madfriars Player of the Week: of Preston TuckerEl Paso.

One week, Preston Tucker! The Chihuahua outfielder had his week massive against No. 1 Oklahoma City and helped El Paso win the series. Tucker hit his two home runs last Wednesday and added one each on Thursday and Saturday. Overall, the former Astros, Atlanta, and Reds outfielder posted .412/.474/1.235 with 4 homers, 2 doubles, 5 RBIs and 7 runs scored. Tucker’s massive week saw him move higher up his PCL leaderboard. He ranks 3rd in the league with his 1.125 OPS and 6th in the league with .467 on-base percentage. Tucker returned home only once in April. On defense, Tucker can play outfield spots in both corners, but he has mostly seen action on the left.

madfriars Pitcher of the week: LHPs Robbie SnellingLake Elsinore

The calendar may have flipped in May, but the California League hasn’t figured out what to do with the Storm’s lefty Robbie Snelling. In three consecutive outings, Snelling completed five innings. However, he won his 6-4 against the Storm and overall he dominated his club with the Quakes 19-8. Snelling rancho his Cucamonga off the scoreboard, allowing only one hit. He hit his one step, nine. Cal has batted just . 143 against his 19-year-old lefty in five league starts. He’s pitched to a 0.86 ERA this entire season.

El Paso Chihuahua (4-2 win over Oklahoma City Dodgers)

Alfonso Rivas hits El Paso with a home run. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)

Top performers: Alfonso Rivas421/.450/.632 against top PCL teams. The former University of Arizona Wildcat spent most of last year with the Chicago Cubs, posting .235/.322/.307. The left-handed first baseman has his OPS of 1.028 so far in his first game against his hometown team. … Matt Waldron Knuckleball continues to be a work in progress, and the news this week is good news for his start at home, with seven strikeouts on two bases in 5.2 innings. His annual record is still not very good with 0 wins and 3 losses and an ERA of 8.01, but player progress is important in the minors. Especially for someone trying to figure out how to combine Knuckleball with his early ’90s. fastball.

Top prospects and others to watch: Tim Lopezand Brandon Dixon We also had a big week, each posting over 1,000 OPS. Another University of Arizona player, Dixon, had a good year and fell well short of Rivas in .350/.364/.650. Going all the way back to last season, the Chihuahua had 20 home runs by corner hitters in 42 games. … Lopez has been an amazing standout in spring training and continues to play solid heading into the regular season. This week, he batted .313/.353/.677 and had two home runs, his career-high. … Matthew Batten only batted .222, but posted a .391 on-base percentage, stole a double in two attempts, and had three doubles and a .222/.391/.556 batting average. hit a home run. … Jay Groom He had one great start and one not-so-good start in nine innings he pitched this week with a 5.00 ERA. He recorded his 16 strikeouts and allowed only four hits, but was injured in eight walks, five of which were in his second game. … Ray Carr In his three appearances and three innings of work this week, he gave up no runs, hits, or walks, earned two saves, and struck out six. his bullpen mate Angel Felipe It was nearly dominant, throwing three scoreless frames in three games for strikeouts against hits and walks. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Mission (lost series to Tulsa 1-5)

Top performers: There were few standouts in a week when the Missions won 33-11 and only a win in the series finale could not wipe them out. Duncan Snyder He got off to the strongest start of the series, allowing one run in five innings, his best of the season. The 25-year-old right-hander had one roughout earlier in the year, but other than that, he’s allowed only 3 earned runs in 18 innings with 12 hits. … Jorge Ohyeaha Although he had only 12 at-bats against Tulsa, he still paced the mission with three extra-base hits. The corner outfielder finished the week with a .333/.385/.583 batting average, adding 145 points to his OPS for the season.

Top prospects and others to watch: left handed jackson wolf Twice started in Tulsa. It didn’t go well at first, but he rebounded solidly in four innings on Sunday. His fourth-round pitcher in 2021, he recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings, extending his team-best season total to 36. … Efrain Contreras He had two consecutive strong outings, giving up one earned run on two hits over four innings while pitching 66 pitches. The hulking right-hander, who re-signed with the Padres after clearing his 40-man roster spot in the offseason, made his two longest appearances this year in his two appearances. … Righty Kevin Kops He went scoreless in two games in the bullpen. The 26-year-old reliever struggled with a walk in his first full season as a pro last summer, but has made a good recovery this season. (David Jay)

Nathan Martorella had an OPS of 1.162 last week. (Photo: Fort Wayne Tincaps)

Fort Wayne TInCap (Lake County won the series 4-2)

Top performers: TinCaps won the inaugural series of 2023, winning with only two rainouts and two doubleheaders.first baseman Nathan Martorella 333/.440/.722 in the week with 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 5 walks. The former Calvea has never been hitless in more than two games this season. … on the mound, Lighty Jairo Iriarte pitched 5 scoreless innings. He struck out seven while allowing only one hit and his three walks. The 21-year-old Hurler has allowed 20 runs and struck out 20 in 12 innings (1.50 ERA) in three games.

Marcos Castañon hit four home runs on Saturday. (Photo: Fort Wayne Tincaps)

Top prospects and others to watch: shortstop Jackson Merrill When I got back into action, I made it to base safely in 5 of 6 games. He batted .304/.320/.522 and hit his first home run in three weeks. … Brandon Valenzuela He made the most of the three games he played, scoring two home runs and adding two hits in the third contest of the .444/. His OPS this season leads the club with his 1.057, though his hitter’s backstop is 11 games. … third baseman Marcos Castayeahupon It seems to be finding his power stroke. He batted .250/.320/.550 with two more homers and seven RBIs, and is currently tied for the team’s leading five homers and 18 RBIs in the season. … center fielder Jacob Mercy .273/.429/.455 batting average with 4 stolen bases. His 11 stolen bases are more than double his total for any other player on the team. … right handed Ryan Bergart 4 innings, 2 hits, 1 run. The 2021 draft pick had a 2.25 ERA, and he struck out 21 batters in 18 innings that year with the Tincaps. … Victor Lizaraga He pitched five innings, allowing only one run on three hits. Right-handed he took two steps and hit three. This was his first outing of five or more innings in his fourth start. … Adam Mather Making his first start in almost three weeks, he allowed no earned runs over four innings. The Padres second-round pick last summer allowed three hits and four walks without striking out a hitter. …Outfielder Joshua Mears I went to IL with a wrist injury. (Ben Davey)

Robbie Snelling has an ERA of 0.86 this season. (Photo: Robert Escalante)

Lake Elsinore storm (Series lost to Rancho Cucamonga, 4-2)

Top performers: The Storm lost the series to No. 1 Rancho Cucamonga in the first series of the year, but it could have been worse. The Storm saved the finale thanks to a spectacular comeback on Sunday. … Samuel Zavala had a solid week leading the Storm in OPS. Overall, the 18-year-old batted .286/.389/.571 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs. After a slow start, Zavala found his groove. In the last two weeks, Zavala has gone .333/.452/.576, his rate of walks is 16% of his and production is 78% better than the league average. … The Storm had a great starter and lefty run this year Austin Krobb It was a great finale on Sunday. Former TCU Hurler pitched six innings and allowed four hits, but he didn’t factor in the decision, although the former 12th-round pitcher has walked quite a few hitters. , was very difficult to hit in his second stint in the Cal League. Cal League hitters are just . 186 off Klob, and he has struck out nearly 30% of the hitters he has faced.

Top prospects and others to watch: it was another banner week Graham Polly, continues to be a base machine.Pauley produced a .941 OPS and reached base with a .520 clip to pass his teammate Anthony Biller League leader in on-base percentage. The former Duke Blue Devil has a .491 on-base percentage in his first full professional season.…For the first time this year, an opponent pitching his staff incapacitated Biller. He walked his eighth inning, going 15-for-1. His continued perseverance resulted in a strange .067/.375/.067 slashline. … Albert Fabian 619 slugging percentage led the team last week. Fabian has shown a more aggressive approach to Cal in his league this season, with mixed results. On the one hand, Fabian has reduced his K-hi rate from last year’s stint in the Storm, but his offensive production is hampered by his walk-hi-rate of just 3%. But Fabian has the ability to make loud contact, and last season Lake he could top his 16 home runs he hit between Elsinore and Fort Wayne. Henry Baez He pitched five innings, allowing only one run on three hits. Baez had consecutive outings pitching five innings and allowing only one run. An excellent job has seen Baez pitching this season as he went 1.80 in 16 innings.