Oklahoma City Comets 6, Chihuahuas 3
Carlos Rodriguez has gotten on base consistently for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Key Stats: SS Mason McCoy 1-for-4, BB, SB (20); CF Carlos Rodríguez 1-for-4, 2B, RBI; RHP Evan Fitterer 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R (4 ER), 2 K, 3 BB; RHP Ethan Routzahn IP, H, K
Prospect Watch: After going down 6-0 in the fourth inning, El Paso rallied for three runs in the fifth, but never got any closer as they dropped their second straight in Oklahoma City. Center fielder Carlos Rodríguez had the club’s only extra-base hit with an RBI double to cap the scoring. He’s raised his average to .303 on the year, but the extra-base knocks have been too few and far between. His isolated power rate is just .091 in his first season in the Padres organization. … Shorstop Mason McCoy reached twice and picked up his 20th stolen base of the year. Now in his ninth season, the Illinois native is on track to blow past his career-best of 25, which he picked up in both 2023 and 2024. … Righty Ethan Routzahn bounced back from his worst outing of the year with a quick scoreless frame. The 28-year-old came into the year with an ERA just over three in the PCL, but has seen that jump to 4.57 this season.
Midland RockHounds 5, Missions 2
Jake Cunningham has continued to hit at his new level. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Key Stats: DH Jake Cunningham 2-for-4, 2B; 1B Albert Fabian 1-for-4, 3B, RBI; RHP Andrew Thurman 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 2 BB; RHP Francis Peña 2 IP, 3 H, ER, K, BB; RHP Clay Edmondson IP, H, K
Prospect Watch: The Missions dropped their third straight in Midland and have fallen into the cellar of the Texas League South on the year. Jake Cunningham was the lone bright spot for the offense, collecting the club’s only extra-base hit while also logging the only multi-hit line of the night. After bashing his way out of the Midwest League with 15 homers and a .560 slugging percentage, the minor league free agent-signee has kept things rolling at the higher level, batting .304/.333/.500 through his first 14 games. Concerningly, he’s struck out at a 31.7% clip with the Missions as he continues to both be too aggressive – chasing 36.4% of the pitches he’s seen out of the zone – and too prone to swing-and-miss, whiffing at a 31.8% rate. … Ethan Salas had one hit in five trips to the plate. He’s hitting just .240 since coming off the IL, but continues to put up elite contact numbers. He is in the 100th percentile among Double-A hitters, swinging-and-missing only 14.6% of the time, matching his strikeout rate. Behind the plate, Salas was beaten for five stolen bases in six attempts by the RockHounds, including one by former system-mate Leo De Vries. … Andrew Thurman stretched out to a season-high five innings as he made his third start of the year. The 34-year-old righty, who was out of affiliated baseball for eight years before signing last winter, gave up four earned runs, including a pair of solo homers. The comeback kid has a 5.52 ERA for San Antonio.
West Michigan Whitecaps 8, TinCaps 5
Carson Montgomery has built up his workload this year. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: CF Ryan Wideman 2-for-5, 2B; SS Rosman Verdugo 1-for-3, 3B, BB; Justin DeCriscio 1-for-4, BB; RHP Carson Montgomery 4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 K, 3 BB; LHP Braian Salazar 2 IP, H, ER, 3 K; RHP Will Varmette 2 IP, 2 H
Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne rallied late, pushing across two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings, but dug a hole too deep to get out of and have now dropped four in a row. Starter Carson Montgomery got hit hard once again, giving up seven runs over four innings. After carrying a 1.98 ERA through his first eight starts of the year – a result that was aided by a strand rate north of 90 percent – he has struggled to a 7.98 ERA over his last six appearances. The 23-year-old has had an especially rough go in his last three outings, giving up 16 runs in just 10.2 frames. After missing virtually all of the 2024 and 2025 seasons with Tommy John surgery, Montgomery has now thrown 60 innings, this year – more than he tallied in any season of his collegiate career. … Ryan Wideman had a single and double in five trips to the plate a night after his eight-game hitting streak came to an end. While Wideman has continued to reach base at a solid .333 clip since his promotion, he now has just two extra-base hits in his first 63 Midwest League plate appearances. After he kept his strikeout rate in the teens in Lake Elsinore, he’s seen that rate climb up to 25% at the higher level. … Rosman Verdugo collected his first triple of the year and drew a walk. He’s 8-for-27 with four extra-base hits over his last nine contests and has his OPS back up to .740 on the year. His average on balls in play is finally creeping back toward league average, but still sits at just .264. If his luck can continue to trend in the right direction, the 21-year-old is in line for the strongest season of his career.
Rancho Cucamonga 6, Storm 2
Key Stats: 3B Dawson Willis 2-for-2, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (7); 2B Bradley Frye 1-for-2, BB, 2 RBI, SB (20), CS (6); RHP Lan-Hong Su 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, BB; LHP Zack Qin 3 IP, 1 H, ER, 2 K, BB
Prospect Watch: Infielder Dawson Willis‘s remarkable start continued as he had two hits, a walk, and was hit by a pitch. The 22-year-old, who signed as an undrafted free agent after his lone Division 1 year at the University of Oklahoma, is hitting .296/.363/.521 through his first 19 games in Lake Elsinore after posting a .990 OPS in the desert. He is getting the results despite a 35.8% strikeout rate, so he will need to make some adjustments going forward. … Fellow UDFA Bradley Frye had a hit, a walk, and was also hit by a pitch in his four trips to the plate a day after his 24th birthday. The Georgia native has been a strong contributor for Elsinore, reaching base at a .367 clip this year. … Zack Qin continues to get solid results working three-inning bursts out of the bullpen. The lefty gave up a solo homer to the second batter he faced, but allowed only one more baserunner. After using his splitter and big curve to put up big strikeout rates while rehabbing in the desert, the 21-year-old has only recorded seven strikeouts against five walks in his first nine innings with Lake Elsinore.
ACL Padres 9, ACL White Sox 1 (7 Innings)
Jhoan De La Cruz has picked up his pace offensively. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Key Stats: LF Eddson Martinez 1-for-3, 2B, BB; CF Moises Valdez 2-for-3, HR (2), BB, 3 RBI; SS Jhoan De La Cruz 1-for-3, 2B, BB; LHP Adler Cecil 4 IP, 4 H, ER, 10 K, BB; RHP Luis Germán IP, H, K
Prospect Watch: A big night from the offense in Peoria is all that kept the Padres from an organizational sweep Thursday night as the club jumped out to a 4-0 in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Outfielder Eddson Martinez continued his hot US debut, collecting a hit and a walk in four trips to the plate, including his fifth double. After opening his third professional season back in the DSL again, the 18-year-old from Nicaragua finally got his first chance to come stateside in mid-June. In 12 games since, he has hit .359/.472/.538 with a 22.2% strikeout rate. … Switch-hitting shortstop Jhoan De La Cruz, widely seen as one of the two top position players in last year’s international free agent class for the Padres, also had a double and a walk. The 18-year-old has had a brutal year in the desert, but is finally showing some signs of life. He has now hit in five of his last six games with four walks and as many strikeouts. The hot streak has lifted his line for the year to .159/.297/.271. He’s been much more effective from the right side, putting up a .821 OPS, but has managed just a .520 mark against righties. … For the second time in three outings, Adler Cecil punched out 10 batters, this time in only four innings. The 21-year-old lefty has struck out 56 in 32.2 innings and held opponents to just a .212 average, but still sports a 5.23 ERA. Now 23 months removed from Tommy John surgery, the Temecula native should get a chance to move up to full-season ball when the ACL season wraps up.
