San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 30

Chihuahuas 12, Albuquerque Isotopes 2

Key Stats: Sung-Mun Song 2-for-5, BB, SB (1); LF Nick Solak 2-for-4, 2B, BB; 1B Nate Mondou 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; SS Mike McCoy 2-for-3, 3B, BB; C Anthony Vilar 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI; RHP Evan Fitterer 3.2 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), 4 K, 3 BB; RHP Logan Gillaspie 2.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K, BB; Misael Tamarez 2 IP, H, K, BB

Prospect Watch: El Paso jumped out to a two-run lead in the first and never looked back as they won their fourth straight and got their record back to .500. Sung-Mun Song opened the game by pulling a 104.5 mph line drive single to right, and later added a ground ball single and a walk to his total. He’s now hit in six of seven games, going 11-for-29 with only five strikeouts in that span. He still isn’t generating much loud contact, with an average exit velocity that just edged above the fiftieth percentile in the PCL, but he is swinging and missing less often and continues to put the sweet spot on the ball more than 42% of the time. … Anthony Vilar continued his solid start to the year with a three-hit night that included a double, and drove in four runs. The left-handed hitting catcher, who came into the year with a .221 average since the Padres drafted him in the 15th-round in 2021, is slashing .282/.333/.410 through his first 14 games in the PCL. … Righty Evan Fitterer continued his stellar system debut on the mound, allowing just one unearned run over 3.2 innings. While he walked a season-high three batters, he punched out four batters and allowed just two hits. The 25-year-old minor league free agent, who logged only six outings at Triple-A in his six years in the Marlins organization, now sports a 0.98 ERA and is holding PCL batters to a .203 average. … Righty Misael Tamarez tossed two more scoreless innings, allowing just a single and striking out one. He sat 96-97 with his fastball, dialing it up to 99, and got a 33% whiff rate on nine Albuquerque swings against the pitch. He owns a 2.35 ERA through his first 15.1 innings this year. Since joining the organization as a free agent last July, he’s posted an ERA of 3.83, nearly two full runs below what he did in six years in the Astros system.

Missions 5, Tulsa Drillers 4

Key Stats: C Ethan Salas 2-for-5, 2K, SB (5); DH Leandro Cedeño 2-for-4, HR (2); 3B Luis Verdugo 1-for-3, BB, SF; LHP Jesus Sanchez 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER 6 K, 2 BB; RHP Johan Moreno 1.2 IP, 2 K; RHP Francis Peña 2 IP, H, 3 K, BB; LHP Omar Cruz 2 IP, H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 K

Prospect Watch: This game was tied at two after nine innings, but San Antonio claimed the victory on a Luis Verdugo sacrifice fly in the 12th inning to snap an ugly seven-game losing streak. The Missions allowed only seven hits and punched out 16 batters. Lefty Fernando Sanchez set the tone, striking out six in a season-high 4.1 innings. The 25-year-old has bounced back nicely from a rough outing in his second appearance of the season, posting a 3.77 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 14.1 innings of work. … Francis Peña lowered his ERA on the year to 1.38 as he turned in two scoreless frames and struck out three. The righty’s fastball velocity has been edging back up, though it still sits a bit behind where it was in his monster 2024 campaign. Encouragingly, after walking seven in his first 2.1 innings, he’s only issued five more over the last 11.1 frames. If the Padres’ pitching development group can get him back on track, he could create a pathway to the majors for himself later in the summer. … While he struck out twice, Ethan Salas also collected a pair of hits as he logged his fifth straight multi-hit start. He’s now pushed his average to .308 on the season. … Leandro Cedeño continued to hit the ball hard, crushing a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th. In 13 games since joining the Missions in his return to playing in the United States, the big right-handed slugger is batting .347/.418/.551 despite a 29% strikeout rate. While he’s gotten into four games at first base, he’s largely been limited to designated hitter.

TinCaps 6, South Bend Cubs 1

Key Stats: 2B Rosman Verdugo 1-for-3, HR (3), SF; DH Alex McCoy 3-for-4, 3B; 3B Zach Evans 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Carson Montgomery 5 IP, 3 H, 4 K; RHP Clark Candiotti 2 IP, K

Prospect Watch: Righty Carson Montgomery earned his first professional victory, tossing five three-hit innings and setting down four Cubs by way of the strikeout. The 2023 11th-rounder, who missed 23 months after Tommy John surgery, has showed plenty of reason for optimism in his first four outings with the TinCaps, posting a 2.12 ERA. The 23-year-old, who had thrown four innings in each of his three starts earlier in the month, was able to stretch out to five by working in and around the zone effectively. He threw 39 of 53 pitches for strikes, making it through the outing without issuing a walk for the first time this year. … Rosman Verdugo had the biggest hit of the night, a two-run line drive homer over the wall in left field in the fifth inning. The infielder had already driven in a run with a sacrifice fly on the night. At 21, Verdugo has cut his strikeout rate to a career-best 22.5% this year, but the more frequent contact has come at the expense of his power as he’s slugging just .319. … Alex McCoy added three more hits again, including a triple on a flare fly ball that got past the Cubs’ right fielder and rolled most of the way to the wall. He now ranks third in the Midwest League with a .354 average, second with a .683 slugging percentage, and fourth with a 1.069 OPS.

Storm 9, Ontario Tower Buzzers 3

Key Stats: C Truitt Madonna 2-for-5, 2B, SB (8); 1B Luke Cantwell 1-for-2, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB (3); DH Jorge Quintana 2-for-5, BB SB (8); RF George Bilecki 2-for-2, 3 BB, SB (2), CS (1); RHP Lucas Giolito 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 6 K, BB; RHP Bryan Balzer 4 IP, H, 6 K

Prospect Watch: Lucas Giolito gave up back-to-back doubles to open his second rehab assignment, but then settled in and set down nine in a row on his way to a solid second outing since signing with the Padres. The veteran’s night wrapped up after he reached 70 pitches with one out in the fifth. He was charged with three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six. He has punched out 10 in seven innings so far in his build-up. … Righty Bryan Balzer worked the final four innings, turning in one of the most impressive outings of his career. The 21-year-old allowed just one single while striking out six. Balzer landed 38 of his 53 pitches for strikes as he lowered his ERA across five appearances to 3.68. The 2023 international free agent signee has made huge strides since last year, when he allowed opponents to hit .310 and posted an uninspiring 49:28 strikeout-towalk ratio. … The Storm offense scored in bunches Thursday, plating three in the fourth inning and five in the top of the ninth to make the final score seem like more of a blow-out than it actually was. Luke Cantwell connected on his first home run of the year to push across the first three runs. The 23-year-old, who played at High-A after signing as the Padres’ 20th-round pick last summer, got off to a bit of a slow start this year, but is now hitting .267/.431/.422 with more walks than strikeouts. … Catcher Truitt Madonna snapped an 0-for-10 stretch with two hits, including a double, and a walk. The 19-year-old has a .743 OPS through his first 96 plate appearances of the year, a marked improvement from his debut in 14 games last year. He’s still punching out an unsustainable 29.2% clip, but he’s making more frequent contact and pulling the ball in the air much more often.