San Diego, CA
San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: June 9
Chihuahuas 7, Las Vegas Aviators 4
Key Stats: 1B Nate Mondou 2-for-4, 2 2B; CF Bryce Johnson 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2B, SB (16); LF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4; RF Cal Mitchell 1-for-4, HR (7); RHP Gabe Mosser 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R (2 ER), 6 K; LHP Tom Cosgrove IP, K
Bryce Johnson is putting things together in his first season with the Chihuahuas. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: Righty Gabe Mosser tossed his second quality start of the series to lead the Chihuahuas to a split with the Athletics’ top affiliate. Mosser, who turned 28 a day before his outing, was hit with a pair of unearned runs and allowed two earned over his six innings of work, striking out six without issuing a walk. Over his last three outings, the 2018 draftee has allowed four earned runs over 17.2 innings with a 14:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Mosser, who had Tommy John surgery in 2022, has a career 4.28 ERA across 94 professional appearances. … Tom Cosgrove followed with a clean inning to post his seventh consecutive scoreless outing. The lefty continues to show much less horizontal movement on both his sweeper and sinker than he had while mowing down big league hitters last season, but is seeing a slight uptick in his strikeout rate over the last month while holding opponents to just two hits in his last nine innings of work. … Bryce Johnson was the perfect table-setter for the offense out of the leadoff spot, collecting a double and two walks in four trips to the plate and swiping his team-leading 16th base of the year. Signed as a free agent in the offseason after a seven year run in the Giants organization, Johnson is posting career-best strikeout and walk rates through his first 52 games. A switch-hitter, Johnson is a plus defender in the outfield who has gotten brief big league exposure in each of the last two seasons. … Outfielder Calvin Mitchell connected on his seventh homer of the season and sixth in his last 14 games. The San Diego native, who also signed a minor league deal during the winter, has pushed his slugging percentage on the year up to .500.
Midland RockHounds 3, Missions 1
Key Stats: 1B Brandon Valenzuela 2-for-4; DH Marcos Castañon 1-for-4, 2B; LHP Robby Snelling 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 3 BB
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Robby Snelling gave the Missions a chance to win on Sunday. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Prospect Watch: After a pair of rocky outings, Robby Snelling bounced back with a quality start Sunday. He blew through his first three innings, striking out five without allowing a ball out of the infield. The rest of the afternoon wasn’t nearly as dominant. Snelling opened the fourth with a four-pitch walk before giving up a booming rule book double to left. He avoided any damage that inning by inducing a pair of grounders and soft liner, but issued a leadoff walk in the fourth as well. After former Padres farmhand Jeisson Rosario settled for a sacrifice on a bunt attempt, the RockHounds strung together a pair of softly hit singles before Snelling got another groundout and had a chance to escape again. Instead, he gave up a two-out double that gave Midland a three-run inning. The home squad loaded the bases against Snelling in the sixth, but the lefty struck out the final batter he faced in the game to escape any more scoring. Snelling, 20, is working with a loopier breaking ball than he showed last year and his fastball continues to sit around 90 mph in his second season in the system. … The Missions offense was once again held in check, managing just five hits and one unearned run in the game. Marcos Castañon had the club’s only extra-base hit, a double. The 25-year-old infielder is now slugging .357 on the year. … Brandon Valenzuela, who made his fourth start of the year at first base, had a pair of singles on the day. He’s hit in six of his last seven contests and has a strong .866 OPS in 32 plate appearances this month.
Editor’s Note: We skipped past the absolutely wild end to Saturday night’s game in yesterday’s wrap-up. With the bases loaded and two outs, as Jayvien Sandridge tried to hold a two-run lead, the RockHounds got what appeared to be a walk-off grand slam. As Midland celebrated, the Missions successfully appealed that the runner from first base missed third as he rounded the bases, causing him to be out before he crossed the plate and giving the Missions a 5-4 victory.
TinCaps 9, Peoria Chiefs 2
Key Stats: CF Homer Bush Jr. 1-for-2, 3 BB, SB (28); C Anthony Vilar 2-for-3, 2 BB, SB (4); LF Tyler Robertson 3-for-5; Nerwilian Cedeño 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Braden Nett IP, K; RHP Will Geerdes 2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, K, BB; RHP David Morgan 2 IP, 4 K
Prospect Watch: John Conniff had one more day of coverage from the Summit City as the TinCaps closed out the series with a victory.
Inland Empire 66ers 9, Storm 3
Rosman Verdugo had a pair of hits for the Storm. (Robert Escalante)
Key Stats: 3B Rosman Verdugo 2-for-4; DH Ethan Long 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB; C Oswaldo Linares 1-for-3, 2B, BB; RHP Miguel Mendez 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; RHP Xavier Ruiz 2.1 IP, H, 2 K, BB; RHP Thomas Balboni Jr. IP, 2 K
Prospect Watch: Miguel Mendez worked around a walk and hit batter in his first two innings with three strikeouts and no balls hit to the outfield, but the wheels came off in the third. The 21-year-old righty was tagged for five hits including a pair of triples. He also allowed a walk, uncorked a wild pitch, and balked in a run. While the 2021 signee has shown impressive velocity this year, he sports a 6.35 ERA overall with more walks than strikeouts. When he finds his way into the zone consistently, he can be a tough matchup, but he simply doesn’t hit his spots enough. … Thomas Balboni Jr. turned in another scoreless outing with a pair of strikeouts. The Northeastern University product, who has dropped down to a low three-quarters arm slot quite effectively this year, has punched out 14 over his last 6.2 innings. … Third baseman Rosman Verdugo was the lone Storm batter to collect a pair of hits in the game. The 19-year-old has only had two multi-hit games over his last three weeks. … Hitting as the DH for the second time since coming off the IL, Ethan Long had a double and walked twice in four trips to the plate.