Down on the Farm: August 28- Quantrill Struggles, Ruiz & House Continue to Hit
DSL Padres: SEASON HAS CONCLUDED
AZL Padres (23-28): OFF
AZL Padres 2 (28-22): 9-4 loss @ AZL Cubs
Tri Ciy Dust Devils (39-32): 4-3 win @ Hillsboro
Fort Wayne TinCaps (65-69): 6-5 loss @ Lansing
Lake Elsinore Storm (61-72): OFF
San Antonio Missions (74-58): DOUBLEHEADER VS Corpus Christi: Missions 1-11, Frisco 3-12
El Paso Chihuahuas (68-67): 10-2 win vs Fresno
Key Performers:
RF Mason House (2-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2RBI, SO)
Mason House seems to always be on these lists whenever I write them. Tonight, he doubled and tripled for AZL Padres 2. In the process, he raised his OPS to .905 on the campaign. In his last ten ballgames, the 18-year-old Texan is hitting 17/45 (.378) with nine runs scored and eleven RBI. He has six doubles, eight triples, and two homers in 34 games this season (.322/.388/.517).
2B Esteury Ruiz (2-6, 2B, R, 2RBI, 2SO)
Ruiz hit his 19th double in AZL play tonight, en route to a 2-6 performance. The prized jewel in the Padres-Royals trade started off somewhat slowly with the AZL Padres, (for him, at least) but he is now hitting over .300 in a Padres uni (.354 total)
C Luis Campusano (3-6, 2B, 2RBI)
Campusano, the 2nd-round draft pick by the Padres in the 2017 MLB draft, snapped out of a cold streak with a three-hit night. He gave his team the lead with a RBI double in the tenth inning, but it was short-lived, as AZL Mariners scored two to win it in the bottom half of the inning.
SS Jordy Barley (3-6, R, RBI)
Barley had a little hype surrounding him entering AZL play, and he got off to a tremendous start. He has fallen on hard times as of late, though. In his last ten games prior to tonight, Barley was hitting .077 with sixteen strikeouts in his last ten games. Tonight, though, the 17-year-old had his first multi-hit night in three weeks. He remains a very intriguing young guy in the system.
Henry Henry (1.1IP, 3H, R, ER, 1K)
Henry Henry exited Tri-City’s game in the second inning with an undisclosed injury.
Gabriel Arias (2-3, R, RBI, BB)
The 17-year-old Arias had his fourth multi-hit performance in five games on Monday night, and also walked for the first time with Fort Wayne. Arias, who does not turn 18 until next February, is slashing .282/.300/.308 in 39 at bats for the TinCaps thus far.
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis went a combined 2-8 in San Antonio’s doubleheader tonight. Both hits went for extra bases: he hit his first Double-A home run in the first inning of game one, and an RBI double in the first inning of game two. After spending all of his time at shortstop with Fort Wayne, he has seen time at 2B, SS, and 3B in San Antonio.
At the plate, Tatis Jr has struggled a bit in his first 25 Double-A at bats. No need to freak out, though. Small sample size, and each game it seems as if he is starting to get more comfortable against Texas League pitching.
Reyes went 0-2 with a walk in game one of the doubleheader, then exploded with a 4-RBI performance in game two. Franmil went 3-4 in the finale, and concluded his night by smacking a three-run home run. That home run was his 23rd of the season. He just needs one more RBI to reach 100 on the year.
Cal Quantrill (3.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 6SO, 2HR)
Cal struggled on Monday, and the wind blowing out of Nelson Wolff Stadium did him no favors. The 8th overall pick in 2016 was bitten by lack of control and the home run ball. He continues to struggle a bit in AA, which has caused some Padres fans to raise an eyebrow and wonder what is going on. My take? This is his first full-season of pitching since his freshman year of college, so the #1 priority for him should be staying healthy. He has done that. Although his stats this season *matter*, I do not really believe Quantrill nor the Padres are too concerned. 2018 is still the goal for Quantrill to reach the big leagues, but that timeline might be pushed back a bit.
El Paso’s Entire Lineup
Travis Jankowski, Chase d’Arnaud, Franchy Cordero, Hunter Renfroe, and Diego Goris all recorded multi-hit games for El Paso, who cruised to a 10-2 victory. A few brief notes:
- Cordero hit his 17th triple of the year with his parents in attendance, which was pretty rad:
INCREDIBLE MOMENT: @Franchycordero's parents flew in from Dominican Republic 🇩🇴for final series…he triples in @epchihuahuas first run 🔻1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/8LMJePkXog
— Eric O'Brien (@ericobrien520) August 29, 2017
- Hunter Renfroe continued to mash in the PCL, going 3-5 with a HR and three RBI. The reigning PCL player of the week is hitting .538 in 26 Triple-A at bats
- Christian Villanueva hit the 20 home run mark for the second time in his professional career. He also hit 20 home runs in 2015 with the Iowa Cubs.
Baseball is fun. College sophomore that is aspiring to work someday in the sports industry. Follow me on twitter @Friar_Faithful. Go Pads!