San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: May 16

Salt Lake Bees 5, Chihuahuas 4

Key Stats: 2B/RF Samad Taylor 2-for-5, SB (8); CF Jase Bowen 2-for-4, PO/CS (4), 2 K; 3B Jose Miranda 3-for-4, 2B; RHP Evan Fitterer 6 IP, 3 H, ER, K, 2 BB, 2 HBP; LHP Kyle Hart 1.1 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; RHP David Morgan (L, 0-2), 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 K

Prospect Watch: Righty Evan Fitterer turned in six strong innings of one-run ball to help El Paso take a 2-1 lead to the bottom of the eighth, before the hosts rallied for three. The Chihuahuas came back to tie it in the ninth, but Salt Lake rallied again and claimed victory on a game-winning single off David Morgan. Fitterer, who signed as a minor league free agent in December, relied almost exclusively on his fastball and curve as he needed only 74 pitches to get through his evening. The 25-year-old actually picked up velocity throughout the outing, sitting 92-93 mph in the first inning and then up to 94 in his final inning. Fitterer’s fastball is an extreme outlier, averaging only about five inches of induced vertical break, a number that generally only comes from sidearm deliveries. It’s a profile that has helped him rack up a 56.1% groundball rate in the homer-happy PCL, contributing to a 2.43 ERA through 33.1 innings. Fitterer only struck out one, but induced 12 groundball outs as he went beyond five innings for the first time on the year. … Morgan was summoned with two on and one out in the eighth to go for a five-out save, but surrendered a two-run double to the first batter he faced. He then allowed a Chris Taylor single to plate another run. He was tagged for another double in the ninth before giving up the walk-off knock. Morgan’s four-seamer and sinker both ran up to north of 98 mph and, encouragingly, were in the zone at a 60% clip, but in five outings since he was sent down, the righty has a 10.80 ERA. … Samad Taylor had two more hits, including his fifth double of the year, to push his team-best OPS to .934, but it was his swinging bunt that tied things back up for El Paso in the ninth. The versatile defender – he shifted from second base to the outfield for the final defensive frame – is punching out at a career-best 17.5% rate while drawing double-digit walk totals. With his speed – the 27-year-old swiped his eighth base of the year in this one – he is a likely fit if the Padres need to go outside the 40-player roster for depth during the season.

Wichita Wind Surge 5, Missions 2

Key Stats: SS Carson Tucker 2-for-5, 2 SB (9), 2 K, E (3); 1B Romeo Sanabria 1-for-3, BB; 2B Francisco Acuna 0-for-1, 3 BB, SB (4); RHP Victor Lizarraga 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 8 K; RHP Johan Moreno IP, 4 H, 3 ER, K, BB; RHP Clark Candiotti 2 IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Victor Lizarraga turned in his best start of the year, allowing just one earned run and striking out a season-high eight batters over six innings, but a quiet day from the San Antonio offense and a rare meltdown by Johan Moreno sank the Missions Saturday. Lizarraga, who had brutal back-to-back outings in early April to push his ERA north of 20, has rebounded impressively since then, working to a 2.35 ERA across his last five outings despite a so-so 20:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23 innings. The velocity spike everyone expected when Lizarraga signed before the 2021 season has never come, but the 22-year-old righty is back to getting outs by relying on his change-up. … Moreno entered the game with a 1.53 ERA through his first 11 appearances, but Wichita’s Andrew Cossetti jumped him for a leadoff homer before his teammates cobbled together three singles and a walk to plate two more runs. After posting ERAs north of five each of his first two full seasons in the organization, the 23-year-old righty has gotten better results as he’s seen a velocity jump on his fastball this season. … Carson Tucker‘s remarkable comeback continued as the shortstop picked up two more hits out of the leadoff spot to push his average to .352. If he plays a full game Sunday, he should cross the plate appearance threshold needed to appear at the top of the Texas League leaderboard. While his remarkable performance has been fueled by a .492 average on balls in play, he has also squared up more than a third of his balls in play for line drives.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, TinCaps 4

Key Stats: 2B Rosman Verdugo 1-for-4, HR (7), 2 RBI, 2 K; 1B Lamar King Jr. 1-for-4; LF Alex McCoy 0-for-4, 3 K; DH Jake Cunningham 1-for-4, 2B 3 K; RF Kavares Tears 2-for-4; RHP Abraham Parra 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 K, 2 BB; LHP Javier Chacon 2.2 IP, H, 4 K

Prospect Watch: Cedar Rapids jumped out to an early lead, scoring multiple runs in three of the first four innings of the game, then held on as the TinCaps rallied to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Rosman Verdugo got Fort Wayne on the board in the sixth when he crushed a two-run homer to left-center. The blast, his seventh of the year, moved Verdugo into a tie with Alex McCoy for the team lead. The 21-year-old infielder has slashed his strikeout rate to 21.3% so far this year while posting a career-best .193 isolated power rate. Still a tough fit defensively at either second or third base, if the right-handed hitter from Baja California can keep up the improved contact rates, he’ll find his way to San Antonio by the draft. … Lamar King Jr. collected an infield single in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 27 games. All three elements of his .276/.399/.400 line this year are tracking above his career numbers. … After starting 2026 back in Lake Elsinore for a fourth season, Javier Chacon is looking good in his first pass at the Midwest League. The hard-throwing lefty punched out four as he set down eight of the nine batters he faced Saturday. He’s struck out 36.5% of batters he’s faced across the two levels this season.

Storm 4, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2

Key Stats: 3B Bradley Frye 2-for-5, SB (11); DH Ty Harvey 2-for-3, 2 SB (5), BB; 1B Kerrington Cross 1-for-3, 2B, BB; C Truitt Madonna 1-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 K, PB (10); RHP Tyler Schmitt 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 2 BB; RHP Carson Swilling 2.1 IP, K, BB

Prospect Watch: Truitt Madonna got the Storm out to an early 2-0 lead when he rifled a two-run double to the left field corner in the bottom of the first, then Kerrington Cross gave them their final margin of victory with his own double in the seventh. In both cases, Bradley Frye and Ty Harvey, who were in the top two spots in the lineup, scored easily. Harvey, in the DH slot, hasn’t missed a beat since spending a month on the IL with a quad injury. The 19-year-old is 6-for-14 with a pair of doubles in his first four games back and now has a 1.002 OPS for Lake Elsinore in nine games in his first season since the Padres agreed to a significantly over-slot deal with him as a fifth-rounder. … Fellow backstop Madonna is now tied for fifth on the circuit with 11 doubles, but has struggled to make contact at times while striking out at a 31.3% clip. The big-bodied 19-year-old has also had growing pains behind the plate after working largely with low-level pitchers in high school. Madonna committed his tenth passed ball of the year on Saturday. … Storm starter Tyler Schmitt carried a one-hit shutout through five innings, extending his stellar run of pitching this month. The showing pushed his scoreless innings streak to 16, a span over which he allowed only four hits. However, when the 17th-round pick out of the University of Illinois came back out for the sixth inning, he gave up a leadoff walk before surrendering a two-run homer – the first round-tripper he had allowed in a month. On the year, the 6-foot-3 righty owns a 4.71 ERA.

ACL Padres 9, ACL Guardians 2 (7 innings)

Key Stats: 3B Luis De Leon 1-for-4, 2B, BB, SB (4); CF Fabian Alcantara 2-for-4, HR (1); RF Jesmaylin Arias 3-for-4, 2B; DH Yimy Tovar 2-for-4, 2 R; 1B Jhojan Downer 2-for-3, BB, 3 RBI; RHP Lan-Hong Su 2 IP, H, 4 K, 2 BB; RHP Jeferson Villabona IP, 2 H, ER; Jordan Valenzuela 2.2 IP, H, 5 K, 2 BB

Prospect Watch: Righty Lan-Hong Su made his professional debut after it was delayed by a few weeks as he dealt with blisters on his pitching hand. The 19-year-old from Taiwan, who signed for a mid-six-figure bonus late in last year’s international free agency period, impressed over his two inning start, striking out four. While he hasn’t added much mass to his 6-foot-2 frame yet, the righty shows good feel for a three-pitch mix. He’ll look to build up through the ACL season and could get a late-season look in Lake Elsinore. … Jhojan Downer, the 18-year-old Panamanian making his first appearance stateside after spending two years in the DSL, collected two hits and a walk and is now hitting .412/.615/.471 through his first eight games. A stout right-hander, Downer has logged time at catcher, first base and right field already. … Fabian Alcantara, whose seven homers paced the Padres’ DSL clubs last year, connected on his first stateside round-tripper as part of a two-hit game. The 20-year-old has matched his strong power production with rough swing and contact rates. Alcantara has struck out an alarming 15 times without a walk in 33 trips to the plate.