Chihuahuas rained out
El Paso’s game at Oklahoma City was postponed and will be made up during the Chihuahua’s last visit to the Comets in late August. After winning the opener on the road, El Paso has lost three straight.
Luis Verdugo had the big hit for San Antonio. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Missions 10, Midland RockHounds 9
Key Statistics: 3B Ryan Jackson 3-for-5, SB (9); DH Tirso Ornelas 1-for-4, BB, SB (2); RF Braedon Karpathios 2-for-5, RBI, 2 BB; 1B Luis Verdugo 2-for-4, HR (7), 3 RBI; SS Francisco Acuna 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; LHP Jagger Haynes 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K; LHP Harry Gustin (W, 3-5) IP, H, 2 BB, K; RHP Clay Edmondson 0.2 IP, H, 1 R (0 ER), BB; RHP Garrett Hawkins (S,1) 1.1 IP, H, 3 K
Prospect Watch: After dropping the first three games of the series, the Missions came back to win again on Saturday with a big three-run home run by Luis Verdugo in the eighth inning. The 25-year-old minor league free agent signee finished the day 2-for-4 and now has his wRC+ up to 101 on the year. He started Saturday’s game at first base, but has seen the bulk of his time at third. … Braedon Karpathios had a nice day reaching four times and driving in a run. After collecting two more free passes in this one, the 23-year-old outfielder has a 13.3% walk rate on the year, but his strikeout rate remains stuck too high at 31%. … Jagger Haynes got the start and had his shortest outing since April 8, allowing six earned runs in three innings. Haynes, 23, was coming off a June in which he sported a 3.56 ERA in 30.1 innings. He has thrown 88.2 innings this season and is well on pace to surpass his previous career high of 110.2, set in Fort Wayne in 2024. … Garrett Hawkins came in and got a four-out save while recording three strikeouts. It was his first save of the year. While his ERA through 4.2 innings since he was sent back to San Antonio earlier this month is 5.79, Hawkins, 26, seems to be getting back in the groove. He has nine strikeouts and, importantly, has issued only a single walk. In 23.1 innings with the Chihuahuas, he walked 26 in 23.1 innings against only 20 strikeouts.
Bryan Balzer struck out a career-high of eight on Saturday. (Photo: Fort Wayne TinCaps)
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, TinCaps 2
Key Statistics: SS Justin DeCriscio 2-for-3, RBI, BB; LF Kasen Wells 1-for-3, 2B; RHP Bryan Balzer 5 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 8 K; RHP Nick Falter (L, 0-2) 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Will Koger IP, 2 K
Prospect Watch: The TinCaps dropped their fourth out of five games against West Michigan on Saturday, as they were no-hit through the first five innings. There room for optimism came from Bryan Balzer’s strong third outing in the Midwest League. The 21-year-old, who signed out of high school in Japan for $10,000 on the international free agent market in 2023, struck out a career-high eight batters while walking only one After a tough debut against Lake County on June 27, in which he allowed six runs in 3.2 innings, he has allowed only two earned runs while striking out 14 in 8.2 innings over his last two appearances. He still needed 85 pitches to get to five innings, but things are trending in the right direction. … The TinCaps put a pair of runs on the board in the sixth inning, with Justin DeCriscio’s RBI single and Kasen Wells scoring on a wild pitch. DeCriscio, a tenth-round pick out of North Carolina State last summer, has been one of the more consistent performers for the TinCaps on both sides of the ball. The 23-year-old has solidified the defense at shortstop and is second on the team with a .372 on-base percentage and an .804 OPS.
Dylan Grego in action during the Spring Breakout Game. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Storm 8, Rancho Cucamonga 2
Key Statistics: 3B Yimy Tovar 2-for-6, RBI; C Yoiber Ocopio 2-for-4, 2B, 2 BB; 2B Dylan Grego 4-for-5, HR (3), 3 RBI, BB; LF Conner Westenburg 1-for-5, BB; DH Alcides Hernandez 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB; LF Qrey Lott 2-for-2, 2 2B, BB, 2 HBP, SB (11); RHP Tyler Schmitt (W, 6-4) 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 5 K; RHP Jordan Valenzuela 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K; RHP Jeferson Villabona 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K
Prospect Watch: The Storm rapped out 16 hits for an 8-2 win on Saturday, giving them a chance to split the series against the Angels’ Low-A affiliate on Sunday. Dylan Grego was the star of the game with four hits, including a home run to left-center field in the fifth inning. The Ball State University product had a tough start to the season in Fort Wayne, posting a .416 OPS in 24 games and 84 plate appearances, but is starting to find his way with Lake Elsinore. In June, he posted a slash line of .314/.379/.431 and has a .918 OPS in July. The switch-hitter has been seeing time equally at second base, shortstop, and left field. … Qrey Lott, 21, also had a nice evening with a pair of doubles and his eleventh stolen base of the season in 13 attempts. He reached base five times total as he drew a walk and was hit by two pitches. Lott, yet another undrafted free-agent signee by San Diego last year after two years at Northwest Florida Junior College, was the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year in 2025, when he hit .335 with 12 home runs and 21 steals. The organization is trying to put weight on the athletic outfielder, who is 6-foot-5 and maybe 190 pounds. The Orioles’ 15th-round pick out of high school in 2023 is having a very solid debut professional year with a .280/.397/.429 slash line Lott was one of the buzziest under-the-radar players in the organization this spring. … Right-hander Tyler Schmitt picked up his sixth win of the year with his second straight outing of five innings of one-run work. The Wisconsin native, drafted out of University of Illinois in the 17th round last year, didn’t issue a walk for the first time in 15 outings this year. He has been a solid workhorse for the Storm this season, posting a 4.41 ERA across 65.1 innings in his first professional campaign.
ACL Padres 15, ACL Rangers 7
Key Statistics: LF Eddson Martinez 1-for-3, BB; 2B Luis De Leon 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB (12); RF Jesmaylin Arias 2-for-4, HR (7), 4 RBI, BB; 1B Colton Vincent 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; CF Fabian Alcantara 2-for-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, BB; C Jack Mathey 1-for-3, BB; RHP Landry Jurecka (W, 4-1) 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K; RHP Dariel Polanco 2 IP, H, ER, 4 K; RHP Luis Germán IP, 3 K
Luis De Leon is leading the ACL squad in hits for the second straight year. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Prospect Watch: With two weeks left in the Arizona Complex League season, the ACL Padres won to move five games above .500. … Luis De Leon reached base three times with a hit and two walks. For the second season in a row, the 20-year-old now leads the ACL Padres in hits with 42 in 46 games on his way to a .388 on-base percentage. The 5-foot-8, 155-pound Dominican native has only six extra-base hits in 184 plate appearances, but he has been a solid contributor for the club. He has seen time at both second and third base. … Outfielder Jesmaylin Arias connected on his team-best seventh homer of the year as part of a two-hit day. The 19-year-old has seen a big spike in his production in his second season in the desert, cutting his strikeout rate down below 20% while jumping his slugging percentage significantly to .492. His overall line is still a bit below average for the league, but he’s had an OPS north of .900 since the start of June and could be in line to jump up to Lake Elsinore after the end of the season. Others who could be in line for a promotion include 6-foot-8 righty Cameron Nohos, 23, and lefty Adler Cecil. Nohos, signed following last year’s draft after an injury cost him his collegiate season, has 58 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. Cecil, San Diego’s 19th-round pick in 2023, isn’t far behind him with 56 in 32.2 innings, against only 19 walks. The 21-year-old, who missed all of last year following 2024 Tommy John surgery, was particularly impressive in his last start.
