Albuquerque Isotopes 13, Chihuahuas 3
Key Statistics: CF Bryce Johnson 2-for-4, BB; 3B Matthew Batten 1-for-3, RBI, BB; DH Óscar Mercado 1-for-3, BB, SB (7); LHP Luke Westphal 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Sean Reynolds IP, H, 2 K; RHP Tommy Nance 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K; LHP Jayvien Sandridge IP, H, 2 K
Bryce Johnson has had a big June. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: It was not a great night on the road for the Chihuahuas as the Isotopes batted around twice on Saturday for their third win in five games. … Luke Westphal struggled in his first start for the Chihuahuas after appearing twice earlier as a reliever, giving up six runs in an inning and a third. The lefty last pitched in affiliated ball for El Paso in 2022, when he posted a 4.19 ERA in 68 innings. The 35-year-old made stops with multiple unaffiliated clubs last year and was pitching for Tijuana when the Padres re-signed him earlier this month. In three games, he has a 14.29 ERA in 5.2 innings. … Bryce Johnson, 28, had a pair of hits to continue his hot streak. The switch-hitting outfielder now owns a .364/.491/.546 line through 55 plate appearances this month. Johnson, who signed as a minor league free agent last winter after spending his first seven seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization, has primarily played center field and hit leadoff for the Chihuahuas while posting an .889 OPS overall for the year.
Transactions: Right-handed reliever Josh Roberson was promotedfrom the Missions to the Chihuahuas before the game, while left-handed starter Daniel Camarena was transfered to the Arizona Complex League. Camarena, 31, the former Cathedral Catholic star, will forever live in Padres’ fans’ memories for his grand slam home run off Max Scherzer in 2021. This year, he was 1-6 with a 9.75 ERA for El Paso. Roberson, 28, signed a minor league deal in the offseason after finishing last year in the Chicago Cubs organization. He posted a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings for the Missions, with a 21:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Missions 0
Key Statistics: LHP Robby Snelling 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K, HR; RHP Bobby Milacki 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Robby Snelling had a better start than the final line indicated. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: Unfortunately for the home team, the superheroes who showed up on Marvel Night at Nelson Wolff Stadium were Hooks’ pitchers Jake Bloss and Cesar Gomez, who combined to no-hit the Missions. San Antonio scraped together three walks, but had two of those runners cut down on the basepaths, so they sent just one batter over the minimum to the plate. … Lefty Robby Snelling was just as effective against the Hooks for the first five innings, giving up just three singles (two on the infield) and allowing only one walk. Things went sideways in the sixth inning though as he gave up a leadoff homer to open the frame. After getting a ground out, he gave up four straight hits before bouncing back to strike out his final two batters of the night. It was Snelling’s second straight quality start and the fourth time he’s gone six innings in his last six outings. While he had some batted ball bad luck Saturday, Double-A hitters are simply making more quality contact against him this year than last. Texas League opponents hit .190 off the 20-year-old in four starts and 17.1 innings last season. They’re hitting .285 this year. Snelling told us a month ago that he has been experiencing a bit of a dead arm, but the velocity is still hanging several miles per hour below what we saw last summer. … Bobby Milacki turned in another quality outing, delivering a season-high three scoreless innings. The bespectacled right-hander from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, has a 3.29 ERA on the season in 27.1 innings with the Missions after struggling briefly at El Paso. … After winning the first three games on the road, San Antonio has dropped the last two.
Dylan Lesko had his best start of the year. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Lake County Captains 2, TinCaps 1 (10 innings)
Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas 2-for-4, 1B Anthony Vilar 2-for-3, BB; 2B Nerwilian Cedeno 1-for-3, RBI, BB; RHP Dylan Lesko 6 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K; Bradgley Rodriguez 2 IP, BB, K; RHP Joan Gonzalez (L, 2-1) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB
Ethan Salas had two hits on Saturday. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps had a great start but a brutal loss as they were walked off for the second time in as many days to drop their fourth out of five games. The biggest news out of the game was a resounding rebound start by the Padres’ top pitching prospect, Dylan Lesko. After allowing seven earned runs in the last start, the 20-year-old from Georgia tossed a career-high six scoreless innings and was efficient in the process. While he still issued three walks, Lesko threw 50 of his 83 pitches for strikes and allowed only one hit after setting down the first 10 batters he faced in order. After his tough start last Saturday, pitching coach Thomas Eshelman noted that, while the results were poor, Lesko was on the right path, pounding the zone with his fastball and changeup. We will have a full interview in the next few days. … Bradgley Rodriguez followed with a strong outing of his own. The right-hander with the big fastball and change has walked 16 in his first 22.2 innings, but has been working on some changes to improve his command. Saturday, he threw two hitless frames, dropping Midwest League opponents’ average against him down to .200 overall and just .130 in seven innings this month.
Stockton Ports 2, Storm 1
Key Statistics: Braedon Karpathios 1-for-4, 2B; 3B Roman Verdugo 1-for-3, 3B; 1B Romeo Sanabria 1-for-4; RHP Miguel Mendez 4 IP, 2H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K; LHP Jackson Smeltz 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K, BB; RHP Alejandro Lugo 2 IP, H, BB, K
Romeo Sanabria continues to give the Storm offense plenty to celebrate. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The Storm lost their third of five games against Stockton, and will try for a series split on Sunday. Miguel Mendez also bounced back from a tough start last week, giving up just one earned run while striking out a season-high 7 batters over four innings. The 21-year-old rail-thin Dominican has struck out 114 in 102.2 innings since coming stateside for the 2022 campaign, but has also issued 75 walks. He continues to show encouraging velocity, but has a 29:26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 26.2. … Romeo Sanabria had another hit tonight to push his season total to 67, second in the California League. He leads the league with a .439 on-base percentage and has 23 extra-base hits, including seven home runs in 57 games. The 22-year-old from Miami had a massive year in the ACL last year and has shown he can flat-out hit. Sanabria was an 18th-round draft pick by the organization in 2022.
ACL Mariners 4, ACL Padres 3
Key Statistics: RF Colton Vincent 2-for-4, 2 BB; SS-3B Yendry Rojas 2-for-5, RBI, BB; CF Kashon Conliffe 2-for-3, BB; 3B-1B Addison Kopack 1-for-6, HR (2), RBI; PR-LF Spence Coffman 1-for-1; RHP Glenn Otto 2 IP, H, ER, 2 K, BB; LHP Zack Qin IP, 2 H, K; RHP Kleiber Olmedo 3 IP 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), BB, 5 K; RHP Aldo Leija 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K; RHP Miguel Valdez (L,0-2) 2.0 IP, 2H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 K
Spence Coffman continues to hit. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: Somewhere, there needs to be a spot for Colton Vincent in the system. The 24-year-old has posted a .315/.432/.425 line this season, getting limited action in Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore before settling in with the complex league club, where he has a .863 OPS. A switch-hitting catcher signed as an undrafted free agent out of Florida State last summer, he has shown enough athleticism to help in the corner outfield spots this year as well. … Spence Coffman, 20, collected his team-leading 29th hit in his 30th game. A late-round pick out of high school in 2022, the Mississippi native added some strength coming into the year and has a .387 OBP in his second pass in the desert. … Big leaguer Glenn Otto made it through two innings in his third rehab appearance. The 28-year-old, who the Padres claimed off waivers from the Rangers at the end of last year, has been dealing with a shoulder injury since he reported to big league camp this spring. … Lefty Zack Qin made his first competitive appearance of the year, tossing a scoreless rehab inning. The 18-year-old, who signed out of MLB’s player development program in China in 2022, will look to get built up before the complex league season shuts down in a month. … Kleiber Olmedo, 19, added five more strikeouts to his team-leading total across three innings of work. The Venezuelan has an excellent 23:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 17 innings in his stateside debut, but has also been too hittable, allowing 28 hits, including 13 for extra bases.
