MadFriars Week in Review: June 4 through June 9

El Paso Chihuahuas (Split series with Las Vegas Aviators)

Top Performers: After dropping the series’ first three games, the Chihuahuas roared back to take the last three, including a comeback win on Saturday when they were down 15-1 in the fourth inning. As you can expect, there were a few big offensive numbers. … Nate Mondou, 29, had nine hits in five games, six for extra bases for 1.400 OPS and 11 RBI. The 5-foot-9 former Wake Forest Demon Deacon who signed with the Padres in the offseason has split time between first and second base, with two games at third. He has a line of .285/.384/.469 on the season. …  Gabe Mosser made two starts and was strong in both, allowing four earned runs over 12.2 innings with a 2.92 ERA in an active offensive environment. The 28-year-old righty celebrated his birthday week with 12 strikeouts and only one walk.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Eguy Rosario continued to pound the ball in the PCL, with two doubles and a home run in six games for seven RBI and a .989 OPS.  Rosario is having his best season in the minors with a .303/.434/.636 slash line in 122 plate appearances. He’s cut his chase rate, helping to draw more walks and increase the quality of his contact. At this point, he doesn’t have much left to prove in Triple-A. … Bryce Johnson did an excellent job setting the tone as the leadoff hitter, leading the team with six walks and stealing four bases in as many attempts. The 28-year-old center fielder struck out only twice on his way to a .962 OPS.  … Lake Bachar got in two games and led the staff with a 2.70 ERA – it was that type of week in El Paso – only allowing one run and two hits, with three strikeouts and two walks. For the season, Bachar, 29, has a 3.82 ERA in 35.1 innings with 40 strikeouts against 18 walks. … Encouragingly, Tom Cosgrove worked 2.2 scoreless innings across three appearances. The lefty struck out a pair and allowed just one runner on a walk. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Split series at Midland)

Players of the Week: RHP Jared Kollar, 25, tied a career best, throwing six innings of one-run ball. He came one away from matching his career high seven strikeouts, which he achieved last week and already has more strikeouts this month than he logged in four starts last month. On the season, the righty with an extreme over-the-top delivery has been the Missions’ most consistent pitcher. He has yet to allow more than three runs and has a solid 3.30 ERA in 11 starts this year. … The Missions won that Kollar start 3-1 and all three runs came courtesy of a Brandon Valenzuela home run. It was his first homer in two weeks, but  the catcher hit .300 on the week and has reached base safely in every game this month.  The 23-year-old switch-hitter is already one RBI behind his total from all of last season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Lefty Robby Snelling delivered his third quality start in five outings, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out six and walked three. Snelling continues to nibble at the corners, pushing his walk rate up to nearly double last year’s. … Ryan Bergert earned his first win of the year, going five innings and allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out five.  He has now gone at least five innings, allowing no more than two runs in three straight starts.  …. Victor Lizarraga only allowed one run in 4.2 innings but also walked a season-high four batters and gave way after 89 pitches. The 20-year-old is seeing a resurgence in Double-A with a 3.60 ERA in nine starts. … After a rough first week in San Antonio, flame thrower Francis Pena rebounded against Midland. In two scoreless appearances, Pena allowed two hits with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Pena has his ERA for the year back down to 1.01 across 26.2 innings. … Fellow hard-throwing reliever Jayvien Sandridge struck out five over two scoreless innings on Tuesday, earning the win. He returned on Saturday and got a save after giving up what appeared to be a walk-off home run became a two-run double when the RockHounds runner was ruled to have missed third base and called out. … Marcos Castañon hit his first home run since May 17. He had six hits on the week including two doubles, and drove in five. After a slow start, the UC Santa Barbara product has a .791 OPS in June. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series to Peoria Chiefs 2-4)

Top Performers: Tyler Robertson rapped out 10 hits in 26 plate appearances as he continued a torrid June, slashing .462/.533/.615 after posting a .557 OPS in May.  The athletic outfielder sparked the turnaround by dropping his leg kick, which has enabled him to be more direct to the ball. Breaking and off-speed can still give him some problems, but he has not been missing the fastball. As he becomes more comfortable, look for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Alabamian to start hitting with more power. … David Morgan only appeared in two games and threw three innings, but he led the team with seven strikeouts and picked up a save by giving up only a single and striking out the side. Morgan, who only threw 9.1 career innings at tiny Hope International College, where he was primarily a center fielder. The 24-year-old righty has a tremendous fastball that clocks in at 98. Still, he credits learning to land his slider as the big difference-maker for him this season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Homer Bush Jr. reached base 12 times in 23 plate appearances for a .522 on-base percentage and added a double and a home run this week. The athletic former Grand Canyon University Antelope also stole two bases to give him 28 on the season in 32 attempts, good enough for second in the Midwest League. … Ethan Salas had another rough week, going 3-for-18 with one extra-base hit. The 18-year-old only struck out three times, but hasn’t been able to get his OPS back above .600 for the year. … Henry Baez had a solid start, getting the win by going five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts against a walk. … Jagger Haynes was rolling on Wednesday night, throwing five shutout innings, and was an out away from going seven before he gave up a three-run home run. Still, it was the fourth straight game that the left-hander had gone at least 5.1 innings. He’s posted a 2.60 ERA in this best stretch of his career. … Reliever Manuel Castro also looked strong in two games and three innings, getting six strikeouts against two walks and not allowing a single run. (John Conniff)

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost series at Inland Empire 66ers, 2-4)

Top Performers: After a 6-0 homestand, the Storm hit the road for a commuter trip to San Bernardino. The pitching staff struggled, allowing 50 runs in the six-game set and the Storm lost the series. They still maintain a two-game lead over the Quakes in the Cal League South Division. … Jacob Campbell had a nice week at the plate, delivering a .956 OPS with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. He also delivered a scoreless inning in a mop-up role. The 24-year-old catcher/outfielder has impressed the organization with loud exit velocities during his time with the Storm. In 87 plate appearances, his wRC+ stands at 117 with a walk rate approaching 20%. … The Storm got a career-best outing from Eric Yost in a game that they ultimately lost, thanks to a late rally from the 66ers. Yost worked a career-high 6.1 innings and allowed just one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out nine. The 21-year-old has struggled as a member of the Storm rotation but with more outings like last week, he should continue to get more opportunities. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Isaiah Lowe has come out of the bullpen in his last two appearances, taking over for a rehabbing Ian Koenig. Once again. Lowe showed that he is one of the top arms in the system. Lowe pitched 6.1 innings and allowed nine hits but only one earned run. He didn’t issue a walk while racking up nine strikeouts. The outing lowered his season ERA to 3.32. Lowe had a clunker on May 25, when he allowed five runs in 2.2 innings. Since then, he’s allowed just two runs over his last 12.2 innings with 16 strikeouts to just one walk. … Righty Sam Whiting turned in a good outing on Thursday, earning his first win of the season. The former UC Santa Barbara starter allowed one run on seven hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out four batters. Whiting has pitched to a 3.47 ERA since joining the Storm rotation in late April after beginning the year in the TinCaps’ bullpen. … Romeo Sanabria was once again an on-base machine for the Storm, as the big first baseman continues to dominate the Cal League. Sanabria posted a 1.183 OPS and walked eight times in four games, striking out just once. He also connected on his seventh homer of 2024. Overall, the Miami native is carrying a robust .942 OPS. … J.D. Gonzalez only played in three games but had a nice series at the plate, going 5-for-10 with a double, two walks and five RBI. He struck out in three of his 13 plate appearances. The 18-year-old has struggled to make contact in his pro debut but last week’s performance is a step in the right direction. … Leo De Vries hit .200/.333/.350 for the week but hit several balls hard, including a double that bounced against the wall in right field. De Vries has been able to make more consistent contact as he has gained experience. Since May 21, De Vries has struck out in just 18.2% of his plate appearances. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Rangers 5, ACL Padres 3 (0-6 on the week)

Key Stats: LF L.J. Jones 3-for-5, 2B; DH Lamar King Jr. 2-for-4; 2B Ismael Javier 2-for-4, 3B; LHP Braian Salazar 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 K, BB, WP, HBP; RHP Aldo Leija 1.1 IP, H, 2 K, BB; RHP Miguel Valdez 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K

Prospect Watch and Top Prospects: Outfielder L.J. Jones signed as a free agent on Tuesday, then demolished his younger competition for the week as he tuned up to join an affiliate. The 24-year-old San Diego native had three more hits on Monday and finished the week 8-for-19 with three homers. He’s likely not staying in the desert for a repeat performance. … Lefty Braian Salazarvgot hit hard Monday night, allowing four runs on six hits across 3.2 innings. The 18-year-old has been working back into form after missing most of last season. … Shortstop B.Y. Choi had a pair of walks out of the leadoff spot on Monday, capping a solid week. The 22-year-old reached base at a .450 clip for the week and only struck out twice while collecting a pair of doubles. … It was generally a rough week for the pitching staff, but righty Johan Moreno turned in his best outing yet. The 21-year-old who signed out of Venezuela before last season tossed four scoreless frames with as many strikeouts. After walking 13 across 9.2 innings in his first six outings, he allowed just one free pass last Wednesday. … Lefty reliever Yovannki Pascual gave up just one unearned run across 4.1 innings in his two appearances while striking out four. The 21-year-old has shown big velocity in his first season stateside. (David Jay)