Padres Down on the Farm: August 3 (Lowe debuts for FW/King Jr. slugs 1st HR)
Padres
San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-4 on Saturday.
Here is a recap of the day’s events.
Fort Wayne Tin Caps: Double Header, Win Game 1 (5-2) Loss Game 2 (3-2), (40-61 6th MID East)
*Isaiah Lowe: 4 IP, 2 ERs, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks
Lake Elsinore Storm: 9-1 Loss to Fresno Grizzlies (51-48, 1st CAL South)
*Lamar King Jr.: 1-1, HR
It was a night to forget for the Lake Elsinore Storm, as they lost to Fresno by a final score of 9-1 on Saturday Night.Â
As a collective group, the Storms offense would muster just four hits, with just one being of the extra base variety. Ethan Long, Jacob Campbell, and Spence Coffman would all log singles in the loss.Â
The lone extra base hit on the night would come from 2022 4th round pick, and Padres No.14 prospect Lamar King Jr. as he cranked a towering pinch hit solo home run in the top of the 9th inning to break-up the shutout.Â
It has been a rather long road to Single-A for King Jr., as since 2022, he has been in CPX developing and, at times, battling the injury bug. But after posting a 116 wRC+, .399 wOBA, and a BB% of 11% in the CPX this season, he was bumped up to Lake Elsinore.Â
Even though King is a very raw product and talent, he is just 20 years of age and has shown some raw power. His swing is still on the stiffer side at times, but as a defender, he is a good receiver and sits confidently behind the plate.Â
At 6 feet 3 inches and 215 pounds, King has all the physical tools you want in a backstop; he just needs to start assembling the raw materials.  Â
On the bump for the Storm, Maikel Miralles and starter Miguel Mendez would be roughed up. The 22-year-old Mendez would be tagged for four runs on seven hits, walking one while punching out four. He did run the fastball up to as high as 97 miles per hour, but too often, he was crushed for leaves pitches in the heart of the zone.Â
In relief, Miralles would not fare much better as he would allow three earned runs on five hits. However, the 19-year-old did show a knack for getting some swings and misses as he punched out five in the evening.Â
San Antonio Missions: Loss 4-2 to Rough Riders. (46-53, 3rd TEX South)
*Ryan Bergert: 3 2/3 IP, 7 Hits, 2 ERs, 4 Ks
The Missions would fall to Frisco on Saturday Night, dropping their record to 46-53 on the season.Â
The lone runs on the night came via solo home runs by Marcus Castanon and Robert Perez Jr. For Castanon, the last month of baseball has been a bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming 2024. Since July 1st, he has posted a 110 wRC+ and .346 wOBA.Â
Still, even with the uptick, the 25-year-old has still had issues kicking the punch outs, as his K% has been north of 20% since July 1.Â
On the mound, Padres No.3 prospect Ryan Bergert would get the start and work 3 â…” innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and one walk while punching out four. Bergert continues to struggle with command and has not been able to get deep into games.Â
But the biggest concern has to be the drop off in strikeouts. Last season posted a 29.3% K%, but this year the swings and misses have been hard to come by has his K/9 sits at just 7.45 and his K% at 19.2%. The fastball and slider combo/stuff is still there at times, but not nearly enough to be effective at this level.Â
Bergert and the Padres will be looking for a stronger finish to the 2024 season.Â
The Missions would get a really strong relief outing from Jason Blanchard, who went 2 â…“ innings, allowing no hits and striking out five. It has been an impressive 2024 for Blanchard, as he has a 26.5% K% and 2.31 FIP. He has also done a great job of limiting the long ball, as in over 41 innings of work this season, Blanchard has not allowed a long ball.Â
El Paso Chihuahuas: 8-3 Win Over Oklahoma City (44-63, 5th in PCL East)
*Lake Bachar: 2 IP, 2 Hits, 5 KsÂ
Lake Bachar continues to get guys out in El Paso. After opting out of his deal on Aug 1, the 2016 8th-round pick returned to El Paso and worked two innings, allowing two hits and punching out five.Â
In 59 innings this season in El Paso, Bachar owns a 3.92 ERA and a 27.9% K%. With the stacked San Diego bullpen, it hard to say when or if Bachar will get his long awaited shot at the big leagues. Still, in terms of depth, it is comforting to know if San Diego needs to call a arm up, Bachar looks to be someone who can be relied upon.Â
For El Paso, the bottom of the lineup would do most of the heavy lifting in the win. Mason McCoy and Max Dungan would both record multi-hit games, with McCoy popping off for a two-for-four night that featured four RBIs.Â
DSL Padres Brown (11-32 ) Loss 5- 0 Seattle DSLÂ
*Cristian Navarro: 3 IP, 1 Hit, 0 ERsÂ
The Padres DSL Brown would fall by the final of 5-0 today. In the shutout, the offense of the DSL Padres would muster just five hits, with the lone extra-base hit coming from center fielder Fabian Alcantara. Along logging hits would be Clay Winklaar, Alexander Garica, and Isacc Ponce.Â
On the bump, it would be a rough outing for starter Javier Salomon, as he would last just one inning and allow five runs on five hits, two walks, and strikeout just one.Â
While the starting effort was rather disappointing, the three arms that would follow would be excellent; as Cristian Navarro, Jose Ortega, and Shurland Smith would combine to work five shutout innings over. The most impressive showing coming from Navarro as he worked three clean innings and allowed no runs and just one hit and one walk on the afternoon.
Sunday’s Probable Pitchers:
El Paso: Gabe MosserÂ
San Antonio: TBD
Fort Wayne: TBD
Lake Elsinore: Joe MusgroveÂ
DSL Gold: OFF
DSL Brown: OFF
Proud San Diego Native. Attended Sonoma State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in communications; following my graduation, I returned home to San Diego, where I have worked in the local San Diego media sports scene since 2020.