El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost series at Oklahoma City Comets, 2-4)
Ian Koenig was dominant in his final two starts of the year. (Photo: Deanna Almaguer)
Players of the Week: Anthony Vilar closed out the season strong, going 5-for-13 with two doubles and four walks for a 1.470 OPS while catching three games and playing second base in the penultimate contest. The former University of Miami middle infielder never caught a game until San Diego drafted him in the 15th round in 2021. Vilar, 27, spent most of the season in El Paso, but when Ethan Salas moved up, the team sent him down to San Antonio to support the pitching staff. After Salas’ promotion to the big leagues, the left-handed hitter returned to the PCL and made the most of it. Including three games with the Missions, the 27-year-old hit hit .429/.613/.667 in September. He finished the year with a .712 OPS for the Chihuahuas. … Ian Koenig, 25, had one of the best weeks any Chihuahuas pitcher had all year, giving up just two runs over 11 innings in two starts, as he picked up one of the two Chihuahuas’ wins this week. While he only struck out six, he allowed just two free passes and Oklahoma City managed only seven hits. After a late-August promotion from San Antonio, the undrafted free agent from Cabrillo College went 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings, with 22 strikeouts against five walks. Koening, a member of the same 2022 undrafted free agent class that also yielded David Morgan, Braedon Karpathios, and Braden Nett, delivered much better results in El Paso after posting a a 5.56 ERA over 121.1 innings for San Antonio.
Anthony Vilar had one of the best weeks of his season. (Photo: Deanna Almaguer)
Top Prospects and Others of Note: If this was Bryce Johnson‘s last week in the Padres’ organization, he made it a good one. The switch-hitter hit .400, reached base seven times in four games and 16 plate appearances, and stole three bases. The 30-year-old finished the PCL season with a .795 OPS but had a wRC+ of 98. Nick Pratto, 27, finished off his impressive September with with two doubles and a triple on the week to cap his best month of the year with a .388/.449/.627 slash line. In 281 plate appearances for El Paso after he was released from the Rangers system, he posted an OPS of .818 with seven home runs. … Miguel Andujar closed out his rehab assignment with five hits in four games, including a double and a walk. Overall, in nine games, he had 11 hits, five of them two-baggers. … Mason McCoy, 31, stole three bases this week to bring his total to 40 on 46 attempts, good enough for second in the PCL and second all-time for the Chihuahuas. The strong defensive shortstop has another option year remaining if the Padres choose to keep him on the 40-player roster over the winter. … Jagger Haynes, 23, took a loss this week, but allowed only a run over six innings while striking out five against a walk. Haynes went 0-5 with El Paso, but pitched much better in the Sun City as his tenure went on. Between two levels, he notched 135 innings this season with a 5.13 ERA. … Sean Boyle also threw well in his last start, going five innings with seven strikeouts against two runs. Boyle, 29, led the league in innings pitched this season with 122.1 and ranked seventh in the PCL with a 5.66 ERA. … Ty Adcock, 29, had one of his best weeks of the season, throwing four scoreless innings across two appearances getting the win in one. He only allowed one hit as he struck out six against no walks. This season, the former Met threw 29.2 innings in relief for El Paso with a 6.07 ERA. (John Conniff)
Lake Elsinore Storm (Won California League Championship Series over San Jose Giants, 2-1)
Qrey Lott had plenty to celebrate down the stretch in Elsinore. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Players of the Week: Despite a dismal second half of the season, including an 11-game losing streak in August, the Storm got hot in September and went 4-1 during their playoff run to win their fifth California League championship. They defeated the Ontario Tower Buzzers in two games before needing three games to defeat the Giants. Lake Elsinore cruised to a 12-1 win last Sunday, before being no-hit Tuesday to set up a winner-take-all game three on Wednesday. The Storm offense woke up from its brief slumber and scored 13 runs in the blowout victory. … If they named an MVP of the series, Storm outfielder Qrey Lott would be the easy selection. The slender outfielder had six hits in the three-game set, including a triple, two doubles, and four RBI. His excellent play in the playoffs put the finishing touches on an outstanding first full pro season for the former undrafted free agent. Lott had a wRC+ of 110 in his professional debut. … Young righty Lan-Hong Su took over for Coleman Borthwick and tossed three strong innings in relief. Su allowed a run on four hits, walking one and striking out eight. The 19-year-old had a loud finish to the season, as he showed dominant stuff in his final seven outings, including two in the playoffs. During that stretch, he walked just four batters and struck out 29 batters in 22.1 innings. The native of Taiwan possesses as much upside as any pitcher in the system.
Top Prospects and Others of Note: Borthwick will technically make his professional debut in 2027, but he did make a pair of appearances in the playoffs. Borthwick got the start in the decisive game three and tossed a pair of scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two before departing. The gigantic righty should headline the pitching staff with the Storm next season, as the first-rounder will look to get fully underway in 2027. … Jesus Castro started game two of the championship series and pitched into the fifth inning. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits, walking one and striking out three. Castro broke out with the Storm this season, clearing 100 innings when you factor in the two outings he made in the playoffs. Outside of a rough August, Castro turned in a solid campaign, pitching to a 4.18 ERA in 22 games (20 starts). … Joe Tiroly, who collected seven homers in 17 games down the stretch for Lake Elsinore, had five hits in the series, including a pair of doubles. The former Virginia infielder impressed in his pro debut after being drafted in the seventh round. Among Storm hitters with 40 plate appearances, Tiroly ranked third with a wRC+ of 155, hiting .323/.380/.692 in 71 plate appearances while appearing at first, second, third, and right field. (Kevin Charity)
Interviews and Features: Kevin interviewed two more of the Padres’ seemingly endless supply of undrafted free agents: Bradley Frye, who had a big role in the Storm qualifying for the first-half championship, and Qrey Lott, one of the stars of the Storm’s championship series victory. We also had Clark Fahrenthold’s interview with Ethan Salas the night before he made Petco Park erupt with his game-winning hit.
