San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report May 1

Game 1: Oklahoma City Comets 4, Chihuahuas 3
Key Stats: LHP Austin Krob 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB; RP Reiss Knehr (L, 1-2) IP, ER, 2 H, 2K; LF Tim Locastro 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (2); 2B-1B Nate Mondou 1-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI

Game 2 : Oklahoma City Comets 12, Chihuahuas 5
Key Stats: DH Luis Campusano 1-for-2, 2 BB; LF Tim Locastro 1-for-3, 2B, BB; CF Bryce Johnson 1-for-2, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (2); LHP Jason Blanchard (L, 2-2) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, HBP; RHP Kevin Kopps 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 K, BB; LHP Austin Davis 0.2 IP, H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K

Prospect Watch: El Paso dropped both games of Thursday’s doubleheader. They fell in game one on a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, then got blown out 12-4 in the nightcap. Austin Krob looked strong during his outing in the opener, working 5 innings and allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while punching out five. While he struggled to find consistent command, he had little issue generating whiffs, getting 10 on the afternoon, good for a 29% whiff rate. Krob’s slider was particularly effective, generating a 33% whiff rate. His sinker did well to induce soft contact, with Oklahoma City hitters posting an 81.9 mph average exit velocity against the offering. … After sitting out game one, Luis Campusano went 1-for-2 with two walks in the second contest. Campusano’s put both his balls in play at north of 104 mph with the hit a 106.4 mph single off right-hander Bobby Miller. After 106 plate appearances, Campusano owns a 14.1%  barrel rate and 94.2 average exit velocity on batted balls to fuel a 1.043 OPS. … Tim Locastro went a combined 3-for-7 with a walk as he scored three runs and stole a base. Since returning to El Paso, Locastro has posted a 1.187 OPS and refused to strike out, yielding only a 3.1% strikeout rate and 20% whiff rate. … Recently re-acquired Bryce Johnson also fared well in the double-header, with a double and three walks in seven trips to the plate. … While the El Paso pitching staff was battered in game two, reliever Kevin Kopps did a decent job of stopping the bleeding in the middle innings. Working three innings, the Arkansas Razorback baseball alum allowed three earned runs on three hits while punching out five. Kopps heavily featured his cutter and curve. Each generated three whiffs in helping him post a 33% whiff rate on the afternoon. Kopps’ curveball got Comets hitters to leave the zone a third of the time. The breaking ball averaged -11.7 inches of induced vertical break (iVB), -1.2 inches of horizontal break, and 2,609 rpm.

Corpus Christi Hooks 3, Missions 1

Key Stats: LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 1-2), 6 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 9 K; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, 2 IP, 2 K; C Brandon Valenzuela, 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR (4); CF Joshua Mears, 2-for-4, 2B

Prospect Watch: Although he took the loss, Jackson Wolf was once again impressive in his start. The lanky left-hander allowed three runs on only three hits and one walk while punching out nine over six innings of work. Wolf was a swing-and-miss machine, generating 18 total whiffs, good for a 41.8% whiff rate. Wolf struck out the side in the sixth inning to end his outing, with six of his final eight offerings being swung on and missed. His changeup was particularly impressive, generating a ton of late arm side fade, with Wolf throwing it for both strikes and to get hitters to chase out of the zone. His outing moves his ERA on the year to 3.24. … Out of the bullpen, Bradgley Rodriguez was yet again in control. As he often does, Rodriguez worked two hitless innings with two strikeouts. The right-hander’s sinker sat 96-97 mph for most of the night, topping out at 99 on two separate occasions. Rodriguez generated a total of four whiffs, two of which came off the changeup. … With Ethan Salas on the IL, Brandon Valenzuela continued to take advantage of his extra at-bats, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo home run in the fourth. It’s Valenzuela’s third home run in his last four games and since April 17, the six-foot-one backstop has a wRC+ of 152 while going 13-for-41 with seven extra-base hits. … Joshua Mears had the only other multi-hit game for the Missions, going 2-for-4 with a double. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder made the start in center field.

Tin Caps 8, Dayton Dragons 6

Key Stats: SS Leo De Vries 1-for-2, 3 BB, R; 3B Rosman Verdugo 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Ethan Long 1-for-3, HR (1), BB; Jack Costello 1-for-5, HR (3), 3 RBI; RHP Jose Reyes 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R (1 ER), 6 K, BB; LHP Bodi Rascon 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB; RHP Garrett Hawkins (W, 4-1) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The comeback kids in Fort Wayne worked their magic once again, using a three-run seventh inning to capture an 8-6 comeback over Dayton. … While there was no cycle watch for Leo De Vries, it was still an impressive night at the dish for the 18-year-old. The Padres’ top prospect went 1-for-2 with three walks. In his final at bat of the night, with men on first and second, Dayton pitcher Brody Jessee clearly had no desire to pitch to face De Vries and left nothing in the zone for the teenager to do damage on. Dating back to April 20, El Mutante owns a 9.5% walk rate and an absolutely absurd .575 on-base percentage. For the season, he now owns a 1.024 OPS and .319 ISO (Isolated Power) which both rank first in the Midwest League. To end the night, De Vries also turned in an outstanding play at shortstop, going into shallow center field and making an over-the-should catch to end the ballgame. … Rosman Verdugo also continued to swing the bat well in the win, going 2-for-5, including his eventual game-winning two-run RBI double in the bottom of the eighth. Verdugo, who saw time in Fort Wayne late last season, seems to have made the adjustment to high-A pitching this season. In 81 at-bats, he has an .857 OPS, .303 (ISO), and five home runs, the second-most in the Midwest League. … Ethan Long tapped into his new dad power as the one-time top prospect at Arizona State launched his first home run of the season to the opposite field in the bottom of the second. Long has started to heat up in recent weeks, going 11-for-37 in his last 10 games with a walk rate of 12.1%. …

Jack Costello also joined in on playing long ball as he connected on a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, his third home run of the year. … Newly promoted Sean Barnett had his best game as a TinCap, going 2-for-3, scoring a run, and lacing a double off the top of the wall in left-center. Since joining Fort Wayne last week, Barnett has a .861 OPS. … Jose Luis Reyes gave Fort Wayne a quality effort on the mound, working five innings and allowing only one earned run on six hits and two walks while striking out six. While Reyes only posted a 13.8% whiff rate, he had great fastball command, especially in the lower third of the zone. …Right-hander Garrett Hawkins picked up the win, running his fastball up to 97 mph while the slider flashed excellent tilt once again. Hawkins generated a 60% whiff rate on the night to earn his fourth victory of the year.

Storm 4, Inland Empire 66ers 0

Key Stats: LHP Boston Bateman (W, 2-2) 6 IP, 2 H, 5 K; RHP Will Varmette, 3 IP, 3 K; DH Ryan Wilson 3-for-4, 2B, RBI; CF Kasen Wells 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R, 3 SB (19); LF Alex McCoy 1-for-3, RBI; LF Kaden Hollow 1-for-4, RBI

Prospect Watch: After battling an illness in his last start, Boston Bateman looked healthy and dominant Thursday night, leading the way in Lake Elsinore’s 4-0 game against Inland Empire. Kevin Charity once again has coverage from The Diamond.