San Diego Padres Week in Review: July 28 – August 3

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won at Round Rock Express, 5-1)

Players of the week: El Paso won their second straight series and is now 9-2 in their last 11 games.  They are in first place in their division with a 20-12 record in the second half after finishing a game over .500 in the first half. … Backup catcher Rodolfo Durán, 27, hit .500/.500/.889 in four games with nine hits, including two home runs, in 18 plate appearances. The 5-foot-9, Dominican native signed as a minor league free agent during the off-season after stints with the Phillies, Yankees, and Royals systems. He saw action this week behind the plate and at DH, although he has made four appearances this season at third base for the first time in his career. On the season, he has a .730 OPS in 219 plate appearances. … Wes Benjamin, 31, threw seven innings and only allowed one run. While he didn’t pick up the win, he struck out six against two walks. Benjamin, who pitched the last three years in the KBO, has largely struggled in Sun City, but seemed to turn it around in June with a 2.95 ERA. However, the wheels came off in July as he gave up 16 earned runs over 10.1 innings before bouncing back with the strong start.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Luis Campusano checked in with another strong week, posting a 1.073 OPS in 27 plate appearances. He had one home run and three doubles in six games. On the season, he is second in the PCL with a .987 OPS powered by a .305/.419/.568 slash line. … After three solid months at the plate, Mason McCoy, 30, had a July to forget with a .521 OPS, but he got back on track this week with nine hits, including two doubles and a home run in four games for a .375/.423/.583 line to go along with two stolen bases in three attempts. So far this year, he is posting a career-best .811 OPS. … Jackson Wolf didn’t allow an earned run in his sole outing of the week, but was chased after only 4.2 innings when three unearned runs came across. After his ERA ballooned to 11.57 in 18.2 innings across five starts in June, he posted a 3.32 ERA in 21.2 innings and four starts last month. … Alek Jacob dominated in his two appearances, throwing 3.1 shutout innings and picking up a win as he struck out seven against one walk and one hit. Because of the altitude and the ABS strike zone, which takes away borderline strikes in Triple-A, Jacob, His manager Pete Zamora noted that the righty is often more effective in the big leagues than in the PCL. … Miguel Cienfuegos threw four shutout innings in his spot start, while fellow lefthander Kyle Hart, who has been adjusting to work as a multi-inning reliever, delivered two, two-inning shutout appearances on the week. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Split at Frisco RoughRiders, 3-3)

Players of the Week: After posting a 2.89 ERA, 3.50 FIP, and 3.63 xFIP in 87.1 innings in the Midwest League, Eric Yost earned his promotion to San Antonio after last week’s slew of trades. The 22-year-old was excellent in his Double-A debut, allowing one run on two hits over 6.1 innings, while walking two and striking out five. He generated 10 whiffs and a 24.3% whiff rate on 86 pitches. Yost’s changeup shape remains a standout, with the pitch sitting 85-86 mph while getting 15 to 16 inches of horizontal break. … Marcos Castañon had himself a week in Frisco. The Missions infielder caught fire over the six-game series, going 9-for-24 with a pair of home runs, a double, and five runs batted in. Both of Castañon’s long balls, the latter of which was a three-run shot, came on Saturday night. The 26-year-old has continued to put together a solid season in Double-A, posting a 119 wRC+ and  .344 wOBA this year with San Antonio.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Garrett Hawkins made his Double-A debut Saturday for San Antonio. Despite an increased level of competition, the 25-year-old looked more than comfortable, working two scoreless innings on two hits while striking out three. Hawkins’ arsenal baffled Frisco hitters, generating six whiffs on 18 swings, with his fastball topping out at 98 mph. His four-seamer’s shape remains excellent, peaking at an elite 25” iVB on the evening. The outing extended his scoreless innings streak to 36 IP. He owns a 39.8% strikeout rate in that stretch. … Despite losing key reliever Tyson Neighbors at the deadline, San Antonio still features several promising relief arms, including right-hander Andrew Moore. Moore made one masterful appearance on the week, working 1.2 innings.  Moore’s two primary offerings flashed in a big way as his fastball topped out at 98 with good ride, while his slider spun tight with good depth. His stuff generated eight whiffs and a stellar 57.1% whiff rate. He issued just one walk, but continues to struggle to find the zone consistently. … Sunday afternoon was without a doubt the best start of the year for Jared Kollar. The 27-year-old blanked Frisco as he worked into the sixth inning, allowing only five singles while striking out five. Over his last eight appearances – two of them starts – he has posted a 3.14 ERA and a 21.1% strikeout against while only walking 5.3% of opposing batters. … First baseman Romeo Sanabria struggled in six games, going just 3-for-22 with a home run, two runs batted in, and a walk. The long ball left his bat at 108 mph. Since July 8, Sanabria owns a 103 wRC+, .319 wOBA, .696 OPS, while hitting .274. (Clark Fahrenthold)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost to Great Lakes Loons 2-4)

Player of the Week: In his final outing as a TinCap, Miguel Mendez tossed a gem. Despite taking the loss, the hard-throwing righty did not allow an earned run over six innings. He gave up only two hits and walked three, while striking out seven.  The 23-year-old finished his tenure with the TinCaps 7-3 with a 1.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 70 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. … Between trades, promotions, and a good Loons pitching staff, there was not much offense. Braedon Karpathios led the way with six hits and four walks for a .417 on-base percentage despite 10 strikeouts.  Despite being an undrafted free agent in 2022, Karpathios has once again been a solid contributor in the outfield, hitting .246/.366/.405 this season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note:. While Karpathios reached base 10 times, Rosman Verdugo was right behind him with six hits and three walks.  The 20-year-old added to his TinCaps-leading walk total.  Despite hitting .219 on the year, Verdugo has a .360 OBP. After hitting four home runs in a span of three games in mid-April, Verdugo has hit one over his last six weeks. … Zach Evans, among those promoted from Lake Elsinore after leading the club in RBIs, made an immediate impact on the TinCaps. He went 2-for-4, driving in three runs in his first High-A game. The 23-year-old is hitting .298/.370/.378 in his first year of pro ball.  …  Fellow promotee Kasen Wells was the Storm’s stolen base leader despite missing nearly two months. Naturally, after his first High-A hit, he immediately stole second. … In the span of a few hours, Ryan Jackson went from third on the TinCaps shortstop depth chart to first. He reached base in every game of the series, going 5-for-21 with three walks.  The former USC Trojan has a .399 on-base percentage since his promotion in June. … With the promotions of Mendez and Yost, Luis Gutierrez put his name forward as the new staff ace. The lefty allowed two runs on three hits over six innings as he walked two and struck out seven. Gutierrez earned the only win from a starter in the series. … After throwing one inning in his first start back from injury, Clark Candiotti threw two scoreless innings without allowing a hit, walked a batter, and struck out two. The son of a knuckleballer has 46 strikeouts and a 4.91 ERA over his first 33 professional innings. … After two fantastic starts, Ian Koenig, was roughed up a bit but still managed a quality start.  The 24-year-old allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings.  He walked two and struck out three.  He finishes July with a 1.93 ERA over 23.1 innings. … The day after the deadline, Isaiah Lowe turned in his worst start in over a month. Lowe allowed four runs on five hits over five innings.  He walked four and struck out four. After a breakout 2024 campaign Lowe has crashed hard with a 5.54 ERA in 18 starts for the TinCaps. … For just the second time since June 24, Fernando Sanchez allowed a run. In two appearances, the righty allowed one run on three hits over four innings. The lefty has allowed only two runs over his last 18.2 innings with batters hitting .138 against him.  (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost vs. Inland Empire 66ers, 2-4)

Top Performers: The Storm lost the first two games of the series before the trade deadline depleted their roster. Lake Elsinore lost Boston Bateman just before his scheduled start Thursday, shortstop Cobb Hightower, first baseman Victor Figueroa, and reliever Tanner Smith. While the Storm rallied to win that game, they lost the series to Inland Empire, falling two games behind the 66ers for the second-half division lead. … Among Storm hitters who saw regular playing time, big Alex McCoy had an excellent week. In six games, McCoy went 5-for-18 with a double, a triple, and a homer to post a .959 OPS in six games. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent missed two months with a quad injury before he was activated by the Storm on July 22. While he’s striking out in 27% of his plate appearances, he’s produced a wRC+ of 110 for the Storm in his first extended professional action. … Lefty Igor Gil looked sharp out of the bullpen, appearing in three games. Between his three appearances, the 24-year-old fired 4.1 innings and did not allow a hit. He walked one and struck out six. The southpaw struggled last season in the desert, but he has been the most reliable reliever on the Storm roster in 24 appearances this year, putting up a 3.07 ERA. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: After all the trades made, catcher Lamar King Jr. and utilityman Chase Valentine joined Wells and Evans in moving up to Fort Wayne. In three games, Wells had the best results, posting an .853 OPS. … Carlos Rodriguez has been an under-the-radar performer for the Storm this season, and thanks to King’s promotion, he figures to see more time behind the dish down the stretch. Rodriguez, 22, played in three games and had an .885 OPS on the week. Since joining the Storm, Rodriguez has an excellent wRC+ of 135 in 22 games. He will split time with the recently promoted Yoiber Ocopio down the stretch. … Kavares Tears posted a .724 OPS with a pair of doubles on the week. He also punched out seven times in the six-game set. The former Tennessee outfielder has punched out in 28% of his plate appearances this season while his offensive production has been slightly below average. … Third baseman Kerrington Cross had a nice pro debut, going 5-for-11 with an RBI in three games. Cross was the Padres’ seventh-round pick in July’s draft out of the University of Cincinnati. … Kash Mayfield pitched well in his start after not getting traded last week. He allowed just one run on five hits in four innings with one walk and five strikeouts. While Mayfield has yet to record his first professional win, he’s pitched well during his time with the Storm. Overall, he has a 3.12 ERA and a 2.99 FIP. … Humberto Cruz tossed five innings Tuesday in his best outing yet, allowing a run on three hits. He walked one and struck out five. The 18-year-old has shown promise in his first foray into full-season ball. In 15.1 innings with the Storm, he has a 4.70 ERA. (Kevin Charity)