San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 8

Round Rock Express 5 Chihuahuas 4

Key Stats: LHP Jackson Wolf, 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 6 K; RHP Francis Peña IP, K; RHP David Morgan (L, 0-1) IP, H, ER, K; DH Tirso Ornelas 1-for-3, RBI; Luis Campusano 0-for-2, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: Newly-promoted Jackson Wolf once again impressed in his first start of the year for El Paso. The left-hander worked six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk while punching out five. Wolf deployed the kitchen sink, throwing six different pitches. It was the slider, which he threw 19 times, that stood out. The pitch had solid shape, averaging 5.7 inches of induced vertical break (iVB) and -10.6 of horizontal break to generate a 40% whiff rate. Express batters only put the pitch in play twice, generating two low-velocity balls in play. … Francis Peña turned in another solid outing, working a 1-2-3 top of the eighth with a sinker sitting at 97.1 mph with 11.9” of arm side run. Peña’s gyro slider continues to improve, flashing a great shape with just -1.5 inches of iVB and -5.3 of horizontal break. … After a flawless Triple-A debut, David Morgan was charged with the loss after allowing one earned run. He gave up a leadoff single, allowed a stolen base, balked the runner to third, and then a fly ball that allowed the winning run to score. Morgan’s fastball sat at 97 mph but the elevation hurt the ride, as it averaged just 14.9” iVB Thursday night. Morgan’s stuff still looked good overall, as the San Diego native generated a 33% whiff rate. … Tirso Ornelas logged one of just three hits of El Paso on the night, as the Chihuahuas DH went 1-for-3 with an RBI single to the opposite field. While Luis Campusano didn’t reach base via a hit, the El Paso backstop did reach base twice with another pair of walks. He has posted a walk rate of 18.2% in El Paso against a strikeout rate of just 13.2%. 

Frisco Rough Riders, 12, Missions 6

Key Stats: RHP Victor Lizarraga (L, 0-5) 2.2 IP, 6 R (2 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K; RHP José Geraldo, 1.2 IP; C Brandon Valenzuela, 2-for-3, 2 BB, R; LF Moisés Gómez 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI

Prospect Watch: A day after being no-hit for the second time this season, the San Antonio Missions’ offense fared a bit better on Thursday night. Still, it would not be enough as they fell 12-6 to Frisco. … A week after turning in his best start of the year, Victor Lizarraga struggled again Thursday night as he worked worked only 2.2 innings. Only two of the six runs the right-hander surrendered were earned, but he also committed a pair of throwing errors in the four-run second inning.  Overall, he gave up five hits and three walks, and punched out six. Lizarraga once again generated plenty of swings and misses over his short outing, getting 15 total whiffs and posting 45.5% whiff rate over his short outing. While the slider once against flashed exceptional tilt and the fastball showed solid ride, Lizarraga’s struggle to command the zone hurt him once again. With three walks on the night, the 21-year-old has now walked two or more batters in each of his last five starts. … Right-hander José Geraldo came on with two men on and an out and escaped the jam, then tossed a clean eighth inning. He has now worked 10.2 innings this season  and has yet to allow a run. Geraldo’s fastball topped out at 96 with decent ride and a flatter vertical approach angle that helps it play up. Despite not striking out a batter Thursday, Geraldo still owns a 30.2% K rate this season while walking only two batters. … After a successful week, Brandon Valenzuela swung the bat well once again against Frisco. The Missions backstop put together a 2-for-3 night and drew pair of walks, pushing his walk rate through 99 plate appearances to 12.1%. Valenzuela also refuses to chase, swinging at just 24.5% of pitches outside the zone. His 2-for-3 night also raises his OPS to .817 with a 140 wRC+. … While Romeo Sanabria failed to record a hit, the big first baseman reached base twice via walk. Sanabria continues to be more swing-happy this season, with his swing rate now eclipsing 56%. While that has hurt his walk rate, which sits at 4.3%, it has not hurt his general contact numbers. He still owns a very solid 83.7% in-zone contact rate and just a 21.6% whiff rate. … The only other multi-hit effort on the night for San Antonio came from 26-year-old Moisés Gómez, as the Missions left-fielder went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI knocks that included a ringing RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. Signed as a minor league free agent over the winter, the 26-year-old has produced a 144 wRC+ while stepping back to Double-A, but his strikeout rate is at 29.1%.

South Bend Cubs 3, TinCaps 1

Key Stats: SS Leo De Vries 1-for-4; 3B Rosman Verdugo 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; Brendan Durfee 2-for-4; Jose Luis Reyes (L, 0-3) 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K; RP Tyson Neighbors, 2 IP, ER, H, 3 K

Prospect Watch: Another day, another Leo De Vries knock. De Vries was one of just three TinCaps hitters to register a hit off Cubs prospect Jaxon Wiggins, smacking a two-strike slider to the opposite-field single. He’s now hit in nine straight and reached base 15 games in a row. … Rosman Verdugo once again flexed his muscle at the dish, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double. Through 27 games, the 20-year-old Verdugo ranks second in the Midwest League with a .524 slugging percentage and owns an .840 OPS and .283 IsoP (isolated power), which ranks first on the circuit. Despite the power surge, Verdugo is still struggling to make consistent contact, posting a 38.6% whiff rate and 65.5% in-zone contact rate. … Brendan Durfee also recorded a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. The TinCaps catcher continues to hit out of the lead-off spot. The UC Santa Barbara alum is hitting .250 with a .704 OPS this season. His two-hit game on Thursday broke a five-game hitless streak for the 23-year-old. … Even though he took the loss, starter Jose Luis Reyes pitched well. The 22-year-old allowed just two runs on five hits, three walks, and struck out four over six innings. While Reyes didn’t have an excellent swing and miss stuff, getting only nine whiffs and a 25% whiff rate, he navigated traffic by getting ground balls. That included key double plays in both the third and fourth innings. He has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his five starts this season. … Tyson Neighbors went multiple innings again, going two innings and allowing a run while punching out three. The lone hit Neighbors allowed was a middle-in fastball to Rafael Morel, who sent it over the left field wall for a home run. It is the first long ball Neighbors has allowed in his professional career. Even with the home run, Neighbors’ stuff was still nasty, generating six total whiffs and a 42.8% whiff rate. For the season, Neighbors owns a 51.5% whiff rate. For those curious at home, yes, that is extremely good.

Storm 6, San Jose Giants, 4

Key Stats: LHP Boston Bateman 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 K; RHP Adam Conrad (W, 1-0) 3.1 IP, H, BB, 5 K; DH Kavares Tears, 2-for-5, 3 RBI, SB (1); SS Ryan Jackson 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI; CF Kasen Wells, 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R

Prospect Watch: Boston Bateman once again worked into the sixth inning, going 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out two. Bateman was in cruise control after three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up all four runs and five hits. He rebounded nicely to set down six straight before a two-out double in the sixth ended his night. Even with the rocky fourth, Bateman still  generated 13 total whiffs as his fastball topped out at 98 MPH and his slider flashed the high-80s with good horizontal movement. … The Storm received another standout effort from Adam Conrad in relief. The 22-year-old undrafted free agent worked 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and a walk while fanning five. Along with the five strikeouts, Conrad generated six whiffs, good for a 46.1% whiff rate. Through his first five professional games, Conrad has posted a 35.8% strikeout rate and given up only three hits in 11.2 innings without allowing an earned run. … Kavares Tears did the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Storm at the dish, going 2-for-5 with three runs batted in and his first stolen base. His second RBI single was a nice job of two-strike hitting, as he laced a 1-2 slider back up the middle. Tears hasn’t quite gotten off to the start some expected, hitting .258 with a .701 OPS to start the year. The bigger concern is the number of swings and misses he’s posted. Through 16 games, the University of Tennessee alum has struck out 21 times with a 39.7% whiff rate. … Ryan Jackson had yet another multi-hit night, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two more walks. He has put up a mind-blowing 28.1% walk rate, helping to fuel a .496 on-base percentage. … Kasen Wells also continues to reach base from the lead-off spot, going 1-for-3 with two walks. Since April 22, Wells has nine multi-hit games, and is hitting .413 with 11 stolen bases and a 182 wRC+. Wells’ bat-to-ball skills have shined this year, as he owns an 81.2% in-zone contact rate, 72.9% out-of-zone contact rate and only a 20.7% whiff rate.

ACL Angels 12, ACL Padres 2

Key Stats: CF Kai Roberts 1-for-2; 1B Victor Figueroa 2-for-4, 2B, 3B; LF Luis De Leon 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Winyer Chourio (L, 0-1) 3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K; RHP Miguel Valdez IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Kai Roberts went 1-for-2 with a double as he made his first start in center field after several games in the DH slot. Roberts, who posted a 138 wRC+ in 24 games with Lake Elsinore last season, continues to rehab and build back up from a hamstring injury he suffered during the Padres’ Spring Breakout game. … Victor Figueroa‘s red-hot start continued as he put together yet another multi-hit night, going 2-for-4 that featured a double and a triple. The Padres’ 2024 18th-round selection out of Florida SouthWestern State JC has posted a .467 batting average and 1.396 OPS in his first 15 at-bats. … On the bump, starter Winyer Chourio got roughed up, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four in three innings. Chourio, 21, signed out of Venezuela last January, and posted a 2.09 ERA in the DSL in his debut. … The standout showing on the mound came from 21-year-old Miguel Valdez, who worked a clean inning and punched out two. Valdez is looking to re-group and refine with the ACL club after he posted a 12.46 ERA in 4.1 innings with Lake Elsinore.