San Diego Padres affiliates went 4-3 on Thursday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Lake Elsinore Storm, (2-1  Loss against Visalia Rawhide) (32-32, st in Cal South)

Leodalis De Vries: 1 for 3 & BB

Eric Yost: 7 IP & 9 Ks

The Storm would fall in their Thursday night game against the Rawhide by the final of 2-1.

While the offense lacked a spark tonight, Padres No.4 prospect Leodalis De Vries would notch a one-for-three night at the plate, which also saw him draw a walk. For De Vries, he has adjusted very well to MiLB pitching for being just 17 years of age. 

 The numbers may not be eye-popping to the naked eye, but in his last 80+ plate appearances, he has nine doubles while posting a BB% of 14.5% and a wRC+ north of 100. 

 If this was a 22 or 23 three year old kid, these would be just pedestrian numbers, but for a teenager with less than 200 professional at bats under his belt, it is a great starting block. 

He has shown exceptional plate discipline with a SwSrt% of 14.1. Yes, the chase rate is high at 24.1%, as is the Whiff% at 32.1%. But again, he is just 17 years of age; they will get better as he gets older and with more at-bats. 

On the bump, Eric Yost would turn in his best outing of the 2024 season. The Padres 17th round pick in the 2023 MLB draft worked seven innings, allowing zero earned runs on four hits and one walk while punching out nine. 

While Yost ERA suggest struggles, other numbers indicate he is a pitcher who is getting a bit unlucky. Yes, he has a 4.99 ERA, but his FIP sits at 4.60 & his xFIP is at 4.00, while his K% is solid at 24.5%.

Fort Wayne TinCaps , (5-1 win against Timber Rattlers)   (28-38, 6th MID East)

Josh Mears: 2 for 4, HR & 3 RBIs

Fernando Sanchez: 7 IP, 1 ER, & 3 Ks

Fort Wayne would pick up the win on Thursday afternoon as they took down the Timber Rattlers by the final of 5-1

 The offense would shine bright for the Tin Caps, as Fort Wayne would homer 2 times on the night, as Josh Mears and Colton Bender would connect on back-to-back homers in the 4th inning. 

 It’s been a while since Padres fans have heard the name Josh Mears, but it is one that many should be familiar with. Back in 2023, Baseball America had him as San Diego’s No.8 ranked prospect and led scouts to give him an 80-grade raw power grade. 

 He’s clocked exit velos as high as 118 MPH, and over the years, he still has shown tremendous bat speed and athleticism. However, old issues continue to hinder him. In 2024, Mears had just a 60 wRC+ and .265 wOBA. 

 As well he also has a 45.5% K%, a number folks hoped would dip in his age 23 season. Unfortunately it is higher than his already very high career avg. K% of 44.3%   

 Padres No.27 prospect Jay Beshears would log a two for x day at the dish and add a stolen base to a solid offensive afternoon. The two-hit performance is a welcomed sight for Beshears, as after starting hot upon his promotion, he has cooled down in the month of June. 

 Since June 1st he has a 54 wRC+, .561 OPS, and .256 wOBA. Given his play and track record in the minors, the expectation is that Beshears should kick this “cold streak” sooner rather than later.

On the mound, Fort Wayne would have an extremely strong starting performance from starter Fernando Sanchez, as the 23-year old left hander would turn in his best outing of the season going seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits and punching out three.  

 It was Sanchez’s best start since his promotion to Fort Wayne, and as in his first two starts, he had been snake-bitten with some poor batted ball luck, posting an 18.00 ERA. His start today more accurately reflected his strong underlying numbers of a 3.75 FIP & 4.69 xFIP

San Antonio Missions, (Win 12-10 v. Sod Poodles  ) (30-35, 3rd TEX SOUTH)

Brandon Valenzuela: 2 for 6 w/ 2 singles 

Connor Hollis: 3 for 6, 2 doubles, & 2 runs scored 

San Antonio would take home the shoot-out victory over Amarillo on Thursday Night by the final of 12-10.

A trio of Missions Hitters would do the heavy lifting on the night, as Brandon Valenzuela, Connor Hollis, and Marcus Castanon would all record multi-hit games. 

For Padres top 30 prospect Brandon Valenzuela, who posted a two-hit night, the calendar flipping to June has been a welcomed sight. Since June 1st, he has posted a 183 wRC+, .463 wOBA, 12.1% BB%, and 1.035 OPS. 

Valenzuela has done a good job of making more consistent contact in the zone, with an 82.3% Z-Contact%, and has cut down on the swing and miss this season, going from a 27% K% hitter last season down to 21.8 K% in 2024. 

Valenzuela has also seen a stark uptick in his LD(Line Drive)  rate this season, as it has risen 6% this season to 28.6% this season, and this reflects his making more quality contact at the dish. The raised line drive rate has been a big reason why his wRC+ has jumped to 106 this season after being at 54 at the end of last year. 

For Connor Hollis, he would go three for six from his leadoff spot, lacing two doubles and a single. While for Marcus Castanon, the Missions five-hole hitter would spark things with a three-for-four day at the dish that saw him lace a three-run home run in the 5th inning. ccc

El Paso Chihuahuas (4-3  win v.  Space Cowboys ) (30-42, 4th in PCL East ) 

Alek Jacob: 2 IPs & 3Ks 

Triso Ornelas: 1 for 3 w/ a Solo HR

For the EL Paso Chihuahuas it would be a win on Thursday night, as they took down the Space Cowboys by the final of 4-3. 

Padres No.9 prospect Graham Pauley would go one for four with a double in the win. In truth, it’s been a tough go for Pauley in AAA this season. He’s posted just a 76 wRC+, .319 wOBA, and .388 Slug% so far in the hitter-friendly PCL. 

Other Padres top 30 prospect Triso Ornelas would put together a one-for-three night that would see him swat a solo home run. For Ornelas, 2024 has seen him play quality ball posting a 117 wRC+, and .381 wOBA, and 11.7% BB%. 

Ornelas has continued to be a selective hitter, as he owns a respectable 21.8% Whiff% and 10.5% SwSrt%(swinging strike percentage). As well, when balls has been thrown in the zone, he has not missed posting a 86.9% Z-contact%. 

The one issue of note is that not all the contact is “hard” contact as he has only a 5.1% barrel% and 39.1% Hard Hit% 

The standout pitching performance would come from reliever Alek Jacob. The right hander worked two shut out innings, allowing two hits and punching out three. Jacob still continues to get swings and misses, posting a 22.8% K%. 

With the struggles of the Padres bullpen, he is an arm that may get a call-up in the near future. Given his strikeout abilities and success in 2023 at the big league level before his season-ending injury. 

Padres ACL, Loss 5-2 to Mariners ACL. 

Spence Coffman: 2 for 3 w/ a SB

The Padres ACL would fall by the final of 5-2 on Thursday. On offense the team would only muster three hits as a whole. 

Two of those three hits would come from Spence Coffman, as, along with his two singles, he would score a run and steal a base. The 20-year-old Coffman does not play for a lot of power, posting just a 97 wRC+ and .356 Slug%, but he has shown quality contact skills with a .327 Batting Avg. 

On the pitching side, starter Yovannki Pascual would work four solid innings in the loss, allowing just one earned run on four hits while punching out five. 

DSL Padres Gold Def. DSL Cubs 6-3. 

Luis Maracar: 5 IPs, 1 ER, 6 Ks 

The DSL Padres Gold would take down the DSL Cubs by the final of 6-3

On the bump Luis Maracar would work five quality innings and allow just one run on four hits, one walk, while punching out six. At just 16 years of age, the start of Maracar’s professional baseball career has been impressive. 

In a small sample size, just 12 total innings, he hold a 3.75 ERA and has punched out five or more hitters in two of his first three starts. 

At the plate, the biggest offensive impact would come from 19-year-old Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic native Eduarlin Francisco Tejeda. Tejeda would go two for three at the dish, logging and RBI, stolen base, and a run scored. 

With just a five foot niner and 150 pound frame, per baseball america, power is not in the cards at the moment for Tejeda, that said he has utilized his speed and bat to ball skills well in the early part of the DSL season hitting at .297 with four stolen bases.

DSL Padres Brown Lose to DSL Guardians 9-2

Jimmy Reyes: 4 2/3 IPs, 10 Hits, 6 ER

The DSL Padres Brown would fall to 1-10 following their 9-2 loss to the DSL Guardians.

Starter Jimmy Reyes would struggle as he would surrender six runs, on ten hits, two walks, while punching out just two batters. For the 18-year-old from Licey, Dominican Republic, this was his toughest outing of the season. 

In his prior two starts, he held opposing hitters to two hits in both starts and boasted a 1.29 ERA coming into the outing. 

Along with the poor pitching performance, the DSL Padres made a bevy of mistakes on defense as they would tally five total errors in the loss. With a team composed of teenagers, it’s not a total shock to see errors, but this many in one game is much higher than the mean. 

Friday’s Probable Pitchers:

El Paso: Glenn Otto
San Antonio: Robby Snelling
Fort Wayne: Henry Baez
Lake Elsinore: TBD
ACL: TBD
DSL Gold: TBD
DSL Brown: TBD

Clark E. Fahrenthold

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.