Chihuahuas 7, Las Vegas Aviators 6
Key Stats: 1B Trenton Brooks 2-for-4, HR (4), 2B, 2 R; C Luis Campusano 2-for-4, 2 R; DH Yonathan Perlaza 1-for-3, BB; CF Tyler Wade 2-for-5, SB (2); RHP Jared Kollar 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K, 2 BB; LHP Omar Cruz 2 IP, 3 K, BB; RHP Reiss Knehr IP, K, BB
Trenton Brooks has had a monster start to the year for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso secured a win in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a walk-off home run from Trenton Brooks. For Brooks, 2025 has gotten off to a dream start, as he’s posted a .479 wOBA with a system-best four home runs. Brooks has done an exceptional job of taking advantage of the PCL thanks to his 96th percentile pulled fly ball rate of 54.5%. While Brooks has great results, the batted ball data isn’t what you would call eye-popping. His Max EV is 102.7 and his hard-hit rate stands at just 33%. … Luis Campusano raised his OPS to .941 with a two-hit night. The catcher has been had loud contact, posting a 52.2% hard-hit rate, a 13% barrel rate that puts him in the 88th percentile, and an average exit velocity of 94.4 MPH. Campusano’s hasn’t compromised his approach to get the excellent batted ball data, his plate discipline numbers remain rock solid. He’s walked in 17.6% of his plate appearances and has a 12.5% chase rate that sits in the PCL’s 96th percentile. … Working out of the bullpen, Omar Cruz yet against flashed plus stuff, firing two scoreless innings and punching out three. Cruz broke out a legitimate 60-grade curveball for his strikeout to end the top of the fifth, with it drawing an eye-popping -17.2” iVB at 77 MPH. The 26-year-old lefty continued to get great results with his changeup, which drew a 50% whiff rate with 12.4” of armside movement. … Tirso Ornelas took a fastball to the ribs in the fifth inning. He remained in the game initially, but after going first-to-third on a single, exited the game. We’ll monitor the situation for udpates.
San Antonio Missions 4, Corpus Christi Hooks 3
Key Stats: 3B/2B Marcos Castañon 4-for-4, 2B, RBI; DH Ethan Salas 0-for-3, BB; LHP Jagger Haynes 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 3 BB; RHP Carter Loewen 2 IP, 2 K; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos 3 IP, 3 K, 2 BB; RHP Manuel Castro 2 IP, 3 K
Jagger Haynes works to dial in his command. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: The San Antonio Missions rallied late for the second night in a row, claiming a 4-3 win in 10 innings over Corpus Christi. After he hit a clinching homer on Wednesday, the game winning RBI in this one came courtesy of an an RBI groundout off the bat of Romeo Sanabria to score Devin Ortiz. … It was another mixed bag start for Jagger Haynes as he went three innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks, while punching out four. The left-hander once again struggled to find the zone, with 46% of his offerings being called balls, which included two wild pitches that allowed runners to score. On the other hand, Haynes showed plus stuff yet again, registering eight whiffs on 20 swings. Haynes also induced a critical double play ball in the bottom of the second to escape a bases-loaded jam. Getting more consistent command of the zone is paramount for Haynes moving forward. … After a three-hit performance Wednesday, Ethan Salas cooled off with an 0-for-3 day at the dish. Still, as he often does, Salas drew a walk in the second and eventually came around to score on a passed ball. …UC Santa Barbara and former 12th round selection Marcos Castañon remained one of the hottest hitters in the Texas League, going 4-for-4 to raise his OPS to a cool 1.241 on the year to go with a 148 wRC+. The 2021 twelfth-rounder posted a .688 mark for San Antonio last year.
Dayton Dragons 5, TinCaps 1
Key Stats: 3B Rosman Verdugo 2-for-4, 2 2B; SS Brandon Butterworth 1-for-4, RBI; LF Braedon Karpathios 1-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Jose Reyes 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 K, 2 BB; RHP Nick Wissman 1.1 IP, 3 K
Rosman Verdugo squares one up in the Spring Breakout game. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: It was a quiet night for the TinCaps offense on Thursday night, as they mustered just one run on four hits. The lone RBI came courtesy of last year’s twelfth round pick and NC State alum Brandon Butterworth, who continues to hit well early in the season, posting a .859 OPS through six games. … Braedon Karpathios appears to be picking up where he left off to end 2024. After making some swing adjustments mid-year, Karpathios posted a 146 wRC+ .429 wOBA, .173 ISO and 18.1% walk rate over the final two months of the year in Lake Elsinore. His increased aggressivemess at the dish has persisted in 2025. He has walked five times in his first 20 plate appearances while striking out only three times. His wRC+ sits at 169 to start the year thanks to a pair of extra-base hits, one of which was a triple at 105 mph on Wednesday. … Nick Wissman put together an impressive third outing of the year, punching out three hitters in 1.1 innings of work as he returned to the city where he went to college. High strikeout numbers should not be expected, though. The 6-foot-1 Wissman’s game hinges on command and deception. His extremely low arm slot and plus armside run should allow him to maintain a groundball rate that sits north of 60%. … Rosman Verdugo put together his most impressive offensive game of the season, and arguably his best since joining the TinCaps late last year, going 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles. To keep climbing the San Diego system, Verdugo needs to make more contact and improve swing decisions. The teenager has demonstrated the ability to draw a walk, posting a 13.1% walk rate last season. However, dating back to last season, he has punched out north of 30% of the time in a TinCaps jersey.
Modesto Nuts 18, Storm 4
Key Stats: LHP Boston Bateman, 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 K, 3 BB; DH Sean Barnett 1-for-3, BB, RBI; 3B Zach Evans 1-for-3, RBI; 1B Kaden Hollow 2-for-4
Boston Bateman delivers in his first professional start. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: For a third straight night, Modesto topped the Storm, this time in a lopsided 18-4 contest. Boston Bateman made his professional pitching debut. The big lefty went 3.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks while fanning four. Bateman registered five whiffs on 21 swings (23.8%) with a fastball that sat 94-95 and topped out at 97 on the night. The pitch averaged around 14 inches of iVB. with around five to six inches of run while averaging around 2270 RPMs from a low release slot. Ideally, you’d like to see Bateman get closer to the 14”-16” iVB average among major-league arms. Bateman also ran his sinker up into the mid-90s, with it topping out at 96.7 MPH. He averaged 10 to 12 inches of horizontal break with it, using it to get his first career strikeout. … Sean Barnett continues to make loud contact with Lake Elsinore. In his first at-bat, he laced an RBI single that registered an exit velocity over 100 mph for the third straight day. The Wingate University alum has always flashed power, setting a school record with 26 homers in his final college season. The question with Barnett boils down to his swing decisions. If he can limit strikeouts and make better contact in the zone, his power and plus arm can give him a shot to stick in the OF. While he was drafted as a two-way player, has yet to get on the mound this season. He’s expected to be on the mound working in relief by the early summer.
