San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 24

Chihuahuas 7, Sacramento River Cats 6

Key Statistics: LF Graham Pauley, 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B; 3B Eguy Rosario, 2-for-4, HR (4), 2 RBI, BB; DH Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-5; RF Cal Mitchell, 1-for-4, R, HR (4), RBI; RHP Gabe Mosser, 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; LHP Tom Cosgrove, IP, K; RHP Alek Jacob (W, 1-0) 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K

Prospect Watch: El Paso jumped out to a 5-0 lead early before allowing Sacramento to tie things up. The club pulled out the victory on a walk-off double from Mason McCoy. … Third baseman and certified lefty-masher Eguy Rosario had a pair of hits, including his fourth homer of the season. While the double came against a righty, naturally, the homer came against a southpaw. It traveled 424 feet. During his time with the Padres, the 24-year-old feasted on left-handed pitching but went just 2-for-14 against righties. In El Paso, Rosario has a 1.038 OPS against lefties but he’s been even better against sames-handed pitchers, posting a 1.124 OPS in 35 at-bats against righties. … Tirso Ornelas’ red-hot May continued with a three-hit night, although they were all singles and none of them were hit harder than 83 mph. After a slow start to the season, the 24-year-old has swung the bat well in May. Friday’s performance raised his slash-line this month to an outstanding .349/.397/.556, pushing his production on the year up to 12% better than league average. … Calvin Mitchell has done a lot of damage in the series against Sacramento and Friday was no exception. Mitchell only had one hit but it left the yard for his fourth homer of the year. Mitchell’s bomb traveled 424 feet, leaving the bat at 103 mph. The 25-year-old with big league experience is 4-for-11 with three homers in his last three games played. … Alek Jacob pitched the final two innings to earn his first win of the year. Jacob allowed just one hit and a walk while striking out four. The 25-year-old has typically dominated during his time in the Padres system but 2024 has been a struggle for the right-hander. In 18 appearances, He has allowed 33 hits and walked 13 batters in 21.1 innings. The funky righty showed promise in a big league stint last year but will need to be more consistent to get another big league opportunity. 

Missions 1, Wichita Wind Surge 0

Key Statistics: C Brandon Valenzuela, 1-for-3, R, HR (2), RBI; 3B Jarryd Dale, 1-for-3; LF Ripken Reyes, 1-for-2, BB; RHP Victor Lizarraga, 5 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K; Ethan Routzahn (W, 3-0) IP, K; RHP Carter Loewen, 2 IP, 5 K; LHP Jayvien Sandridge (S, 3) IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: There was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel in Wichita, as a Brandon Valenzuela homer supplied all the offense in this one. The win put the Missions back over .500 (21-20). … The homer was Valenzuela’s second of the season and his second of the series. The switch-hitting catcher has struggled offensively this season but the power surge is certainly encouraging. All but one of his extra-base hits this year have come from the left side. Overall, the Hermosillo, Mexico native is hitting .226/.302/.357. … Righty Victor Lizarraga tossed five scoreless innings, but left before his battery-mate’s homer, so he didn’t pick up the win. He walked three batters but struck out four to help minimize the impact. The 20-year-old is part of an exciting and young pitching staff that should play a role in the Padres’ future. After experiencing some struggles last year with the TinCaps, Lizarraga has been solid in his first taste of Double-A. He has not allowed a run in has last 10.2 innings. During that span, he’s walked four and struck out 12. Even with a fastball that continues to sit right around 90 mph he has a 2.84 ERA this season. … Righty Carter Loewen looked dominant during his two innings of work, striking out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings. The University of Hawaii product has struggled with injuries throughout his career, including a Tommy John surgery late in 2021. In 10 games for the Missions, the 25-year-old has a 3.55 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. 

TinCaps Game Suspended

The game was suspended due to rain, a common theme in the early season in Northeastern Indiana. Lansing led 2-0 with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning at the time of the suspension. The two teams will finish up a nine-inning game Saturday before playing a second, seven-inning game immediately after. … After a 1-2-3 first inning, starter Henry Baez lost his feel in the second and issued three walks and hit a batter. The hard-throwing righty has been susceptible to big innings throughout an up-and-down year.

San Jose Giants 4, Storm 0

Key Statistics: CF Wyatt Hoffman, 1-for-4, SB (7); 1B Romeo Sanabria, 2-for-4, 2B; 3B Rosman Verdugo, 1-for-4, 2B, SB (4); RHP Eric Yost (L, 0-2) 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Will Varmette, 2.1 IP, BB, 5 K; RHP Kobe Robinson, 2 IP, BB, K 

Prospect Watch: The Storm offense never got going and they managed just five hits in a shutout loss to the Giants in Lake Elsinore. … Romeo Sanabria had a pair of hits, including his 13th double of the season – a total that leads the Cal League. Coming off a monster year in the ACL last summer, the big first baseman has been one of the best hitters in the Cal League this year. His .979 OPS is second on the circuit. … Rosman Verdugo also doubled and swiped his fourth bag of the season. Verdugo has flashed impressive power this month but strikeouts continue to be an issue. The 19-year-old infielder has connected on four homers in May, but he’s also struck out 27 times in 89 plate appearances. … After a rough start from Eric Yost, reliever Will Varmette had his best outing of the season. The 21-year-old from Huntsville, Alabama pitched 2.1 innings and didn’t allow a hit. He walked one and struck out five. After allowing 16 earned runs in his first 11.1 innings out of the rotation for the Storm, he’s found something recently since moving to the bullpen. Over his last five outings, spanning six innings, Varmette has allowed just one run on one hit and three walks while striking out nine. For contrast, Varmette walked 16 batters in his first six outings. The righty with a big fastball signed as an undrafted free agent out of Wallace State Community College in Alabama last year. 

ACL Brewers 15, ACL Padres 4

Key Statistics: RF Colton Vincent, 1-for-3, R, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; CF Kashon Conliffe, 2-for-4, R, SB (4); 3B Yendry Rojas, 1-for-2, 2B, R, BB; LHP Ruben Salinas (L, 0-1) IP, H, R, BB; RHP Cole Paplham, IP, H, BB, K LHP Yovannky Pascual 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: David Jay has this coverage from the game in Maryvale:
The Brewers pounded out eight extra-base hits, including four homers, over their final four innings at-bat to bury the Padres in this one. Lefty Ruben Salinas made his second appearance as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery last spring. The 21-year-old out of Baja California, who spent the 2022 season playing outfield in the complex league, is sitting 89-90 with his fastball at the moment. He showed a slider and curve, though the two don’t have a great deal of separation at the moment. He’ll look to build up through the ACL season. … Right-handed reliever Cole Paplham made his first rehab appearance, showing a bit of rust while reminding the organization of his impressive stuff. The 24-year-old reliever, who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, dialed it up to 97 and snapped off several nasty mid-80s sliders. He’s been on the Missions’ IL all season after blowing through the lower minors last year. … The game got out of hand when the Brewers pummeled Kleiber Olmedo and Igor Gil, who had both been impressing since their arrival from the DSL squad during extended spring training. Lefty Yovannki Pascual, however, showed well in his two scoreless frames. The 21-year-old got his fastball up to 96, locating it well to both sides of the plate. He threw only one changeup while relying on a slider that showed good late movement. … Yendry Rojas flailed badly at several breaking balls in his first trip to the plate, but then hit a booming double to center and drew a walk. The 19-year-old is continuing to show progress at the plate after a disappointing stateside debut last year.