San Diego Padres Week in Review: July 9 through July 15

El Paso Chihuahuas (split series at Albuquerque Isotopes)

Players of the Week: Righty Jhony Brito delivered five scoreless innings in his start in one of the game’s most offense-friendly settings in Albuquerque. The 26-year-old, who was sent out from the big league staff to stretch out as a starter, struck out five without issuing a walk and gave up only three hits. The organization would be thrilled to see him get a few more strong outings under his belt to prepare for a return to San Diego. … El Paso doesn’t normally rely on Mason McCoy for his offense, but the sure-handed shortstop had a strong week against the Isotopes, hitting .357/.471/.571 in four games on the road. The 29-year-old, in his fourth year of Triple-A in four different organizations, is hitting .231 on the year.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Tirso Ornelas had another strong week at the plate, batting .381 across five starts, though he did strike out seven times. The left fielder is as well-positioned for his first big league opportunity as he ever has been. … Eguy Rosario had a rough week batting while experimenting with playing the outfield. Rosario was just 2-for-19, though he scored four runs as he had four walks to contribute at the plate. … Graham Pauley is slowly bouncing back from a nightmarish June, posting a .794 OPS for the week. … Carl Edwards Jr. joined the El Paso staff this week and tossed 3.1 innings of one-run ball as he works back into shape. The long-time veteran, now in his second stint with the organization, was released by the Cubs earlier this season. … Lefty Omar Cruz earned his first promotion to Triple-A and tossed two scoreless innings in his first appearance. The 25-year-old, who the Padres selected in the minor league phase of last winter’s Rule 5 draft, struck out three. He fanned 35.4% of the batters he faced for San Antonio this year.

San Antonio Missions (split series vs. Amarillo Sod Poodles)

Players of the Week: Jared Kollar threw seven innings of shutout ball on Friday, allowing just six hits and two walks in the game. It was his second scoreless outing in his last three starts and his longest appearance as a professional. The 25-year-old lowered his ERA to 3.03 for the year, which is is by far the best on the Missions and ranks third in the Texas League. The right-hander, who signed as an undrafted senior out of Rutgers in 2022 is also tied for first in the league with nine wins. … The Missions offense was held in check for most of the week, averaging just three runs a game. Robbie Tenerowicz paced the club, hitting .278/.480/.389 for the week. His line was boosted by getting hit by five pitches in the series and collecting a pair of doubles. Since he was released by the Mariners organization and signed with the Padres, he’s been the Missions’ most consistent offensive performer.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: 2022 supplemental first-round pick Robby Snelling struck out seven over 4.1 innings, but allowed three earned runs on six hits. The top Padres prospect did appear in the Futures Game on Sunday.  He came on with the bases loaded and two out and induced a popup from the only batter he faced to end the inning.  … Hard-throwing reliever Francis Pena remains a name to hold onto for a possible late-season callup.  The 23-year-old, who has only been pitching stateside since last year, can hit 98 mph and has a 1.13 ERA in 40 innings across High-A and Double-A this year. He appeared in three games for the week, allowing just two hits and striking out five over 3.1 innings. He picked up his first Double-A save pitching the final two innings of a 1-0 game on Friday. … On June 18, Austin Krob allowed seven runs in two innings.  Since then, he has a 1.88 ERA over four starts, striking out 35 in 24 innings.  That includes allowing two runs over six innings this week while striking out a season-best ten batters. The lefty from TCU leads the team with 76 strikeouts.  … Back on the mound for the first time in a month, Ryan Bergert allowed two runs on two hits in an inning of work.  It’s been a tough year for the 24-year-old, who is currently sporting a 6.49 ERA after having a stellar 2.73 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 105 innings last year. … Miguel Cienfuegos threw seven innings of three-run ball, striking out a career-high ten batters. The 27-year-old has walked one and struck out 15 in two Double-A outings. … After hitting his eighth home run of the season in the second game of the series, Brandon Valenzuela went hitless the rest of the week.  After a really strong June (.924 OPS), he is hitting .143/.318/.229 in July. … Marcos Castañon finished the week with four hits in his last four games, including a home run.  Castañon has three home runs in the last two weeks logging just four in the first three months of the season. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won at Great Lakes Loons 4-2)

Players of the Week: Pitcher of the Week is an easy call when there’s a no hitter. After carrying a perfect game through six innings, Henry Baez allowed just one walk over seven hitless innings. It was his second consecutive start without allowing an earned run. Baez has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his last six starts, posting a 1.04 ERA in while averaging nearly six innings per outing. The 21-year-old’s 2.88 ERA ranks third in the MWL. …  Nerwilian Cedeño broke out of his season-long slump with a .333/.429/.583 line across four games against the Dodgers’ affiliate. The 22-year-old switch-hitter has struggled through his first healthy season, posting just a .613 OPS even as he’s already played in a career-high 72 games. Cedeño homered to clinch the TinCaps’ victory on Sunday and drove in five on the week. He’ll look to get on track in the second half of the season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note:  If it weren’t for a no-hitter, Enmanuel Pinales would have been the pitcher of the week.  Pinales tossed six innings of shutout ball on Tuesday, then came out of the bullpen on Sunday to throw two more. For the week, he allowed seven baserunners and struck out seven. The 23-year-old Pinales was a sleeper prospect coming into the year, but after another spectacular week is firmly on the radar.  His 3.16 ERA is fifth in the MWL, and the .207 average he’s allowing is fourth. … Dylan Lesko tied his career high with nine strikeouts over five innings.  While he did allow three earned runs, it only came on three hits.  Lesko has struggled repeatedly to find the strike zone (6.58 BB/9), but hitters are hitting .218 off him this year. … Jagger Haynes allowed four runs in a start for the first time since April. It was his first time allowing multiple home runs, and he walked four as he struggled to find the strike zone with his fastball.  Entering the game, Haynes had allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his previous 10 starts…. Braden Nett was roughed up for the first time in a month.  He allowed four runs (three earned) over 2.1 innings, striking out three.  Nett is still showing easy gas with a mid to upper-90s fastball, but it is catching too much of the plate and being hit hard. … Hard-throwing reliever Bradgley Rodriguez pitched 3.1 hitless innings this week, striking out three.  The 20-year-old has allowed two earned runs over the last month (15.1 innings). … Three weeks since being activated off the IL and sent to Fort Wayne, Jackson Smeltz has yet to allow a run.  He pitched 2.2 perfect innings this week, striking out two. In 9.2 frames with the TinCaps, the Indiana native has a 0 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and a 13 K/9.

Ethan Salas got into three games before departing for the Futures Game.  He went 2-for-10 on the week with a double, walk, and stolen base.  At the Futures Game, Salas started, went 1-for-2 and scored a run. … It was a tough week for Homer Bush Jr.  The 22-year-old had two hits, a walk, two stolen bases, and two runs in the series’ first game. Then went 3-for-13 the rest of the series. Bush has never gone more than seven games without stealing a base, the streak is currently at five.  His 42 stolen bases rank first in the Padres’ system. … Romeo Sanabria had his first bad week of the season. Even going only 2-for-15 on the week, he still walked six times, giving him a .381 on-base percentage.  A month since his promotion, Sanabria is hitting .284/.390/.343 with the TinCaps. …  It took 27 games, but for the first time in High-A in 2024 Joshua Mears got through a contest without a strikeout. The big outfielder homered, tripled, scored four runs, walked twice, and stole a base on the week.  Even with that breakout, Mears is hitting .172/.248/.344 on the season.(Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Defeated Fresno Grizzlies, 4-2)

Top Performers: The Storm won their series at home against Fresno to enter the All-Star break with an 11-10 second-half record. They won the first-half title and will have home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Lake Elsinore resumes play on Friday with three games in Rancho Cucamonga. … There is no player in the system hotter than Rosman Verdugo right now. The infielder dominated Fresno pitching, hitting .462/.500/.654 with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI, which actually constitutes a drop-off from his last few weeks. The 19-year-old has an incredible 1.354 OPS this month and a ridiculous wRC+ of 250. He has been able to make more contact this month, reducing his K-rate to a passable 20%, after being above 30% for most of the year. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see Verdugo promoted to Fort Wayne in the post-draft shuffle. … Miguel Mendez turned in a solid outing on Saturday, pitching five shutout innings in a game the Storm won, 2-1. In his five innings of work, Mendez allowed just four hits. He walked one and struck out six. In his two July starts, Mendez has looked much sharper and has greatly reduced his walks. In 17.2 June innings, the 22-year-old walked 15 batters. In 11 innings this month, he’s walked just three. The 6-foot-2 righty can reach the upper 90s with his heater. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Ethan Long beat up on Grizzlies pitching in the five games he played. In 16 plate appearances, the ASU alum hit .571/.588/.929 with two doubles, a homer, and 11 RBI. The 23-year-old slugger has battled injuries throughout his career but has shown impressive power with the Storm this season. In 28 games, he has seven doubles, three homers and 26 RBI. At 31%, his strikeout rate is too high, but he’s produced a fantastic wRC+ of 132. … After an impressive hot streak recently, 17-year-old Leo De Vries cooled off a bit this week. He hit .174/.321/.348 with a homer and a double in six games. Despite the slow week, De Vries has produced league-average offense since joining the Storm. … RIghty Ian Koenig turned in his best outing of the season Friday, firing four shutout innings. The 23-year-old allowed just one hit and struck out five in the process. The San Jose native is making his way back from Tommy John surgery and has been working as a starter, albeit in abbreviated outings. He has an 8.66 ERA with the Storm this season. … Lefty Javier Chacon made a pair of scoreless two-inning appearances out of the bullpen for the Storm in the series. The 21-year-old Cuban has struck out 65 in 50.1 innings on the year. Over his last 10 appearances, Chacon owns a 1.19 ERA, though he continues to struggle with command. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Rockies 3, ACL Padres 2 (7 innings)

Key Stats: 2B Lucas Dunn 2-for-3, 2B, BB; 1B L.J. Jones 1-for-3, 2B; LHP Adler Cecil 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, BB; RHP Langston Burkett 2 IP, H, 2 K, 2 BB

Prospect Watch and Top Performers: With the ACL the only level playing in the first half of All-Star week, Lucas Dunn and L.J. Jones are still in the desert, much to the chagrin of their younger competition. Dunn had a pair of hits and a walk on Monday and now has an .893 OPS in seven games on his rehab assignment. The 25-year-old utility man should be back to Fort Wayne at the end of the week. Jones, meanwhile, collected his eighth double in 21 games in the desert since signing a free agent deal. He’s been on-and-off the field with nagging injuries, but is hitting .443/.480/.771 in his tune-up assignment. He should also be on a plane Thursday. … Temecula product Adler Cecil tossed a pair of scoreless innings to open Monday’s game. The 19-year-old lefty hasn’t gone more than two innings in an outing yet, but last year’s 19th-round selection has dropped his ERA to 3.24 across his last seven appearances. … Big righty Langston Burkett also threw two scoreless frames as he struck out two. The 19-year-old, who signed as an undrafted free agent last year rather than going to San Jose State, has struggled with a sore arm all summer, but has been solid since returning to action earlier this month. The 6-foot-6 hurler will look to get further dialed in over the final few weeks of ACL play.