Padres Minor League Report: Kruz Schoolcraft, Jagger Haynes Turn In Strong Starts

Resuming play following the All-Star break, the full-season San Diego Padres affiliates went 2-1 with a postponement. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas let one slip away against Sugar Land 5-3, the Double-A San Antonio Missions hung on for a 4-3 win over Corpus Christi, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps were postponed due to poor air quality and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm demolished Ontario 12-0.

Padres Minor-League Transactions

• San Diego Padres sent RHP Jeremiah Estrada on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• San Diego Padres optioned C Rodolfo Durán to El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Lake Elsinore Storm sent C Ty Harvey on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• RHP Landry Jurecka assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres.
• RHP Cameron Nohos assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres.
• San Antonio Missions sent LHP Luis Gutierrez on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• San Antonio Missions placed LHP Omar Cruz on the full-season injured list.
• RHP Carlos Medina assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm.
• RHP Luis German assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from ACL Padres.
• San Diego Padres recalled RHP Jhony Brito from El Paso Chihuahuas.
• El Paso Chihuahuas released RF Nick Schnell.
• San Diego Padres sent RHP David Morgan on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• RHP Victor Lizarraga assigned to ACL Padres from San Antonio Missions.
• RHP Matthew Watson assigned to San Antonio Missions from Fort Wayne TinCaps and placed on development list.
• San Antonio Missions activated C Ethan Salas from the temporarily inactive list (Futures Game).
• San Diego Padres sent RHP Randy Vasquez on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.

Two-Out Error In Ninth On Broken Glove Spells Doom For Chihuahuas

A soft chopper turned into a three-run error with two outs in the top of the ninth inning as first baseman Romeo Sanabria failed to catch a toss from the pitcher in the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas' 5-3 loss to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

Right-hander Alek Jacob came on to start the ninth inning for the Chihuahuas, looking for the save. But he gave up a single, a foul out to first, a flyout to right, another single and a hit by pitch to load the bases with two outs. Pascanel Ferreras hit a soft chopper right in front of the plate that Jacob charged, picked up and threw a bit low to Sanabria at first, who saw the ball break through his mitt, then head into foul territory in right field, allowing all three runners on base to score and Ferreras ending up on second.

That ruined what had been an otherwise good night for the Chihuahuas. Left-handed starter Jackson Wolf allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits over five innings, walking one and striking out four. The bullpen of right-handers Miguel Cienfuegos, Michael Flynn and Ethan Routzahn combined to allow one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over the next three innings. The two runs came in each of the first two innings as the Space Cowboys grabbed an early lead.

But the Chihuahuas came back with a run in the third on a Bryce Johnson walk and Mason McCoy RBI double, then took the lead in the fourth on Nick Solak's leadoff double, Marcos Castanon's one-out RBI double and Blake Hunt's two-out run-scoring single.

Kai Roberts' 2-Run HR, Jagger Haynes Lift Missions

Kai Roberts' two-run homer broke a seventh-inning tie and left-handed starter Jagger Haynes struck out eight and didn't allow an earned run for six innings in the host Double-A San Antonio Missions' 4-3 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks, their fourth win in a row.

Haynes, Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect, allowed one unearned run on three hits and a walk to go along with his eight punchouts, which tied his season high. Right-hander Josh Mallitz gave up an unearned run in two innings with a pair of strikeouts.

The Missions' damage came from their Nos. 8-9-1 hitters as Francisco Acuna had a hit and scored twice from the eight-hole, Roberts also scored twice from the nine-spot and leadoff hitter Carson Tucker had two hits and two RBIs. In the third inning, Acuna doubled and scored one out later on Tucker's single to tie the game 1-1. Roberts walked with two outs in the fifth and, after a pitching change and stealing his 30th base of the season, scored on another Tucker single for a 2-1 lead. The Hooks tied it with a run in the top of the seventh, but Roberts launched his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast, in the bottom half to put the Chihuahuas up 4-2.

The Hooks scored one in the top of the ninth, with right fielder Braedon Karpathios (Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect) throwing out a runner at the plate on the same play to prevent the tying run from scoring.

TinCaps Get An Extra Day Following Postponement

Poor air quality in Indiana due to the Canadian wildfires prompted the High-A Fort Wayne TinCap's home game against the Lansing Lugnuts to be postponed. It will be made up Sept. 2 as part of a doubleheader in Michigan. Right-hander Bryan Balzer had been scheduled to pitch Friday, with left-hander Kash Mayfield (Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect) slated to go Saturday. No immediate word on pitching plans, but both could go in Saturday's game, with Mayfield likely getting the start.

Kruz Schoolcraft Goes 5 Shutout As Storm Surge Early In Rout

Left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft pitched five scoreless innings and Jose Verdugo went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm crushed the Ontario Tower Buzzers 12-0. The Storm scored six runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back.

Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, allowed just three hits while walking three and punching out six. This was his first scoreless outing since May 15, the only other game he didn't allow a run in his 16 starts this season. It was another strong outing after Schoolcraft allowed one run in 5⅓ innings last week.

Dawson Willis had a pair of triples, scored three runs and had an RBI, Yoiber Ocopio had a two-run double in the big first inning and Bradley Frye walked twice and scored twice with an RBI.

After Schoolcraft, the bullpen continued to shut down the Tower Buzzers. Big right-hander Cameron Nohos, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound undrafted free agent last year, made his first Storm appearance after being promoted from the Arizona Complex League before the game. Nohos, who made three appearances for the Storm at the end of 2025, struck out two, walked one and allowed a hit in a scoreless inning. He had 58 strikeouts in 37⅔ innings in the ACL over 12 games, including seven starts. Right-hander Rordy Mejia, right-hander Yoesmerli Beltre and left-hander Cal Riehl also pitched scoreless innings, combining for four strikeouts.

Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance

1. Ethan Salas, C: 0-for-4, 2 K
2. Kash Mayfield, LHP: DNP
3. Miguel Mendez, RHP: DNP
4. Ryan Wideman, CF: DNP
5. Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W
6. Jorge Quintana, SS: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
7. Ty Harvey, C: On injured list (rehab assignment)
8. Kale Fountain, OF: Injured, out for season
9. Braedon Karpathios, OF: 1-for-4
10. Jagger Haynes, LHP: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
11. Lamar King Jr., C: DNP
12. Tucker Musgrove, RHP: DNP
13. Truitt Madonna, C: DNP
14. Alex McCoy, OF: DNP
15. Jesus Castro, RHP: DNP
16. Rosman Verdugo, SS: DNP
17. Garrett Hawkins, RHP: DNP
18. Eric Yost, RHP: DNP
19. Michael Salina, RHP: DNP
20. Winyer Chourio, RHP: DNP

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