San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 8

Tacoma Rainiers 17, Chihuahuas 2

Key Statistics: CF Jase Bowen 3-for-4, 2 HR (10), 2 RBI; LF Carlos Rodriguez 2-for-4; RF Nick Schnell 1-for-3, BB; RHP Sean Boyle (L, 2-4) 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Misael Tamarez 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K

Prospect Watch: El Paso’s pitching staff struggled once again, as they allowed 17 runs on 22 hits to Tacoma in a blowout loss. Collectively, the El Paso pitching staff has a 7.00 ERA over the last month – the worst in the PCL by a fairly significant margin. … Center fielder Jase Bowen had another excellent game, notching three hits, including a pair of homers. Both homers left the bat at over 109 mph and the first traveled 462 feet to leave the ballpark entirely in left field.. Bowen is now tied for second in the PCL with both 10 homers, and his .636 slugging percentage ranks second outright. … Minor league veteran Carlos Rodriguez singled twice in four at-bats. The 25-year-old spent last year in the Braves’ organization last year before signing with the Padres as a minor league free agent. He makes frequent contact and sports a solid .280 batting average – right on par with the .282 mark he’s produced as a professional. However, he has just three extra-base hits, and his .310 slugging percentage ranks as the ninth-lowest mark in the PCL. … Righty Sean Boyle made the start on Friday and got knocked around by the Rainiers, allowing six runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings. The last three appearances have been downright dreadful for the former Yankees farmhand. Over his last 10 innings, Boyle has allowed 18 earned runs and seven walks. The stretch has resulted in an alarming ERA of 9.11 on the year. 

Missions 8, Midland RockHounds 4

Key Statistics: C Ethan Salas, 3-for-6, 2 R, 2B, RBI; LF Tirso Ornelas, 3-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, BB; SS Ryan Jackson, 2-for-4, R, RBI; 3B Luis Verdugo, 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI; 2B Francisco Acuna, 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI; CF Kai Roberts, 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB; RHP Ian Koenig (W, 1-3) 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 K; RHP Andrew Moore. 2 IP, BB, 5 K

Prospect Watch: The Missions had a season-high 18 hits to cruise to a win over Midland. … Ethan Salas’ emergence as an offensive force continues to be the story of the system this year, as the talented catcher had three more hits in six at-bats. He doubled, singled twice, and drove in a run. The 19-year-old is hitting a robust .360/.452/.720 with five extra-base hits, including a pair of homers in May. Overall, Salas ranks sixth in the Texas League with a .322 average. … Tirso Ornelas had three hits of his own, including a double, and also drew a pair of walks. Since being demoted to Double-A, Ornelas has hit the ball in the air more frequently than he ever has in his career. After a slow start, he’s finding his groove. In five games this month, he has three doubles, two homers, and he’s slugging .789. In 23 May plate appearances, he’s struck out just twice. … Righty Ian Koenig was the beneficiary of the Missions’ offensive output, as he won his first career Double-A game. The righty tossed six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits. He struck out five and did not issue a free pass. Koenig is displaying the best control of his career – dropping his walk rate to a miniscule 4.2% this season – but he allows a lot of hard contact. He’s been tagged for seven homers in just 28 innings, with five of them coming away from the friendly environment of Wolff Stadium. Overall, he’s pitched to a 4.50 ERA in six starts. 

TinCaps 1, Beloit Sky Carp 0

Key Statistics: RF Kavares Tears 2-for-3; 3B Zach Evans 2-for-3, R, SB (1); DH Lamar King Jr. 1-for-3, 2B, BB; LHP Kash Mayfield (W, 2-1) 5 IP, H, BB, 3 K; RHP Clark Candiotti 2 IP, 4 K; RHP Tucker Musgrove (S, 1) IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The TinCaps won a pitcher’s duel in Fort Wayne, behind the arm of Kash Mayfield. … Mayfield completed five innings, allowing just one hit – a double to former Padres’ first-rounder Dillon Head. He walked one and struck out three. Friday’s start marked the second time this season that Mayfield has pitched at least five innings while allowing one hit. In four of his six starts, he’s allowed one hit or less, and he has not allowed more than three in any outing this season. While he has walked 13 batters in 24.2 innings, opponents are hitting just .107 against him. Overall, the former first-rounder has a 1.82 ERA, good for third in the Midwest League. … Righty Clark Candiotti relieved Mayfield and pitched two clean innings, striking out four in the process. The 25-year-old has transitioned to the bullpen full-time this year after starting 17 games for the TinCaps last season. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for the big righty this season. On a positive note, he has a solid 26.4% strikeout rate, but a walk rate of 11% leaves a bit to be desired. Overall, he has a 5.17 ERA in 10 appearances this season. … Tucker Musgrove wasn’t pretty, but he got the job done to pick up his first professional save. The 24-year-old righty walked two and gave up a pair of singles in the ninth inning, but thanks to a caught stealing and a pair of strikeouts, he avoided giving up a run. He’s punched out 35.6% of the batters he has faced this year, but his 22.2% walk rate is not tenable going forward. … Zach Evans had a pair of hits and scored the game’s only run with a fifth-inning steal of home. After a dismal April, Evans has looked much better at the plate this month. He’s hitting .308/.333/.462 in May with three multi-hit games. In April, he struck out 15 times in 61 plate appearances; this month, he’s punched out just once in 27 plate appearances. … Right fielder Kavares Tears had a pair of singles in three trips to the plate. Tears has hit safely in four straight after finishing April in a 2-for-21 slump. He has shown some impressive power at times this year, but with a K-rate north of 30%, he will need to drastically improve his contact rate to regularly impact the game. 

Storm 4, Inland Empire 66ers 1

Key Statistics: 2B Bradley Frye 3-for-5, R, RBI; CF Ryan Wideman 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 SB (22); DH Qrey Lott 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (4); LHP Kruz Schoolcraft 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Rordy Mejia (W, 2-1) 2 IP, H, 3 BB, K; RHP Vicarte Domingo 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K; RHP Will Koger (S, 1) IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm used a 10-hit attack to snap a three-game losing streak at the 66ers. Lake Elsinore stole six bases Friday, giving them 97 – a total that nearly doubles the Cal League’s second best total of 49 from San Jose. Lake Elsinore trails only Fayetteville of the Single-A Carolina League in all of affiliated baseball. … Kruz Schoolcraft navigated some heavy traffic to twirl the best outing of his professional career. Schoolcraft allowed a leadoff triple in the first but was able to strand the runner at third to end the inning. The young lefty ended up completing a career-high four innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. The unearned run scored because of Schoolcraft’s two-base error on a failed pickoff attempt he threw into foul territory. He struck out two but also walked a pair and uncorked a pair of wild pitches while sitting at 95 mph for the majority of the night. Schoolcraft tossed 67 pitches before departing. After a pair of awful outings when he allowed nine runs in just 1.2 innings combined to start the season, he’s looked a little better each time out. Over his last four starts, he has a 4.72 ERA. … Center fielder Ryan Wideman continues to be the sparkplug of the Storm offense, as he did damage at the plate and on the bases. Last year’s third-rounder had a pair of singles, a hustle double, three RBIs, and added three more stolen bases, for a league-best 22 on the season. The 22-year-old is hitting .310/.410/.513 for Lake Elsinore this year. … Bradley Frye had three hits as he continues to find holes in the defense. He had one hit just through the infield and had another that caromed off the pitcher. He also helped Schoolcraft with a spectacular double play in which he fielded the ball up the middle, stretched to tag second, and fired a strike to first to complete the twin-killing. Overall, the former Mercer infielder has an .888 OPS for the Storm. 

ACL Padres 7, ACL Royals 5

Key Statistics: 2B Jhoan De La Cruz 1-for-4, R, HR (1), 2 RBI; SS Yimy Tovar 2-for-4, R, 2B; DH Ty Harvey 1-for-4, R, RBI; RHP Michael Salina 0.2 IP, H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; LHP Adler Cecil 2 IP, H, 3 K; RHP Dariel Polanco (W, 1-0) 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K; RHP Jordan Valenzuela IP, 2 K

Prospect Watch: The ACL squad won again, improving to 3-2 in the young season. … The big storyline out of the desert was the professional debut of Michael Salina. Salina, the Padres’ fourth-rounder last July, underwent Tommy John surgery before the draft. The results weren’t impressive, as he allowed a pair of runs while recording just two outs before hitting his pitch count. The hard-throwing righty will build up in the desert, perhaps joining a full-season club by the end of the month. … Jhoan De La Cruz, one of the key members of the Padres’ 2025 international free agent class, connected on his first career stateside homer. The 18-year-old switch-hitter is off to a 2-for-15 start this season. … Lefty Adler Cecil made his second appearance of the  season and again tossed a pair of scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out three and did not issue a walk. The 21-year-old was drafted by the Padres in the 19th-round out of his school in 2023. He made his pro debut in 2024 in the desert and walked 34 batters in just 22.2 innings. He missed all of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In a small sample this year, Cecil has struck out eight batters in four innings without issuing a free pass. Cecil’s emergence could make for an interesting story; he attended Temecula Valley High School, giving him the opportunity to pitch near his hometown in Lake Elsinore.