Sugar Land Space Cowboys 6, Chihuahuas 4 (10 innings)
Alek Jacob has been mowing down PCL hitters. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Key Stats: 3B Eguy Rosario 1-for-2, 3 BB, 2 SB (8); LF/CF Jose Azocar 2-for-4, HR (1), BB, CS (3); RHP Nabil Crismatt 2 IP, 2 H, 4 K, 2 BB; LHP Omar Cruz 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K, 3 BB; LHP Alek Jacob 1.1 IP, 4 K, BB
Prospect Watch: Sugar Land put up a three-spot in the 10th inning to take their third straight at Southwest University Park. Nabil Crismatt tossed two scoreless innings as the opener on a bullpen day, striking out four while allowing as many baserunners. The veteran Colombian is with his third PCL affiliate of the year. … Righty Alek Jacob continued a month-long stretch of exceptional performance, striking out four of the five batters he faced. The 26-year-old, who got pounded early as he worked back from an elbow injury that ended his 2023 campaign, has given up just two runs over his last 15.2 innings. The sidearmer worked over the Space Cowboys, who took nine called strikes among his 20 pitches. It shouldn’t be a surprise if Jacob, who can go multiple innings, gets another look in San Diego soon. … Eguy Rosario, back at third base in this one, reached base four times and swiped a pair of bases out of the leadoff spot. The 24-year-old, who finally exhausted his rookie eligibility earlier this season, finished the series 6-for-11 with four walks, pushing his OPS for the year up to 1.039. As a player who will offer six years of control, he could be part of a trade package if the Padres look to add to the big league roster over the next week.
Arkansas Travelers 4, Missions 3
Key Stats: LF Cole Cummings 1-for-4, HR (8); 2B Michael De La Cruz 2-for-4, 2B; C Juan Zabala 1-for-4, HR (2); RHP Jared Kollar 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K, BB; LHP Ryan Och 1.1 IP, 3 K; RHP Francis Pena IP, K; RHP Ethan Routzahn 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, BB
Francis Pena gets big extension on the mound. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: The Missions made a first-inning lead hold up until the ninth, when Arkansas rallied for a walk-off win. Ethan Routzahn, who has been stellar over the last two months to take over as the club’s closer, gave up a leadoff walk before top Mariners prospect Harry Ford doubled in the tying run. After a bunt moved Ford to third, a sacrifice fly pushed him across to give the Travelers the sweep in the three-game series. Routzahn, whose low three-quarters delivery makes him an especially difficult matchup for righties, owns a 2.52 ERA out of the San Antonio bullpen. … The late rally cost Jared Kollar another victory, but the 25-year-old turned in another strong outing. Kollar struck out nine while allowing just two runs over 5.2 innings. Over his last five starts, the 2022 undrafted free agent owns a 1.17 ERA with a 26:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 30 innings. While he doesn’t overpower batters, his extreme over-the-top delivery generates a lot of weak contact. After a four-year career at Division-II Seaton Hill University, the Pennsylvania native took advantage of COVID eligibility for a graduate year at Rutgers, where he showed he could handle more advanced competition to earn an opportunity as a professional. His performance over two seasons has opened the possibility of a big league role at some point. … Relievers Ryan Och and Francis Pena blanked the Travelers for 2.1 frames. Och struck out the side in the seventh inning, and has now punched out 16 in 9.1 innings since joining the Missions. The 26-year-old missed all of last year after Tommy John surgery, but has shown some of the system’s best swing-and-miss stuff from the left side this season. Pena, who didn’t get his first professional contract until he was 21, lowered his Texas League ERA to 1.35 with a scoreless frame. The lanky righty has posted a remarkable 24:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 20 frames while holding opponents to a .205 average.
Lake County Captains 6, TinCaps 3
Griffin Doersching rarely gets cheated on his swing. (Photo: Fort Wayne TinCaps)
Key Stats: 1B Griffin Doersching 2-for-2, 2 2B, 2 BB; RHP Henry Baez 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K, BB; RHP Sam Whiting 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, HBP; RHP Jackson Smeltz 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K, BB
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps dropped their third straight coming out of the All-Star break, falling into the cellar of the division for the season’s second half. The club managed just three hits in the game. Two of them came off the powerful bat of Griffin Doersching, who pounded a pair of RBI doubles and also drew two walks. The massive first baseman has been chasing much less over the last month, striking out just eight times in 58 trips to the plate while drawing 11 walks. That’s a big turn-around for the 25-year-old, who had a 30.1% K rate through the first two and a half months of the season. … Henry Baez flew through the first four innings on just 49 pitches as he allowed just one single. But after collecting his second strikeout of the game to open the fifth, he gave up a single and then a two-run shot to finish his day. The 21-year-old is holding Midwest League hitters to a .201 average, best among qualifiers. … Righty Jackson Smeltz had his first rough outing as a professional, allowing a pair of runs on three hits and a walk while recording only two outs. The Indiana native had completely shut down High-A hitters through his first six appearances after joining the TinCaps, allowing just four singles while striking out 14. The 25-year-old has battled significant health and injury issues going back to high school, but his high-octane arsenal makes him a name to watch over the next year.
Storm 9, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2
Key Stats: DH Leo De Vries 1-for-5, HR (7), 2 K; 2B Rosman Verdugo 1-for-4, BB, 2 K; 1B Ethan Long 0-for-1, 4 BB; RF Jacob Campbell 2-for-5, 2B; 3B Jose Sanabria 3-for-5; RHP Isaiah Lowe 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K, 2 BB, WP; RHP Johan Moreno 2 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Maikel Miralles IP, K
Leo De Vries has the ability to get to pitches around the zone. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: The Storm used a five-run seventh inning to blow this one open and claim yet another series victory over the Dodgers’ Cal League affiliate. The big blast once again belonged to Leo De Vries, who connected a a three-run homer to deep left-center from the right side after Rancho brought in a left-hander who allowed him to turn around. De Vries has been on fire this month, clubbing six homers in 14 games on his way to a .293/.406/.655 line, with five stolen bases for good measure. The 17-year-old has hit five of his seven round-trippers against southpaws this year, but has made better swing decisions from the left side. … Jose Sanabria collected his second three-hit game of the month. The light-hitting 21-year-old out of Venezuela has started about half the club’s games at second base and seen some action at both third and right field. Signed late in the 2022 season, Sanabria came stateside to the ACL last summer before finishing the year with Lake Elsinore. He’s collected only nine extra-base hits in 233 trips to the plate this year. … Isaiah Lowe wasn’t especially sharp as he worked a two-inning tune-up at the end of minor league baseball’s shortened week. The hard-throwing righty landed only 20 of 41 pitches for strikes, issuing a pair of walks and a wild pitch. Lowe’s 30.5% strikeout rate on the year is second on the circuit among pitchers who’ve thrown as many innings as he has and opponents’ .214 average is fourth. … Righty Johan Moreno was the first of five relievers to follow Lowe as the club tried to get all pitchers some work this week, and the 21-year-old made quick work of the Rancho lineup. Moreno punched out three in two innings, tossing 16 of his 24 pitches for strikes. Since joining the Storm at the end of last month for his first taste of full-season ball, Moreno has given up 15 walks in 19.2 innings, but Sunday he didn’t issue a free pass.
