2024 Lake Elsinore Storm Season Preview

LAKE ELSINORE—A year after winning the Cal League championship, the Storm struggled to a 63-66 record and failed to qualify for the 2023 playoffs. In 2024, the club features 22 returning players, including Dillon Head, the Padres’ 2023 first-round pick. 

The Storm’s new manager, Lukas Ray, spent the last two years managing in the Arizona Complex League, where he compiled a 59-51 record. Ray believes that the experience the club boasts will help them gel out of the gate.

“I think it’s going to be a really big factor,” said Ray during Storm media day at The Diamond. We have a tight-knit clubhouse, and these guys have played together, been drafted together, and came up through the Dominican League together. I think it’s going to play a huge role and hopefully benefit us from an on-field performance standpoint.” 

“Everyone came in pretty healthy for the most part,” said outfielder Nick Vogt, who played in 79 games for Lake Elsinore last year. This is the team we saw coming [to Lake Elsinore] for the most part. We click pretty well together. Everyone is having fun in the locker room right now. It all plays a part.” 

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

Carson Montgomery, a pitcher we talked to in the spring, seems to have broken out in his first pro season. What did you see?

Mike Daly: Carson has been a well-known guy for a few years since graduating from high school. He pitched at Florida State and has been a joy to be around and watch throw since he signed. We get the feeling from being around Carson that he is ready to put his best foot forward and show people the type of pitcher he is, and we think he is in a great position to do that this year in Lake Elsinore.  

Carson will be in the starting rotation for the Storm and we see with his talent that he has every chance to put it together this season.

San Diego area Padres fans will get a more extended chance to see Dillon Head up the road this season. What should they expect?

Mike Daly: Again, Dillon has been really impressive since we got to know him after the draft. He’s another player who is driven to get better. He has good baseball acumen, uses the whole field, has a two-strike approach, and hits the ball hard. That’s what you want to see in a player.

Vinny Lopez has been working with him a great deal on the basepaths. He has the speed to succeed in the running game, so we think we will see him run more this year.

If you have to limit yourself to one pitcher, what should fans keep an eye on this year at The Diamond?

Mike Daly: Bradgley Rodrguez should be impressive in Low-A. He threw well in the Spring Breakout game, a 98 to 100 mph fastball with a plus, plus changeup. He should be throwing back innings of games this year in Lake Elsinore. He didn’t pitch last season as he was working through some things off the field, but he pitched well in the Venezuelan Winter League in spring training this year, and he is ready to go now.

Another player to keep an eye on is Luis German, another big-arm guy out of the bullpen.

2024 Pitching Staff

RHP: Thomas Balboni, Breck Eichelberger, Luis German, Isaiah Lowe, Carson Montgomery, Miguel Mendez, Alejandro Lugo, Jose Luis Reyes, Dwayne Matos, Kobe Robinson, Bradgley Rodriguez, Jonney Rosario, Will Varmette, Eric Yost

LHP: Javier Chacon, Harry Gustin, Fernando Sanchez

2024 Position Players

Infielders: Charlis Aquino, Jay Beshears, Wyatt Hoffman, Jose Sanabria, Romeo Sanabria, Rosman Verdugo

Outfielders: Dillon Head, Braedon Karpathios, Nick Vogt, Ryan Wilson

Catchers: Oswaldo Linares, Carlos Rodriguez, Colton Vincent

2024 Projected Lineup

CF Dillon Head
SS Rosman Verdugo
3B Jay Beshears
1B Romeo Sanabria
C Oswaldo Linares
RF Nick Vogt
LF Ryan Wilson
DH Braedon Karpathios
2B Jose Sanabria

Projected pitching staff

RHSP Miguel Mendez
RHSP Isaiah Lowe
RHSP Carson Montgomery
RHSP Will Varmette
LHSP Javier Chacon
RHSP Jose Luis Reyes
RHRP Bradgley Rodriguez
RHRP Luis German
RHRP Kobe Robinson
RHRP Thomas Balboni Jr.

MadFriars’ Top-20 prospects in Lake Elsinore: OF Dillon Head (#12)

Catch a Rising Star: Outfielder Dillon Head is the lone MadFriars top-20 prospect to start the year in the Cal League. Head, 19, made his professional debut in the Arizona Complex League before seeing some action in the Cal League at the end of the year. In 13 games with the Storm at the end of his draft year, the Chicagoland native hit .241/.312/.333. Head has been praised for his outstanding athleticism and ability to make consistent, hard contact. He has the speed and arm strength to be an elite defender in center field. 

“He’s fantastic, he’s phenomenal,” said Ray. “From an athleticism standpoint, from a speed [standpoint], from hitting, his range in the outfield, the throwing, and the person too. You’re going to see a lot of spectacular stuff, and social media is going to have some fun with some things he’s going to do.” 

Starting Pitching: Out of the gate, the Storm will line up three interesting starters in righties: Miguel Mendez, Isaiah Lowe, and Carson Montgomery in the opening series. 

“We’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of young guys,” said Montgomery, who is slated to pitch on Sunday. We have some young international guys, and I think for everyone on the staff, it’s going to be about filling up the zone and attacking hitters, and good things are going to happen if we do that.”

Mendez, 21, will make the start on opening night. The right-hander struggled to a 5.96 ERA in 15 starts with the Storm last season. However, he is capable of hitting the high 90s, but command can be an issue for him. Last season with the Storm, he walked 13.3% of the batters he faced.

Lowe, 20, began the 2023 season in the Storm rotation but threw just 11 innings before dealing with shoulder injuries. This season, Lowe will re-join the rotation, feeling 100% healthy. 

“This year, I feel a lot better,” said Isaiah Lowe. “I’ve worked on getting my arm in a better position and staying stacked on the mound. [My goal] is to throw 100 innings. As long as I am on the field, I am cool.” 

“In the limited spring training that I have seen, [Lowe] is attacking the zone,” said Ray. “I’ve seen some swing-and-miss, some electric stuff, and on top of all that, [he’s] fielding his position, controlling the running game; the strides he’s made have been very impressive.” 

Lowe’s velocity typically ranges between 93 and 95 mph, and he can get a few extra ticks. He also throws a slider and a changeup. 

Carson Montgomery should make his professional debut on Sunday when he toes the slab for the Storm. The 21-year-old was drafted out of Florida State in the 11th round last year. The numbers in his final year with the Seminoles weren’t pretty: a 7.20 ERA with 37 walks in 45 innings. Despite the struggles, the organization is bullish on his raw stuff. 

“[Mongomery] has looked great,” said Ray. [Montgomery] and Robbie [Price, the pitching coach of the Storm] have a tight relationship. He’s been all-in on whatever he needs to do to improve daily.

He’s a professional off the field. He takes care of his stuff, shows up early, and gets the extra work in. I’m excited to see what happens when the lights get turned on.” 

After not throwing a competitive pitch last year after being drafted, the Windermere, Florida native has enjoyed devoting all his energy to baseball. 

“I think it’s been huge for me,” said Montgomery. “I’m always a guy who tries to be perfect in every aspect of my life, and with the school aspect, sometimes my mind was on that, but when I am at the field, I can [just] focus on baseball. So that has been nice. I’m a guy who will spend eight hours at the field just getting stuff done. So it’s been huge to have that availability of time.” 

One adjustment Montgomery has made is to his pitch arsenal. After throwing primarily two-seam fastballs in college, Montgomery has started utilizing a four-seam fastball and mixing in a cutter as a pro. 

“I’m planning on continuing to throw the cutter,” said Montgomery. “It’s not a main pitch for me – it’s more of a fourth pitch – more of a correction pitch if anything. I’m working on a four-seam now; it was a big focus in spring training. I am trying to get a little more life on the four-seam – being able to go up in the zone and down.”

The rest of the rotation figures to be filled out by players like righty Jose Luis Reyes, who pitched well in eight games for the Storm last year, and lefty Javier Chacon, who has struggled with injuries and control issues but has been able to generate plenty of strikeouts. Righty Will Varmette, who signed as an undrafted free agent, is also a name to keep an eye on. He worked into the mid-90s as a reliever in community college but has stretched out to work as a starter this spring. College arms like Harry Gustin out of Hawaii and Eric Yost out of Northeastern could also be in the mix. 

Bullpen: The Storm figure to feature a six-man rotation and an 11-man bullpen, meaning that each player should throw a couple of times a week. Bradgley Rodriguez, 20, out of Venezuela, should be an arm to watch. He didn’t pitch last year, but his fastball/changeup combo should play well in the back of the bullpen. … Luis German, 22, who signed as a 20-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, struck out 18 in 10.2 ACL innings last year thanks to his big velocity, but also walked 14 and hit four more batters.

Lanky righty Kobe Robinson returns for his third season as a member of the Storm. Last season, Robinson appeared in a career-high 34 games, functioning as a multi-inning reliever who pitched in the late innings. Robinson can hit the upper 90s with his heat, but he had outings where he struggled to throw strikes consistently. He’s still just 23, and his raw stuff is good enough to fit into a big-league bullpen if he can develop better command. … Like Robinson, 23-year-old Dwayne Matos is back for his third stint in Riverside County. The 6-foot-1 righty from the Dominican Republic was in the Storm rotation in 2021, but he functioned as a long reliever last year. In 23 games, he pitched to a 4.85 ERA. 

Catching: The Storm will open the season with three catchers, including a pair of newcomers. Carlos Rodriguez, a 20-year-old switch-hitting backstop from Venezuela, improved at the plate in his second season in the ACL, posting a .745 OPS in 99 plate appearances in the ACL a summer ago. Colton Vincent was signed by the Padres out of Florida State last summer as an undrafted free agent. The 24-year-old played in just four games last season in the complex league and will need to produce to earn playing time. 

After showing promise last year, Oswaldo Linares is back for his second stint with the Storm. In 14 games in July, Linares posted a .864 OPS. He struggled in August and September, but he brings solid athleticism to the dish and can play at second base as well. He turns 21 in late April. 

“[For Oswaldo] it’s can we have success over a long sustained period,” said Ray. “That’s kind of a lot on the roster, but he’s a talented player. He lit up the league in Arizona when he was with us, and then he came [to Lake Elsinore] and had a strong start, so it’s the general thing of keeping them healthy and making sure that we can have success for a long period.”

Infield: All six infielders listed on the opening day roster appeared with the Storm last year. Perhaps the most prominent returning player is infielder Rosman Verdugo, who showed promise at times but generally struggled as an 18-year-old in full-season ball. He finished second in the circuit with 32 doubles and showed more power in the second half but struggled down the stretch, perhaps enduring the rigors of a full minor league season for the first time. 

“I had Rosman his first year in 2022, his first year playing professionally,” said Ray. “He came here [last year] and tears up the league with doubles and being [one] of the youngest guys in the league. It’s awesome to see the growth – just as a person – from the intellect level, where he is from a maturity standpoint, and now he’s taken the role of the youngest player in the clubhouse to now being that veteran ‘I’ve been here before and I know how to go about my work. Now let me go and see how many players I can bring along with me.’ 

Jay Beshears’ selection last season marked the second straight year that the Padres selected an infielder from Duke University. The first one – Graham Pauley – is currently in the big leagues. Beshears will look to follow that path, although his journey to San Diego should be much slower. The 21-year-old struggled late in the season with the Storm, hitting just .229/.283/.314 with a homer and 13 RBI. He should be a regular who possesses plenty of power potential.

“Where the draft is now, and how long the minor league season goes, compared to these college seasons and the amateur seasons, it’s their first time playing baseball competitively [this long]. You start college practice in mid-January, and you’re going all the way to September, still playing competitive baseball, said Ray. “It’s a challenge for everybody.

“[Beshears] has come out this spring looking phenomenal. He’s swinging the bat well, playing all over the infield. He’s another really good athlete that you wouldn’t expect out of the [6-foot-4] frame he has.”

After demolishing ACL pitching, Romeo Sanabria was our ACL Player of the Year last year. He hit a robust .359/.443/.617 with eight homers. He continued to hit in a late-season cameo with the Storm, posting an OPS north of .850. The Miami native should hit in the middle of the order and is a threat to lead the club in most offensive categories. 

Fan favorite Wyatt Hoffman is back for his third campaign with the Storm. The son of Padres legend Trevor brings speed and versatility to the club but will need to produce more offensively to receive regular playing time. Hoffman, 25, has been praised by several club members for his leadership. 

Outfielders: With three returning players, the Storm outfield has the potential to produce well above-average numbers. Dillon Head will headline the returning players in his first full season. 

“I’m looking forward [to] everything,” said Head. “Playing a full season – 100-plus games – I’m ready for the grind of a full season. At the big-league level, you’re playing 162 games, so I am looking forward to playing a healthy, long season.” 

Outfielder Nick Vogt played in 73 games for the Storm last year after starting the year in the Arizona Complex League. The former UC Santa Barbara Gaucho hit seven homers and produced a wRC+ of 103. The 23-year-old is looking to build on last year’s success. 

“I’m grateful to be out here,” said Vogt. “The experience is the fun part of it. It kind of goes down to how you execute. If you hit, you know you’re going to play. I’m trying to take in the experience of having fun in your free time, joking around, and getting to hang out with all the staff. I took that for granted last year, and I think it affected how I pressed the game.

“I want to win a lot of games and hone in my approach to the game. The more on the mental side that I figure out, everything else is easier. [The approach is] how much easier cant I make this game.” 

On The Spot: Charlis Aquino is back for his fourth stint with the Storm. The athletic utilityman has tremendous speed and a projectable frame but has struggled to generate much in the power department. In 147 games with the Storm, he has hit just .228/.304/.294. The 2024 season might be his last opportunity to break out. 

Under the Radar: Outfielder Ryan Wilson was the Padres’ ninth-round pick last year out of Davidson University, the same college that produced NBA sharpshooter Stephen Curry. Wilson earned many honors during his final year of college, including Atlantic-10 Player of the Year. He also set a single-season record by being hit by a pitch 30 times. He paced the Atlantic-10 in homers (17), runs scored (70) and OPS (1.270).