San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-3 on Wednesday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

Lake Elsinore Storm (Loss 6-0 to Inland Empire ) (12-15, 2nd in Cal South)

*Jose Luis Reyes: 3.2 IP, 7Ks

* Rosman Verdugo: (2 for 4)

The Storm lost their Wednesday night game to the Inland Empire 66ers by the final of 6-0.

On the pitching end, starter Jose Luis Reyes would go 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, one walk, but seven strikeouts. 

21-year-old Luis Reyes lowered his ERA to 8.68; however, the underlying numbers suggest he is better than his ERA shows. Jose Luis Reyes has a 3.09 xFIP,  a .212 xwOBA, and 4.07 FIP. As well, Reyes has also done a decent job of generating swings and misses as well as ground balls. Along with his 21% K%, Reyes has gotten a 27.9% Chase Rate, and when balls are put into play, he has a respectable 53.8% GB%

At the plate, Rosman Verdugo continued to heat up as the 19-year-old went 2-for-4  in the loss. Yes, it is a small sample size, but in Verdugo’s last 23 at-bats, he has a wRC+ > 105,  8% BB%, and a Slug% of .522 It’s the early part of the season, but Verdugo is still on the high end for swings and misses as he’s posted a 32.3% Whiff Rate and 14.7 SwSrt%. Not unheard of for a 19-year old, but hopefully a trend that he is able to cut down on as the season wears on. 

That said, the fly ball rate that Verdugo is producing is quality, as he has posted a 40.4% FB, and he is making constant contact within the zone with a 70% Z-contact%

Fort Wayne TinCaps, (4-0 Loss to West Michigan White Caps. ) (10-19, 5th MID EAST)

*Jagger Haynes: 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 BBs, 1 K

*Homer Bush Jr.: (2 for 4), 2B 

Fort Wayne would again fall short on Wednesday afternoon, as they were taken down 4-0 by the West Michigan White Caps.

On the mound, Jagger Haynes would again struggle. The Padres No. 18 prospect would fail to make it out the 4th inning as he would allow two runs on just one hit but would walk three; Haynes would also strike out just one.

For the 2024 season, Haynes FIP now sits at 6.93, while his ERA rests at 9.00. For Haynes, the crucible of his issues starts with his lack of command and high walk rate, as he has a 22.8% BB%. Haynes is also getting hit too often when he throws it in the zone, as he has an 81.6% Z-Contact%. He is also failing to generate a ton of swing and miss, as he has just a 19.1% Whiff Rate thus far in 2024.

Offensively, the TinCaps would get a big day out of Homer Bush Jr. The Padres No. 8 prospect would go 2-for-4 with a double. It was Bush Jr.’s first extra-base hit of the 2024 season.  To this point, Bush has put the ball on the ground perhaps a bit more than San Diego would like, as he has a 50% GB%, and has too many wild swings as he has a 37.5% Chase Swing%

Still, even with the slow start of the 2024 season, Bush Jr. still has swiped 13 bases. As well, in his last 31 at-bats, Bush Jr. has posted a wRC+> 120, .367 wOBA, and a 11.8% K%.  So, things look to be trending in the right direction for talented Padres OF.

San Antonio Missions (7-0 Win v. Frisco ) (14-14, 3rd  in TEX  South)

*Adam Mazur: 6 IP, 2 Hits, 0 ER, and 3 Ks 

*Robert Perez Jr: 3 for 4 w/ 4 RBIs

Padres No.5 prospect Adam Mazur continued his dominant 2024 season. Perhaps the most big league ready arm in the system, Mazur worked six innings tonight punching out three and allowing just two hits and zero earned runs.

It wasn’t the normal high K number night that some are used to seeing from Mauer, as he generated just a 19.3% Whiff Rate. Yet, Mazur still ranks inside the top 10 in the Texas League in K%, boasting a 27.3% K% and posses a 28.5% Whiff Rate, 16.1% SwSrt%, and 19.2 Chase%

But what has made Mauzr so effective, even when he does not rack up a ton of strikeouts, is his ability to live in the shadows of the zone. In 2024, he claims ownership to a whopping 50.1% Shadow percentage and is able to generate a 63.5% Shadow Swing%. 

Final line on Padres No.7 prospect Adam Mazur.

6 IP, 2 Hits, 3 Ks, 0 ER.

The right hander generated 9 whiffs on the night.

His 1.99 FIP ranks 1st in the Texas League. pic.twitter.com/dN5T4FijIy

— Clark Fahrenthold (@CFahrenthold11) May 9, 2024

After 30 Innings this season, Mazur has slowed his FIP to 1.99 and his ERA to Mazur’s 1.95. His 1.99 FIP and 3.09 xFIP still rank 1st and second, respectively, in the Texas League. 

With the injuries to the Padres pitching staff, Mazur’s name has continued to come up as a candidate to see a promotion to the big leagues. If he continues to pitch like this, that conversation will continue to grow louder an stronger.

At the dish, the Missions would get a bit of a breakout game from Robert Perez Jr. as he recorded four RBIs as a part of a 3-for-4 day. It was one of Perez Jr’s best days at the dish this season, as coming into this game, he had posted just a .592 OPS and a 74 wRC+.

Brandon Valenzuela went one for three at the dish with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. The 23-year-old catcher is hoping to heat up in the month of May, as to this point, he has a 93 wRC+. That said, he still maintains a BB% north of 10%,at 11.6%.

EL Paso Chihuahuas (11-7  loss v. Albuquerque  ) (15-20, 4th in PCL East ) 

*Mason McCoy: 4 for 4 w/ 2 RBIs

*Lake Bachar: 1 1/3 IP, 5 Hits, 3BBs, and  5 ERs

For the EL Paso Chihuahuas, it was yet another offensive shootout. Sadly, El Paso would find themselves on the losing end as they fell to Albuquerque 11-7.

Mason McCoy put together the most impressive showing in the loss, going 4-for-4 at the dish with two RBIs and two runs scored. 

Also leaving a mark on the win would be Brett Sullivan and Bryce Johnson; the two would combine to go 5-for-8 with three extra-base hits. Sullivan himself would tally two doubles and a total of four RBIs. 

Padres recently demoted No.6 prospect Graham Pauley would go hitless with three punchouts in Wednesday night’s loss. 

On the mound, the El Paso pitching staff struggled in the high-scoring loss. Starter Daniel Camarena went just three innings and allowed three runs on six hits while punching out four. Paul Fry followed with two innings of work, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out three. 

But the biggest blows would come against Lake Bachar, as in an inning and a third, he would surrender five runs on five hits and three walks.

ACL Padres:  (Won 3-1 vs. ACL Reds) (3-1 Overall in 2024)

The ACL Padres picked up yet another win to start the 2024 Rookie Ball season, taking down the ACL Reds 3-1. 

19-year-old centerfield Donte Grant would star for the Padres, going 3-for-3 at the dish with a run scored and a stolen base. Grant is an undrafted free agent from the Padres 2023 MLB Draft class. In high school, Grant was the No.16 overall prospect in the state of Washington. 

Knocking in runs for the ACL Padres would be Spence Coffman, Daniel Montesino, and Ismael Javier. 

On the bump, the most impactful or impressive showing would come from Maikel Miralles, who worked three shutout innings and punched out five. It was another strong showing for the 19-year-old right-hander, who continued to build on his good strikeout numbers for 2023 in the DSL. 

In just 7.2 innings in the DSL last season, he posted a 23.1% K%. Thus far, in 4 IP in rookie ball, Miralles has a 41.6% K%.

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.