Down on the Farm- August 17- A Near Perfect Game for Fort Wayne

DSL Padres Game One: 2-1 loss vs DSL Giants

DSL Padres (22-41) Game Two: 3-2 win (10 innings) vs. DSL Giants

AZL Padres (22-21): 10-9 loss @ AZL Giants

AZL Padres 2 (24-18): 19-14 win @ AZL Indians

Tri-City Dust Devils (32-28): 6-2 loss @ Everett

Fort Wayne TinCaps (60-63): 7-0 win @ South Bend

Lake Elsinore Storm (57-67): 4-2 loss vs Inland Empire

San Antonio Missions (71-51): 4-2 win @ Springfield

El Paso Chihuahuas (61-63): 5-2 loss vs Alberquerque

Key Performers:

RF Mason House (4-6, 4R, 2 3B’s, 2RBI, 2SO)

In a wild game, in which AZL Padres 2 blew a 14-1 lead before winning it in extras, Mason House had a tremendous performance. The 18-year-old was a third-round pick by the Padres in the 2017 draft, and has impressed thus far as a professional. He seems to have all the tools, and who would expect anything less from an AJ Preller draft pick. This game was his 25th in the AZL, and his fourth game with three or more hits.

DH Eguy Rosario (4-5, 2B, 3R, 4RBI)

Eguy Rosario had a rough beginning to the year in Fort Wayne, hitting .206 with a OBP under .300 in fifty games. It can be forgiven, though. Rosario was the youngest player in the Midwest League, and was probably a bit overwhelmed (who could blame him?). He was sent back to extended spring training for a few weeks before being designated to the AZL, where he is currently hitting .314 with an OBP quickly headed north towards .400. Eguy doesn’t turn 18 until August 25th. In my opinion, he is a top 30 guy in the Padres’ system.

2B Esteury Ruiz (3-4, 2B, RBI, 3R)

Estuery Ruiz one of the better hitters down here. Great showing tonight. One of the better single game performances at the plate I've seen

— Chris Kusiolek (@CaliKusiolek) August 18, 2017

‘Nuff said.

RHP Luke Bachar (7 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 7K):

22-year-old Luke Bachar had the best outing of his professional career on Thursday, firing seven perfect innings for Fort Wayne. Bachar threw 50 strikes in 74 pitches while baffling South Bend; improving his record on the season to 3-0. The 6’3″, 200 pound right-hander was drafted out of UW-Whitewater in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

@TinCaps pitcher Lake Bachar (@lakebachar1995) with 7 perfect innings & 7 Ks vs. SB Cubs! @PadresProspects @Padres @EVT_News @madfriars pic.twitter.com/MS4YVh231r

— Glenn Marini (@GlennMariniWANE) August 18, 2017

Bachar and Jose Galindo combined to retire the first 26 batters of the night for Fort Wayne. They were two strikes away from a combined perfect game before a double by Jhonny Pereda with two outs in the ninth ruined hopes of perfection.

SS Fernando Tatis Jr (3-5, R, 3 2B’s, RBI, SO):

It seems like Tatis Jr is always on these lists when I write them, and here he is again. Tatis Jr. went 3-5 in Fort Wayne’s 7-0 victory, doubling in the first, third, and seventh innings. The 18-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down as the minor league regular season comes to a close. Fort Wayne appears destined to head to the Midwest League playoffs, and those will likely be the last games for Tatis in a TinCaps uniform. He is certainly Lake Elsinore bound in 2018.

DH Jorge Ona (2-5, R, HR, 2RBI, SO)

In terms of power numbers, Jorge Ona has had a quiet year at the plate. Tonight, though, the 20-year-old hit his ninth HR of the season in a two-hit effort. Incredibly, that home run was his first since July 12th. To get back to being the guy the Padres want him to be, Ona will obviously have to start hitting for more power. Hopefully it will develop as he gets more professional games under his belt. In all honesty, given all the factors that Ona has had to go through, this first season in the states has been a solid one for him. Like Tatis Jr., Ona will be making the jump to Lake Elsinore in 2018.

LHP Joey Lucchesi (6.2IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 9K)

Luchhesi’s stint with the Missions has been solid thus far, and Thursday night it was more of the same. Facing the Springfield lineup for the first time, Lucchesi fanned nine hitters while walking none in 6 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old’s ERA is down to 2.14, and he has given up only two home runs in 46 1/3 innings of work. The Padres will be carefully watching Lucchesi’s workload down the stretch, with eyes on him (if all goes well) heading up to the big league club sometime next season.

RHP Brad Wingenter (1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 2K, SV)

Wingenter, who throws in the upper 90s & reaches 100 every now and then, continued his dominance as San Antonio’s closer. The 23-year-old now has 55 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings this season.

RF Jabari Blash (3-3, R, HR, RBI)

Ah, Jabari. Blash hit his 20th HR for El Paso tonight and was on base all four times. Blash is OPS’ing 1.047 on the season in Triple-A as he continues to tear up the PCL.

LF Franchy Cordero (2-4, RBI, BB)

Franchy continues to impress for the Chihuahuas. Most importantly, no strikeouts. Since the return of Travis Jankowski, Cordero has been bouncing around all three outfield spots. His average on the season is up to .316 and the OPS is up to .960. El Paso is 2.5 games out of a playoff spot with seventeen games to go.

John Horvath

Baseball is fun. College sophomore that is aspiring to work someday in the sports industry. Follow me on twitter @Friar_Faithful. Go Pads!