Padres Minor League Update: Week 14

It was a busy week with the Padres minor league affiliates. Fort Wayne TinCaps shortstop, Leodalis De Vries, was selected as the Padres representative in the All-Star Futures game that will be played during All-Star week in Atlanta. He is the only representative this year from the organization.

San Antonio right-hander Henry Baez was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Month for June with a 1.13 ERA. He threw 24 innings, allowing only three earned runs. He had 23 K/7 BB. Baez is the Padres #12 prospect, per MLB.com.

Lake Elsinore C/1B Lamar King Jr. was named the California League Player of the Month for June. In 76 at-bats, he hit .408 with a 1.084 OPS. He had 11 doubles, a triple and 9 RBI with 13 BB/9 K. King also stole 9 bases and was only caught once. This is only the second full pro season for King and he has shown a lot of growth this year. He started the season as the Padres #29 prospect on MLB.com.

RHP Humberto Cruz was promoted from the ACL to Lake Elsinore and completed 3 innings with four strikeouts and no runs allowed in his first start.

The El Paso Chihuahuas are second in the PCL East Division, 7 games back of Dodgers affiliate, the Oklahoma City Comets. The San Antonio Missions are in a literal tie for first in the South Division of the Texas League with the Athletics affiliate (Midland Rockhounds). The Fort Wayne TinCaps are tied for fourth in the East Division of the Midwest League, sharing the spot with the Dodgers affiliate (Great Lakes Loons). The Lake Elsinore Storm have secured third in the South Division of the California League, 6 games back of the Diamondbacks affiliate (Visalia Rawhide). The ACL Padres continue to struggle with a firm hold on last place in the West Division of the Arizona Complex League.

El Paso Chihuahuas (45-40 record)

Luis Campusano continues to kill Triple-A pitching and carries a 1.039 OPS with 13 HR and 47 RBI. It’s hard to believe none of that has translated to the Padres but it seems obvious he has lost the trust of the organization. Mason McCoy is hitting .304 with a .894 OPS and has 15 doubles and 39 RBI.

Reliever Bradgley Rodriguez has returned from his arm injury and will be working himself back into multi-inning readiness. Starter Kyle Hart has his first good start since being demoted from the Padres. He threw six innings and allowed six hits with two earned runs. His ERA is now 4.67. Logan Gillaspie was DFA’d by the Padres, cleared waivers and was sent to El Paso. He can both start and relieve and should see his innings built back up after returning from injury. Reliever Manuel Castro has not allowed a run in 2.2 innings of work since joining El Paso.

Both Jose Espada and Francis Pena have bounced back from rocky stretches and could help the major league team any time during the second half of the season. Alek Jacob has now had two good appearances in a row and pitched an inning with two strikeouts his last appearance.

San Antonio Missions (43-36 record)

Utility player Albert Fabian joined the Missions after completing his rehab with the ACL, the lefty plays first base, outfield and can DH. Outfielder Jake Snider leads the team with a .333 average and .812 OPS and was recently brought up from Fort Wayne.

Catcher/1B Brandon Valenzuela leads the team with 11 HR and 38 RBI. He is hitting .254 with a .770 OPS. He is second on the team in strikeouts with 67 to 32 walks. Valenzuela started the season unranked in the Padres system per MLB.com. FanGraphs has him as the Padres #22 prospect as of last month. He will need to be added to the 40-man roster after this season to avoid being available to other teams.

Braden Nett continues his campaign to be added to the Padres roster this season with his latest start. He went 5.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and three strikeouts. His 3.11 ERA is a reflection of the command issues he suffered to begin the year. He has 76 K/29 BB in 66.2 IP. Henry Baez received Pitcher of the Month honors and carries a 2.38 ERA over 75.2 innings with 73 K/25 BB. He is a legitimate contender to start for the Padres when Ryan Bergert’s spot in the rotation arrives on Sunday. Kyle Hart is another possible option but Matt Waldron is not available as he was just sent down.

Starter Victor Lizarraga returned from his arm injury that has kept him out since June 7. He threw two innings with no hits but walked two. Starter Jagger Haynes continues his occasional issues with command and is now carrying a 4.07 ERA with 73 K and 40 BB. He is the #19 prospect, per MLB.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (40-38 record)

Shortstop Leo De Vries is beginning to work out of his funk. He has two doubles, a triple and four RBI over the past week, pulling his average up to .247 and his OPS to .759. He is second on the team with 37 RBI. Despite his recent struggles, De Vries is only striking out 23.6% of the time and has a 24% chase rate.

Home run leader Rosman Verdugo has 10 and 33 RBI but has struck out 98 times with 50 walks. His average is .231 with a .816 OPS. Infielder Brandon Butterworth is hitting .252 with a .745 OPS but has 16 doubles and 6 triples with 6 homers and 35 RBI.

The TinCaps boast multiple excellent pitchers with starter Eric Yost carrying a 2.36 ERA over 68.2 IP with 72 K/24 BB. Starter Luis Gutierrez went five innings in his last start, allowing one run and has a 2.13 ERA since coming up from Lake Elsinore. Starter Ian Koeing has struggled this season but turned in 6.1 innings with two hits and two runs allowed this past week. Starter Miguel Mendez has continued to dominate since his promotion. In 43.1 innings he has a 1.87 ERA with 51 K/20 BB.

Reliever Garrett Hawkins is excelling in his late innings role with 5 saves and a 1.80 ERA in 35 innings with 45 K/13 BB. Reliever Harry Gustin has 3 saves in 42.1 IP with 49 K/19 BB and has a 2.34 ERA.

Lake Elsinore Storm (36-43 record)

Infielder Yimy Tovar leads the team in average since his promotion. He has a .409 average and .980 OPS with three doubles in his 22 AB. DH Kavares Tears leads in HR with 9 and has 46 RBI. 3B Zach Evans leads the team with 53 RBI and has a .291 average and .742 OPS. Centerfielder Kasen Wells has 23 stolen bases and has only been caught once. He has a .283 average and .754 OPS. First baseman Victor Figueroa has played in 35 games since coming up from the ACL. He is hitting .250 with a .898 OPS with 13 doubles, 7 HR and 25 RBI. He has 27 strikeouts and 24 walks.

LHP Boston Bateman has 13 starts with a 3.41 ERA in 60.2 IP. His 68 strikeouts lead the team and he has 21 walks. LHP Kash Mayfield has 11 starts and 31 IP due the shoulder issues he has dealt with. He has 49 strikeouts and 15 walks for a 3.48 ERA. The team still has him on restricted pitch counts.

ACL Padres (10-35 record)

Infielder Luis De Leon is a switch hitter and has a .291 average with .768 OPS with 19 RBI. C/1B Yoiber Ocopio has 21 RBI with a .245 average and .715 OPS. He also leads the team with three homers.

Padres Minor League Update: Week 14

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