San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 18 (2024)

Albuquerque Isotopes 10, Chihuahuas 2

Key Statistics: 3B Graham Pauley, 1-for-4, R, RBI; SS Mason McCoy, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; DH Kevin Plawecki, 1-for-3, BB; LHP Jackson Wolf (L, 0-2) 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; RHP Bobby Milacki, 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER; RHP Jeremiah Estrada, 2 IP, 4 K

Prospect Watch: It was a rough night in West Texas, as El Paso scraped across two runs in the ninth to avoid being shut out by the Isotops at home. … Third baseman Graham Pauley‘s only hit of the evening was a single to drive home the first run to get El Paso on the board. It was his only hit of the evening. After a two-homer night last Thursday, Pauley has gone 5-for-22 with one more homer as his only additional extra-base hit. His current Triple-A slash-line stands at .276/.400/.586. … Veteran infielder Mason McCoy had two hits, including a double and a run-scoring single. The 29-year-old made his big league debut with the Blue Jays last year, seeing action in six games but logging just one plate appearance in which he struck out. In 17 games for El Paso this year, he is hitting .210/.338/.290 with a homer in 11 RBI. … Jackson Wolf turned in his best start as a Chihuahua, but still struggled and was tagged with the loss. Wolf worked into the fifth, and allowed four runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out two. Wolf, 24, was re-acquired by the Padres in a trade earlier this month with the Pirates, in exchange for shortstop Kervin Pichardo. Wolf is getting his first introduction to the Pacific Coast League and thus far the results have been ugly. In three outings, the lefty who turns 25 next week, has allowed 11 earned runs in 10 innings, walking nine and striking out seven. … Jeremiah Estrada pitched two perfect innings, striking out four batters in the process. Since being optioned to Triple-A after the Korea series, the waiver claim from the Cubs last November has been excellent. In six outings, he has a 2.70 ERA and a remarkable 15 strikeouts in just 6.2 innings. On Thursday, his fastball topped out at 98.8 mph while generating a whopping seven swing-and-misses. Should the Padres need another reliever, he’d be an obvious candidate for a roster spot.

Roster Moves: The Chihuahuas made a few roster moves before Thursday’s game, receiving reliever Bobby Milacki from the Missions while activating Gabe Mosser from the ACL squad. Jay Groome was placed back on the seven-day injured list with an undisclosed injury. He’s logged a total of just five innings in three outings this year and spent the minimum seven days on the IL after his first start.

Corpus Christi Hooks 4, Missions 3 (10 innings)

Key Statistics: 1B Nathan Martorella, 1-for-5, R, 2B; DH Cole Cummings, 2-for-4, 2B, HR (1), 2 RBI; LF Connor Hollis, 1-for-3, 2 SB (4,5); RHP Adam Mazur, 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K; RHP Woo-Suk Go, 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K; RHP Carter Loewen (L, 1-1) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, K

Prospect Watch: The Missions held a late, 1-0 lead but the Hooks tied it in the ninth inning. San Antonio scored a pair in the tenth but the Hooks plated three in the bottom frame for another walkoff win. … Righty Adam Mazur made the start and once again dominated the competition. Mazur pitched five shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He walked one and struck out four. The former second-rounder is the only pitcher in the organization (including the big leagues) who has thrown at least five innings in each start. The righty tops out at 94 mph but has impeccable command. In 16 innings this year, he’s walked just two batters. Thursday’s outing lowered his ERA to 0.56. … Woo-Suk Go came into the game in the eighth inning and wound up blowing the save. He pitched a clean eighth inning, striking out a pair of Hooks. In the ninth, he allowed a pair of singles, and the game-tying run scored on a fielder’s choice. The Korean import has shown some flashes with the Missions so far, but is getting mixed results. In seven innings, he’s struck out 10 without allowing a walk, but he’s allowed nine hits and has a 5.14 ERA. He’s still just 25, so the Padres will likely be patient while he adapts to professional baseball in North America. … Cole Cummings had a clutch, two-run homer in the tenth but the Missions couldn’t hold the lead. The former UC Santa Barbara slugger added a double for good measure. In 12 games, Cummings has produced an excellent .289/.347/.489 although he’s been aided by an unsustainable .520 BABIP. He’s punched out 20 times in 49 plate appearances, so he will need to make more consistent contact for his production to hold up.

Roster Moves: In addition to losing Milacki to El Paso, righty Raul Brito hit the injured list. Reliever Ethan Routzahn was promoted from Fort Wayne to bolster the Missions bullpen.

TinCaps 7, Dayton Dragons 6 (10 innings)

Key Statistics: 1B Griffin Doersching, 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI; SS Devin Ortiz, 2-for-4, RBI; LF Albert Fabian, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB; LHP Miguel Cienfuegos, 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K; Francis Pena (W, 2-0) 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K; RHP Manuel Castro (S, 1) IP, H, 2 K

Prospect Watch: Griffin Doersching was a one-man wrecking crew as his big night helped carry the TinCaps to an extra-innings win over arch-rival Dayton …. Doersching connected on a pair of homers and drove in four runs in the victory. For the 25-year-old, it was the third multi-homer day of his professional career and the first since August 21, 2022, when he had back-to-back multi-homer games against Stockton. Doersching’s big night raised his OPS to a robust 1.100 which ranks fourth in the Midwest League. After striking out at a 27% clip last year, he’s cut that rate to just 17% in the early going this season. … Left fielder Albert Fabian reached base three times with a single, double, and walk, and scored a pair of runs. Fabian has shown power from the left side the last few years, homering 16 times in each of the last two seasons. However, most of those home runs have come with the Storm. Coming into Thursday’s game, Fabian has played in 76 at the High-A level since 2022 and has hit a paltry .176/.259/.317 with 88 strikeouts in just 294 plate appearances. Hopefully, the multi-hit offer is a sign that Fabian has made the necessary adjustments to break out in the Summit City. … Lefty Miguel Cienfuegos had a bit of an uneven start on Thursday, pitching well at times but struggling in his final inning of work. He allowed a homer to top Reds’ prospect Cam Collier in the first, then shut down Dayton for the next three innings. He struggled in the fifth and was pulled with two outs. When the dust settled Cienfuegos had allowed four runs on six hits, walking two and striking out seven. The former indy ball pitcher sports a 3.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.

Roster Moves: The team activated reliever Joan Gonzalez from the development list to take the roster spot vacated by Routzahn.

Storm 7, Visalia Rawhide 6

Key Statistics: DH Ryan Wilson, 1-for-2, 2 R, 4 BB; CF Dillon Head, 2-for-5, BB, RBI; RF Braedon Karpathios, 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 3 RBI; C Colton Vincent, 2-for-5; RHP Will Varmette, 1.2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, K; LHP Harry Gustin, 3.1 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 3 K; RHP Luis German, 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K; RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.(W, 1-1) 2 IP, 3 K

Prospect Watch: Do you guys like walks out there? If you do, this was the game for you. The two pitching staffs combined to issue 21 of them. The Storm drew 12 walks and got a walk-off single from Dillon Head to best Visalia at The Diamond. … For Head, it was an exclamation point on a second straight multi-hit effort. Last year’s first-rounder is off to a bit of a slow start, but he’s shown positive signs at the plate. After striking out nine times in the season’s first six games, he’s punched out just three times in the last four games while adding 40 points to his batting average. … Center fielder Ryan Wilson singled, scored two runs, and drew four walks out of the leadoff spot. The former Davidson outfielder has yet to notch an extra-base hit in 10 games this year but he’s been an on-base machine for the Storm. He has drawn 11 walks, ranking fourth in the circuit (teammate Jay Beshears leads the league with 16 and an otherworldly .600 OBP). His excellent walk totals have resulted in a .533 on-base percentage which also ranks fourth in the league. … After starter Will Varmette walked six batters in 1.2 innings, lefty Harry Gustin relieved him and helped stabilize things. Gustin pitched 3.1 innings and allowed a run on four hits, walking one and striking out three. The 21-year-old was drafted in the 18th round last year out of Hawaii after earning First-Team All-Big-West honors while going 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA.