Las Vegas Aviators 6, Chihuahuas 4
Key Statistics: RF Bryce Johnson 1-for-2, RBI, HR (2), 3 BB; C Luis Campusano 2-for-5, RBI; 1B Trenton Brooks 2-for-4, HR (7), 2 RBI; CF Forrest Wall 1-for-3, BB, SB (7); LF Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4, 2B; RHP Ryan Bergert 4 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K; LHP Wes Benjamin (L, 1-4) 1.1 IP 6H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K; RHP Francis Pena 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Ryan Bergert threw four shutout innings on Saturday. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso was up 3-1 in the sixth inning in Las Vegas until one of the best hitting environments in the minors caught up with Wes Benjamin, who gave up five earned runs in an inning and a third. The lefty had difficulty getting any movement on his pitches at altititude. His curve had a foot less downward break on it than it has this year and his slider was off by more than half a foot of horizontal break. The 31-year-old’s return to the U.S. after three years in Korea has been a rough one, yielding an ERA of 8.39 through 10 outings. … Before things went off the rails, Ryan Bergert threw four shutout innings in his longest outing since April 20, before he was called up to support the big club’s bullpen. The 25-year-old gave up just two singles and punched out three as he threw 55 pitches. In 29 innings across seven starts for El Paso, he has a 4.66 ERA with 30 strikeouts against 13 walks. … Bryce Johnson hit his second home run of the season for the Chihuahuas and drew three walks. In ten games with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate to open the year, he had a .299 OPS; in 22 games with El Paso, it’s .863. … Luis Campusano added two more hits Sunday, leaving his average at .333, and .448 on-base percentage at second and third in the PCL respectively. He leads the league with a .658 slugging percentage and 1.106 OPS. … El Paso will try to split the series on Sunday.
Missions 7, Midland RockHounds 6
Key Statistics: DH Brandon Valenzuela 0-for-2, 2 BB, 3 K; 1B Romeo Sanabria 1-for-4, BB; RF Moises Gomez 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI; 3B Devin Ortiz 3-for-4, RBI; 2B Marcos Castañon 3-for-3, HR (4), 2 RBI; RHP Braden Nett (W, 2-3) 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HR; RHP Eduarniel Nuñez IP, H, ER, 3 K; RHP Manuel Castro 1.1 IP 3 H, ER, 3 K
Braden Nett had his longest outing of the season. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: The Missions rode a five-run seventh inning to victory in Midland, giving themselves a chance to split the series after dropping the first three games. … Marcos Castañon had a big night with three hits, including a two-run home run in the seventh to left-center. In his third go-around in the Texas League, Castañon is hitting .294/.338/.462 and is fourth on the squad with 55 total bases. He’s been especially dominant on the road, hitting .367/.385/.550. … Braden Nett delivered his longest outing of the season, going six innings while limiting damage in one of the more offensive-friendly parks in the Teas League. After a quick one-two-three first inning, the 22-year-old righty gave up a leadoff homer in the second and then five straight batters reach with two outs to plate two more. He bounced back nicely from there, giving up only one more run over his final four frames while reaching a season-high 94 pitches. Nett is leading the Missions with 41 strikeouts in 36 innings, while trimming his walk rate to a more manageable 10.4% this year. That’s key for a pitcher hoping to improve his durability this year.
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, TinCaps 1
Key Statistics: 1B Ethan Long 2-for-4; SS Brandon Butterworth 1-for-4, 2B; LF Jack Costello 1-for-4, RBI; RHP Isaiah Lowe (L, 1-4) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; LHP Fernando Sanchez IP, K; RHP Tyson Neighbors IP, H, ER, BB, K
Isaiah Lowe was dominant through his first three innings. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: Isaiah Lowe breezed through the Whitecaps lineup for the first three innings, facing one over the minimum. In the fourth, though, his slider wasn’t quite as sharp and a pair of misplayed balls in center field prevented him from getting out of the inning quickly. That set up a fifth inning where three straight singles and a walk put three runs on the board and chased him from the game. Still, Lowe, 22, showed some reasons for optimism, landing his slider/sweeper on both sides of the plate more consistently, allowing him to finish off batters with a fastball that sat 93-95 and touched 97 mph. … Tyson Neighbors, 22, who the Padres took in the fourth round from Kansas State in last year’s draft, might not be long for the Midwest League, as he had another strong outing. After allowing a lead-off double, he induced a weak pop out to third, struck out top prospect Max Clark, and got the last batter to fly out to left field. On the season, he has 28 strikeouts against only six walks in 16 innings while putting up a 1.13 ERA. … The Whitecaps have taken four of the first five games against Fort Wayne at home.
Fresno Grizzlies 6, Storm 5
Key Statistics: 2B Ryan Jackson 3-for-5, 2 2B SB (9); 1B Lamar King, Jr. 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (2); RHP Luis Patiño 3 IP, 3 H, 2 K; RHP Bryan Balzer 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Xavier Ruiz (L, 0-1) IP, H, ER, K
Bryan Balzer is second on the team in strikeouts. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The Storm lost a tough one as the Grizzlies scored three times in the top of the ninth to send Lake Elsinore to their fourth loss of the series on Emo night at the Diamond. … Luis Patiño, 25, didn’t allow a run as he stretched out to three innings and 46 pitches in his third rehab start. In his six innings of work with the Storm as he works back from Tommy John surgery, he has allowed one run on four hits across six innings. He could make one more appearance on his rehab assignment before he rejoins El Paso. … Bryan Balzer followed Patiño with mixed results. The 20-year-old punched out two in a clean first inning of work, but then had to deal with traffic the rest of the night. He yielded three runs in the fifth and then opened the ninth with a walk and a double and didn’t record another out. Balzer has been giving up runs in bunches, posting an 8.06 ERA in seven games as he continues to show some interesting stuff but struggles to learn how to pitch in game situations on the fly after working primarily as a position player in high school and undergoing Tommy John surgery soon after signing with the Padres out of Japan. His 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings are good for second on the team, but he’s hit nine batters, walked 13 and uncorked three wild pitches. With a fastball that tops out in the upper-90s, a lively slider, and a good aptitude for learning from mistakes, he’ll get a very long leash for development. … With three more hits, Ryan Jackson extended his team-leading OPS to .919 and .474 on-base percentage. Jackson, drafted by the Padres in the 17th round after a four-year collegiate career at University of Southern California and Nevada, and has shown solid infield versatility this year for the Storm.
Victor Figueroa is hitting .605 in the ACL. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
ACL Padres 7, ACL Mariners 5
Key Statistics: LF Donte Grant 2-for-4; SS Yimy Tovar 2-for-3; CF Kai Roberts 1-for-2, HR (1), RBI; 1B Cole Figueroa 3-for-3, 2B, HR (5) 4 RBI; 2B Luis De Leon 2-for-3; C Jesus Castro 1-for-1, 2 BB; RHP Bryan Hoeing IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K; RHP Luis Maracara (W, 1-1) 3.1 IP, H, ER, 5 BB, 7 K; RHP Manuel Davila 1.2 IP, H, BB
Prospect Watch: Victor Figueroa‘s home run in the third inning gave the AZL Padres the lead, and they never looked back as they claimed their fourth win of the season. … The Brewers’ Jose Anderson ranks second in the ACL with a .333 batting average and .467 on-base percentage while slugging .750. Those are all impressive numbers, but they pale in comparison to Figueroa. Through 44 plate appearances, the 21-year-old first baseman has a slash line of .605/.659/.1.263 with 12 extra-base hits, including five home runs. After going 3-for-3 with a double and the homer Saturday, the 6-foot-5 left-handed hitter leads the league in every offensive category and has stolen two bases in both attempts. Figueroa was an 18th-round selection out of Florida SouthWestern State JC, where he hit .421 in 270 plate appearances with 17 home runs. “I’ve seen guys get hot, but what he’s doing now is unheard of,” said Jerry Espinoza, our photographer in the ACL. “You can’t pitch to him.” As we’ve noted the Padres also took Romeo Sanabria from a Florida JC in the 18th round in 2022, and are hoping to have struck lightning twice. It’s difficult to imagine Figueroa returning for week three in the desert. … Another player who should be on the move soon is center fielder Kai Roberts, 24, who missed most of the second half of spring training with a bad hamstring strain. In seven games and 21 plate appearances, the former Utah Utes star has a slash line of .533/.667/.933 with five stolen bases in five attempts. He hit his first home run Saturday as he played in the field for the second straight full game. Roberts, another 6-foot-5 left-handed hitter, had an .884 OPS in Lake Elsinore after signing as a senior sign in the seventh round last year. He should be on his way to Fort Wayne. … Big leaguer Bryan Hoeing made his second rehab appearance, getting an inning of work in to open the game. The righty, who is not yet eligible to come off the 60-day IL, is progressing slowly in his recovery from right shoulder soreness in spring. … Luis Maracara delivered a very rookie league line as he followed Hoeing, allowing just one run on one hit over 3.1 innings. He punched out seven, but walked five as he struggled to harness his quality stuff. The 17-year-old Venezuelan struck out 52 in 45.1 innings in the DSL last year after signing for a five-figure bonus. … Manuel Davila, one of three pitchers brought over from the Dominican this week to bolster an ACL staff that has struggled to cover innings early in the season, relieved Maracara and tossed 1.2 innings of shutout ball in his first taste of Stateside baseball. The 17-year-old from Mexico worked 52.1 innings in his debut in the DSL last summer, so he’s positioned to stretch out this year.
