San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 29

Chihuahuas 8, Round Rock Express 0

Key Stats: RHP Gabe Mosser (W, 2-2) 5.1 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 K; 2B Graham Pauley 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; LF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI; DH Oscar Mercado 1-for-2, 2B, 3 BB, R, RBI

Prospect Watch: It was no contest as the former number two overall pick and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball went up against a former 27th-round pick from six years ago. Gabe Mosser, 27, easily the top Rangers prospect Jack Leiter. Mosser pitched into the sixth inning and did not allow a run. He allowed six hits, walking one and striking out two. The Shippensburg University product collected 110 strikeouts in A-ball in 2019 but has had difficulty repeating that success since. He currently has a 7.36 ERA in El Paso. … The first two runs against Leiter came courtesy of a Tirso Ornelas single with the bases loaded. The Tijuana native later collected a double and now has hits in 13 of his last 14 games. After starting the season 3-for-34, he has been on fire. In May, the 24-year-old is hitting .347/.395/.533.  … Graham Pauley, playing at second base, also had a great night. Pauley scored on Ornelas’s hit in the first inning and then doubled two home against Leiter in the second. Pauley has run hot-and-cold since being sent down. After the strong performance Wednesday, he is hitting .260/.397/.510 in exactly 100 at-bats for the Chihuahuas.

Game One: Frisco RoughRiders 6, Missions 3

Key Stats: LHP Robby Snelling (L, 1-4) 4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; RHP Francis Pena 2 IP, H, BB, 3 K; RF Robert Perez Jr. 1-for-2, HR (3), R, 3 RBI; 1B Robbie Tenerowicz 2-for-2, 2B, R

Game Two: Frisco RoughRiders 6, Missions 4

Key Stats: LHP Omar Cruz 3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K; LF Cole Cummings 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R; RF Robert Perez Jr 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI; C Juan Zabala 2-for-2, 2B, RBI, BB

Prospect Watch: Every pitching prospect goes through game or two when they can’t locate their pitches and get walloped. For Robby Snelling, it has now happened in back-to-back starts. After posting a solid 3.44 ERA over his first seven outings, Snelling has given up 11 earned runs on 15 hits and six walks over his last two starts. The 20-year-old lefty gave up a season-high four walks as he struggled to land all of his pitches Wednesday. When he did find the strike zone, Frisco hit him hard, collecting four extra-base hits including a pair of homers. Snelling’s fastball velocity has been hovering right around 90 mph over his last several outings, 3-4 mph below where he was working last year. … One day after being promoted from Fort Wayne, Francis Pena made his first Double-A appearance and continued to dominate. The 23-year-old struck out three over two scoreless innings. He now has a 0.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and opponents have hit just .175 against him over 23 innings this year. … Omar Cruz made his second straight start, tossing three one-run innings as the opener in the nightcap. The Hermosillo native had a breakout season in 2019 for the TinCaps before being one of the pieces traded for Joe Musgrove. After a strong 2021 season, he couldn’t replicate his success, and the Padres reacquired him in the minor league phase of last winter’s Rule 5 draft. After walking nearly 12% of the batters he faced in his two years in the Pirates system, Cruz has cut that to 7.8% in San Antonio, while his K/9 is at a career-high of 12.96. Cruz is now 25, but a team can never have enough left-handed pitching.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4,TinCaps 3 (10 innings)

Key Stats: LHP Jagger Haynes 5.1 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K; RHP Cole Paplham IP, H, BB, K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez (BS, 1) 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; DH Ethan Salas 0-for-5, BB; CF Homer Bush Jr 3-for-4, R, 2 SB (25,26); 3B Devin Ortiz 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB (3); C Anthony Vilar 2-for-5, RBI, 2B, SB (2)

Prospect Watch: After allowing two of the first three hitters to reach base, southpaw Jagger Haynes faced just two over the limit across the next five innings as he helped his cause by picking off two runners. Ahead 2-0, Haynes came out to start the sixth, but he hit a batter and issued his third walk of the day before leaving the game. While an inherited runner did score to break up the shutout, Haynes allowed one run, it was the third time this month that Haynes allowed only one run. He will finish May with a 2.28 ERA and a .191 BAA – a drastic improvement from April, when he had a 21.21 ERA and opponents hit .478. Haynes’ fastball sat 91-92 through most of his outing. … Two TinCaps made their first full-season appearance as they work back from injuries. Reliever Cole Paplham, who opened the year on the IL for San Antonio, returned to where he posted a 1.13 ERA last year.  The undrafted free agent turned many heads mixing an upper-90s fastball and wipeout slider to dominate Single-A hitters. The 24-year-old worked around a single and a walk in is scoreless inning. Expect him to move up to Double-A quickly. … For the third straight year, Joshua Mears has returned to Fort Wayne. In his first game back, he did exactly what he was known for.  He struck out twice, walked twice, and scalded a ball that became a double play.  Mears still has his characteristic big swing that generates tremendous power when he makes contact.  … Homer Bush Jr. added three more hits and two stolen bases. After a slow start to the season, Bush has hit .321/.400/.369 this month, with 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

Storm 5, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4 (10 innings)

Key Stats: RHP Jose Luis Reyes 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K; SS Leo De Vries 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; 2B Chase Valentine 3-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB; RF Ryan Wilson 2-for-4, R

Prospect Watch: Playing for the first time in three days and the second time in six days, Leo De Vries had two hits and drove in a pair in the Storm victory. Over his last three games, De Vries has had five hits, including two doubles. The youngest player in full-season ball has been hitting the ball harder since returning from a shoulder injury that cost him two weeks at the beginning of May. De Vries finished the game with his average at .212 – the highest it’s been since his fourth game of the season. While those numbers seem pedestrian, he is the equivalent of a high school junior and holding his own. For more context, when De Vries was born Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack was a number-one hit, The Departed had just come out, and American Idol was the top show. … Second baseman Chase Valentine has had himself a week. The day after hitting his first professional home run, Valentine followed it up with his first double of the year and three-hit game.  In the last two games, the 22-year-old raised his OPS from .475 to .851. His final hit gave the Storm their second straight walk-off victory against the Dodgers affiliate to pull within a game of .500.