively between first, third, and left field. … Adam Mazur, 23, had a solid Triple-A debut as the right-hander struck out six and only gave up two runs, but on Sunday, the Aviators came back to tag him with five earned runs in his second appearance. … Gabe Mosser, 28, had the best start of the week, going five innings allowing only two runs to pick up the lone win. (John Conniff)

Subscribers can read more about Mazur’s development since coming into the Padres’ system in 2022 in our recent profile piece.

San Antonio Missions (Won series at Corpus Christi 4-2)

Top Performers: The Missions’ offense was led by outfielder Robert Perez Jr., who went 8-for-20 (.400) with a home run, a double, and six runs batted in. The 23-year-old Perez, who also stole a pair of bases in the series, is batting .252 with a .717 OPS on the year, but is batting .327 with an .890 OPS in 49 at-bats in May as he starts to heat up. … On the mound, Victor Lizarraga picked up a win, allowing only one unearned run over 5.2 innings. The 20-year-old righty owns a 3.48 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21.2 innings on the year. His performance was an impressive bounce-back from a rough start to the month of May as he continues to leverage his pitchability to get outs.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: The pitching staff took advantage of a week against the Texas League’s weakest offense to put together a number of quality lines. Robby Snelling tossed six innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and striking out seven while walking none. The 20-year-old southpaw is 1-2 with a 3.44 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 34 innings for the Missions. … Austin Krob threw six innings of shutout ball, striking out two. The 24-year-old TCU product is 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. … Jayvien Sandridge delivered a pair of scoreless relief appearances totaling three innings in which the 25-year-old struck out six, walked none, and allowed only two hits. The former Orioles and Reds farmhand is off to a stellar start in San Antonio, posting a 2.51 ERA and striking out 26 in just 14.1 innings of work. The hard-throwing lefty came into the year with a career walk rate north of 18%, but has cut that down to 11.5% this season. … Ryan Bergert had a rough go, allowing four runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. The West Virginia alum is 0-4 with a 6.84 ERA in 26.1 innings in 2024 as the trademark carry on his fastball has decreased from past years. … Marcos Castañon went 7-for-23 (.304) with a home run, a double, and three runs batted in for the week. The UC Santa Barbara alum has bounced back from April struggles with a .282/.310/.410 slash line in 28 May at-bats. (Mark Wilkens)

Our recent trip to San Antonio yielded interviews with Lizarraga, Snelling, Krob, Bergert, and their catcher, Brandon Valenzuela, as well as Castañon.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won series over South Bend Cubs 5-1)

Players of the Week: Albert Fabian capped a strong week in memorable fashion on Sunday. The 22-year-old went 7-for-17, with three doubles, a home run, four runs, and most importantly 12 RBI. Fabian entered the week having driven in just two runs all year. The 22-year-old first baseman/left fielder raised his OPS from .626 to .748 in the one week. … For the first time this year, righty Dylan Lesko looked the part of the Padres’ top pitching prospect, even as he continued to struggle with command. Lesko set a new season high with seven strikeouts over five one-run innings even though he walked four. That was nonetheless a big improvement over his last two starts, when he walked seven and hit four in 4.1 combined innings. His mechanics are still not 100% back from Tommy-John surgery, but the velocity is back, and when he can find his release point, opponents are managing just a .169 average. He’ll look to build on that in his next outing on Saturday.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Ethan Salas may have started to hit out of his slump. After opening the series 0-for-10 to push his slump to an ugly 1-23 stretch, Salas finished with four hits – three for doubles – and two walks over his final three games. The 17-year-old prized prospect’s slash line for the year is still stuck at .190/.306/.273, but he’s cut his strikeout rate from nearly 30% in April to 19% this month. … Jay Beshears didn’t miss a beat in his first week after a promotion to Fort Wayne. In five games, the infielder went 7-for-18 with four doubles and scored six runs.  It’s not a coincidence that Beshears’ promotion coincided with the TinCaps’ first winning series in a month. The 22-year-old posted a .943 OPS in 28 games with the Storm and has quickly stepped in to give Fort Wayne some much-needed production in the middle of their lineup. … Homer Bush Jr. only went 4-for-20 at the plate, but still was a key contributor. The speedster also walked three times, putting himself in a position to swipe five bases and score five times on the week. He also made several sensational plays in center, showing why he is so highly regarded as a defender. The 22-year-old leads the organization with 20 stolen bases.  … Griffin Doersching entered the week mired in a 1-for-35 slump. Doersching, who cut his trademark platinum blonde hair, began to hit his way out of it with five hits, including a mammoth blast for his first home run since April 18.  The big 25-year-old first baseman is slugging .350 on the season.  … Devin Ortiz went 7-for-17, with a double, two runs, 6 RBI, and 4 walks.  The 25-year-old is hitting .265/.377/.402 on the season.  

For the second time in three starts, lefthander Jagger Haynes tossed six strong innings, giving up two runs while striking out three. The brightest spot for the 21-year-old was issuing just two walks. This was the first time in six starts that he walked fewer than three. While his overall numbers do not look impressive, Haynes has a 2.93 ERA and opponents are hitting just .192  against him in 15.1 innings in May. Most importantly, he’s taking the ball each week after losing the bulk of his first three seasons in the organization to injuries. … Coming on the heels of one his best starts of the season, righty Henry Baez struggled to get through four innings, giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Baez has been feast-or-famine this year, allowing two or fewer runs four times, but surrendering four runs or more three times. The 21-year-old’s record is reflective as he has a 4.71 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 28 innings. … Miguel Cienfuegos tossed six strong innings allowing just one earned run. The 27-year-old has been a stabilizing force in the TinCaps rotation. He has a 3.78 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. … After a brief hiccup following his promotion, Bradgley Rodriguez has found his groove in Fort Wayne.  The 20-year-old has not allowed a run over 9.1 innings in May, striking out 10 against five walks in that stretch. … Fellow hard-throwing righty reliever Francis Pena allowed his first earned run since April 18, raising his ERA from 0.53 to 0.95.  Through two outings Pena went 4.1 innings, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out three. His strikeout numbers are not exceptional (7.1 K/9), but he generates a lot of weak contact. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won series at Visalia Rawhide 4-2)

Top Performers: The Storm had another successful series, winning four of six in Visalia. The club is 8-4 over their last 12 games and sit one game above .500 as they head into a 12-game homestand. … A major storyline for the Storm this season has been the advancements of infielder Rosman Verdugo. The 18-year-old from Baja California connected on two homers last week, hitting .291/.393/.556 with a team-leading six RBI. Verdugo is tied for second in the Cal League with six homers, after hitting just three in 113 games for Lake Elsinore last season. Verdugo has increased his walk rate and raised his ISO .105 points though he is striking out at a higher clip this year (30.9% in ‘24 up from 26.3%) but his developing strength makes him one of the players to watch in Riverside County this season. … Right-hander Xavier Ruiz didn’t make the Lake Elsinore roster out of spring training but since joining the Storm, he’s been their most effective reliever. Ruiz appeared in two games this week, delivering three innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed just one hit and struck out three. Ruiz has pitched to a 2.87 ERA and an excellent 2.49 FIP in 11 appearances. In 15.2 innings, he’s punched out 18 batters while walking just three. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: After missing two weeks with a shoulder injury, shortstop Leodalis De Vries returned to the lineup and appeared in four games. De Vries performed capably, producing a .745 OPS with two doubles. De Vries, 17, is normally a switch-hitter but hit left-handed in the series against left-handers to protect the shoulder. The 17-year-old has appeared in 11 games for the Storm this season, hitting .205/.314/.318. … Romeo Sanabria continued his breakout with another excellent performance. The left-handed hitting first baseman went 7-for-20 with four doubles, a homer, and three RBI. Perhaps most impressively, he struck out just three times in 23 plate appearances. The Miami native ranks sixth in the league with a .951 OPS with an impressive 16.4% walk rate while striking out in just over 18% of his plate appearances. … Catcher J.D. Gonzalez had a rough series in Central California, going just 1-for-11 with six strikeouts. The 18-year-old catcher has struggled out of the gate in his professional debut. After starting the month with three hits in 10 at-bats, he’s gone just 1-for-24 since with 15 strikeouts. Overall, Gonzalez has produced a .500 OPS in 17 games. … The playing time for infielder Ethan Long has not been plentiful this season but he’s produced when given a chance. Long played in just three games last week before hitting the IL over the weekend, but produced a solid .831 OPS against the Rawhide. The 23-year-old from Arizona State has a wRC+ of 163 since joining the Storm two weeks ago but he’s played in just six games. … The Storm got an excellent outing from Isaiah Lowe on Saturday, as the right-hander completed six innings for the first time as a professional. Lowe allowed just one run on three hits, walking one and striking out six. The 21-year-old Lowe has ramped up slowly this season but it appears he’s hitting his stride. In 22.2 innings this season, Lowe has pitched to a 2.78 ERA with 31 strikeouts. Lowe’s development should be a welcome sign for a Storm pitching staff that has struggled to prevent runs this season. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Padres 3, ACL Mariners 1 (7 innings)
4-1 on the Week

Key Stats: DH Joshua Mears 1-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 SB (2), K; 1B Addison Kopak 2-for-3, 3B, BB; 3B Yendry Rojas 2-for-4; LHP Igor Gil 2 IP, 2 K, 1 BB; LHP Luis Gutierrez 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K; LHP Yovannki Perez 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: The rookie club finished off a strong week with a strong team pitching effort as they beat their complex-mates from the Mariners organization. Addison Kopack, who had a huge week at the plate, had two more hits, including another triple. For the week, the 22-year-old went 8-for-17 with two doubles, three triples and a homer, good for an OPS of 1.618. When the organization is ready to make moves at first base across the system, the University of Rhode Island product is a likely candidate for promotion. … Joshua Mears began a rehab assignment after spending the first seven weeks of the season on the IL. The 23-year-old outfielder, who was ticketed to open the year back in Fort Wayne before suffering a leg injury at the end of spring training, had a double, stole two bases and drew a walk as the designated hitter. He’ll look to get out to an affiliate in the next two weeks. … Infielder Yendry Rojas had a pair of hits on Monday, capping a 7-for-15 week that pushed his average for the season up to .310. After managing just a .678 OPS in his first stateside season last year, the 19-year-old left-handed hitter, he’s upped his OPS by almost 100 points so far this year while cutting his strikeout rate. … The trio of lefties who got all but the final out Monday night were the strongest performers of the week. Igor Gil, who went two innings in his second professional appearance and finished the week with three scoreless frames. He was followed by Luis Gutierrez who threw a season-high 4.2 innings, giving up just one run and striking out six. The 20-year-old who originally signed back in 2019, fought his command through his first two stateside campaigns, but has a 16:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 13.2 innings this year. Gutierrez gave way to Yovannki Perez, who made his second two-inning appearance of the week. Another of older international free agent signees in last year’s class, the 21-year-old was widely seen as one of the club’s best prospects in the DSL last summer. (David Jay)