With eight days remaining for Low-A through Double-A minor league teams and Triple-A concluding on Sept. 21, the Padres minor league affiliates are winding down their seasons. The players drafted in the 2025 draft that were sent to Lake Elsinore have begun their professional careers and the players awaiting the beginning of the Fall League are most likely in Arizona.
None of the Padres affiliates finished first in their leagues in the first half and none appear to be headed for first in the second half of the season. Triple-A El Paso is the only affiliate with a winning record this season with Double-A San Antonio the closest at three games under .500.
Even before the loss of players at the trade deadline, none of the affiliates appeared to be heading for winning records outside of the Chihuahuas. San Antonio began the season well and hung out at the top of the Texas League Southern Division until their pitching slumped in July.
El Paso Chihuahuas (70-58 record, 2nd Pacific Coast League, East)
El Paso had both IF Will Wagner and IF Mason Mc Coy called up to the Padres, both as a result of injuries to Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts. With the expansion of major league rosters on Monday, there is a good chance both will remain with the team after Merrill is activated early in the week, depending on how his rehab goes in Arizona over the weekend.
At the time of his promotion, McCoy was hitting .272 with an .804 OPS and has 59 RBI. Currently, first baseman Nate Mondou leads the Chihuahuas with a .307 average and .821 OPS. Outfielder Tirso Ornelas continues to play well and sits at .290 with an .840 OPS.
Pitching in the PCL, East Division is a challenge with the elevation and dry weather playing havoc with a pitcher’s ability to control and command. Almost all struggle with keeping their ERA in a respectable range. None of the Padres pitchers have had much success doing that this season. Lefty Jackson Wolf has a 6-2 record and 5.19 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 33 walks in 86.2 innings pitched. He is a back of the rotation prospect for the Padres and joins Matt Waldron as being likely to receive an invite to spring training next year.
Waldron has struggled at times, especially within the last month, as you would expect a knuckleball pitcher to have control problems in the conditions in this division. He currently has a 6.20 ERA in 61 innings pitched with a 6-4 record. Lefty Omar Cruz (#24 MLB) has a 4.71 ERA in 70.2 innings as a starter with 73 strikeouts and 48 walks. His walk rate has climbed this season. His fastball sits low 90’s and his changeup is his best pitch. He would also be a back of the rotation option if he receives a spring invite.
San Antonio Missions (60-63 record, Texas League, South)
The Missons have been playing close to .500 baseball for most of the second half of the season. First baseman Romeo Sanabria (#20 MLB) started the season hot, but has cooled significantly over the second half. He is second with 11 home runs and 52 RBI, but has a .258 average and .685 OPS. Outfielder Braedon Karpathios has 33 at-bats since his promotion to Triple-A with two doubles and two homers and six RBI. He is hitting .242 with an .888 OPS.
Since his promotion to the Missions, Eric Yost has started five games and 24.2 innings. He has a 5.11 ERA with 17 K’s and 15 walks. Yost (#22 MLB) works mostly with low to mid 90’s velocity on his fastball, but his secondary pitches are what keep him in the equation for a fifth starter role. At 22 years old, he is still young for the Double-A level and will most likely get more work before his promotion to El Paso or a chance with the major league team.
Starters Jagger Haynes (#10 MLB), Victor Lizarraga (#27 MLB) and Miguel Mendez (#5 MLB) are all pitching for San Antonio. Haynes and Lizarraga have been fighting with their control and command with varying degrees of success. Haynes has a 4.26 ERA in 93 innings pitched and Lizarraga a 6.16 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched. Their over five walks per start indicates a need to refine their command. Righty Emmanuel Pinales has put himself on the map with a 5.60 ERA over 82 innings pitched. He has 75 K’s and 38 walks with 14 games started of his 19 games.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (55-67 record, Midwest League, East)
Infielder Rosman Verdugo leads the team with 12 home runs and has 42 RBI, just behind first baseman Jack Costello with 44 RBI. Verdugo has a .209 average and .705 OPS.
Newly promoted C/1B Lamar King Jr. has played in 19 games with a .229 average and .566 OPS, while adjusting to his new level. The 21-year-old (#14 MLB) has been coming back from a shoulder injury this season and shares time between his two positions, but is primarily viewed as a catcher if he can regain his throwing ability.
Lefty Luis Gutierrez is not rated among Padres prospects, but has put himself into a position to be considered with his performance this season. His success in Low-A (2.88 ERA in 50 IP) earned him a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne. In his 53 innings since, he has a 2-1 record and 3.57 ERA with 45 strikeouts to 19 walks.
Lake Elsinore Storm (54-69 record, California League, South)
Outfielder Alex McCoy started his season rehabbing with the ACL Padres after missing much of the season to injury. He premiered July 23 and has 172 at-bats with a .314 average and .908 OPS with 14 doubles, four triples, five homers and 30 RBI. The 6’-6”, 260 pound 23-year-old is not on the Padres prospect list and was a free agent signing in July of last year. Third baseman Zach Evans and shortstop Ryan Jackson have also had good seasons, hitting .296 and .298 respectively with Evans right behind the team leader in RBI with 62.
Outfielder/DH Kavares Tears leads the team with 12 home run and 63 RBI. The 23-year-old has dealt with a hamstring injury to begin his season and was limited to DH when he first returned, but has shown the tools that have him ranked as the Padres #17 prospect. He was drafted in 2024 as the 4th round compensation pick.
Lefty Kash Mayfield (#4 MLB) had shoulder issues to begin the season and was brought along slowly with limited pitch counts as the year progressed. He has now had three straight starts of five innings pitched and has a 2.73 ERA in 59.1 innings. He has 86 strikeouts to 28 walks and could be a candidate for Fall League action if the organization would like him to get more innings pitched.
Of the new draft picks that joined the Storm after evaluation time in Arizona, outfielder Ryan Wideman has gotten the best start. He has 76 at-bats and is hitting .224 with a .606 OPS with two doubles, a triple and eight RBI. He has 25 strikeouts to 10 walks as well as seven stolen bases in eight attempts.
DSL Padres
The Gold Padres team swept the first round of the playoffs and won the first game of the finals on Aug. 28. Third baseman Eduarlin Tejada is hitting .450 in the playoffs and went 3-for-4 in the first game of the finals. Shortstop Jhoan De La Cruz was 2-for-3 in the game and is hitting .353 in the playoffs. DH Abraham Bastidas has a .357 average and first baseman Dayquer Alfonzo is hitting .400.
Starter Jesus Castro pitched 5.1 innings with found hits and two runs and has a 1.59 ERA. Reliever Johan Minaya has a 1.59 ERA through the playoffs.
(@cjzero) 
