Padres Minor League Update: Week 10

The San Diego Padres minor league affiliates will be able to provide reinforcements to the pitching staff of the major league team when needed. Matt Waldron had his second start for El Paso after being activated from the IL on June 4. He pitched five innings and allowed six hits with two runs and five strikeouts in 70 pitches. Omar Cruz started on May 31 and went four innings, allowing no runs on two hits and six strikeouts. With two starters on the 40-man roster sitting at El Paso, the Padres can take their time with Yu Darvish and Michael King. Neither of them have a timeline for returning from their injuries.

There are also bullpen reinforcements available with Bradgley Rodriguez and Alek Jacob in El Paso and being used sparingly so the Padres can call them when needed. The option rules for pitchers require that a player stay in the minors for 15 days when optioned, unless there is an injury that requires a call up. This holds true for starters as well as relievers so it is helpful to have more than one or two pitchers to rotate through the minors and major league team to replenish the workforce.

Starters Henry Baez and Kyle Hart are also available on the 40-man roster as is reliever Ron Marinaccio, who remains on the 40-man and has been pitching better in recent weeks. Baez is pitching for Double-A San Antonio but has a 2.19 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched (11 games started) with 53 K to 19 BB. A promotion to El Paso could be coming or he could help out the Padres, if needed.

The Padres are not in as bad of a position as the Dodgers or Diamondbacks (multiple injury issues) with their pitchers. In past seasons, the waiver wire provided the team with its pitching depth when the injury bug hit. There is more depth now and the band aids can be provided in-house.

El Paso Chihuahuas (30-30 record, 3rd in PCL, East Division)

Ron Marinaccio has a 4.94 ERA in 23.2 IP but has improved through his last three outings. He has allowed no runs over 3.1 IP and seems to be getting back to himself after a rocky early season.

As stated earlier, Omar Cruz has been pitching well and in his last five starts has a 1.13 ERA in 16 IP. Jackson Wolf continues to impress with his last start of 4.2 IP and no earned runs allowed with six strikeouts.

Outfielder Tirso Ornelas has had a miserable start to his season but is turning it around and had a .333/.374/.512 line in May. Overall he is currently .307 with a .829 OPS and 29 RBI. It can be assumed he is not considered a candidate for the left field job as a result of his dismal spring and early season issues.

San Antonio Missions (29-25 record, 3rd in Texas League, South Division)

Starter Luis Patiño completed his rehab and stayed with San Antonio as one of their starters. He went 4.1 innings with 2 hits, 4 K and 2 BB in his latest outing. He is still just 25 years old and could still be a quality arm for the Padres, if he stays healthy. Emmanuel Pinales has his first good start after his promotion to Double-A with 5 IP and two runs on two hits and 8 K. His ERA is still above 8 due to his difficult first three starts.

Braden Nett has had his starts staggered in order to manage his workload and he is not going deep in games. He threw 2.2 innings with 2 hits and 2 runs allowed with 4 K’s. Jagger Haynes had a good outing with 6 IP and 2 runs allowed with 6 K but his overall ERA is 4.21.

Catcher Brandon Valenzuela hit his seventh home run with 18 RBI overall. He has a .815 OPS and has flashed a good arm with three caught stealing during the week. He also has good plate discipline with a 10.9% walk rate and 24% chase rate. He has to be added to the Padres 40-man roster this year in order to avoid losing him to free agency.

First baseman Romeo Sanabria continues to excel with a .331 average and .861 OPS with 5 HR and 22 RBI. It seems inevitable he will get a promotion to El Paso at some point.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (27-27 record, 4th Midwest League, East Division)

Two-way player Sean Barnett made his pitching debut, throwing one inning and allowing no hits. He will continue to DH while building up his throwing regimen and is the Padres only two-way player. He is carrying a .255 average with a .777 OPS as a DH in 51 AB.

Starter Eric Yost continues his winning ways with another five innings pitched, allowing four hits and four runs with six strikeouts. He has a 2.35 ERA in 46 IP for the season. Miguel Mendez had another start after his promotion with 3.2 IP, 2 walks and a strikeout. He was built up to 68 pitches. He has an overall ERA of 3.38 in his 16 IP.

Reliever Tyson Neighbors threw 10.1 innings in May with a .162 average against and is holding a 1.25 ERA overall in 21.2 IP. He has 5 saves for the season and splits that role with Harry Gustin who has 2 saves and a 2.23 ERA in 32.1 IP. Reliever Garrett Hawkins has thrown 23.1 innings over 17 games with a 2.70 ERA and he has one save.

Infielder Rosman Verdugo is slugging his way to the top of the home run and RBI totals for the TinCaps. He is tied for second in HR in the league with nine and has 28 RBI. His .826 OPS leads the team with outfielder Braedon Karpathios starting to climb up the ranks with a .790 OPS, 6 HR and 25 RBI.

Shortstop Leo De Vries finished May with a .600 OPS and currently stands at a .256 average with a .760 OPS overall. His power has all but disappeared and he remains at 4 HR for the season, he has 24 RBI. He has 12 errors on the year with a .915 fielding percentage.

Lake Elsinore Storm ( 27-27 record, 2nd in California League, South Division)

#5 prospect Boston Bateman has lowered his ERA to 3.79 over 40.1 IP and has 44 K to 16 BB. Luis Gutierrez is a 21-year-old international signee from Venezuela and is not on the top prospect list for the Padres MLB list. He is in his second year of professional baseball in the U.S. and is handling Low-A baseball well so far. He has a 2.80 ERA in 45 IP with 42 K and 19 BB. In his last outing he went eight innings with no runs allowed, allowing 3 hits, one BB and striking out seven. He pitches with a low 90’s fastball and a mid-80’s changeup predominantly.

#3 prospect Kash Mayfield is working back from a sore shoulder and pitched 2 innings with 4 K and no runs allowed. He has an overall ERA of 4.43 in 22.1 IP with 31 K and 9 BB.

Starter Will Varmette won Cal League Pitcher of the Week with a combined record of 11.2 IP over 2 games with 3 hits and no runs allowed.

Reliever Adam Conrad is dominant for the Storm. He has thrown 23.1 innings without allowing a run with 27 K and 16 BB.

ACL Padres (5-19 record, last in ACL West)

Starter Humberto Cruz continues to work his way back with 2.2 IP in his latest outing. He allowed 4 hits and 3 earned runs with 3 K and has a 5.19 ERA in 8.2 IP overall.

Starter Cole Paplham is on his rehab assignment after recovering from the facial fractures suffered in spring training. He has a 1.93 ERA in 4.2 IP in 3 starts. He could be headed out to his minor league assignment soon.

Right-hander Tanner Smith is also beginning his rehab from Tommy John surgery and has thrown 5 innings with a 3.60 ERA.

The Dominican Summer League has begun as of June 2 with the Padres having two teams (Padres Gold and Padres Brown) composed of international prospects. It is considered a rookie league and there will be occasional updates posted. Most of these players are teenagers attending the Dominican Academy while also playing baseball. The facility is all inclusive with education, housing and development all in one place.

Here is a previous article explaining the facility and a video that shows the facility a couple years after it opened.

Padres Minor League Update: Week 10

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