San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 9

Chihuahuas 7, Oklahoma City Baseball Club 3

Key Statistics: CF Jose Azocar, 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2B, SB (3); LF Tirso Ornelas, 2-for-5, R, RBI; C Kevin Plawecki, 2-for-4, 2 R; SS Mason McCoy, 2-for-3, R, BB, 2 2B, RBI; 1B Grant Pauley 1-for-4, 2B; RHP Gabe Mosser (W, 5-3) 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; LHP Jayvien Sandridge, IP, H, BB, K; RHP Alek Jacob, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Oklahoma City jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning but El Paso scored the final seven runs of the game to win on the road. … Center fielder Jose Azocar had a pair of hits in five at-bats, including a double. He also added his third stolen base in 11 games since joining the Chihuahuas. The 28-year-old has worked mainly as a defensive replacement in the big leagues and despite moving down to the hitter-friendly PCL, is hitting just .250/.277/.341 since his demotion. … Tirso Ornelas had a pair of singles and drove in a run in the victory Tuesday. The multi-hit effort raised Ornelas’ batting average to a season-high mark of .313. He has hit safely in all seven games he’s played in July, putting together a .481/.483/.704 line with two homers and nine RBI. … After allowing three runs in the first inning, Gabe Mosser settled down and shut down Oklahoma City for the next four innings to earn his fifth victory of the season. The 28-year-old allowed three runs on five hits, walking three and striking out four. Mosser has averaged just 6.50 strikeouts per nine innings but has kept the ball in the yard and given the Chihuahuas a chance to win almost every time out. His 5.37 ERA doesn’t look particularly impressive but it is passable for an El Paso starter. The Chihuahuas rank ninth in the 10-team PCL with a 6.40 ERA. … The Chihuahuas bullpen tossed four scoreless innings to lock down the win, with Alek Jacob recording the final four outs. The righty got five whiffs on 12 swings as he struck out a pair. Over his last 12 outings, Jacob has posted a 3.32 ERA.

Missions 6, Amarillo Sod Poodles 5

Key Statistics: SS Ray-Patrick Didder, 1-for-3, R, HR (7), RBI; 2B Connor Hollis, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI; DH Juan Zabala, 3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI; LHP Robby Snelling, 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 7 K; LHP Omar Cruz (W, 5-0) 2.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K; RHP Ethan Routzahn (S, 4) IP, H, R, K

Prospect Watch: The Missions used a three-run seventh to earn a comeback win at home against the Sod Poodles. … Shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder stroked his seventh homer of the season in the victory. He also reached base after being hit by a pitch. Didder carries a team-high .763 OPS this season and his wRC+ of 120 is the 14th-best in the Texas League. He is the only qualified Missions batter in the top 20. … Juan Zabala had three hits, including a pair of doubles. He also drove in a season-high three runs. The 25-year-old has only had plate appearances in three games this month but he has made the most of the opportunity, collecting a pair of three-hit games and going 7-for-12. … Lefty Robby Snelling got the start and allowed a pair of homers in 4.1 innings. On a positive note, his stuff looked much sharper than it has recently and he walked just one batter while punching out seven. Over his last two starts, Snelling has notched 14 strikeouts in 9.1 innings. In his two starts before that, he punched out just two batters in seven innings combined. The 20-year-old lefty has an unsightly 6.14 ERA this season. … Lefty Omar Cruz took over for Snelling and fired 2.2 solid innings to earn his fifth victory of the season. Cruz worked around three walks to allow just one earned run on two hits, as he struck out five. The 25-year-old has struck out 70 batters in 47.2 innings, with a fantastic WHIP of 1.03. Cruz also has a career-best K/9 of 13.22. 

TinCaps 7, Great Lakes Loons 0

Key Statistics: CF Homer Bush Jr., 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB (42); C Ethan Salas, 1-for-4, R, BB, RBI; SS Nik McClaughry, 2-for-4, 2B, R; 1B Romeo Sanabria, 0-for-1, 3 BB, RBI; RHP Enmanuel Pinales (W, 3-6) 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, 2 IP, K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps hit the road and traveled up to Michigan to play the Loons. The TinCaps used three pitchers to deliver a three-hit shutout of the Dodgers’ affiliate. … Homer Bush Jr. continued to be a spark plug at the top of the order, with a pair of singles and two more stolen bases. Bush leads the system with 42 steals. The former Grand Canyon outfielder, who we profiled last week, has produced above-average offense, despite not flashing much power. Bush has punched out in just 14% of his plate appearances to go with a decent 9% walk rate. His .328 slugging percentage leaves a lot to be desired but his combination of speed and defense makes him one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the system. If he can re-tool his swing to generate more power, he has the potential to develop into a big-league regular in the outfield. … Shortstop Nik McClaughry doubled and singled as part of a multi-hit night. The former University of Arizona infielder, drafted in the 10th round last year, came into Tuesday’s game mired in a 4-for-44 slump. The light-hitting infielder is carrying a .540 OPS for the TinCaps this season. … Righty Enmanuel Pinales had another strong outing to earn his third win of the year. The 23-year-old pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He walked one and struck out six. Pinales has not allowed a run in in 12 innings this month and has surrendered just five hits and three walks. The two scoreless outings come on the heels of a clunker against Dayton where he allowed six runs in 3.1 innings. His scoreless effort lowered his ERA to 3.26, good for sixth in the Midwest League. … Righty Bradgley Rodriguez relieved Pinales and fired a pair of scoreless frames, notching one strikeout. The hard-throwing righty has dominated the Midwest League over the last six weeks, after a shaky start. In his first two outings with the TinCaps, Rodriguez allowed five earned runs over 2.1 innings. Since then, the 20-year-old has a 2.01 ERA in 31.1 innings, notching 30 strikeouts in the process. Overall, Midwest League batters are hitting just .200 off him. 

Storm 13, Fresno Grizzlies 5

Key Statistics: SS Leo De Vries, 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB; DH Rosman Verdugo, 4-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI; LF Ryan Wilson, 2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI; 1B Ethan Long, 3-for-5, R, HR (3), 4 RBI; 3B Jose Sanabria, 3-for-5, R; LHP Luis Gutierrez, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Johan Moreno (W, 3-1) 2.1 IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm offense was firing on all cylinders on Tuesday, as the club put up 13 runs on 16 hits to beat up on the Grizzlies at home. Lake Elsinore went 8-for-15 with runners in scoring position. … Leodalis De Vries continued his hot hitting, extending his hitting streak to seven games with a homer in the third inning. He also drew a walk. During his seven-game hitting streak, the 17-year-old shortstop has four multi-hit games. He has also homered in three straight games, including a multi-homer game last Friday. During the seven-game stretch, De Vries has increased his average from .190 to .230. … As hot as De Vries has been, no one in the system has been hotter than Rosman Verdugo. The 19-year-old started at designated hitter on Tuesday and he had four hits, including a pair of doubles. Verdugo is now hitting an absurd .591/.630/1.091 with five doubles and two homers in July. While the power is certainly encouraging, Verdugo has struck out just four times in 25 plate appearances this month. Verdugo was second in the Cal League last season with 31 doubles; this season he is tied for sixth in the league with 16 two-baggers. Verdugo’s hot streak has raised his OPS to .797. … Ethan Long had three hits, including his third homer of the season. The 23-year-old first baseman has taken advantage of increased playing time since Romeo Sanabria’s promotion to Fort Wayne and now has a .917 OPS this month. The former freshman All-American at Arizona State has a .809 OPS with the Storm this season. We had a Q&A with Long last week that discussed his rather unique journey to professional baseball. 

ACL White Sox 10, ACL Padres 6 (7 innings)

Key Statistics: B.Y. Choi, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB’ LF L.J. Jones, 2-for-4, R, 2B; DH Lamar King Jr., 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB; RHP Carl Edwards Jr. (L, 0-1) 2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, K

Prospect Watch: The ACL Padres struggled to prevent runs on Tuesday, giving up 10 in a seven-inning loss in Peoria. The temperature at first pitch was a balmy 114 degrees. … Shortstop B.Y. Choi had a pair of hits and drew a walk in four plate appearances. The 22-year-old was the Padres’ 20th-round pick last year out of the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. The 6-foot-3 shortstop has shown a nice balance of power and speed while handling most of the reps in the desert this summer. After striking out in 27% of his plate appearances in the season’s first month, he’s cut that to to just 17% over the last 28 games. Overall, Choi has produced a .835 OPS. … L.J. Jones had two more hits, as the former Long Beach State star has made the ACL his playground. The 25-year-old outfielder has an OPS north of 1.300 since signing with the Padres last month. He was originally ticketed for a quick promotion to help in San Antonio, but missed two weeks with an injury. The former Cardinal and San Diego native will head out at some point soon once he’s ready. … Righty Carl Edwards Jr. made his second tuneup start in the desert, but this one did not go as smoothly as the first. The former big leaguer threw 2.2 innings and was charged with seven runs, though just three earned. He walked two and struck out one. The veteran seems likely to join the Triple-A roster once he shakes off the rust in the desert.