MadFriars Week in Review: June 18 – June 23

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost to Sugar Land Space Cowboys, 2-4)

Top Performers: Brett Sullivan, 30, led the team with a 1.538 OPS in his three games before being called up to replace the injured Luis Campusano on the big league roster, but Tirso Ornelas was the team’s biggest contributor for the week. The 24-year-old had 25 plate appearances to Sullivan’s 11 and an OPS of 1.223 as he blasted three home runs to give him eight on the year. After starting the year with a brutal 3-for-34 stretch, Ornelas is back to production similar to the levels he had in Double-A last year before a disappointing first turn in the Pacific Coast League. Overall, he has a 115 wRC+ this season, fueled by a .488 slugging percentage that would be the highest of his career while he continues to post above-average walk and strikeout rates. Now in his eighth year in the organization, Ornelas is finally drawing serious consideration as a potential contributor to the big league club. … Luke Westphal, who returned to the Padres’ organization and El Paso earlier this month after spending last year in the Atlantic League and American Association, then opening this season with the Tijuana Toros, led a solid week for the bullpen. The 35-year-old tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in his two appearances and struck out six. The lefty has logged nearly two-thirds of his professional career in foreign or unaffiliated leagues.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Bryce Johnson, 28, was 5-for-14 with a homer and two stolen bases on the week before getting the call to the Padres on Monday. The switch-hitter signed as a minor league free agent after spending his career with the San Francisco Giants, where he had two brief call-ups in 2022 and 2023. After a slow start to the year, he’s hit .343/.454/.500 since the start of May. The former Sam Houston State Bearkat star can play all three outfield spots andhas 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts on the year. … Kevin Plawecki, 33, also had a solid week, reaching seven times in four games for a .500 on-base percentage and a .955 OPS. … Lake Bachar, 29, and Alek Jacob, 26, two potential bullpen options for the big club, had solid weeks . Bachar appeared in two games, throwing two scoreless innings in each with three punchouts against two walks. He’ll likely need to cut his walk rate before getting his first crack at the majors.  Jacob didn’t allow a run in 3.2 innings with a 4:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Though he’s rebounded from a brutal May, he’s also walked eight over his last 11.2 innings. … Gabe Mosser was again the best of the starters, giving up three runs in six innings, though he wasn’t able to pick up the win. The 28-year-old has turned in three quality starts in four appearances this month. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Lost series at Amarillo Sod Poodles, 2-4)

Top Performers: Brandon Valenzuela, 23, had a strong week, hitting .348 with two home runs and eight hits for a .984 OPS. Missions’ manager Luke Montz has also started to work him into more games at first base to save the switch-hitter’s knees. He’s in the midst of his best month of the season, with a .307/.397/.516 line for June. He has been especially effective against left-handers this season with a .876 OPS as opposed to a .667 OPS against righties. … Austin Krob, 24, had a bad start early in the week, only lasting two innings and giving up seven runs. He returned in the series finale, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out 12 against two walks. Anyone that can do that in the hitter’s funhouse that is Hodgetown has our respect and deserves pitcher of the week recognition.

Top Prospects and Others of Note:  Cole Cummings, 26, continued his solid year with six hits and two home runs in five games. While he has just a.703 OPS overall, it’s at .847 on the road. He’s at exactly league average offensive contribution despite striking out in a third of his plate appearances. … Clay Dungan, 28, had one of his better weeks since being moved to backfill the roster in May. The left-handed hitter from Muncie, Indiana, posted a .910 OPS with two doubles and a home run. A minor league Rule 5 selection, Dungan had a brutal May with a .187 batting average, but has now reached base in 24 straight games. Defensively, he has seen time at five different positions in only 34 games with the Missions. … Except for one mistake, Victor Lizarraga, 20, was also stellar in his start in Amarillo, throwing six and two-thirds shutout innings before allowing a game-tying three-run homer run. He’s holding opponents to a .220 average on the year. … Omar Cruz, 25, the club’s other minor league Rule 5 pickup, has been very good for San Antonio this season with a 3.96 ERA and a strong 51:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 36.1 innings. The lefty from Hermosillo, Mexico, threw three and two-thirds innings in his one appearance this week, allowing only one run and striking out five against a walk. …  Ethan Routzahn, 26, made two appearances in relief, throwing three scoreless innings. Although he walked three, didn’t allow a hit. (John Conniff)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Split series with Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)

Players of the Week:  Lefty Fernando Sanchez held Wisconsin to just one run over seven innings of work to pick up his first High-A win. The 23-year-old, who opened the year in Lake Elsinore, only struck out three, but induced 11 grounders as he matched the TinCaps’ longest start of the year. Joshua Mears pounded out three home runs on the week, including an absolute monster shot to straight-away center to give the TinCaps a walk-off win. The former second-round had eight RBIs, scored five runs, and stole a base on his way to a 1.098 OPS for the week. In typical Mears fashion, he did strike out eight times in 23 trips to the plate.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Before last week, Dylan Lesko had not pitched more than five innings in any start this season. Now he has had back-to-back quality starts. His showing against the Diamondbacks affiliate was not the prettiest, as he allowed three runs on six hits, but he did tie his season high with seven strikeouts. … Henry Baez, buoyed after his interview with MadFriars, turned in his third straight start of at least five innings and only one earned run. He’s posted a 1.98 ERA over his last 22.2 innings with 21 strikeouts against eight walks. … Enmanuel Pinales, the TinCaps’ most effective starter all year, had his first bad outing, allowing four runs over five innings without a strikeout. Coming into the game, Pinales had allowed six runs over his previous 24 innings. … For the first time since coming off the IL, Braden Nett pitched more than an inning.  He went two scoreless innings, walking two but striking out four.  Last year’s AFL breakout performer has thrown 10.2 innings this year while dealing with multiple injuries. … Another week, another four scoreless innings from flamethrowing Bradgley Rodriguez.  He struck out seven in the four innings without walking a batter.

Slowly but surely, the numbers for Ethan Salas are creeping up. He reached base safely in every game, going 6-for-17, with four walks and a double (.888 OPS).  Salas had a six-game hit streak snapped on Sunday, but he walked to keep his on-base streak alive. … After a slow start to the week, Homer Bush Jr. had four hits over the last three games of the series, including his second home run of the year.  He stole four bases on the week to retake the Midwest League lead with 33. He has only been caught once over his last 20 stolen base attempts. …Newly promoted Romeo Sanabria didn’t miss a beat as he joined the TinCaps. He had a hit in each of his three games and went 2-for-2, with 2 RBI and a walk in Sunday’s win. The 22-year-old is hitting .313/.431/.487 overall on the year. … Griffin Doersching went 5-for-14 on the week with two doubles, two walks, and his first stolen base since April 19. After posting a .450 OPS in May, Doersching is hitting a solid .300/.357/.500 in June. … Despite not being placed on the IL, Tyler Robertson appeared in his first game in nearly two weeks.  He went 1-for-3, with a walk run, and RBI.  Before the missed time, Robertson had the best month of his career, with a 1.034 OPS in eight June games. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost series at Visalia Rawhide, 2-4)

Top Performers: It was a mixed bag of results for the Storm. They won the series opener to clinch the first-half title, but the hangover was real, as the Storm lost their next four games before winning the series finale. … Outfielder Nick Vogt won Cal League Player of the Week honors for his efforts against the Rawhide. The former UC Santa Barbara star went 10-for-22 with two doubles, three homers, and a pair of stolen bases. Vogt has been among the best players in the Cal League over the last month, ranking fourth with five homers, and a .329 average that ranks seventh. Overall, Vogt has delivered a 109 wRC+ this season. … Eric Yost turned in another solid outing as the right-hander continues to show improvement in a remarkable June. Yost, 21, threw a career-high seven innings and allowed just four hits, walking one and striking out nine. Yost had a miserable May, pitching to an ERA over eight. However, in three June starts, the Northeastern product has averaged more than six innings per start while posting a microscopic 0.49 ERA. Perhaps more impressively, he’s walked just three batters while striking out 22 in that span.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Catcher/outfielder Jacob Campbell had a nice series, as he added a homer to his ledger while producing a .798 OPS. The former University of Illinois catcher has looked good at the plate, showing power and generally hitting the ball hard. Campbell has four homers over the last 30 days, which ranks in the top 10 in the league…. It was a quiet week for 17-year-old Leo De Vries, as the youngster continues to battle the rigors of professional baseball. De Vries played in five games and hit .143/.250/.190, with a double, three walks, and eight strikeouts. In 17 games this month, De Vries has a .586 OPS. … Infielder Rosman Verdugo put up a decent .724 OPS in five games but struck out 10 times in the series. That continues to be a concern with the young infielder, who has struck out in 30% of his plate appearanceson the year. Despite the punchouts, Verdugo has shown much more strength than last season. … Righty Isaiah Lowe earned the win on Sunday despite not having dominant stuff. Lowe did finish five innings for the fourth consecutive outing and allowed four runs but only two were earned. He walked four and struck out six. In four outings in June, Lowe has a 4-0 record with a 1.52 ERA. … Lefty reliever Javier Chacon pitched well , holding Visalia scoreless over his 4.2 innings of work in two outings. He walked two and struck out four. Chacon, much like Eric Yost, struggled in May but has looked fantastic in June. The 21-year-old lefty out of Havana, Cuba has a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 June innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .178 this month. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Padres 4, ACL White Sox 3 (7 Innings)
2-3 on the week

Key Stats: DH Lamar King Jr. 3-for-4; RF Kashon Conliffe 2-for-3, SB (10); CF Spence Coffman 1-for-4; RHP Jesus Lopez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 K, BB; LHP Ruben Salinas 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 K, WP, Balk

Prospect Watch and Top Performers: Lamar King Jr. collected three hits in the victory to cap a great week at the plate. The 20-year-old went 7-for-12 with a pair of doubles on the week, walking twice and only striking out once. King, who is still recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery, is still looking for his first professional home run, but has pushed his OPS for the year up to .808. … Spence Coffman had a single in four trips to the plate to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The 19th-round pick in 2022 hit .412 for the week with a pair of stolen bases and only struck out once in 19 trips to the plate. … Jesus Lopez bounced back from a rough outing last Tuesday to throw 4.2 innings of one-run ball to set the club up for the win. The 18-year-old fought his command early in the year, but has only issued three walks over his last 11.1 frames. … Yovannki Pascual had the team’s best pitching performance of the week, striking out five and allowing just one earned run over four frames. The lefty has a strong 18:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 15.1 innings. (David Jay)