Down on the Farm: August 4- Mason House’s Big Night

El Paso Chihuahuas (53-58) Lost 6-5 It was another rough night on the mound for left-hander Dillon Overton, as he was hit hard for six earned runs on eight hits in just four innings of work. After the Chihuahuas went down in order in the top of the first, Overton gave up a solo home run to Brandon Barnes to put New Orleans on the board. A leadoff walk, a double, and a sacrifice bunt brought home the second run against Overton in the bottom of the second inning. The Chihuahuas bounced back with four fourth inning runs on a leadoff single by Franchy Cordero followed by a walk, a double, and capped off by a home run from Ryan Schimpf. However, New Orleans answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning making it a 4-3 game. Things really became unraveled for Overton in the bottom of the fifth as he gave up a single, walk, home run, and another single before he was pulled from the game. Another Ryan Schimpf home run in the sixth inning brought the Chihuahuas within one run, but they ended up losing by that same 6-5 score in the first game of the doubleheader. San Antonio Missions (66-45) Won 17-3 The Missions got on the board early with a two out, RBI double from Franmil Reyes in the top of the first. In his first start with the Missions, Jacob Nix gave up a run of his own in the first following a Jorge Mateo single, stolen base, and single from B.J. Boyd. After the Rockhounds pushed across another run in the bottom of the second after a walk sandwiched between a pair of singles, the Missions offense erupted in the top of the third against Grant Holmes. Following a strikeout from Alberth Martinez to begin the inning, Austin Bousfield walked, then Javier Guerra doubled, then Webster Rivas walked, followed by singles from both Franmil Reyes and Ty France, another walk to River Stevens and a big grand slam from outfielder Nick Torres, putting the Missions up by a score of 8-2. The Missions ended up plating six more runs in the fifth inning, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh on their way to a big 17-3 victory. Jacob Nix was solid and got the win in his Double-A debut. Lake Elsinore Storm (52-59) Won 4-1 After two scoreless innings for both teams to start the game, the Storm pushed three runs across in the third inning on a single by Chris Baker, a double by Rod Boykin, and three more singles for Carlos Belen, Kyle Overstreet, and Edwin Moreno. The Nuts pushed across a run of their own in the following half inning on a triple and single, but the Storm didn’t give up another run for the remainder of the game. Emmanuel Ramirez had a solid first start with the Storm and Jose Ruiz and Colby Blueberg were strong in relief. Fort Wayne TinCaps (52-59) Won 16-3 It turns out the San Antonio Missions weren’t the only team to have a breakout offensive performance, as the TinCaps collected 18 hits on their way to a 16-3 victory. After the Whitecaps pushed two runs across in the top of the second inning, the TinCaps pushed across two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and never looked back. After singles by Hudson Potts and Marcus Greene Jr., and a walk from Buddy Reed, Reinaldo Ilarraza plated two runs on a double. The TinCaps plated three more runs Ignition in the bottom of the third on a walk, an error, and a two run home run from Greene. The TinCaps ended up scoring runs in each of innings two through seven including one in the fourth, two in the fifth, three in the sixth, and five in the seventh. Fernando Tatis Jr., Brad Zunica, and Jack Suwinski all went deep for the TinCaps and Hudson Potts collected four hits including three doubles. Tri-City Dust Devils (25-21) Lost 6-4 It was a rough night on the mound for young international signee Henry Henry, who had been rather consistent over his last several starts. In total, Henry gave up six earned runs on seven hits over his four innings of work. The Dust Devils were fairly quiet at the plate, although designated hitter Chris Mattison hit a home run and drove in four runs in total. AZL Padres 2 (18-13) Lost 6-5 After falling behind 6-1 to the AZL Angels through the first four innings, the Padres staged a late comeback with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, although it was too little too late. Mason House, Tirso Ornelas, Justin Paulsen, and Olivier Basabe all had singles in that four run eighth inning. House finished with four hits on the night while Joey Cantillo had a solid second outing of his AZL career. DSL Padres (17-30) Lost 5-1 and Won 7-1 Ryan Schimpf- 3B, Triple-A, El Paso Chihuahuas 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI Just when you think Ryan Schimpf is dead he goes and has a two home run game. At this point, it’s almost impossible to predict Schimpf’s future. He is 29 years old and currently playing rather poorly in Triple-A. So far in 164 at bats with the Triple-A Chihuahuas, Schimpf has homered 12 times, walked 26 times, and struck out 67 times. Despite playing at a different level, Schimpf is still partaking in the same act that made him such a unicorn in the big leagues. In nearly every at bat, Schimpf either walks, hits a home run, or strikes out, with strike outs making up a majority of those results. Although he had a modicum of success in 2016, this just isn’t a recipe for success at the big league level, even with the league wide power surge over the last two seasons. Nick Torres– OF, Double-A, San Antonio Missions 3-6, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R For those who don’t know, Nick Torres is my absolute favorite Padres prospect who doesn’t fall in the top-30 of the organization. Prior to A.J. Preller’s buildup of the farm system, Torres had a pretty clear spot in the Padres top-30. There was a great deal of uncertainty as to whether or not Torres was an everyday type player or more of a fourth outfielder type, but it’s clear there was potential there. While he has had some struggles after a really solid season split between Double and Triple-A last year, it’s hard to really envision where Torres fits into the Padres long-term plans. Sure, he still looks like he could be a solid fourth or fifth outfielder, but the Padres are already so deep in outfield depth at the upper levels of the system. Jacob Nix- RHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Following a bit of a surprise promotion to Double-A San Antonio, right-hander Jacob Nix joined his former Lake Elsinore teammates in Cal Quantrill, Eric Lauer, and Joey Lucchesi. While all three have had their share of ups and downs so far in Double-A, Nix put together a solid overall performance on Friday night. He wasn’t nearly as overpowering as he was at times in Lake Elsinore, but he also did not implode as he had also done at Elsinore. Of those four pitchers mentioned, Nix may be the most interesting of all given his draft history and where he currently stands. Emmanuel Ramirez– RHP, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K In his first start for the Lake Elsinore Storm, as it looks like he will be taking Jacob Nix’ rotation spot at least in the short-term (sorry Michel Baez fans), right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez looked fairly solid against the Modesto Nuts. After starting the season very well with the Tri-City Dust Devils, Ramirez struggled a bit in his small taste of Low-A ball in Fort Wayne before earning a promotion to High-A. He was striking out a lot of batters and walking very few in Tri-City, so if he keeps that up he should have a good amount of success in Elsinore. Hudson Potts- 3B, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps 4-5, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R This may have been Hudson Potts’ best day at the plate so far in his professional career. Not only did Potts collect four hits on the night, but he also did not strike out a single time, despite his near 30 percent strikeout rate on the year. Potts still has a lot of work to do in order to live up to his first round draft pick billing, but he’s shown some flashes of brilliance as the season has gone on. Lake Bachar– RHP, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Another personal favorite of mine, 2016 fifth round pick Lake Bachar looked solid in his first appearance with the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Just 22 years old out of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Bachar has been somewhat slow getting up to speed after being a two sport athlete at the collegiate level. Bachar only saw five professional innings out of the AZL last year, and started this year back in the AZL. It seems the Padres are being cautious with the right-hander, and perhaps for good reason. Henry Henry– RHP, Short Season, Tri-City Dust Devils 4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K After so many great starts in a row, Henry Henry’s double first name magic finally failed him. Not only was Henry throwing a lot of pitches and missing the strike zone, but he wasn’t fooling hitters on pitches that did make it in the strike zone. Despite this blip on the radar, Henry will look to bounce back for the Dust Devils his next time out. Even with the poor start, Henry’s ERA sits at just 3.58 for the season. Mason House- OF, Rookie League, AZL Padres 2 4-5, 1 2B, 1 R Mason House is one player who I could really see flying through the Padres minor league system. From every report I have heard about House, there has been glowing reviews. Not only is he a great athlete, but he also has a great feel for hitting, the potential for some real power, and strong glove ability in the field. He’s still just a teenager getting his first taste of professional ball in the AZL, but if House can continue to show himself to be a multi-faceted player, he could be a quick riser. Joey Cantillo- LHP, AZL Padres 2 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Speaking of guys I kind of like a lot, 2017 sixteenth round draft pick Joey Cantillo made his second appearance with the AZL Padres on Friday night. In his two innings of work so far this year, Cantillo has struck out five batters and given up just one hit. Of the eight batters Cantillo has faced, five have been set down via the strikeout. He may be just 17, but he’s already making an impression. Blinger Perez– 1B, DSL Padres 1-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI Moises Lugo– RHP, DSL Padres 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K