Padres Prospects Week in Review: April 8-13

Key Roster Moves: Reliever Francis Peña, who was behind schedule at the end of spring training and stayed back in Peoria, joined the El Paso roster prior to last week’s series. To make space for him, lefty reliever Jake Higginbotham was transferred down to the Missions. … After big league roster shuffling led to Tom Cosgrove being designated for assignment, the Cubs put in a claim and acquired him for cash considerations. … The organization released outfielder Daniel Montesino and utility player Spence Coffman from the Lake Elsinore roster over the weekend. Montesino signed for $1 million out of Venezuela at the start of the 2021 international period and put up huge numbers in the DSL to land at the back of the Padres’ Top 20 prospects. He wound up requiring Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2022 season, then struggled mightily while failing to get out of the complex league in 2023 and 2024. He punched out in eight of his 12 plate appearances in Lake Elsinore this month. Coffman, also 21, signed out of high school when the Padres drafted him in the 19th round in 2022. He spent the bulk of his time in the organization at the Peoria Sports Complex and struggled to hit the ball with much authority. He finishes his time in the system with a .260/.335/.301 line.

MadFriars site and media updates: For subscribers, we had interviews with right-handed starting pitching prospect Bryan Balzer, who is off to a solid start in the Cal League, shortstop Cobb Hightower, who is about ready to join the Lake Elsinore Storm, and Padres’ fifth-round draft pick Kale Fountain, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Both Fountain and Hightower featured prominently in our (free for everyone) review of the Padres prospects who opened the year in extended spring training. We also caught up with undrafted free agent Ethan Long, who was once considered one of the nation’s top prep prospects.

Our MadFriars staff also had several media appearances last week. You can listen to Clark Fahrenthold’s conversation with Ben & Woods on Friday, while John Conniff joined old friends Darren Smith and John Gennaro’s new Section 1904 Podcast.

El Paso Chihuahuas (lost series against Las Vegas Aviators 2-4)

Top Performers: Despite losing the series, the El Paso bats were active as seven players posted an OPS of .800 or above. The unquestioned star offensively was catcher Luis Campusano, 26, who had one of his best weeks ever. He destroyed the Aviators, batting .556/.619/.944 with two home runs and a double among his 10 hits and two walks in 20 plate appearances. Whether the Padres see Campusano in their plans behind the plate is an open question; what isn’t is how much more time he needs in the Triple-A batter’s box.  … Righty Stephen Kolek, 28, had the best start of the week, going five innings and only allowing two runs with four strikeouts and a walk. Kolek and Ryan Bergert are the most likely candidates should the big league club need a starter. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Trenton Brooks, 29, had another solid week with a pair of doubles and two more home runs as he posted a .435 OBP and a .722 slugging percentage. The left-hander has only been at first base and DH for El Paso but he played left field in the past. For the season, he has a 1.191 OPS in his first 65 plate appearances. … Switch-hitting Yonathan Perlaza, 26, is tied for the team lead with 18 hits after hitting .375 with four extra-base hits in the series.  After beginning his career in the infield, the Dominican native is now a corner outfielder. … After a slow start to the season, Brett Sullivan had a big week, hitting .368 with a pair of extra-base hits. The 31-year-old has rotated defensively between catcher, third base, and left field. … Tirso Ornelas, 25, only hit .235, but he had a .381 on-base percentage and had a double and a home run in 17 plate appearances as he continues to work to put the ball in the air more. … When you have the type of offensive output that El Paso had, and the team still drops four games out of six, there wasn’t much to write home about on the mound.  Francis Peña, 24, was the only Chihuahuas pitcher other than Kolek with an ERA better than 3.60 for the week. The lanky right-hander threw twice, allowing a single run with three strikeouts against two walks and one hit in three innings of work. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Won series over Corpus Christi Hooks 4-2)

Players of the Week: Romeo Sanabria continued his red-hot start to 2025 as the 22-year-old left-hander went 11-23 with four extra-base hits. That included a pair of home runs, good for a 1.326 OPS and 246 wRC+. Through eight games, the first baseman’s batted ball data has looked interesting. While he owns just a 17.2% fly ball rate, he’s covered it with a 34.5% line drive rate and 40% HR/FB ratio. Sanabria has been noticeably more aggressive early in the season, swinging at 54.5% of the pitches he has seen, easily the highest in his career. … In his second start of the season, Braden Nett flashed his high-ceiling stuff. Over five innings of work on Saturday, Nett generated 13 whiffs on a 41.9% whiff rate, while striking out seven. The 4-seam fastball sat around 97-98 mph with his sinker at 94-95. Despite shelving the pitch in the spring, Nett once again broke out the splitter against Corpus Christi. Perhaps the most encouraging part of Nett’s outing was his improved command. The right-hander walked only one. In seven innings this year, Nett owns a 1.29 ERA, 2.49 FIP, and a 35.5% strikeout rate.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Ethan Salas had a more productive week against Corpus Christi, highlighted by a three-hit game on April 9. Salas once again flashed his advanced feel for the zone, drawing four walks, good for an 18.2% walk rate. Early in the season, Salas is still looking for his first extra-base hit of the season. … Moisés Gómez had a huge week, hitting .368/.455/.579 while striking out only twice. The minor league free agent signee even swiped two bases for good measure.  … David Morgan made two appearances and, once again, got stellar results. In 1.2 scoreless innings, the hard-throwing reliever struck out four batters without a walk. This year, Morgan has faced 14 batters and he’s struck out 8 of them. His fastball once again topped out at 98 MPH while his slider continued to flash excellent depth. For the season, he owns a 0.38 FIP, 0.79 xFIP, and 57.1% strikeout rate. … Bradgley Rodriguez made a pair of two-inning relief appearances, striking out three in each outing. Like they often did last season, each of Rodriguez’s outings spanned multiple innings. To start 2025, Rodriguez owns a 1.80 ERA, 2.32 FIP, and 35% strikeout rate while only walking 5% of the batters he’s faced. … Lefty Jackson Wolf made a pair of starts, including a stellar outing Sunday. The 25-year-old punched out 11 without issuing a walk in eight innings of work, picking up the victory in the series finale.  (Clark Farenthold)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Split series at Dayton Dragons 3-3)

Players of the Week: In an otherwise abysmal week of offense, Braedon Karpathios led the way with six hits, including a 3-for-3 day Sunday. The undrafted free agent from Pennsylvania walked five times and had a pair of extra-base hits to fuel a line of .316/.458/.474. The 21-year-old put up a solid .773 OPS in 119 games for Lake Elsinore last year. … In something of a surprise, the organization had Enmanuel Pinales open the year with a return to Fort Wayne after he posted a 3.49 ERA over 111 innings last year. However, the righty, who turns 24 on Wednesday, has managed to get even better results so far. Pinales threw five scoreless innings to pick up his first win on the season, allowing one hit while striking out seven. He has not yet allowed a run over 8.2 innings. …Honorable mention goes to Tyler Morgan, who had a stellar outing on Saturday, going 3.1 innings, without allowing a baserunner and recording seven strikeouts, by far his career high.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: It was not the best week for many offensive players on the TinCaps. Leo De Vries went 2-for-21 with a run scored, two RBIs, and two walks. The youngest player in the league has a .422 OPS over his first seven games. … Brandon Butterworth went 3-for-17 with a double, three runs, and four walks. The 12th-round pick out of NC State had five walks in eight games and a .375 OBP on the season. … Brendan Durfee collected five hits, three doubles, and three RBIs. The catcher out of UC Santa Barbara, who has been at DH when he isn’t behind the plate, leads the team with a .400 slugging percentage. … Nerwilian Cedeño also had five hits, including three doubles.  The 23-year-old is back in Fort Wayne for the third time and adding outfield work to his responsibilities. … In his organizational debut, fourth-round-pick Clark Candiotti was tagged for three earned runs over three innings, striking out three. The 24-year-old generated a 38% whiff rate. … Tyson Neighbors collected his first professional save as part of a strong week. The former Kansas State closer threw 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out seven. Neighbors has tremendous stuff but continues to struggle with command; he walked two and hit a batter. … Isaiah Lowe did not make it out of the first inning, allowing four runs (three earned) just two-thirds of an inning. He was not hit all that hard, but his pitch count had gotten over 30 before he was removed. …. Josh Mallitz threw 3.1 more scoreless innings, allowing two baserunners while striking out six. The undrafted free agent out of Mississippi hasn’t given up a run through his first three appearances in relief. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost series to Modesto Nuts 2-4)

Top Performers: The Storm lost the series’ first four games before rallying to win on Saturday and Sunday. The team blew a ninth-inning lead on Thursday that cost them a split against a Modesto team that started 2025 with a seven-game winning streak. The Storm will hit the road this week for a six-game tilt in Fresno. … At the plate, no player had a better week than Storm shortstop Ryan Jackson. The former USC infielder was a force, going 7-for-15 with his first professional home run. In addition, Jackson walked 13 times in six games, stole three bases, and scored nine runs for good measure. After reaching base 20 times in six games, Jackson finished the week with a blistering .467/.700/.667 slash-line –good for a 1.367 OPS. Through nine games, Jackson leads the Cal League with an unsustainable 37.2% walk rate, and his 213 wRC+ ranks third in the circuit. Jackson had a good eye at the plate before joining the Padres organization. He led the USC Trojans in walks as a junior in 2023, and he posted on-base percentages north of .400 in each of his final two collegiate seasons. He was drafted last year in the 17th round. … Lefty Kash Mayfield made his professional debut last Tuesday and looked dominant in an excellent but brief outing. The 20-year-old tossed three innings and didn’t allow a hit. He walked just one and struck out six, featuring excellent command of his fastball that sat in the low-90s, touching 94 mph to go with an excellent change-up. Mayfield threw 45 pitches, and should be good to increase his workload this coming week, 

Top Performers and Others of Note: Infielder B.Y. Choi has looked much improved at the plate through nine games. Choi, the Padres’ 20th-round pick in 2023, was our ACL Padres Player of the Year last year, with a solid showing in the desert. He struggled in a brief cameo for the Storm, striking out in a third of his plate appearances. Last week against Modesto, Choi made frequent and loud contact, hitting .313/.476/.500 with a double, a triple, and four walks. Through a small sample size of 30 plate appearances, Choi has a sparkling K-rate of just 13.3% while walking in 23% of his plate appearances. Choi will turn 23 at the end of April, so he’s a bit old for the Cal League. His physicality (he’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds), limited experience, and improved approach make him one of the more interesting position player prospects on the Storm roster. … Lamar King Jr. continues to swing the bat well, although he played in just three games. King went 4-for-14 with a pair of doubles. He didn’t play over the weekend after being hit by a pitch on his thigh on Thursday, but should be ready to go for the series in Fresno. Through the first two weeks of the season, King has looked like an offensive force. King has a 1.028 OPS so far this season. … Sean Barnett has yet to take the mound in his professional career, but the two-way prospect has shown plenty of potential at the plate. The former Wingate University star hit .304/.429/.522 with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI on the week. Barnett has an excellent wRC+ of 119 this season, but he’s punched out in over 32% of his plate appearances. Barnett must make more frequent contact to allow his power to play. … Infielder Yendry Rojas had four hits Sunday and finished the week with a .319 batting average. The Cuban-born infielder spent the last two seasons struggling in the desert after receiving a seven-figure signing bonus. … Zach Evans bounced all over the Storm infield and hit well, producing a .320/.345/.440 slash-line with eight total hits, including a double and a triple. The 22-year-old, who attended college at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina before drafted him in the ninth round, leads the Storm overall with 10 hits. … Lefty Boston Bateman made his professional debut on Thursday night and looked strong during his first two innings. In the third, things unraveled just a bit, and he allowed three runs. He came out for the fourth, but the Nuts were able to score again, which ended his night. Overall, Bateman tossed 3.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The Storm eventually lost that game 18-4. Righty Bryan Balzer had a strong start, tossing four scoreless frames with only two hits allowed. (Kevin Charity)