Padres Minor League Report: Baez, Butterworth & Choi Power Winning Night

[Brock Beauchamp]

Rain washed out El Paso’s visit to Sugar Land, but the system sparkled. In Double-A, Henry Baez fired five innings and Brandon Valenzuela homered as San Antonio rode a five-run first to a 6–1 win. High-A Fort Wayne erupted for four in the seventh; Brandon Butterworth delivered three RBIs and Leo De Vries homered in a 9-4 triumph. Single-A Lake Elsinore cruised 9-1 behind B.Y. Choi’s four RBIs and six sharp frames from Abraham Parra.

Padres Transactions

• No Roster Moves.

El Paso and Sugar Land postponed by rain
The game will be made up when the Chihuahuas travel to Texas in mid-September.

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Five-run first, Baez’s steady arm pace Missions past RockHounds
Box Score

San Antonio’s offense erupted for five two-out runs in the opening frame, and Henry Baez made them stand up, guiding the Missions to a 6–1 victory Sunday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium.

After singles by Francisco Acuna and Brandon Valenzuela set the table, Albert Fabian drove both home with a ringing double to left. Moisés Gómez followed with a sharp RBI double, Kai Murphy lined a run-scoring single, and Marcos Castañon capped the rally by launching his first triple of the year to center.

Baez (4-2) scattered four hits over 5 efficient innings, surrendering one run while striking out two and issuing no walks. Andrew Moore bridged the sixth, and the trio of Kevin Kopps (1 2/3 IP, three strikeouts) and Jake Higginbotham (1 1/3 IP) combined to blank Midland the rest of the way.

Valenzuela added insurance in the seventh, belting his 12th homer deep to left with two outs. The switch-hitting catcher finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and thwarted a rally in the third by picking off a runner at first. Fabian matched him with a 2-for-4 night and drove in a pair, while Gómez collected two hits, including his 18th double, and Murphy and Castañon each plated a run. Devin Ortiz reached twice and doubled in the sixth before being cut down at third on a relay from right field.

The victory backed Baez’s season ERA to 1.96.

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Butterworth, De Vries spark seventh-inning surge as TinCaps top Kernels
Box Score

Fort Wayne struck first when Kai Roberts singled to open the game and trotted home on Brandon Butterworth’s RBI knock, but the real fireworks came late.

Luis Gutierrez kept the TinCaps in front early, allowing one run through the first five frames. Overall, he pitched 5 2/3 innings and limited Cedar Rapids to four runs on seven hits without a walk. Right fielder Braedon Karpathios helped him out of the second by throwing out Andy Lugo trying at third after an RBI double, preserving a 1-1 game.

Leo De Vries reclaimed the lead in the fifth, blasting his eighth homer to right. An inning later, the Kernels nudged ahead, but Fort Wayne responded with a four-run seventh. De Vries walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored when Butterworth launched his 11th homer to left. Singles by Karpathios and Kaden Hollow, a walk to Rosman Verdugo, and an Oswaldo Linares hit-by-pitch pushed across another run before Ryan Jackson coaxed a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-4.

Butterworth finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while De Vries went 2-for-5, reached three times, and scored twice. Hollow added a double, single, walk, and his first stolen base at High-A.

Eiker Huizi entered after the sixth-inning damage and fanned three over 1 1/3 scoreless frames to earn the win, with Fernando Sanchez and Garrett Hawkins combining for the final two innings. Roberts’ RBI forceout and Jackson’s run-scoring single provided insurance in the ninth, pushing the TinCaps to a 9-4 victory built on 14 hits and clean defense.

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Choi’s Four RBIs Back Parra’s Six-Inning Gem as Storm Roll, 9-1
Box Score

B.Y. Choi was the catalyst all night, driving in four runs on three hits to power Lake Elsinore past Stockton. The second baseman knotted the game in the second with a two-out single to center, then lashed a run-scoring double down the left-field line in the fourth before adding a two-run single through the right side in the fifth. He finished 3-for-3 on the night.

Choi’s double started a three-run fourth that also featured Chase Valentine running home on a groundout and Cobb Hightower’s RBI single to center. Hightower went 3-for-5, walked once, and knocked in two. Valentine scored twice, collected two singles, walked twice, and stole his 11th base, while Alex McCoy crossed the plate three times and swiped second after a fifth-inning walk.

Designated hitter Kale Fountain provided the exclamation point, launching his first Lake Elsinore homer to left-center leading off the eighth. Zach Evans chipped in three singles and stole his 12th bag, and the Storm finished 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

Right-hander Abraham Parra (3-3) set the tone on the mound, limiting Stockton to one run on two hits over six innings while striking out five. Braian Salazar followed with 2 spotless frames, and Kleiber Olmedo struck out the side in the ninth to close out a staff two-hitter. The trio combined for 11 strikeouts.

Top Prospect Performances

1. Leo De Vries, SS: 2-for-5, BB, K, HR 

2. Kash Mayfield, LHP: Did Not Play 

3. Ethan Salas, C: Did Not Play 

4. Boston Bateman, RHP: Did Not Play 

5. Humberto Cruz, RHP: Did Not Play 

6. Kruz Schoolcraft: Not Yet Assigned

7. Isaiah Lowe, RHP: Did Not Play 

8. Henry Baez, RHP: 5 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 K 

9. Braden Nett, RHP: Did Not Play 

10. Cobb Hightower, 3B: 3-for-5, BB, 2B 

11. Kale Fountain, 1B/DH: 1-for-4, 2 BB, HR 

12. Tirso Ornelas, OF: Did Not Play 

13. Bradgley Rodriguez, RHP: Did Not Play 

14. Ryan Wideman: Not Yet Assigned

15. Kavares Tears, OF: 0-for-5, BB, 2 K 

16. Tyson Neighbors, RHP: Did Not Play 

17. Victor Lizarraga, RHP: Did Not Play 

18. Francis Pena, RHP: Did Not Play 

19. Romeo Sanabria, 1B: 1-for-4, K 

20. Ryan Bergert, RHP: Did Not Pla

 

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