#DownontheSDFarm Week Seven: The Austin Era
By Bill Center
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By Bill Center
Top catching prospect Austin Hedges has been the story not only of the Padres’ minor league system this week, but all of Minor League Baseball.
In this week’s Down on the Farm, focused on Week 7 of the minor league calendar, we highlight Hedges’ incredible production and the rest of the best stories from the San Diego system.
Hedges and Single-A outfielders Franmil Reyes and Jhonatan Pena were all named Players of the Week in their respective leagues Monday.
Hedges, 23, was named the Player of the Week in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Reyes, 20, was the Player of the Week in the advanced Single-A California League. Pena, 22, was the Player of the Week in the Single-A Midwest League.
Hedges set an El Paso franchise record by homering in five straight games he played last week. He also led all of professional baseball last week in RBIs (14), slugging percentage (1.400) and OPS (1.983) while tying for the lead in home runs (five).
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Pena joined catcher Austin Allen as the second TinCap to be named the Midwest League Player of the Week this season.
Meanwhile, shortstop Jose Rondon continued his hitting surge, going 9-for-27 last week with a double, a triple, five RBIs and four runs scored. Rondon, 22, who came to the Padres in the July 18, 2014, trade that sent closer Huston Street to the Angels, is considered one of the two top shortstop prospects in the Padres system. Rondon is now hitting .282 on the season.
EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS (AAA)
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Hedges was 11-for-20 for the week and is 22-for-44 (.500) during an 11-game hitting streak with nine home runs, 15 runs scored and 21 RBIs. His on-base percentage for the season is now .427, while Hedges is hitting .380 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 28 games (he missed two months with hand surgery).
SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS (AA)
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Right-hander Dinelson Lamet was 1–0 last week with a 1.59 earned run average in two starts. Lamet, 23, started the season with a 7–1 record and a 2.35 earned run average in 12 starts with Lake Elsinore before being promoted to San Antonio. In 11 1/3 innings last week, he allowed two runs on five hits and eight walks with 15 strikeouts.
LAKE ELSINORE STORM (HIGH-A)
Reyes was 8-for-20 (.400) in four games coming out of the California League All-Star break with two doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and five runs scored. He also drew a walk for a .429 on-base percentage, which combined with a .800 slugging percentage gave him a 1.229 OPS for the week. The Dominican Republic native is hitting .247 on the season.
FORT WAYNE TINCAPS (LOW-A)
https://twitter.com/TinCaps/status/747545565244776449
TRI-CITY DUST DEVILS (SHORT-SEASON)
Jose Savinon, 20, was 6-for-16 last week with two doubles, a walk, a RBI and three runs scored. The left-handed hitting native of the Dominican Republic hit .300 in 2014 while playing shortstop and pitching in the Dominican Summer League.
ARIZONA LEAGUE PADRES
Infielder-outfielder Tyler Selesky hit .450 last week (9-for-20) with two doubles and a triple for six RBIs and nine runs scored. He also drew three walks while striking out once for a .542 on-base percent and a .650 slugging percentage for a 1.192 OPS.
DOMINICAN PADRES
Second baseman Eguy Rosario, 16, was 5-for-13 with seven walks, six runs scored, three RBIs and seven steals last week. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound native of the Dominican Republic is hitting .370 and leads the league in steals with 10 in 17 games.
Correction: this post originally stated, incorrectly, that Hedges’ batting average during his 11-game hitting streak was .458 (22-for-48).
