Fort Wayne TinCaps 2025 Season Preview

Synopsis: The TinCaps will feature Leo De Vries, the top prospect in the Padres’ system, and one of the Padres’ top pitching prospects, Isaiah Lowe. The team will also include several players making their first full-season debuts, as well as former top 20 prospect Garrett Hawkins, who is returning from injury.

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

Everyone will talk about Leo De Vries, who is one of the top prospects in baseball. If you had to pick one thing, what has stood out to you the most with him this spring?
Mike Daly: It’s an obvious answer, but he’s talented. Anyone who can go on the field at 18, playing with grown men during big league camp and not look out of place is impressive. His baseball awareness isn’t hard to see; it is very high if you watch him only for one or a few games. How much he is into the game, reading pitchers and positioning himself, and that aspect, along with his talent, is unique.

We are continuing to challenge him this year with his routines. How consistent can he be on a daily basis? Because of injury, he couldn’t play an entire season last year at Lake Elsinore. The challenge for him is to post wire to wire. Some things will be out of his control, but his goal is to get to that everyday execution.

Isaiah Lowe really impressed in his first full season of posting every week last year. What jumped out to you about him?
Mike Daly: In a way, he’s similar to Jagger Haynes in how much he has grown in the past year, which means the main credit needs to go to both of them for the work that they put in. Isaiah is one of the strongest guys in the organization, not only in terms of the amount of weight he can move but also in terms of how quickly he can move it.

He has a very good idea of what he needs to do to be a successful starter in terms of commitment to the routines and the work in between to take the ball every six days. His growth has been fun to see.

He will return to Fort Wayne, and hopefully, he will succeed in getting to Double-A. He throws a ton of strikes, is very competitive, and plays his position well. We are very excited about him and he is in position to take the next step in his career.

Kai Roberts is currently fighting some hamstring issues, but you had to be impressed with his pro debut.
Mike Daly: Very much so. We had him in camp, and he was going to be a priority backup on the major league side, then his hamstring caught. We were able to get him into the Spring Breakout game, and his hamstring grabbed again, so he will open the year on the IL. We hope to get him back in late April. His performance in Lake Elsinore was impressive: .340 and 14-for-14 in stolen bags. He’s another person we’re very excited about.

2025 Projected Lineup:

1B Ethan Long                      OF Braedon Karpathios*
2B Brandon Butterworth       OF Jacob Campbell
3B Rosman Verdugo             OF Jack Costello
SS Leo De Vries*                 OF Kai Roberts#
C Brendan Durfee*               UTIL Nerwilian Cedeño
* indicates left-handed or switch-hitter
# On the Injured List

Pitching Staff
RHSP Isaiah Lowe               RHRP Xavier Ruiz
RHSP Clark Candiotti           RHRP Tyson Neighbors
RHSP Enmanuel Pinales      LHRP  Fernando Sanchez
RHSP Eric Yost                     RHRP Luis German
RHSP Ian Koenig                  RHRP Eiker Huizi
RHSP Jose Luis Reyes         LHRP Harry Gustin

MadFriars’ Top 20 Prospects in Fort Wayne: SS Leo De Vries (#1) and RHP Isaiah Lowe (#7)

Catch a Rising Star: It would be hard for Leo De Vries to rise any higher. He will be the youngest player in the Midwest League and has already shown in major league spring training why he is viewed as the top prospect in the Padres system. In his final six weeks playing in 2024, De Vries hit .318/.442/.694 for the Storm. He plays an above-average shortstop and grades out as a true five-tool prospect. Chilly weather in Indiana and adjusting to more well-located offspeed pitches might slow him down initially, but this rising star will be sizzling.

Starting Pitching: The TinCaps return two starters from the end of last year. Enmanuel Pinales had a 3.49 ERA over 21 starts. He struck out 101 in 111 innings. While he does not have overpowering stuff, he can locate his entire arsenal and has good movement on his off-speed pitches. Isaiah Lowe, on the other hand, has a wipeout slider that generates a 44% swing-and-miss rate. Lowe struck out 111 in 105.1 innings between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne last season.  Combined with a fastball that can reach the mid-90s and an improving changeup and sweeper, Lowe has plenty of talent. … Ian Koenig had Tommy John surgery in 2023. He returned to action in less than 12 months, and while his ERA in Lake Elsinore was an unimpressive 5.44, he struck out 46 and walked only 11 in 43 innings before tearing an abdominal muscle. He works with a diverse arsenal and is coming up on two years since surgery when stuff often fully comes back. … Clark Candiotti, who the Padres drafted with a compensation pick after the fourth round last year, will make his professional debut in the Midwest League. The son of the former knuckleballer, Clark has a more traditional repertoire. … Mexicali native Jose Luis Reyes had a rough showing in Lake Elsinore to open last season, but performed for the TinCaps late in the year. The 22-year-old has added good weight in the offseason and will look to seize an opportunity in the rotation.

Bullpen: Last year’s fourth-rounder, Tyson Neighbors, will anchor a bullpen that boasts several intriguing options. Neighbors was the nation’s top collegiate reliever in 2023, posting a 1.85 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. He took a step back last year as his walk rate doubled, but he has a fastball that can reach 99 mph, a slider that generated a 63% swing-and-miss in college, and a plus curveball. He talked with us about his advanced approach to pitch design. … Luis German has an explosive fastball, capable of hitting triple digits. He’s also struggled mightily to find home plate, walking 57 in 41.2 innings last year. The organization is excited about the progress the 23-year-old made with his control over the winter and hopes for a breakout this season. … Eiker Huizi was a minor league Rule 5 selection from the Tigers organization. He posted a 2.36 ERA and struck out over a batter an inning last year in the Midwest League. … Xavier Ruiz showed the repertoire and approach to hold down a late-inning role for the Storm last year and will look to build on the results after striking out a quarter of batters while dropping his walk rate to the single digits and holding opponents to a .216 average. … Garrett Hawkins dominated the Cal League in 2022, throwing seven perfect innings in the team’s only no-hitter. He threw 15 innings in 2023 before shutting down and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. He is on the initial roster in Fort Wayne where he could play a variety of roles.

Catching: The catching position will be split between two under-the-radar players. After Brendan Durfee hit .349/.455/.566 during his lone season at UC Santa Barbara, the 2024 14^th-round pick impressed with a .288/.413/.479 line in his first month of professional ball. The Padres thought enough of the huge left-handed hitter to give him some AFL exposure. … Oswaldo Linares, who hit just .203/.324/.280 for Lake Elsinore last year, will back him up. Linares was exceptional in the ACL in 2023, hitting .325/.557/.600, but has struggled to continue that success in the Cal League.

Infield: All the attention will be focused on De Vries at shortstop, but there are also several other intriguing prospects. Twelfth-rounder Brandon Butterworth is one of the fastest players in the organization. While he struggled in his debut, the Padres liked him enough to put him in 9 games during Spring Training. … Rosman Verdugo should also see plenty of time at second and third. The Baja California native had a strong .250/.363/.407 line in Lake Elsinore last year, including a red-hot .341/.444/.537 streak in July, but the bottom fell out after a promotion to Fort Wayne. … Ethan Long should see plenty of action at first and in the outfield corners. He hit .271/.406/.393 with the Storm before a late-season call-up to Fort Wayne (.716 OPS).

Outfield: The outfield will look different in a month or so when Kai Roberts joins the club. Roberts had arguably the best debut of any 2024 draft pick. The $10,000 senior sign out of the University of Utah hit .340/.414/.470 with 14 steals in 24 games last year in Lake Elsinore. … Braedon Karpathios will hold down center until Roberts returns. The 2022 undrafted free agent had a solid campaign with the Storm, hitting .252/.388/.385 with 96 walks in 119 games. He got more aggressive in the second half and saw a big jump in production. If he can carry that forward, he’ll put himself on the radar. … Jacob Campbell, Jack Costello, and Nerwilian Cedeño will each see time in the outfield after moving from other positions. Campbell, 24, is a converted catcher who hit .268/.333/.573 in his first full month with the Storm in June. After hitting six home runs that month, he cooled off and hit two over the season’s final two months.  Costello was drafted in the 10th round last year out of the University of San Diego as a third baseman but played the bulk of his games at first while clubbing six homers and walking (14) more times than he struck out (eight) for the Storm.

On the Spot: Verdugo was one of the club’s most prominent international signings in 2022. He immediately came stateside and put up a .805 OPS in the ACL. Since then, he has struggled to put it all together consistently. Repeating the Cal League last year, OPS climbed from .640 in 2023 to .721. Even though he just turned 20 in February, Verdugo is entering his fourth year in the organization, and it’s time to see if he can replicate the .981 OPS he had last July batting behind De Vries.

Under the Radar: Durfee was electric in his minor league debut. His .892 OPS was good for a .140 wRC+ and .418 wOBA. He’s already 23, so he should dominate inexperienced competition, but the approach and skills should translate. Taller than his listed 6-foot-3, Durfee’s offense should be good enough to play at DH or even first base when he is not behind the plate.