San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 7

Chihuahuas 4, Tacoma Rainiers 1

Key Stats: LHP JP Sears 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 8 K, 2 BB; RHP Garrett Hawkins 2 IP, 3 K; RHP David Morgan (S, 1), IP, K; CF Jase Bowen 2-for-3, HR (8), BB, SB (2); DH Pablo Reyes 1-for-2, BB

Prospect Watch: Lefty JP Sears turned in his best outing since the Padres acquired him at the deadline last year, allowing just one unearned run over five innings while striking out a season-high eight batters. The big league veteran got 15 whiffs from a solid Tacoma lineup, giving up only two hits and a pair of walks in the outing. The performance cut his ERA on the year to 5.91. Garrett Hawkins, Logan Gillaspie, and David Morgan followed, delivering four perfect innings. Hawkins had his best outing since early April, punching out three over two innings of work. The righty, whose command of his trademark riding fastball has eluded him much of this season, worked effectively at the bottom of the zone on Thursday, getting three grounders as he relied more on his slider. … Jase Bowen once again paced the El Paso offense. He singled to lead off the game and came around to score on a bunt single by Pablo Reyes, then connected on a two-out, two-run homer in the second inning to give the Chihuahuas all the offense they would need. Bowen now has a team-best eight round-trippers on the year, but his continued high (28.5%) strikeout rate and low (8.5%) walk rate are holding his overall production in the offense-friendly PCL around league average. … Reyes’ single pushed his on-base streak to 25 games. He went on to draw a walk as well and is now hitting .323/.446/.570 in his first season in the organization. He’ll look to reach the majors for the eighth season this year.

Midland RockHounds 6, Missions 2

Key Stats: C Ethan Salas 0-for-3, 2K, SF; SS Cole Tucker 1-for-2, 2B, BB, SB (5); LHP Jagger Haynes 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 3 BB

Prospect Watch: Lefty Jagger Haynes continued to stabilize his year after a rough start, but Omar Cruz had a brutal outing as the RockHounds rallied to claim the win. Haynes, 23, turned in his second straight six-inning, two-run game, though his peripherals weren’t as dominant as his start last week. The 2020 draftee yielded seven hits – all singles – and walked three, but he picked off a runner and induced a pair of double-play grounders to limit damage. After posting a 7.36 ERA through his first three starts, he’s given up six runs over 17 innings in his last three. … Cruz, who had three different stints with the big league club last year, opened this season in El Paso, but got hit hard through six appearances and was sent backward to the Missions at the end of April. Things haven’t gotten better there. After surrendering three runs without recording an out on Thursday, his ERA in four Texas League outings is 11.12. … Infielder Cole Tucker continues to be one of the better stories in the organization as he collected a double and walk in three trips to the plate and is now hitting .331/.400/.500 in 20 games. The 24-year-old, who was out of affiliated baseball for more than two years, is just a few plate appearances from qualifying for the league leader board. When he gets them, he’ll rank in the top 10 for average and on-base percentage in the Texas League.

TinCaps 3, Beloit Sky Carp 1

Key Stats: Kasen Wells 2-for-3, BB, 2 SB (7); RF Kavares Tears 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; C Lamar King 0-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Carson Montgomery 5 IP, 3 H, 5 K, BB; LHP Igor Gil 0.2 IP, K, BB; RHP Kleiber Olmedo (W, 3-2), IP, 2 K, BB; RHP Clay Edmondson (S, 6), IP, K, BB

Prospect Watch: Carson Montgomery impressed again as he matched zeroes with Beloit starter Eliazar Dishmey over five scoreless innings. The 23-year-old extended out to five innings for the first time in his professional career, striking out five against just one walk. Through 22 innings this year, the righty has a so-so 18:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but opposing hitters are only batting .213 against him and he’s allowed just four earned runs, good for a 1.64 ERA. On a cold night in the Summit City, the Florida native relied mostly on his sinker and slider, showing good separation to keep Beloit hitters off balance. … Sidewinder Clay Edmondson worked around a leadoff walk to deliver his eighth straight scoreless outing and pick up his sixth save in as many opportunities in his first professional season. The 22-year-old UNC-Asheville product has been stellar at the back of the TinCaps bullpen, posting a 33% strikeout rate. When opponents have made contact, they’ve pounded more than 55% of balls in play into the ground. … Undersized center fielder Kasen Wells had a pair of hits and a walk out of the leadoff spot for the TinCaps, tallying 25% of the club’s times reaching base in the game. Once on the basepaths, he stole a pair of bags to push his season total to seven in 28 games.

Inland Empire 66ers 4, Storm 1

Key Stats: RHP Bryan Balzer 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 2 BB; CF Ryan Wideman 2-for-3, BB, SB (19); SS Jorge Quintana 1-for-4

Prospect Watch: The Storm offense couldn’t back up a strong outing from Bryan Balzer as the club dropped its third straight to Inland Empire. Despite the loss, Balzer continued his breakout tour of the Cal League by going six innings for the first time in his career. He yielded a pair of runs on a loud two-out double in the first, but settled in and cruised over his final four frames, allowing just one base runner who reached on an error. The 21-year-old’s fastball continues to sit in the mid- to upper-90s and he’s showing more consistent feel for both his breaking ball and split-finger offering. Through six outings this year, opponents are hitting just .202 against him. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reach High-A within the next month. … Ryan Wideman collected two hits and a walk as the only Storm batter to reach base multiple times in the game as he slid into the third spot in the lineup for the first time this year. The center fielder, whose offensive performance has been one of the biggest up-arrows in the organization this spring, now owns a .395 on-base percentage while striking out at an 18.5% clip that’s down from 28.5% last year.

ACL Padres 5, ACL Brewers (7 innings)

Key Stats: Jhony Brito 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K, BB; LHP Zack Qin 3 IP, 6 H, 4 K; C Ty Harvey 3-for-4, 2B; DH Jhojan Downer 1-for-2, 2B, BB, SB (1)

Prospect Watch: This one was all about the rehabbers. Jhony Brito, making his first official appearance two weeks after the one-year anniversary of his UCL internal brace procedure, worked three innings. While obviously, the results aren’t as important as the workload, the 28-year-old punched out seven against one walk. Part of the return from the Yankees in exchange for Juan Soto, Brito was shut down in August of 2024 after 26 appearances out of the big league bullpen and six appearances for El Paso. Currently on the 60-day IL and with one minor league option left, the righty will be brought along slowly, but should be a depth option for the big league club by early summer. … Lefty Zack Qin also began a rehab assignment after last officially pitching in August, 2024. The 20-year-old, who had Tommy John surgery soon after that one-inning outing for the Storm, has grown significantly since becoming the first player to sign with the Padres out of mainland China and now looks the part of a starting prospect. Qin gave up seven singles, but struck out four and didn’t allow a run. He’ll build up in the desert a bit more before joining Lake Elsinore’s rotation. … When Qin arrives in the Cal League, he’ll find his battery-mate from Thursday waiting for him. Ty Harvey, working back from a quad strain in April, had three hits including a double and is now 4-for-8 in three games since getting back on the field. Expect the 19-year-old to get another week in the desert before heading back to Lake Elsinore.