Padres Round-up 5/10/21

Hello again, Padres fans, and welcome back to another Padres Round-up! Apologies for the delay; my internet at work was down all morning, so wasn’t able to get to the Round-up until now. Let’s get caught up on the Minor League affiliates, and whatever other news and notes I find.

Low-A - Lake Elsinore Storm (5-1 on year)

What happened last night: Storm 4, Rawhide 5

• Euribiel Angeles: 1-5, 1 RBI, 2 Ks
• Jordy Barley: 1-5, 1 R, 1 SB
• Robert Hassell III: 1-1, 1 R, 4 BB (good eye!), 1 assist
• Joshua Mears: 1-4 (2B)
• Brandon Valenzuela: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 K
• Nick Thwaits: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 4 Ks, 57 pitches, 34 for strikes, 4 GOs, 2 FOs, 18 batters faced
• Levi Thomas: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 Ks, 43 pitches, 30 for strikes, 3 GOs, 2 FOs, 12 batters faced

High-A - FT Wayne TinCaps (3-2 on year)

What happened last night: no game, PPD -Rain.

AA - San Antonio Missions (4-2 on year)

What happened last night: Missions 7, Hooks 5.

• CJ Abrams: 3-5 (HR), 2 R, 2 RBI
• Juan Fernandez: DNP
• Kyle Overstreet: 2-5 (2B), 3 RBI, 1 K
• Eguy Rosario: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
• Esteury Ruiz: 0-0 (pinch ran for Overstreet), 1 SB
• Reiss Knehr: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HRA, 75 pitches, 50 for strikes, 8 GOs, 0 FOs, 20 batters faced
• Jerry Keel: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 Ks, 51 pitches, 30 for strikes, 5 GOs, 0 FOs, 13 batters faced
• Jose Quezada: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 13 pitches, 8 for strikes, 2 GOs, 0 FOs, 3 batters faced

AAA - El Paso Chihuahuas (2-2 on year)

What happened last night: Chihuahuas 5, Rainiers 1

• Luis Campusano: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• Ivan Castillo: 0-4. 2 Ks
• Gosuke Katoh: 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
• Tucupita Marcano: 1-3, 1 BB
• Brian O’Grady: 1-4 (HR), 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 Ks
• Jesse Scholtens: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 6 Ks, 71 pitches, 48 for strikes, 3 GOs, 4 FOs, 20 batters faced
• Kyle McGrath: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 21 pitches, 14 for strikes, 0 GOs, 2 FOs, 7 batters faced
• Mason Thompson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 9 pitches, 8 for strikes, 3 GOs, 0 FOs, 4 batters faced

News & Notes:

• AAA - El Paso OF Brian O’Grady capped off the scoring barrage, blasting a 2-run shot in the 8th inning against Tacoma. So far, BOG is slashing .250/.294/.438 on the young AAA season.
• RHP Jesse Scholtens turned in the best AAA start of his career. The 27-year-old out of sailed through his first two professional seasons after the Padres drafted him in the 9th round in 2016, but got hit hard in his first taste of AAA in 2018, and never found his footing in a 2019 campaign he spent entirely in AA.
• LHP Kyle McGrath, 1 of just 2 minor leaguers still in the organization from before GM AJ Preller’s arrival, threw 2 scoreless innings as he works to return from TJ surgery. Relying on an extreme over-the-top delivery, the 2014 draftee got a brief big league cameo back in 2018 but hasn’t been on the 40-man roster in almost 3 years.
• Moving on to AA, INF CJ Abrams continued his torrid start, collecting his first 3-hit game as the Missions rallied for a Sunday afternoon victory. The Padres’ top position prospect lined an oppo-shot on an 0-2 pitch for his first AA homer in the 5th inning after spraying a pair of singles in his first 2 trips to the plate. Abrams, 20, has hit in 5 of 6 games for San Antonio.
• C/1B Kyle Overstreet had an RBI single to open San Antonio’s scoring and then tied the game with a 2-run double. The Alabama product is slashing .375/.444/.438 with a pair of walks through his first 4 games, which he’s split between catcher and DH.
• LHP Jerry Keel worked 4 hitless frames in relief of starter RHP Reiss Knehr, who got roughed up earlier. The 6-foot-6 lefty bounced back nicely after getting hit hard in his own season debut earlier last week, striking out 4. A 2015 draftee, Keel spent the 2nd half of 2018 and all of 2019 in AAA, where he got roughed up to the tune of a 6.78 ERA over 26 starts/151.1 IP.
• In High-A FT Wayne, due to last night’s rain out, the TinCaps will play a 7-game series later this year to make it up.
• In Low-A ball, Lake Elsinore fell behind 4-0 in the 1st inning and went just 2-16 with runners in scoring position.
• OF Robert Hassell III reached base in all 5 trips to the plate, drawing 4 walks. The Padres’ first pick in last year’s draft got on 15 times in his 32 trips to the plate to set the tone for the Storm offense through the series.
• C Brandon Valenzuela extended his hitting streak to 6 games with an infield single in the 1st inning. The switch-hitting backstop also walked, finishing the series with more free passes than strikeouts.
• With most of the minors off each Monday, keeping pitchers on a standard 5-day schedule may be a challenge. Because the Padres intend to build pitchers up slowly after the lost 2020 campaign, we could see more of what they did with RHP Levi Thomas this week. After last year’s fourth-round pick started the opener and worked three innings, he came in as the piggyback guy after RHP Nick Thwaits Sunday. The 22-year-old allowed 1 run on 3 Hs over 3 frames, K-ing 3.
• Up at the MLB level, RHP Chris Paddack returned from the COVID IL to make the start yesterday, and in what could be a significant potential development, it looks like Paddack’s fastball has returned to its 2019 form. Opponents were hitting .283 against Paddack’s fastball through his first 5 starts, but he located the pitch all over the zone better and threw with more vigor yesterday, instead of shying away from it as had earlier this year (among other mental gymnastics). Paddack listed a 4-hour FaceTime conversation he had with his brother as being a big help to him, especially while he was in quarantine: “My brother, Michael, our relationship is just outstanding and I’m very fortunate to have a brother like him. We had a four-hour conversation over FaceTime, basically finding whatever it is that works for me and get back to that Chris Paddack. Stop worrying about being the Sherriff, stop worrying about being someone I’m not and be Chris Paddack. That’s basically what I did. I’ve had doubt, there’s been times when you fear the opposing hitter, whatever the situation is, but if you look yourself in the mirror and you tell yourself what you’re scared of, you’re going to overcome those fears and those doubts. So being able to basically do that and just being honest with my brother. He’s someone I can brag to when I pitch well and rant to when I’m struggling. So him being there for me, it’s meant a lot during these past 10 days.”
• INF Jake Cronenworth’s 445-ft. HR into the San Francisco Bay (well, off a kayak first) was the longest of his career, and achieved something of career goal for Crone. He’s said he wanted to hit a homer into McCovey Cove since his 1st trip to San Francisco last year. Cronenworth’s was the 4th ball hit into McCovey Cove by an opponent this season but the 1st by a Padres player since Yasmani Grandal on April 30, 2014.
• A scary moment yesterday as C Victor Caratini caught an errant Chris Paddack curveball in the neck after the pitch bounced off the ground then underneath his facemask. Caratini dropped to his knees for a few minutes as the ballpark went silent., but ultimately stayed in the game. Caratini also doubled and singled during the game.
• 1B Eric Hosmer is now batting .379/.424/.690 against lefties this season after a single and a double yesterday. His 1.114 OPS against left-handers in 2021 is almost double what it was in his first three seasons with the Padres (.563).
• RHP Dinelson Lamet was scheduled to start tonight’s game in Denver, but with inclement weather postponing the game, it looks like his next start won’t be until Wednesday. As for LHP Ryan Weathers, who piggy-backed with Paddack yesterday, it seems like he’ll return to the swing-man role in the bullpen. “He’s going to start some,” Tingler said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know he’s capable of coming out of the pen. He’s capable of starting. We’re going to need the depth.”
• As for Tuesday’s and (presumably) Wednesday’s first start, Tingler would not commit . However, RHP Yu Darvish threw his between-starts bullpen Sunday morning, indicating he is on track to start Tuesday. LHP Blake Snell, who played catch Sunday, would presumably follow.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the night off, as the Padres look to have a chilly series in Denver, assuming the weather clears.

GO PADRES!!!!