Padres On Deck: 3 Affiliates Head to Playoffs, 3 Set Strikeout Records

Esteury Ruiz wins ARL titles; Buss, Reyes, Kennedy, Cordero, Urías claim crowns

By Bill Center

Chihuahuas players celebrate after the clinching the PCL division title in Sacramento at Raley Field

The minor league regular season ended Monday with three Padres affiliates headed to the playoffs starting Wednesday.

Triple-A El Paso won a third straight Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern Division title and are the defending PCL champions. Double-A San Antonio swept both the first and second-half Southern division titles in the Texas League. And young Single-A Fort Wayne claimed a Midwest League playoff berth with a 42–28 second half.

The pitching staffs of three Padres affiliates — San Antonio (1,186), Fort Wayne (1,307) and Short-Season Single-A Tri-City (764) — broke their respective league single-season records for staff strikeouts. And San Antonio won the Texas League earned run average title by more than a run with a 3.28 mark.

A number of Padres prospects finished the season winning individual league titles or finishing among the leaders. A quick review by team.

El Paso — Outfielder Nick Buss won the PCL batting title with a .348 mark. Outfielder Franchy Cordero finished seventh at .326 and led the league in triples with a Padres all-time minor league mark of 18. Outfielder Rafael Ortega tied for the PCL lead with 26 steals and finished 13th in the batting race at .317.

San Antonio — Right fielder Franmil Reyes led the Texas League with 25 homers and finished second with 102 RBIs. Second baseman Luis Urías led the league in on-base percentage (.398) and finished sixth in batting average (.296). Right-handed starter Brett Kennedy led the league in wins (13), finished fourth in strikeouts (134) and sixth in ERA (3.70). Right-handed starter Enyel De Los Santos was third in strikeouts (138) and eighth in ERA (3.78). Right-handed closer Trey Wingenter led the Texas League with 20 saves.

Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore — Catcher Austin Allen finished fourth in the California League with 22 homers.

Tri-City — Left-handed Ben Sheckler won the Northwest League earned run average with a 2.60 mark and finished third with a 1.22 WHIP.

Arizona Rookie Padres — Esteury Ruiz led the Arizona Rookie League in batting average (.350), hits (72), doubles (20), triples (10), finished second in RBIs (39) and third in runs scored (45) and stolen bases (26).

Around the Farm:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (73–69) — SACRAMENTO 10, Chihuahuas 9: CF Franchy Cordero (.326) was 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. 1B Christian Villanueva (.296) was 2-for-5. 2B Dusty Coleman (.208) was 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored. 3B Ryan Schimpf (.202) was 1-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. PH Hunter Renfroe (.509) was 1-for-1 with a RBI and a run scored. C Rocky Gale (.278) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. SS Jose Rondon (.282) was 1-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored. RF Rafael Ortega (.317) was 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and a run scored. Starting RHP Matt Magill (3.95 ERA) allowed a hit with three strikeouts in three scoreless innings. RHP Michael Kelly (6.64) allowed two runs on two hits and two strikeouts in three innings. RHP Christian Bethancourt (8.21) allowed two runs on three hits and three walks with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. RHP Jason Jester (5.91) allowed four runs on four hits with a strikeout in an inning. RHP Eric Yardley (0–1, 2.00) allowed two runs on three hits with a strikeout in an inning.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (37–33, 78–62) — CORPUS CHRISTI 2, MISSIONS 0: Starting RHP Jacob Nix (1–2, 5.53 ERA) allowed an unearned run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings to suffer the loss. RHP T.J. Weir (2.17) struck out one in a perfect inning. RHP Trey Wingenter (2.45) allowed a run on a hit with a strikeout in an inning. DH Noah Perio (.281) was 2-for-3. LF Nick Torres (.277) was 2-for-4. SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (.255), 2B Luis Urías (.296) and 1B Josh Naylor (.250) were all 1-for-4.

ADVANCED SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (29–41, 64–76) — RANCHO CUCAMONGA 2, Storm 0: INF River Stevens played all nine positions for the Storm in the season finale. As a pitcher, he gave up a hit and two walks without retiring a hitter, although none of the runners scored. He was 0-for-4 at the plate. 2B-SS Peter Van Gansen (.243), C Austin Allen (.284) and OF Taylor Kohlwey (.245) were all 1-for-3. Starting LHP Jerry Keel (3–4, 4.48 ERA) allowed two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts in six innings to take the loss. LHP Will Headean (3.33) retired the only hitter he faced. RHP Jake Smith (2.89) struck out the only two hitters he faced. RHP Trevor Frank (4.23) followed Stevens and struck out one in a perfect inning.

SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (42–28, 68–72) — WEST MICHIGAN 4, TinCaps 1: 3B Kyle Overstreet (.327) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. CF Buddy Reed (.234) was 2-for-4 with a RBI. LF Nate Easley (.261) had a double in four at-bats. DH G.K. Young (.241), SS Gabriel Arias (.242) and RF Jack Suwinski (.227) were all 1-for-4. Starting RHP Reggie Lawson (5.30 ERA) allowed a hit in two scoreless innings. RHP Ronald Bolanos (4.41) issued a walk with two strikeouts in three otherwise perfect innings. RHP Jim McDade (3–4, 3.95) allowed a run on two hits in an inning. RHP Andres Munoz (3.86) allowed a hit in a scoreless inning. RHP Jose Galindo (3.32) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk with a strikeout in one-third of an inning. RHP Jordan Guerrero (2.77) retired the only two hitters he faced.

SHORT-SEASON SINGLE-A TRI CITY (21–18, 40–36) — The Dust Devils season has ended.

ARIZONA ROOKIE LEAGUE PADRES-1 (10–17, 25–31) — The Arizona Rookie League season has ended.

ARIZONA ROOKIE LEAGUE PADRES-2 (15–13, 30–25) — The Arizona Rookie League season has ended.

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE PADRES (24–47) — The Dominican Summer League regular season has ended.