Chihuahuas 10, Salt Lake Bees 6
Key Stats: RF Yonathan Perlaza 2-for-5, HR (18), 2 RBI; 3B Marcos Castañon 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 4 RBI; 2B Nate Mondou 1-for-2, 3 BB; CF Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4, BB, 2 RBI; RHP Matt Waldron 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 8 K; RHP Francis Peña 0.2 IP, H; RHP Bradgley Rodriguez IP; RHP Manuel Castro 2 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 K, BB
When switch-hitter Yonathan Perlaza has made contact, it’s been loud. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso rallied for five runs in the ninth to claim the win and a series split in their first visit to the Bees’ new home ballpark. Marcos Castañon continued his impressive first week in the PCL with two hits and a walk, including a two-run double in the ninth inning rally. The 26-year-old infielder finished the high-altitude series with a .412/.500/.882 line with a pair of walks and four strikeouts in 20 plate appearances. A 12th-round pick back in 2021, Castañon will be Rule 5 eligible this winter, though his defensive limitations and below-average swing-and-miss rate will likely keep him out of consideration for a 40-player roster spot yet. … Yonathan Perlaza, who has also struggled with swing-and-miss all year, collected his 18th homer of the season as part of a two-hit game. The 26-year-old switch hitter has contributed offense about 15 percent above league average on the year, but has chased more than a quarter of the pitches he’s seen outside the zone and only made contact 45% of the time when he does. … Matt Waldron was tagged for three runs in the second inning, but bounced back impressively in the offense-friendly setting and got through 5.1 innings allowing just one more. Waldron used his knuckleball 39 times among 86 total offerings, getting a 36% whiff rate with it while landing it in the zone almost 70% of the time. While he was able to get a 50% whiff rate with his four-seam fastball, the pitch was also rocketed off the bat at more than 100 mph twice. Waldron struck out eight in the contest without allowing a walk as he commanded the zone much better than he has all year. … Bradgley Rodriguez needed only four pitches to work a scoreless inning. The hard-throwing righty got a pair of weak grounders and a lazy fly ball. He’s made seven straight appearances without allowing a run since coming off the IL despite recording only three strikeouts.
Missions 8, Corpus Christi Hooks 7 (11 innings)
Key Stats: CF Braedon Karpathios 2-for-4, HR (3), 2 RBI; DH Albert Fabian 2-for-4, 2B, HR (4); SS Devin Ortiz 1-for-5, 2B, 2 R; RHP Eric Yost 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 K, 5 BB; LHP Ryan Och 1.1 IP, H, 2 K, BB; RHP Andrew Moore IP, 2 K; RHP Jose Geraldo 2 IP, R (0 ER), 2 K
Braedon Karpathios has emerged as one of the better position players in the system. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: Albert Fabian‘s two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth tied the game and sent it to extras. After each team scored in the 10th, Jose Geraldo held the Hooks scoreless in the 11th, and then Ryan Jackson lofted a pop fly that dropped between the second baseman and right fielder to plate the Manfred Man and give the Missions a walk-off win, splitting the series in their final homestand of the year. Fabian also had a rule book double to left-center in the contest as he collected his first multi-hit game since August 15. The 23-year-old got off to a fast start when he completed his injury rehab and joined the Missions in July, but he posted just a .595 OPS in August and came into the night just 1-for-11 in the series. Overall, Fabian has a .257/.333/.382 line heading into the final week of the season. … Braedon Karpathios, playing in center field for the ninth time in 15 starts since joining San Antonio, pulled a monster shot over the right field wall for his third Texas League homer. The 22-year-old, originally undrafted out of community college in 2022, now has a .799 OPS for the Missions and has established himself as one of the better position prospects remaining in the system. … Righty Eric Yost loaded the bases in the first inning, but avoided any damage when he got a ground ball. He then got on a roll, and through his first four innings of work, the 17th-round pick appeared destined to complete a second straight strong outing. But in the fifth inning, he walked the bases loaded before giving up two singles and a double to plate five runs before he could get out of the frame. The Padres’ 17th-round pick in 2023, Yost has worked an organization-high 122.2 innings this year. In seven starts since his promotion to Double-A, the 22-year-old has averaged just over five innings per start, posting a 4.58 ERA while recording an underwhelming 25 strikeouts and 22 walks in 35.1 innings. … Lefty Ryan Och was the first of five relievers who combined to allow just one unearned run over 6.1 innings of work. Och left the runner he inherited at second base, then worked his way around a hit and a walk in his next frame by striking out two. The left-handed reliever struggled early in the year, but since June 1, he’s pitched to a 2.70 ERA with 35 strikeouts against 22 walks in 36.2 innings of work.
West Michigan Whitecaps 3, TinCaps 0
Key Stats: CF Kai Roberts 1-for-3, BB, SB (30); RHP Will Varmette 4 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K, 2 BB; LHP Braian Salazar 1.2 IP, 5 K, 2 BB
Kai Roberts stole 30 bases in 2025. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps’ season ended with a whimper, not a bang, as the offense managed just three singles and fell for the fifth time in the series against the minor league’s best team. With the final loss, Fort Wayne finishes the year 56-75, a distant 36 games behind the Whitecaps. Will Varmette, who has struggled since his promotion to High-A at the start of July, finished on a high note, allowing just one run over four innings while striking out four. The 22-year-old righty, who made some progress with his control this year in dropping his walk rate to 11%, avoided loud contact in this one as he gave up only three singles while getting strikes on 44 of his 69 pitches. Varmette ended his second full season since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2023 with a 6.61 ERA across 79 innings. … Lefty Braian Salazar found a memorable way to finish the year, recording all five outs to finish the game by way of the strikeout. The 20-year-old spent most of the year in Lake Elsinore, where he had a stellar 29.6% strikeout rate, but walked more than 15% of the batters he saw to fuel a 5.23 ERA across 51.2 innings of relief. A 2022 signee out of Venezuela, Salazar will look to return to Fort Wayne to open next season. … Kai Roberts reached base two times on Sunday and swiped his 30th base in 83 Midwest League games. The athletic 24-year-old played his best baseball of the year down the stretch, batting .298 with a .403 on-base percentage over his final 17 games. Despite his strong 6-foot-5 frame, Roberts managed just eight extra-base hits in 342 plate appearances for the TinCaps.
Inland Empire 66ers 8, Storm 7
Key Stats: RF Carlos Rodriguez 2-for-5, 2B; C Ty Harvey 1-for-4, BB; RHP Tucker Musgrove IP, H, K; RHP Abraham Parra 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R (6 ER), 6 K, 2 BB, 3 WP; RHP Will Koger 2 IP, ER, HBP, WP, 2 K
Carlos Rodriguez provided impressive offense in is first extended taste of full-season ball. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: The lead changed hands five times in this one as the Storm came up short in their final game of the season. The team was swept in the final series to finish with the worst record in the Cal League. Backstop Carlos Rodriguez, making his first professional start in right field, ended his campaign with a two-hit night that included a double. The 22-year-old, who had only seven games outside the complex league into the season, has certainly hit his way into more playing time in the future with a .276/.404/.454 line for the Storm. He finishes the year with a stellar 16.4% walk rate and a strikeout rate below 20%. … Tucker Musgrove pitched a scoreless inning as the opener, striking out one. The former two-way player was kept on a very short leash after a month-long stint on the IL in July, but he gave up only one earned run in 4.2 frames, striking out six without issuing a walk over his final five appearances. The 23-year-old is likely to extend his season with a stint in the Arizona Fall League to build on the 20 innings he threw for the Storm. Ninth-round pick Will Koger took the hard-luck loss in his second professional outing after giving up a run without allowing a hit in two innings. After striking out two in the seventh inning, the righty hit the first batter he saw in the eighth. The runner advanced on a sacrifice and then moved to third on a wild pitch before coming in with the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Koger, 22, held Cal League batters to one hit over 3.1 total innings, but hit two and issued a walk.
