2024 Fort Wayne TinCaps Season Preview

Synopsis: The TinCaps will feature many prospects who are quite familiar to followers of the Padres minor league system, headlined by Ethan Salas and Dylan Lesko. Keep an eye on Enmanuel Pinales, whom we discussed as one of our sleeper candidates.

Three Strikes with Mike Daly, the Padres Assistant Director of Minor League Development

What led to the decision to send Ethan Salas to Fort Wayne?

Mike Daly: We felt it was Ethan’s best spot to begin the 2024 season and a good environment for him to be challenged. We believe that he will play well here, and we go from there.

Dylan Lesko might have the highest upside of any pitcher in the system. What is the biggest thing the organization expects to see him improve?

Mike Daly: We think the biggest thing for Dylan now is that he is 23 1/2 months off Tommy John surgery and ready to go. Last year was more about getting him back on the mound, pitching, and getting used to the professional game. Now, it’s just time for him to put it all together.

He had a terrific offseason in Atlanta, working with many major league players and a very productive camp. Now it’s time for him to show it on the field. The training wheels are off, and it’s a full go.

Outfielders Homer Bush, Jr. and Tyler Robertson’s athleticism should really stand out at this level. What is the biggest improvement you have seen in their abilities as baseball players this spring?

Mike Daly:  With Homer, there are a couple of things. There are clear bloodlines with his dad. Homer had a chance to play at a few levels last year, and his athleticism is evident. He’s driven and smart and has good baseball awareness. As you said, we love athleticism; he is a big, physical kid. He can use the whole field on the hitting side and is learning to pull the ball. More of that will come as he gets more at-bats.

As for Tyler, our area scout, Tyler Watson, found him a great pick as a 14th-round pick who he believed in. Tyler is also a big, physical kid who is really driven. Tyler is a hardworking kid who continues to invest and develop his process to improve his hitting. He has the ability to drive the baseball and has the bunt game. He has plus speed and is fearless on the basepaths.

It should be fun watching those two guys play this year.

2023 Projected Lineup:

1B Griffin Doersching         OF Homer Bush Jr   

2B Nerwillian Cedeño*          OF Kai Murphy*

3B Lucas Dunn                      OF Tyler Robertson

SS Nik McClaughry                DH/1B Albert Fabian*

C Ethan Salas*

* indicates left-handed or switch-hitter

RHSP Dylan Lesko            RHP Braden Nett

RHSP Henry Baez              RHRP Ruben Galindo

LHSP Jagger Haynes        RHRP Francis Peña

RHSP Enmanuel Pinales   RHRP David Morgan

LHP Miguel Cienfuegos     RHP Sam Whiting

MadFriars’ Top 20 Prospects in FortWayne: C Ethan Salas (#2), Dylan Lesko (#3), Homer Bush Jr. (#17), Henry Baez (#20)

Catch a Rising Star: Henry Baez; while all eyes will be on Dylan Lesko, Baez can also put up all-star-level numbers. The 21-year-old was our ACL Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and was the runner-up to Robby Snelling in Lake Elsinore last year. He struck out 85 with a 3.24 ERA in 83.1 innings in Lake Elsinore. He can sit in the mid-90s and should continue improving his walk rate as he ages.

Starting Pitching: Baez was given the opening-day nod but should have Dylan Lesko following him. As Daly mentioned above, Lesko should have his training wheels off. The top overall pitching prospect entering the 2022 draft will look to take the next step. He already flashes a fastball that reaches 98 and a best-in-the-system change. Going deeper in games and throwing his curve more consistently could allow him to emerge as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects.

Jagger Haynes also returned from Tommy John surgery last year and struck out 29 in 25.1 innings before a blister issue shut him down. Haynes can sit in the mid-90s with a wipeout slider and could be another pitching prospect on the rise. … Braden Nett signed as an undrafted free agent after missing most of his junior college career with a shoulder injury, but has big-time stuff. He impressed in the AFL when he started to show a bit more feel for controlling his fastball that can reach the upper-90s, and a high-spin breaking ball. … Enmanuel Pinales made his stateside debut last year and had a 2.87 ERA in 37.2 innings in Lake Elsinore with 37 strikeouts. He’ll look to refine his offspeed stuff as he stretches out to 100 innings for the first time in his career. …  Miguel Cienfuegos started 16 games last year and should receive more work. Starters Garrett Hawkins, Jesus Gonzalez, and Bodi Rascon will all miss most/all of the season on the IL. After a promising start, Hawkins had Tommy John last August.

Bullpen: Watch for Francis Peña to get a real look at the back of the bullpen. Though he didn’t sign out of the Dominican Republic until just before his 21st birthday, he’s shown plenty of velocity and a more advanced feel for the zone than is typical for pitchers with his profile. He posted a strong 40:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 34.2 innings at three levels last year. … Sinaloa native Manuel Castro has a lively fastball with carry, helping him strike out 55 in 46 Cal League innings last year. The diminutive righty will look to add a more consistent slider to play off it as he moves up the system. … Righty David Morgan signed as an undrafted free agent out of tiny Hope College in 2022. He’s shown big carry on his fastball and a potentially plus slider. After a solid professional debut last year, he could take a big step forward in 2024. … Jose Geraldo had a fantastic debut before missing all of 2022 with Tommy John surgery. His stuff wasn’t as dynamic in his return to action last year, so he’ll be looking to take a step forward again this season. …  Ruben Galindo struggled the previous year in Fort Wayne before posting a 1.02 ERA over 44 innings in Lake Elsinore. He averaged 3.7 strikeouts per walk to earn another shot at High-A. … Lefty Ryan Och racked up 69 strikeouts and held opponents to just a .135 average across his first two professional seasons but missed all of 2023 after Tommy John surgery. The former seventh-round pick out of Southern Miss looks healthy and could move up quickly if he returns to form.

Catching: The 17-year-old superstar Ethan Salas will start his first full season with a club. He is unsurprisingly the youngest player in the Midwest League and looks to continue his upward trajectory. He hit .267/.350/.487 in 48 games in Lake Elsinore before brief stints in High-A and Double-A last year. Salas has a smooth left-handed swing and is already rated as a plus defensively. Getting an entire, healthy season under his belt should solidify Salas as one of the top few prospects in the game. Salas will be joined by two other catchers, Anthony Vilar and Colton Bender. Vilar started last year white hot, posting a 1.242 OPS in April in Lake Elsinore. He cooled down considerably and finished the year with a .741 OPS. Bender is a defense-first catcher with a career .354 OBP.

Infield: Nerwilian Cedeño has a lot of tools, and the ability to hit the ball with authority gap-to-gap, but wrist and arm injuries and inconsistent on-field performance have kept him from making an impact in games. He will try to improve on the .681 OPS he had in 62 games with Fort Wayne last year. … After an underwhelming showing in Lake Elsinore, Griffin Doersching received a late-season callup last year to Fort Wayne and tore the cover off the ball. In 14 games, he hit .294/.357/.549. Doersching is a big guy with plus power from a long swing. If he can find a way to shorten his swing while still using his big frame, he will move up in the system. …  Lucas Dunn returns to Fort Wayne for his third year. He played in 119 games last year and had 19 stolen bases and 27 extra-base hits. … Nik McClaughry should anchor short. The standout defender from the University of Arizona had a solid .783 OPS in his first two months with the organization last year.

Outfield: Second-generation player Homer Bush Jr. should be manning center field most nights. In his first two months with the organization, Bush stole 22 bases while posting a .325/.422/.439 line. Bush is one of the fastest players in the minors, and it should be fun to watch him across a full season. … Another son of a well-known baseball person, Kai Murphy, son of Brewers manager Pat Murphy, should see plenty of time in the outfield. The former Sun Devil had a .796 OPS with Lake Elsinore before a late-season callup to Fort Wayne. … Tyler Robertson had a solid first season with the Storm, posting a 772 OPS and stealing 23 bases before getting promoted late to Fort Wayne. He made the most of his time, hitting .343/.375/.552 over 17 games. … Albert Fabian should see time in the infield and outfield. He led the Storm in home runs last year despite only appearing in 62 games with them. He has destroyed Cal League pitching in the previous two seasons, only to struggle in High-A.

On the Spot: Jagger Haynes
Haynes was drafted nearly four years ago and, since then, has managed a total of 25.1 innings – all coming last year. He has impressed scouts and has all the talent to develop as an impact starter. The question with Haynes, since he was drafted, is health. Between Tommy John surgery, shoulder injuries, and a blister problem last year, he has not been able to stay healthy. He will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, and being able to throw a strong 80+ innings will go a long way in encouraging the Padres to protect him.

Under the Radar: Homer Bush Jr.  With Jackson Merrill’s move to center, the Padres now have four of their top 12 prospects as center fielders. Merrill, Jakob Marsee, and Dillon Head are ahead of Bush Jr. Between that and being behind uber prospects Lesko and Salas in Fort Wayne, Bush Jr can fly under the radar. Bush has the speed and defensive ability in center to be a prospect on those skills alone, though he will have to make louder contact at the plate to step forward. He wasn’t known for power when he was drafted and then had only seven extra-base hits in 32 full-season league games. The Padres have already revamped his swing to help him tap into more raw power. He will never be a tremendous home run hitter, but if the Padres can help him harness his power to hit even 10-15 home runs, he could be in the Top 100 prospects discussion.