San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 5

Albuquerque Isotopes 12, Chihuahuas 7

Key Statistics: LHP Luke Westphal, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Kevin Kopps, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K;  RHP Lake Bachar 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, K, 2 BB; 3B Matthew Batten, 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R; 2B Xander Bogaerts, 0-for-3, K; 2B Graham Pauley 1-for-2; DH Tirso Ornelas 1-for-3, BB

Prospect Watch: A combination of up-and-down pitching performances and an offense which lacked slug doomed the Chihuahuas, who fell to the Isotopes 12-7. El Paso got three solid innings of work from Luke Westphal, who made his second start since returning to the Chihuahuas, where he previously played in 2022. The 35-year-old lefty improved vastly on his first start, in which he allowed six runs and failed to escape the second inning on June 15. … Kevin Kopps walked four batters and allowed a run, but stranded the inherited runner and struck out a pair of batters in two-plus innings. Command and control remain the issue for Kopps, who owns a 6.05 ERA and has walked 30 batters while striking out 29 in 38.2 innings. … Matthew Batten went 2-for-5 with a double and scored a pair of runs in the leadoff spot. The 29-year-old utility player is slashing .333/.429/.542 in 24 at-bats when batting at the top of the order for El Paso. … A rehabbing Xander Bogaerts got the start at second base, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. The veteran infielder is trying to return to the Padres before the All-Star break. He has a single, walk, and two strikeouts in seven trips to the plate so far. … Graham Pauley came on at second when Bogaerts gave way and had a hit in two at-bats. The 23-year-old has taken much better at-bats over the last week and is beginning to show signs of breaking out of the extended slump he’s been in for El Paso.

Missions 4, Corpus Christi Hooks 2

Key Statistics: RHP Jared Kollar (W, 8-3), 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 K; RHP Bobby Milacki (H, 4) 3 IP, 1 BB, 3 K; 3B Marcos Castañon, 2-for-4, HR (6), 2 RBI; 1B Brandon Valenzuela, 1-for-4, BB

Prospect Watch: The Missions extended their winning streak to six games thanks in part to a solid start from Jared Kollar, and an offense that was aided by seven hit batters. Kollar picked up his eighth win of the season with five innings of two-run ball despite recording only one strikeout as he once again racked up twice as many grounders as balls in the air. A 25-year-old Rutgers product, Kollar has put together a 2024 season that makes him a dark horse candidate in the Padres system, posting a 3.33 ERA and walking only 5.1% of the batters he’s faced in 70.1 innings for the Missions. … Bobby Milacki has already enjoyed one promotion to Triple-A El Paso in the 2024 season, and the Missions righty is making his case to be considered again should the Chihuahuas need additional bullpen help this summer. The 27-year-old picked up a hold with three no-hit innings striking out three batters. In 37 innings for San Antonio, Milacki has posted a 2.68 ERA and struck out 31 while walking seven. … The offense was paced by Marcos Castañon, who had the Missions’ only multi-hit game in addition to the only home run of the evening. The 25-year-old UC Santa Barbara product has homered in back-to-back games after sitting for five straight games. He’d had two round-trippers in his previous 34 games. … Taking a day to rest his legs at first base, Brandon Valenzuela went 1-for-4 with a walk to extend his on-base streak to 26 games. The 23-year-old backstop slashed .310/.384/.540 in 87 at-bats as the Texas League Player of the Month, and is picking up right where he left off in the early going of July.

Lansing Lugnuts 9, TinCaps 3

Key Statistics: RHP Henry Baez (L, 1-3), 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER), 10K; RHP Manuel Castro, 1 IP, H, BB, K; 3B Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R; SS Jay Beshears, 1-for-4, 2B;

Prospect Watch: What’s a guy gotta do to get a win around here? Henry Baez struck out a career-high 10 batters in only five innings of work and did not allow an earned run (or a walk) on four hits. Unfortunately, two unearned runs crossed the plate during his sublime outing and the righty was charged with one of the hardest-luck losses of the year. The 21-year-old Baez has given up only four earned runs over 27.2 innings in his last five outings, with a strong 30:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That’s dropped his ERA to 3.18 on the year, good for third on the circuit. His 72 strikeouts have climbed into the top 10 in the Midwest League as well. … After the game got away from the TinCaps in the middle innings, Manuel Castro contributed a scoreless inning of relief, allowing one hit and walking one while striking out one. The Mexico native is 1-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 33.2 innings of work in 2024. … Devin Ortiz logged his second consecutive two-hit game to extend his hitting streak to four games. The 25-year-old infielder, who had a double and scored a pair of runs, is looking to rebound from an ice-cold June when he managed just a .450 OPS. … Jay Beshears went 1-for-4 and roped a double. The 22-year-old Duke product continues a solid first full year in pro ball, batting .271 with a .781 OPS in 262 at-bats split between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne.

66ers 6, Storm 5

Key Statistics: RHP Ian Koenig (L, 0-2), 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; RHP Miguel Mendez, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K; DH Rosman Verdugo, 2-for-3, 2B, RBI; SS Leodalis De Vries, 3-for-4, 2B, 2 HR (3), 4 R, BB, SB (8)

Prospect Watch: Don’t look now, but Leo De Vries has seized the spotlight in the dynamic way the organization has been waiting for. The Padres’ number four prospect in our updated Top 20 roped a double and homered from both sides of the plate, showing the power and electric flair (check out the bat flip) that San Diego had anticipated when making the shortstop the prize catch of the international signing class. The switch-hitting Dominican prospect had a slow start to the season compounded by a minor shoulder injury, but he’s heating up. Over his last five contests, the 17-year-old is 9-for-21 with four walks and 17 total bases, raising his OPS on the year by 85 points. … It was a tale of two pitchers for the Storm, who watched Ian Koenig take the loss after allowing five earned runs in two innings in his sixth start since coming off the IL. It’s been a struggle in Lake Elsinore for the righty, who owns an 11.20 ERA in 13.2 innings of work. … Koenig was followed by Miguel Mendez, who kept the Storm in the game with six stellar innings to bring Lake Elsinore all the way to the finish with eight strikeouts. The hard-throwing righty has struggled badly with his command through much of the year, walking 30 in his first 29.2 frames. But he’s dialed in his upper-90s fastball more consistently in the last two appearances, yielding a 14:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 innings as he’s made his first two outings of five innings on the year.  … De Vries isn’t the only teenage infielder off to a blistering start to the month. Rosman Verdugo went 2-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly is slashing .600/.632/1.200 in his first four games of July. Encouragingly, after his strikeout rate hovered over 30% for much of the year, he’s struck out just twice in his last 23 plate appearances.