San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: June 27

Sugar Land Space Cowboys 5, Chihuahuas 2

Key Statistics: SS Mason McCoy 2-for-4, 2B, SB (17); 1B Romeo Sanabria 1-for-3, BB; RF Nick Schnell 1-for-2, BB, SB (4); RHP Jhony Brito (L, 1-1) 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 6 K; RHP Justin Yeager IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: While the big league starting rotation continued to struggle, Jhony Brito made the start for El Paso in a matchup with Astros rehabber Cristian Javier. After a throwing error in the first, Brito issued one of his two walks on the night, then gave up a two-out homer. After those three runs, all charged as unearned, he retired 13 of the last 15 batters he faced, striking out six. Brito now has a 0.96 ERA in 18.2 PCL innings, though his FIP sits at 4.76. On Saturday, he leaned on his changeup and slider, using them for 52 of his 72 offerings. His changeup was particularly effective, generating  a 50% whiff rate on 16 swings. … A night after playing seven innings in the field, Jake Cronenworth got four plate appearances as the designated hitter Saturday. He went 1-for-4 in a progression the Padres often use when position players begin a rehab assignment. …. Mason McCoy had a solid night with a pair of hits and his 17th stolen base of the year. His double was the club’s only extra-base hit of the night.  McCoy is an elite defender, so anything he offers with the bat is plus. On the year, he has a slash line of .297/.367/.436. … Romeo Sanabria had a single and walk in the third game since his promotion to Triple-A. The hit was a 108.3 mph rocket line drive to right in the ninth. He came into the night just 1-for-7.

Arkansas Travelers 9, Missions 1

Key Statistics: RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, HR (11), RBI; CF Kai Roberts 1-for-2, 2B, BB, 2 SB (24), HBP; LHP Omar Cruz (L, 3-2) IP, H, ER, K; RHP Clay Edmondson 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K;  RHP Francis Peña 1.2 IP, BB, 3 K; RHP Tucker Musgrove 2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Sadrac Franco 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR

Prospect Watch: After taking the series opener against the Travelers, the Missions have dropped four straight, including a loss in Saturday’s scheduled bullpen game. … Working as the second man out of the pen, Clay Edmondson had his worst professional outing , giving up four earned runs while only getting through 1.1 innings. His command collapsed in this one, as the UNC-Asheville product walked two and hit three batters. That allowed Arkansas hitters to be patient, and they showed the ability to lay off his movement-heavy arsenal, only swinging at four of the 25 pitches outside the zone. It was his second appearance for the Missions after posting a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings with the TinCaps. … Tirso Ornelas hit his team-leading 11th home run of the year to push his OPS up to .802. At 26 years old and in his ninth year in the organization, the Tijuana native is producing a career-best .206 isolated power rate courtesy of hitting more balls in the air and to his pull side. … Kai Roberts, 25, reached base three times, and after a slow start to the year has rebounded with a .403 on-base percentage for June. He also stole a pair of bases, giving him 24 for the year without being caught. He now ranks sixth in the Texas League. The 6-foot-4 former Utah Ute is one of the better athletes in the system and an elite defender in center field, but he will need to drastically improve on a 36.1% whiff rate that has him striking out more than a third of the time. … Francis Peña and Tucker Musgrove each turned in strong outings in this one. After a rough outing against Frisco on June 13, Peña has only allowed one run in his last four appearances. Musgrove, making his second appearance in Double-A, struck out three over two scoreless, hitless innings. The former two-way star from the University of Mobile did walk a pair, but still hasn’t allowed a run in his first 3.2 Texas League innings.  

Lake County Captains 8, TinCaps 6

Key Statistics: CF Ryan Wideman 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI; SS Justin DeCriscio 2-for-5 HR (6), 2 RBI; DH Kerrington Cross 1-for-3, BB; LF Kasen Wells 1-for-3, BB, SB (17); RHP Bryan Balzer (L, 0-1) 3.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 2 K, HR; RHP Will Varmette 1.1 IP, 3 K

Prospect Watch: After Kerrington Cross‘s RBI single to give him a lead before he took the mound for his Midwest League debut, Bryan Balzer struggled with both command and control and surrendered six runs over just 3.2 innings. He issued three walks in the first and five overall. The Captains scored in each of the first four innings, putting this one far enough out of reach that a ninth-inning rally wasn’t enough for the TinCaps. Balzer made significant strides in turning his above-average stuff into solid results in his second pass at the Cal League, posting a 57:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio and cutting more than three runs off his ERA, but he is still working to refine his feel from the mound. The 21-year-old had very limited exposure to the role as an amateur in Japan. … Justin DeCriscio, 23, blasted his sixth home run with the TinCaps and ninth overall on the year. He now sports a .283/.364/.482 slash line between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne. DeCriscio, a 10th-round draft pick from North Carolina State in last year’s draft, has performed well in his professional debut season. While he’s mainly played shortstop in Fort Wayne, he has also seen time at second, third, and both corner outfield positions. … Ryan Wideman, 22, who was the star of the first half for Lake Elsinore, continues to garner positive early returns in his fifth game in the Midwest League, reaching base three times. He has five hits, all singles, in his first 23 plate appearances with the TinCaps. 

Fresno Grizzlies 10, Storm 5

Key Statistics: 3B Bradley Frye 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB; DH Dawson Willis 1-for-3, 2 RBI, SB (2), SF; C Alcides Hernandez 0-for-2, 2 BB; RHP Tyler Schmitt (L, 4-4) IP 4 H, 3 ER, BB; RHP Jordan Valenzuela 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, K

Prospect Watch: The first five Grizzlies batters jumped on Tyler Schmitt for hits, pushing across three runs before he had recorded an out. While the righty did bounce back to escape the frame with no further damage on three grounders, his day was done after he needed 37 pitches to get through the frame. Schmitt is second among Storm pitchers with 55.1 innings pitched while putting up a 4.88 ERA. After a strong May, June has been rougher for the University of Illinois product. He’s posted a 5.51 ERA in 16.1 innings this month. … The Grizzlies piled on to get to 10 runs on the night, leaving this game in little doubt even when Lake Elsinore rallied for four runs in the seventh. … Dawson Willis, an undrafted free agent signee last year from the University of Oklahoma, continued a solid full-season league debut, going 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a stolen base. Willis, 22, is now hitting .286/.350/.543 in 41 plate appearances, though he has also punched out an alarming 16 times. The Louisiana native parlayed a 1.030 OPS and Division II defensive player of the year honors during his 2024 season at LSU-Eunice into a transfer opportunity with the Sooners, but hit  just .232/.315/.372 in his one year at the higher level. Willis was one of four undrafted free agents in the lineup for Elsinore on Saturday.

The ACL Padres were off