Tag: Raul Brito

Brandon Valenzuela, Korry Howell homer; Jackson Merrill, Marcos Castanon make Missions debut in win over NW Arkansas

Jackson Merrill slides into third base for a triple in his first at-bat in his Missions debut. The San Antonio Missions beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday, July 14, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jackson Merrill slides into third base for a triple in his first at-bat in his Missions debut.
Jackson Merrill, Marcos Castanon and Brandon Valenzuela all spent most of this season playing in Class A.

Valenzuela joined the San Antonio Missions when he was promoted on June 27. Merrill and Castanon both made their Missions debuts on Friday night at Wolff Stadium.

Valenzuela had the big hit – a two-run homer in the second inning that made it 3-0 – as the Missions beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 4-2. It was his first home run since joining the Missions.

Korry Howell also hit his first home run of the season with a solo shot in the fourth inning that made it 4-0.

Merrill made a quick impact with a triple in his first at-bat. He scored the Missions’ first run of the game later in the first inning on a double by Juan Fernandez.

Castanon had a double and a walk.

The two newest Missions were next to each other on the infield with Castanon starting at third base and Merrill at shortstop.

Merrill is the No. 1 prospect in the San Diego Padres organization. He played in 68 games for the Fort Wayne TinCaps in high Class A and batted .280 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. Castanon played 77 games for the TinCaps and batted .287 with 13 home runs and 58 RBIs.

Missions starting pitcher Jose Espada went four innings and did not allow a run. Raul Brito was the first pitcher out of the Missions bullpen and turned in 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Jose Quezada got the save.

Manager Luke Montz was not with the team. Bench coach Felipe Blanco, who typically coaches first base, was coaching third base and running the team.

Missions fall to RoughRiders; Brandon Valenzuela, Raul Brito make Double-A debuts

Relief pitcher Raul Brito made his Missions debut after being promoted from Fort Wayne. The Frisco RoughRiders beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Relief pitcher Raul Brito made his Missions debut and threw two scoreless innings after being promoted from Fort Wayne.
The San Antonio Missions managed only four hits in a 4-2 loss to the Frisco RoughRiders on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

Two players made their Missions debuts at a time when the rosters are being shuffled.

Raul Brito is a right-handed pitcher who was promoted from the Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps. He pitched the sixth and seventh innings without allowing a run and gave up two hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Brandon Valenzuela is a catcher also promoted from Fort Wayne. He was in Wednesday’s lineup as a designated hitter. The 22-year-old switch-hitter went 0-for-2 with a walk. He reached base in the third inning on an error on a ball hit to third. He walked in the sixth and grounded out to second in the eighth.

Juan Fernandez had two of the Missions’ four hits.

Ray-Patrick Didder had an RBI double in the bottom of the second inning to drive in Ripken Reyes with the Missions’ first run.

Ripken Reyes led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single and eventually scored the Mission’ second run on a ground ball by Cole Cummings.

Missions starting pitcher Efrain Contreras took the loss. He went five innings and gave up two runs – both in the first inning and only one earned. He allowed a total of five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

The Missions lost some familiar players on their roster to promotions to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas:

– Outfielder Tirso Ornelas. He batted .273 with 9 home runs and 46 RBIs in 67 games with the Missions this season.

– Right-handed pitcher Nick Hernandez. He had a 3-1 record and 3.18 ERA in 24 relief appearances with 43 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings.

– Left-handed pitcher Aaron Leasher. He had a 1-0 record and 0.73 ERA in 10 relief appearances with 9 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.

– Right-handed pitcher Nolan Watson. He had a 3-3 record, 4.08 ERA in 14 games, 12 starts.

Brandon Valenzuela made his Missions debut and got on base twice via an error and a walk. The Frisco RoughRiders beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Brandon Valenzuela made his Missions debut and got on base twice via an error and a walk.

Missions roster gets makeover as baseball draft looms

Chandler Seagle. The Midland RockHounds beat the San Antonio Missions 10-8 on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
San Antonio Missions catcher Chandler Seagle.
The San Antonio Missions lost four players over the weekend – at least temporarily – and added reinforcements as the San Diego Padres rebalance their minor league rosters with the baseball draft now less than two weeks away.

On Sunday, the Missions placed pitchers Brian Gonzalez and Michel Baez on the 7-day injured list, pitcher Jose Espada on the temporarily inactive list and catcher Chandler Seagle on the 7-day injured list.

Michel Baez. The San Antonio Missions beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Michel Baez – Missions
– Baez had a 3-0 record and 6.28 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Missions. Earlier in the season he made seven relief appearances with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.


Brian Gonzalez of the San Antonio Missions and San Diego Padres organization pitching against Monclova of the Mexican league in an exhibition game on Saturday, May 1, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Brian Gonzalez – Missions
– Gonzalez appeared in six games with the Missions and made three starts. He had a 6.14 ERA and 2-0 record.


San Antonio reliever Jose Espada pitched four innings and held Frisco hitless and scoreless over that stretch in the RockHounds' 8-1 victory over the Missions on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jose Espada – Missions
– Espada pitched in 19 games for the Missions and made five starts. He had a 0-2 record with a 3.27 ERA.

– Seagle went on the injured list retroactive to June 24. He was in his third season with the Missions. He was batting .206 this season with one home run and 13 RBIs in 40 games.

The Missions added five players who should be with them for their six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders, which opens Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium.

Pitchers Raul Brito, Jared Kollar, catcher Brandon Valenzuela and outfielder Justin Farmer were promoted from the High Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps. Pitcher Blake Cederlind moved up from the Arizona Complex league. All of the new Missions pitchers are right-handers.

– Cederlind had a 1-1 record and a 13.50 ERA in seven relief appearances this summer in Arizona.

– Brito had a 2-0 record with one save and 2.45 ERA in 10 relief appearances at Fort Wayne.

– Kollar had a 5-0 record and one save with a 1.67 ERA in nine appearances including seven starts at Fort Wayne.

– Valenzuela batted .279 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 39 games for Fort Wayne. He is listed as the No. 29 prospect in the Padres organization (via MLB.com).

– Farmer batted .233 with three home runs and 28 RBIs in 64 games for Fort Wayne.

The baseball draft is Sunday, July 9 – Tuesday, July 11. The first round will be televised on ESPN and MLB Network at 6 p.m. (Central time) on July 9. The remaining rounds will be on MLB Network.