There were a few wild games in the system Tuesday night, including a truly memorable performance from Leo De Vries in Fort Wayne that capped an incredible comeback by the TinCaps.
Chihuahuas 3, Sacramento River Cats 0
Key Statistics: CF Bryce Johnson, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), RBI; RF Yonathan Perlaza, 2-for-4, 2B; 1B Nate Mondou, 2-for-4; RHP Jared Kollar (W, 1-2) 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Sean Reynolds, IP, BB, K; RHP Reiss Knehr (S, 3) IP, K
Yonathan Perlaza at the plate. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: Five El Paso pitchers combined to shut out Sacramento’s other baseball team Tuesday night. The game was played in a crisp two hours and 15 minutes. … Center fielder Bryce Johnson had a pair of hits, including his first homer of the season. Johnson, 29, opened the season in Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pirates organization, where he went 2-for-25 in 10 games. Since re-joining the Chihuahuas via trade last week, the veteran outfielder has seven hits in 18 at-bats. Johnson has appeared in the big leagues in each of the last three seasons including a career-high 47 games for the Padres last year. … Right fielder Yonathan Perlaza continues to hammer PCL pitching, as the former Cubs farmhand had two more hits, including a double. Perlaza’s multi-hit effort extending his hitting streak to 14 games, and he’s hit safely in 17 of the 18 games he’s played this season. Perlaza is ranked second in the PCL with a .375 batting average. The outfielder has just one home run this season, but he is tied for second on the circuit with ten doubles. … Righty Jared Kollar pitched five scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season. The former Rutgers starter sat in the high 80s with his 4-seam and cut fastball. The scoreless outing lowered Kollar’s season ERA to 7.32. Kollar doesn’t miss bats – he had just two whiffs in five innings. But, as is typical, only four of the 15 balls put in play against him were above 90 mph off the bat. He’s struck out only six batters in 19.2 innings this season and has not struck out more than two batters in any outing. … Righty Sean Reynolds made his first rehab appearance for El Paso and tossed a scoreless inning, walking a batter and striking out one. Reynolds sat at 94 mph with his fastball, touching 96 a few times. Reynolds figures to get a few more outings in El Paso before becoming an option for the big league bullpen. … Righty Reiss Knehr pitched the final inning, nailing down his third save. Knehr has thrown the ball well after missing all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. The former Fordham hurler has put up zeroes in six of seven outings this season, with only a three-run out accounting for his 4.05 ERA. In 6.2 innings, Knehr has struck out 10, and his WHIP is below 1.00. ERA is far from the most important pitching statistic in the PCL, but Knehr consistently putting up zeroes is mighty impressive.
Roster Move: With Mason McCoy providing depth in the middle infield for the Padres, utilityman Ripken Reyes was activated and sent to El Paso.
Amarillo Sod Poodles 15, Missions 4
Key Statistics: 1B Romeo Sanabria, 1-for-4; 3B Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, R; SS Francisco Acuña, 2-for-4, R, HR (2), 4 RBI; LHP Jagger Haynes (L, 1-1) 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP David Morgan, 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, 0.2 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Francisco Acuña serves as a spark at the top of the lineup. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: The Missions took the lead in the second inning on a grand slam from Francisco Acuña. However, Amarillo then answered with five of their own in the second on the way to posting 15 unanswered runs to bury the Missions. Missions’ pitching allowed five homers. … Organizational newcomer Acuña was the totality of the San Antonio offense with his second-inning grand slam. It was the second consecutive game in which Acuña has homered. The former Pirate farmhand spent seven years in the Pittsburgh organization, never amassing more than 260 plate appearances in a season. He has an ample opportunity to surpass those numbers with the Missions this year, as he’s been the everyday shortstop. He’s currently riding a five-game hitting streak, and his batting average has risen from .121 to .246 during that time. … Jagger Haynes got a rough introduction to the bandbox known as Hodgetown. He completed four innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, walking two and striking out a pair. The 22-year-old southpaw was coming off a stellar start in San Antonio last week, but he was in the zone too much on Tuesday. In four starts this season, Haynes has a 5.40 ERA. … David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez have been lights out to start the season but both pitchers got hit hard on Tuesday. Morgan continued to miss bats as we racked up five strikeouts in two innings. On the flipside, he allowed three homers and saw his ERA climb to 3.12. Despite the rough outing, Morgan has displayed nasty stuff this season. In 8.2 innings, the former Hope International infielder has struck out a whopping 19 batters while walking just one. … Rodriguez got tagged for five runs in just 0.2 innings. He allowed three walks and gave up a homer of his own. More concerning, after appearing to be in discomfort on several deliveries, the big righty stretched his lower back and legs a few times before exiting the game with Missions trainer Juan Peña. We’ll look to have updates shortly. … Ethan Salas was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game after exiting Thursday’s contest when he came up short running the bases. The San Antonio News-Express’s Christina Huang reports that Salas is dealing with a minor back strain.
TinCaps 15, Lansing Lugnuts 14
Key Statistics: SS Leo De Vries, 5-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR (2,3) 3B, 2B, 8 RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios, 1-for-5, R, HR (2), RBI; 1B Ethan Long, 2-for-5, R; CF Nerwilian Cedeño, 3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, RBI; 3B Jose Sanabria, 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), 3 RBI, BB; RHP Ian Koenig, 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, K; RHP Tyler Morgan, 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, K; RHP Xavier Ruiz (W, 1-0) 1.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K; Luis Germán (S, 1) 0.1 IP
Leo De Vries had plenty to celebrate. (Photo: Adam Gaddy)
Prospect Watch: Call this one the Leo De Vries game. The young shortstop was the toast of minor league baseball on Tuesday, and it was one of the best performances we’ve seen from a Padres prospect. The 18-year-old hit for the cycle, had a multi-homer game and had five hits to lead a wild and epic comeback win by Fort Wayne. … De Vries homered in his first at-bat – a laser shot that he pulled to left-center. In his second at-bat, he scorched a double to deepcenter and followed up with another homer in his third at-bat. In his fourth at-bat, he stroked a two-run single. He settled for a sacrifice fly in the seventh before capping off the night with a tie-breaking triple to deep right field. In addition to the cycle, and the five hits, De Vries drove in eight runs. After entering Tuesday’s game with a .217/.294/.370, he finished hitting .294/.351/.608. His performance led to TinCaps manager Lukas Ray to compare the young shortstop to Michael Jordan. While that comparison may be a bit premature (De Vries is already a better baseball player than Jordan was), De Vries’ power, speed and switch-hitting ability allow him to be a core player for the Padres – perhaps sooner rather than later. … Nerwilian Cedeño had a rough night defensively as he continues to work on adding center field to his repertoire, but he excelled at the plate, going 3-for-5. The versatile switch-hitter had a pair of singles and a triple. The 23-year-old has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and sports a .286/.300/.347 line. … Every TinCap starter had at least one hit and scored at least one run. … Infielder Jose Sanabria only had one hit, but he made it count. The typically light-hitting infielder slugged a three-run homer in the seventh inning, giving Fort Wayne a 12-9 lead. It was just Sanabria’s second hit of the season, as the infielder has been a backup to start the season. He’s been an organizational player during his time in the system, appearing for the Chihuahuas in each of the last two seasons. Between Lake Elsinore and El Paso, the 22-year-old played in a career-high 97 games last year. … Righty Tyler Morgan stabilized things in the middle innings after the Lugnuts hammered Ian Koenig and Josh Mallitz in the early innings. The 24-year-old out of Abilene Christian pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two hits and two walks, striking out a pair. Morgan has been in the Padres’ system since 2023 and has never pitched at any level other than the Midwest League. Morgan struggled in an outing last week, giving up five runs in a pair of innings. Morgan has allowed just one run in 9.1 innings outside of that outing. … Righty Josh Mallitz exited the game with the trainer. As of press time, there was no update on his status.
Visalia Rawhide 9, Storm 5
Key Statistics: CF Kasen Wells, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, 4 SB (13); DH Kavares Tears, 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI; 1B Kaden Hollow, 1-for-3, BB; LHP Kash Mayfield (L, 0-1) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; RHP Alejandro Lugo, 3.1 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Bernard Jose, 2 IP, H, 2 K
Kasen Wells provides a spark at the top of the Storm lineup. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The Storm struggled early and lost at the hands of the Rawhide in the series opener in Lake Elsinore. … Lake Elsinore’s pitching staff has a 7.30 ERA, contributing to a 5-11 record, despite the offense ranking second in the league in OPS coming into Tuesday’s action. … Kasen Wells was quite the spark plug at the top of the lineup, collecting a pair of singles and a walk, and stealing four bases from the leadoff spot. Wells has a .371 on-base percentage this season, and his 13 steals lead the league. He’s been caught just once. … Kavares Tears had a pair of hits, including a two-run double in the third and a single. The 22-year-old is off to a nice start with the Storm, hitting .300/.333/.500 in five games. … After pitching well in his first two starts of the season, Kash Mayfield struggled and took his first professional loss. The 20-year-old lefty completed 2.1 innings and allowed four runs on three hits. While he struck out four, he walked three and hit two as he tried to use his slider more. He threw 68 pitches, 38 for strikes. The outing raised his ERA to 5.79 on the young season.
Roster Moves: Potential two-way player Sean Barnett was promoted to Fort Wayne, where he should add a little thump to the batting order as he works toward getting on a mound, perhaps as early as June. … Chase Valentine was sent back to extended spring training in a corresponding move. … In addition, the Storm activated Tucker Musgrove (no relation to Padres pitcher Joe). Musgrove was drafted in the seventh round in 2023 as a two-way player but will develop solely as a pitcher. He had Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted and has yet to make his professional debut. … Lefthander Javier Chacon and infielder Emil Turbi were also promoted to Lake Elsinore. Turbi went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts while providing a stabilizing presence at shortstop in his first game with the Storm. Lefty Yovannki Pascual was sent back to extended spring training.
