San Diego Padres Week in Review: August 11 – August 16

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost series to Salt Lake Bees, 2-4)

Players of the Week: As Padres fans – at least the denizens of Padres Twitter – have noticed, Ethan Salas had another big week. The 20-year-old wunderkind from Florida via Venezuela reached base 11 times in five games, with three extra-base hits for a .471/.524/.765 slash line and eight RBI. In his first 14 games since moving up to Triple-A, he has a 1.151 OPS, 10 extra-base hits, and a wRC+ of 169, while being nearly four years younger than his competition. One minor word of caution on the Salas hype train, on which the MadFriars team are also happy passengers: it’s 14 games. Many times a player can set the league on fire after a promotion, but even in the minor leagues, opponents quickly get a scouting book and can make adjustments. When we interviewed Salas in San Antonio, he credited being bigger and stronger – he’s 6-foot-3, 210-215 pounds now – and deploying a vastly improved approach at the plate that we first saw in the Spring Breakout showcase for his impressive production while returning from injury. … After giving up 14 earned runs across nine innings in his first three Triple-A starts, Jagger Haynes, bounced back nicely on Wednesday, going five shutout innings in the Chihuahuas’ win. Of his 82 pitches, 54 were for strikes. The 23-year-old North Carolinian relied on his slider, four-seam fastball, and what he calls his two-seam fastball, plus what were recorded as a sinker and changeup. In our interview with him from San Antonio, Haynes said that the key to his improvement is having more of a pitch mix than he has in past seasons.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Mason McCoy nearly had as big a week as Salas with a 1.232 OPS and six stolen bases in as many attempts. He also reached a milestone, becoming the seventh Chihuahua in franchise history to reach 300 hits, though he still well short of Matthew Batten‘s 529. The 31-year-old has been the team’s mainstay team, with a team-best 459 plate appearances and a .755 OPS. He is tied for second in the PCL with 30 stolen bases and has only been caught four times. … Nick Pratto, 27, who posted a .659 OPS across 145 big league games in 2022 and 2023, had one of his better weeks since signing with the Padres organization after the Rangers released him in June. He reached base seven times in 15 plate appearances for a .467 on-base average to go along with a home run and double. The left-handed first baseman, originally a first-round pick of the Royals in 2017, has a .746 OPS in 175 plate appearances with El Paso. … Dustin Harris, 27, continues to be one of the organization’s more productive minor league pickups. This week, he hit .364 and his seven RBIs were second only to Salas. He was also successful in all four stolen-base attempts. In 117 plate appearances this season with El Paso, the left-handed hitter has a .940 OPS. … Marcos Castañon, 27, posted an OPS of 1.015 for the week and collected his team-leading 15th home run of the year. The UC Santa Barbara product has a .793 OPS and is third on the team with 59 RBIs. … On the mound, Sean Boyle, 29, pitched well in his start, allowing only one run across five innings to pick up a win. Boyle, who worked mainly as a starter last year for Scranton, has been pressed into starting duty for the Chihuahuas, but has been more effective out of the pen. … Hunter Stratton, 29, was perfect in all three of his appearances, posting zeros in four innings of work. Stratton, who struck out four and walked four others, came over from the Pirates for reliever Andrew Moore at the deadline. … David Morgan, 26, continues to pitch well as he incorporates more of a four-pitch mix and throwing his slider more than his four-seam fastball, which is still sitting in the upper 90s. This week in two innings and two appearances, he didn’t allow a run. Encouragingly, he didn’t issue a walk while striking out four. … Even though he allowed five earned runs in a loss on Friday, by all accounts the return of Joe Musgrove and his 70-pitch outing were successful. Against the Aces, his four-seam fastball averaged 95 mph, and he was able to mix in his cutter, sweeper, and curveball.(John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Lost series at Frisco RoughRiders, 2-4)

Top Performers: With the Missions’ top hitter, Jake Cunningham, placed on the IL, the Padres promoted outfield prospect Alex McCoy to Double-A. Although he was only with the team for the weekend, McCoy made a sizable impact. He hit two home runs and recorded 11 total bases in his Double-A debut. He followed that with a double on Saturday and two more hits Sunday. Over three games, McCoy went 7-for-14 with a 1.071 slugging percentage, adding six RBIs and two stolen bases for good measure. The undrafted free agent now has 17 home runs and an .847 OPS between two levels this season. … Making his first start of more than two innings in over 10 weeks, Fernando Sanchez tossed five scoreless innings. He allowed just one baserunner while striking out four. It was a strong rebound for Sanchez, who gave up five earned runs over 1.2 innings last week. The southpaw posted a 2.80 ERA across 74 innings between Fort Wayne and San Antonio last season. This year, Sanchez has a 5.61 ERA over 43.1 injury-plagued innings.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: If not for Alex McCoy’s impressive debut, Braedon Karpathios would have been the top performer. Karpathios went 9-for-23 with two home runs and five walks as he reached base safely in all six games. The undrafted free agent is hitting .423/.516/.750 in August, with five doubles and four home runs in 14 games. After a slow start, the 23-year-old has raised his OPS to .773. …  Albert Fabian continued his quest to finish the season strong, going 8-for-18 with a double, home run, two walks, and a stolen base. It was his first home run since July 29 and his ninth of the season. The 24-year-old has hit .304/.346/.413 this month to raise his OPS on the year to .712 OPS. … After he struggled in Triple-A, the Padres sent Romeo Sanabria back to Double-A. Sanabria immediately made an impact with the Missions, going 8-for-19 with three doubles and four walks during the week. This is a stark contrast to his time in El Paso, where he posted a .575 OPS over six weeks. The big first baseman is hitting .246 with a .725 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A this season. … Ian Koenig tossed seven scoreless innings in the first game of the series before getting roughed up in the final inning of his second start of the week, finishing with five earned runs over six innings. Between the two starts, Koenig allowed 11 hits, walked two and struck out nine. On the season, Koenig has a career-high 114.2 innings with a 4.63 ERA. … With  Miguel Mendez traded, Tucker Musgrove is now the top pitching prospect in San Antonio. The reliever had an off week, recording a total of only four outs across two appearances. Musgrove allowed a hit and walk to give up his first earned run since July 18. The former seventh-round pick has a 3.41 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 34.1 innings this season. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost Series at Quad Cities, 0-5)

Top Performers: In a week that saw a game cancelled because of a sprinkler mishap, one postponed by a power outage, and another suspended because of weather, the TinCaps struggled mightily, leading to rather slim pickings for Fort Wayne’s top performers. The clear offensive standout was fourth-round pick Robbie Lavey, who joined the club in Davenport to begin his career. The backstop posted a 1.025 OPS and swatted his first two career homers in four starts. Lavey’s long balls logged exit velocities of 94.6 and 98 mph. … Coming off one of the worst starts of his career, Bryan Balzer bounced back by throwing a career-high 94 pitches and striking out a season-best 10 batters in his start Saturday. In 88.1 innings pitched between two levels, the right-hander owns a 5.14 xFIP, 4.47 ERA and a career-best 24.1% strikeout rate. The 21-year-old continues to flash a fastball he can run up to the upper-90s as part of a four-pitch arsenal.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Kannon Kemp tossed five innings Tuesday, allowing two earned runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. While Kemp has flashed a fastball that can hit triple digits, he remains unable to miss bats. His below-average 20.1% whiff and 13.4% strikeout rates fuel a 5.16 FIP. … Carson Montgomery struggled in his Friday start, allowing three earned runs on four hits over four innings. He walked a pair and struck out four. The former Florida State righty has a 6.97 ERA over his last 11 starts. … Winyer Chourio turned in one of his better outings with Fort Wayne, as he allowed only one earned run on three hits over four innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Even after the outing, the 22-year-old’s ERA with Fort Wayne sits at 8.53, with a worrying 16.4% walk rate. …Luis Gutierrez continued to build up after injury, tossing three scoreless innings, during which he fanned four batters. In three outings with Fort Wayne, the left-hander owns a 2.25 ERA, 3.72 FIP and 39.4% strikeout rate. He’s likely headed back to San Antonio in the week ahead. … Dylan Grego went 3-for-9 with a pair of RBIs in his four games. It’s been a lackluster season for the 22-year-old, as he owns a 71 wRC+ and .309 average between three minor league levels in his first full season since the Padres drafted him out of Ball State in the 13th round. … It was another struggle-filled week for outfielder Ryan Wideman, as the outfielder went 1-for-19 with three strikeouts against Quad Cities. His power has been nearly nonexistent since he arrived in the Summit City, posting only three extra-base hits for a .019 isolated power rate in 166 High-A at-bats. Along with his lack of power, Wideman is chasing at a 39% clip and sports a sub-5% walk rate. … Justin DeCriscio, who is headed to Double-A San Antonio next week, went just 2-for-16 with three weeks in five games. After a hot streak from late June to mid-July, the middle infielder has cooled off recently, posting a 71 wRC+ and .307 wOBA over his past 20 games.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Split series at Inland Empire 66ers, 3-3)

Top Performers: The Storm traveled up the road to take on the Mariners’ Single-A affiliate at San Manuel Stadium, splitting the series. The Storm will return home this week to take on the Giants in their penultimate homestand of the season. … Outfielder Qrey Lott had one of his best weeks of the season, posting a 1.146 OPS across five games. He homered twice, tripled, and struck out just three times in 21 plate appearances. The 21-year-old has had a solid debut season, delivering a wRC+ of 111 with seven homers and 21 stolen bases in 24 attempts. He’s also been hit by a pitch an astonishing 24 times in 287 plate appearances. … Righty Tyler Schmitt turned in a brilliant outing Saturday piggybacking behind Kruz Schoolcraft. The former Illinois righty tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Schmitt has had bursts of success this season but has been rather inconsistent. Saturday’s outing lowered his season ERA to 4.76. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: The club’s 11th-rounder, Chris McHugh, collected three hits, including a home run, in his professional debut and finished the week with nine hits, delivering a .409/.435/.682 slash-line. The first baseman was drafted out of North Carolina State. … Infielder Nu’u Contrades clobbered 66’ers pitching, delivering a 1.049 OPS with a pair of doubles, a homer, and six RBI. The 22-year-old out of Arizona State signed with the Padres for $300,000 after being drafted in the sixth round last month. Contrades is off to a .324/.432/.541 start through 10 games with Lake Elsinore. … Like McHugh, seventh-rounder Joe Tiroly enjoyed a nice pro debut in the Inland Empire heat. Trioly connected on his first professional homer, delivering a .936 OPS in five games. Trioly, 21, played his junior season at the University of Virginia, where he hit 16 homers. … Shortstop Jorge Quintana only played in three games but all three of his hits in 11 at-bats went for extra-bases. Paired with two walks, it fueled a 1.156 OPS for the week. The 19-year-old switch-hitter slugged just .286 through the first three months of the season, but has pushed that up to .477 since the start of July. … Ty Harvey (.875 OPS) and Yimy Tovar (.917 OPS) had solid weeks while fourth-rounder Alex Conover (.583 OPS) and Dawson Willis (.398 OPS) struggled to find their footing. … After missing a start for the first time this season the week before with a sprained ankle, Schoolcraft tossed three scoreless innings Saturday night. He scattered four hits, but in an encouraging development, he didn’t issue a walk while striking out four batters. Schoolcraft had walked 11 in his previous 8.2 innings. Despite the walks, Schoolcraft has been able to limit the damage recently. Over his last five outings, spanning 22.2 innings, last year’s first-rounder has a 1.19 ERA. … Lefty Adler Cecil pitched Friday night and allowed just one unearned run on one hit. He walked one, hit a batter, and struck out seven. The 21-year-old struggles to command the zone at times, but he’s struck out 38% of the batters he’s faced between the complex and a small 11-inning sample in the Cal League. 

Interviews and Features: This week we had interviews with long-time MadFriars’ favorite Jagger Haynes and a pitcher signed as an undrafted free agent out of a Japanese high school, despite never being a full-time pitcher and needing Tommy John surgery. Next week, we will have our final interview from Fort Wayne with Kasen Wells and one of Kevin’s features from Lake Elsinore. A big thank you to all of our subscribers who make it possible for us to see and chat with the players in person.