MadFriars Week in Review: May 28 through June 3

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won Series at Round Rock Express 4-2)

Top Performers: The visiting Chihuahuas relied on solid pitching to take the series over the Texas Ranger’s affiliate. Gabe Mosser had the top performance with 5.1 shutout innings for one of the four victories, lowering his season ERA to 7.36. Though he only occasionally hits the low-90s with his four-seam fastball, Mosser worked with a sinker/slider combination to outpitch heralded Rangers prospect, Jack Leiter. Mosser, 28, was the Padres’ 27th-round pick in 2018 out of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. He had a 4.73 ER between Lake Elsinore and San Antonio in 2023. …  Eguy Rosario, 24, had another big week, posting a 1.333 OPS as he reached base 11 times in 22 plate appearances. He had three doubles, a triple, and a home run and he now owns a 1.094 OPS in 21 games since his demotion. Though he played exclusively at third base during the week, he might fit best at second base long-term. He’s now approaching 200 career games in Triple-A, and without an obvious spot in San Diego, he could be auditioning for another major league team.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Jackson Wolf, 25, pitched well in both his starts, posting a 2.08 ERA across a team-high 8.2 innings. … After a tough May, Lake Bachar, 29, had two solid outings with a pair of two-plus inning stints and only allowed one run while striking out six with one walk and two hits. The former college punter has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s. … Lefty Daniel Camarena, 31, also had a nice week in his sole start, throwing five innings and only giving up a run and allowing two hits. … Tom Cosgrove, 28, appears to be back on track, throwing in three games and only allowing a single unearned run in three innings with three strikeouts and a walk. The lefty, who was a key part of the big league bullpen last season, has struggled to get the same horizontal movement on his pitches this season. … Offensively, Bryce Johnson, 28, electrified the series with nine hits and a pair of walks in 22 plate appearances to mirror Rosario’s .500 on-base percentage. … Fellow outfielder Tirso Ornelas continues get the ball in the air more often. The 24-year-old lefty had three doubles and a team-leading eight RBI to go with an .894 OPS on the week. (John Conniff)

Adam Mazur Promotion: The Padres will have Mazur make his big league debut on Tuesday night. The 23-year-old dominated with the Missions to open the year, putting up a 1.95 ERA in 32.1 innings, with a stellar 32:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. When we chatted with him in San Antonio, he talked about feeling more comfortable with his changeup, adding a curve ball into the mix, and going a few ticks upward with his velocity. He was promoted to El Paso in May, where his ERA jumped to 7.11 in 19.1 innings. Two of his four starts were in Las Vegas, one of the better-hitting parks in the Pacific Coast League, where he allowed two of his four home runs. His strikeout and walk rates both moved slightly in the wrong direction, but much of the jump in ERA was from a huge spike in home runs per fly ball, which jumped to 18.2%. Mazur relied mostly on his fastball and slider for the Chihuahuas, but is likely to incorporate his curve and changeup more at the next level, where they can be more effective than in the dry elevation of the PCL.

San Antonio Missions (Swept at home by Frisco RoughRiders 7-0)

Top Performers: The Missions have dropped their last eight games, and what we believed was going to be the strongest team in the system coming into the season has been decimated by the trades of Jairo Iriarte, Drew Thorpe, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella, and promotion to Mazur. However, there are still some talented prospects, and Ryan Bergert, 24, has the stuff with his rising 95 mph plus fastball to be one of the better pitchers in the system. Bergert made two starts this week and threw 11.2 combined innings with a 3.09 ERA. Throughout his time in the Padres system, he has relied upon his rising fastball with an occasional changeup and breaking pitch mixed in. When we spoke to him in early May, he talked about working to develop and use his sweeper, changeup, and even a two-seam fastball more. His biggest issue is developing the correct pitching sequence and becoming more consistent with his secondary pitches. … Recently acquired Robbie Tenerowicz, 29, was the only Missions position player with an OPS north of .740, as he hit .318/.444/.545 and collected the club’s only home run of the series.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Raul Brito, 27, didn’t allowed only one single and no walks in three appearances out of the bullpen. He struck out seven across his four innings. The right-handed Dominican signed with the Padres before the 2023 season after six seasons with the Marlins. Last year, he posted a 2.60 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 62.1 innings between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. … Carter Loewen, 25, was also perfect in his two appearances, working 2.2 innings and holding the opposition to a .125 batting average. … Jared Kollar struck out a career-high eight batters in 4.2 innings, but the rest of the Missions rotation, which has kept the team afloat this year, struggled on the week. … Offensively, Clay Dungan, 28, had a .419 on-base percentage as he tied for the team-high in walks with six while rapping out seven singles for a .737 OPS. A left-handed hitter from Indiana State who the Padres selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, had an .893 OPS in El Paso before he was sent to San Antonio. He was primarily an infielder with the Chihuahuas but has seen nearly all his time in the outfield with the Missions. He’s been off to a tough start in San Antonio with a .545 OPS in his first 94 plate appearances. (John Conniff) 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-4)

Players of the Week: Nearly two months into the season, the team lead in home runs was at four. Then Griffin Doersching pounded out three in the final two games of the series to stretching his total to seven. The big (he’s 6-foot-4 and listed at 251 pounds) first baseman had just one home run over 27 games before the surge. Doersching capped the series in his home state by going 4-for-4 on Sunday to finish the week hitting .400/.471/1.067. … Lefty Jagger Haynes capped a strong May by allowing one earned run over 5.1 innings.  He walked three and struck out three. After a rough start to the season, the 21-year-old finished the month with a 2.28 ERA and encouragingly averaged nearly six innings a start. Though his walk rate is still an unsustainable 16.8%, he should continue to improve his control as he gets further away from Tommy John surgery and the other injuries that plagued him through his first three years as a professional.

Top Prospects and Others of Note:  Happy (late) birthday, Ethan Salas! The top prospect turned 18 on Saturday.  His present to himself might be leaving the state of Wisconsin.  After looking like he was coming around the last two weeks, Salas went 1-for-21 in the series.  He did at least walk three times and stole a base.  The series lowered his average back below .200 and his OPS under .600. … Homer Bush Jr. only stole two bases and was shut out after Wednesday. but he continues to lead the Midwest League with 26 in 30 attempts.  He went 5-for-19 with a double on the week and only struck out twice. … Jay Beshears went 5-for-19, with a double and his second stolen base for the TinCaps. Since his promotion to Fort Wayne in mid-May, Beshears is hitting .300/.390/.420 while spending most of his time defensively at shortstop.  …After rehabbing a leg injury through the season’s first two months, Joshua Mears was sent back to Fort Wayne, where he has had some success the last few years. In his first three games with Fort Wayne, the powerful outfielder struck out six times in 11 plate appearances. He went 0-for-8 with a sac fly and two walks. … In unfortunate outfielder Albert Fabian was moved to full-season IL a week after landing awkwardly trying to make a leaping catch. The 22-year-old finishes the season hitting .256/.362/.400. He had put together a .302/.400/.512 line in May.

The good news for Dylan Lesko was that he made it through five innings and, for the first time all season, walked fewer than three batters. The downside was that he gave up a season-high eight hits. After three starts when he couldn’t get past the fourth inning, Lesko now has three consecutive five-plus inning starts for the first time in his career. High-A hitters are still batting only .200 against him on the year. …  Despite a less-than-ideal start from Enmanuel Pinales, the righty continues to look like one of the year’s breakout pitchers in the Padres organization. He allowed two runs over four innings to Wisconsin, striking out five but walking three before the pitch count caught up with him. The 23-year-old finished May with a 2.61 ERA and 11.76 K/9 across four starts. … Braden Nett returned from the IL and made his first appearance in over a month.  The hard-throwing Nett allowed one run in his first inning back.  He will slowly build back up with the TinCaps. … Power-righty reliever Cole Paplham also continued his rehab with the TinCaps, though he remains on the San Antonio IL. He had a scoreless debut before getting roughed up on Saturday.  … Bradgley Rodriguez, another pitcher who can consistently hit the upper-90s, allowed an earned run for the first time in over a month to break a streak of 11.1 scoreless innings.  He did appear again on Sunday and tossed two perfect innings, striking out two….  Henry Baez had another tough outing.  He lasted three innings, allowing two runs on four hits.  He hit a batter, walked a batter, and struck out five. After being one of the more dominant pitchers in the Cal League last year, the 21-year-old Baez has a 4.58 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 rate. … Lefty supreme Miguel Cienfuegos tossed seven strong innings of two-run balls. It was the second time this month he threw seven innings, though 26-year-old did not strike out or walk a hitter for the first time this season. … Reliever David Morgan collected his first save of the season.  The righty from Orange County allowed just one hit in his two outings and struck out six of the eight batters he faced.  After a rough start to the year, Morgan has only been scored upon in one of his last seven outings – a span of 10 innings. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Swept series against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, 6-0)

Top Performers: What a difference a week makes. The Storm entered their six-game series trailing the Quakes by three games in the standings. They ended the week with a three-game lead over their Cal League counterparts, thanks to a six-game sweep over the Quakes. It was the first time Rancho has been swept since a six-game series became the standard in minor league baseball in 2021. … The best performer for the Storm last week was none other than Chase Valentine. The 22-year-old has been somewhat of an organizational vagabond since signing with the Padres as an undrafted free agent in 2022. However, his week against the Quakes should get him in line for additional reps in the Storm infield. Valentine played in all six games, going 10-for-19 with a double, a homer, and nine RBI. Coming into the series, Valentine had just nine career RBI in 86 games. Thanks to his hot week against the Quakes, Valentine has a .911 OPS in 15 games with the Storm. … Sam Whiting turned in his finest start as a professional, winning on Thursday night. He pitched five innings for the first time, striking out a career-high 10 batters. The UC Santa Barbara product started his first full season in the TinCaps bullpen before being moved back to Lake Elsinore to stretch out as a starter. In five May starts, the 23-year-old righty pitched to a 4.15 ERA.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Storm last week was the impressive performance from prized shortstop Leodalis De Vries. The 17-year-old  had his best week as a professional, hitting .294/.458/.412 with a pair of doubles, five walks and five RBI. In addition, De Vries struck out just twice in 22 plate appearances. Coming into the week, De Vries had punched out in 37% of his plate appearances. De Vries is hitting .215/.323/.316 since joining the Storm. … Ryan Wilson has shown a good eye at the plate but had yet to break out offensively. Perhaps last week was a precursor of things to come. Wilson had a terrific week, going 8-for-22 with a double, a triple, and his first homer of the year. The Davidson product only struck out in two plate appearances. The power output was a welcome development, as Wilson only had three extra-base hits all season coming into the week. Overall, Wilson is hitting .223/.378/.284 for the Storm. … Despite the excellent play by the Storm, Romeo Sanabria had an unusually quiet week. Sanabria hit .227/.379/.318 in six games with two doubles, six walks, and six RBI. Even after the slow week, Sanabria still ranks fourth in the Cal League with a .921 OPS. … Rosman Verdugo struggled in the series, going 3-for-21 with eight strikeouts. Verdugo has looked much stronger at the plate this season but a K-rate north of 30% has led to below-average production. However, he has belted six homers – three more than hit all of last season. … After Ian Koenig functioned as an opener in his return from the IL on Saturday, Isaiah Lowe took over and easily carved up the Quakes. Lowe worked a career-high 6.1 innings and allowed just a run on one single hit. He walked one and struck out eight. Lowe turned in his worst outing of the season in his previous start, so following that up with a dominant performance is certainly impressive. The 20-year-old has a 3.68 ERA after missing most of last season with a shoulder issue. … Xavier Ruiz pitched five shutout innings over two outings. He walked three and struck out three. The 21-year-old has a 2.88 ERA in 25 games for the Storm this season. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Padres 5, ACL Mariners 4 (3-1 on the week)

Key Stats: DH Lamar King 1-for-3, 3B, BB; C Kaden Hollow 1-for-4, 3B; 1B Carlos Rodriguez 2-for-4; LHP Braian Salazar 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 4 K, 2 BB; RHP Henry Martinez 2 IP, 2 K, BB; LHP Adler Cecil 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; RHP Maikel Miralles 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 K

Prospect Watch and Top Performers of the Week: The rookie league squad won three of their four games on an abbreviated schedule for the week. Monday, lefty Braian Salazar went a career-high four innings. He was charged with a pair of unearned runs in the first when an error and then a failed conversion on a fielder’s choice put the two runners on. Mariners super-prospect Felnin Celesten had a pair of hits against him, but he held the rest of the Mariners to just one infield single. The 18-year-old lefty allowed only one fly ball on the night and struck out four. The Padres have been cautious with Salazar as he works back from an arm injury that shut him down last June, but he has shown some interesting upside as he rounds into shape. … Erstwhile catcher Lamar King Jr. collected his second triple of the year. Those three-baggers are the only extra-base hits he has in 39 trips to the plate, but he’s hitting an even .300. The 20-year-old, who likely won’t get behind the plate this year as he recovers from throwing shoulder surgery last October, has an intriguing blend of hit tool and raw power.

The only pitcher who outshined Salazar in the short week was Abraham Parra, who worked 4.1 scoreless frames in his lone appearance. The 18-year-old from Venezuela started the year with a pair of rough outings, but has allowed only two runs on four hits over his last 9.1 innings. He’s struck out 17 in 14 frames on the year. … Rehabbing lefty Ruben Salinas delivered a pair of scoreless outings, striking out five over 3.1 innings of work. Now 21, Salinas debuted as an outfielder for the club in Peoria in the 2021 season. … Kaden Hollow joined King in picking up a triple Monday night to cap a strong week. The Idaho native and 2022 undrafted free agent signee went 5-for-13 and drew three walks in four games. Three of his hits went for extra bases. … Spence Coffman also reached safely in eight of his 16 trips to the plate and now has his on-base percentage up to .384 through 20 games. Drafted out of high school in Mississippi in the 19th round in 2022, Coffman is beginning to grow into his 6-foot-1 frame and showing an interesting mix of skills. (David Jay)