Padres Prospects Week in Review: April 29 – May 4

Key Roster Moves: Right-handed pitchers Luis Patiño and Sam Whiting both began rehab assignments with Lake Elsinore as they prepare to join teams further up the system, while Cobb Hightower progressed enough in his recovery from a hamstring injury during spring training to join the Storm for his professional debut. Lefty Bodi Rascon was promoted to Fort Wayne as he continues his own return from 2023 Tommy John surgery. 

MadFriars site and media updates: Kevin had live coverage from Lake Elsinore both for Sam Whiting’s rehab start on Wednesday and the stellar outing Boston Bateman tossed on Thursday. For subscribers, Clark had a great piece with David Morgan, who will have to wait for his second promotion to the majors to actually make his debut. Off the site, Marty Caswell chatted with David on Friday about Boston Bateman‘s strong outing, The Leo De Vries Experience, and the cool trend of life-long Padres fans becoming Padres. On Saturday, Sammy Levitt turned to David to help fill some time during the rain delay an hour and 45 minutes into the pregame show. It’s as close to a position player pitching as we have to offer at MadFriars.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Split series vs Oklahoma City Comets 3-3)

Top Performers: After posting an .838 OPS in El Paso in 2024 and earning a chance to play in 47 games with the big club, Bryce Johnson, 29, signed a minor league free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason. A raft of outfield injuries led the Padres to trade catcher Brett Sullivan to reacquire Johnson last month. He had a big week, pacing the team with eight hits for a .400/.538/.500 slash line with four stolen bases in four attempts. That lifted his OPS since returning to the Sun City to .951 OPS in 14 games and 63 plate appearances after he posted a .080 batting average in 10 games with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A club in Indianapolis. With the big league roster getting healthy, he may not have a path to San Diego, but he’ll look to continue the production and once again force his way to the majors. … Coming back from 2023 Tommy John surgery, Reiss Knehr has made an stellar transition to the bullpen this year. For the week, he picked up a pair of saves and only allowed two hits as he allowed one run across three games. Knehr, 28, pitched his way to the majors as a starter, but the former two-way star at Fordham seems to have found his niche in the bullpen with his four-seamer/power sinker and cutter combination. Across 11 outings, he’s struck out 15 and held opponents to a microscopic .135 average in 11 innings.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Before returning to the injury list Sunday, Tim Locastro, 32, who rejoined the club the week before, had a .455 on-base percentage in the series in Oklahoma City with three doubles among his seven hits. Locastro had a .968 OPS last season in 33 games and 120 plate appearances and was one of the better players on the squad with his ability to get on base and defensive versatility. … Big Sean Reynolds, 27, was impressive in his two outings, not allowing a run and striking out a pair in 3.1 innings. He could come off the IL at any time, though as well as the big league bullpen is performing, it’s not a lock that he’ll join the Padres immediately. … Lefty Austin Krob went five innings in his start to get the win, and only allowed a pair of runs, as he enjoyed a welcome respite from the altitude of El Paso. The 25-year-old, who relies on movement and sink, has fought command this year, walking 19 in 23 innings, on his way to a 5.09 ERA. … Fellow lefty Kyle Hart, 32, in his first Triple-A start of the year, only gave up one run in 4.2 innings but also walked five against four strikeouts. The organization will want to see a little more before bringing him back to the big club. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Split series vs Corpus Christi Hooks 3-3)

Top Performers: Brandon Valenzuela turned in his best offensive week since 2023. With Ethan Salas still on the mend and rehabbing in Arizona, Valenzuela took full advantage of his extra play time, going 9-for-23 with four extra-base hits. Two of them went for home runs as Valenzuela appeared more aggressive at the plate, swinging earlier in counts. While he struck out at a 29.2% rate, the rest of his performancebenefited as he posted a 227 wRC+,  .511 wOBA, and 1.156 OPS for the week. Jackson Wolf continued his solid start to 2025 as he pitched six innings Thursday, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk while punching out nine. Wolf had his swing-and-miss stuff going, totaling 18 whiffs, good for a 41.8% whiff rate. His changeup was particularly impressive, generating a ton of late arm-side fade. He owns a 2.91 FIP and 3.23 ERA in 25 innings this season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: It had been 597 days since Jackson Merrill dawned a San Antonio Missions jersey. And while Padres fans would be more than content with never seeing him in the jersey again, it was nonetheless a successful rehab assignment and trip down memory lane for the Padres all-star center fielder. Merrill looked just fine going 2-for-6 at the dish, with two runs scored, and a walk in his two starts for San Antonio. In the outfield and on the base paths, he looked smooth and fluid with no signs of lingering issues with his hamstring. Interestingly, his start in on Friday was his first minor league appearance in center field. … With Merrill getting the attention on Saturday, Jagger Haynes‘s extremely impressive outing flew a bit under the radar. While he worked just 4.2 innings, Haynes punched out nine batters as he generated 21 total whiffs, good for a 46.6% whiff rate. The left-hander’s slider sat in the mid-80s with some of the best tilt it has shown this year while his fastball sat in the mid-90s for most of his start, topping out at 96 and flashing good ride. … Imperial Beach native Victor Lizarraga had his best outing of the year on Friday night, allowing just two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out seven across five innings. Lizarraga nearly mirrored Haynes’s whiff numbers with his start, garnering 19 total swing-and-misses, good for an eye-popping 52.7% whiff rate. … Ryan Och has seemed to settle back in. After back-to-back clean outings last week, Och worked a third consecutive scoreless outing on Friday, tossing 1.2 innings. The southpaw punched out three of the six batters he faced, generating a 61.5% whiff rate. … Bradgley Rodriguez produced a pair of scoreless appearances including an outing Thursday when the right-hander’s sinker sat 96-97 mph and topped out at 99 on two separate occasions. Rodriguez generated four whiffs, two of which came off the changeup. … Devin Ortiz stayed productive with a 6-for-21 week. Over the series’ final three games, Ortiz collected five of his six total hits, including a solo home run on Sunday and a triple Saturday. Ortiz owns a 143 wRC+ and an OPS of .830 for the year. While the 26-year-old has only walked at an 8.3% clip, Ortiz has managed to keep the strikeouts down thanks to just a 21% whiff rate and a solid 75.4% contact rate on balls out of the zone. … After being hampered by an ankle injury for seven days, Romeo Sanabria returned to action on Sunday going 1-for-4. His lone knock was key, though, as his RBI single at the bottom of the ninth tied the game at 4-4and set up Moisés Gómez‘s walk-off sac-fly. Through 19 games this season, Sanabria’s more aggressive approach at the plate has persisted. He is posting a 56.4% swing rate, up substantially from last year’s 42.3% mark. (Clark Fahrenthold)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Won series vs Dayton Dragons 5-1)

Top Performers:  Who else could you possibly expect?  Leo De Vries hit safely in all five of his games, going 8-for-15, with two doubles and a homer, drawing four walks without a strikeout for a line of .533/.632/.867. The youngest player in the league just keeps delivering and is hitting .309/.400/.593 to lead the Midwest League in both slugging percentage and OPS. While his fielding has shown some rough spots, his offense is some of the best in baseball. … For the first time all season, a TinCaps starter went over five innings.  Of course it was Enmanuel Pinales.  The 24-year-old Dominican went seven innings of one-run ball without walking a batter and striking out four. Pinales is now in the top three in the league with a 1.40 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, .184 average against, and three wins.  When the first set of pitching promotions happens, look for Pinales to move up.  … Tyson Neighbors gets an honorable mention among the relievers as he retired all nine batters he faced this week, striking out six of them. The former Kansas State closer has a 0.77 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 11.2 innings in his first full season after the Padres drafted him in the fourth round. Most impressively, after issuing five free passes in his first 5.2 innings of the year, he did not walk a batter this week and has only walked one over his last six innings.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: While De Vries holds the league lead in many categories, it’s teammate Rosman Verdugo who has a share of the Midwest League home run lead after he added two more last week. The 20-year-old also has a league-best .290 isolated power number. On the week, he went 8-for-24, with two doubles, the two round-trippers, and two walks despite 10 strikeouts. On the year, 13 of Verdugo’s 22 hits have gone for extra bases. … The plan for Sean Barnett was to keep him hitting in Lake Elsinore until he was ready for some chances to throw off the mound. While he has yet to appear in a game as a pitcher, the two-way player hit so well in Lake Elsinore he was promoted to Fort Wayne and promptly hit .417/.500/.500 in his first week. The 11th-round pick from last year went 5-for-12, with a double and a walk. After elbow soreness in the spring, he’s been working back up to throw in the bullpen, and should debut on the mound next month. … Catching prospect Brendan Durfee had one outstanding game, going 4-for-4 with three doubles, three runs scored, and a walk. The rest of the week did not go as well as he went 0-for-12, but he did still walk four times.  The 23-year-old is hitting .247/.337/.358, largely out of the leadoff spot. … New month, new pitcher.  After finishing April with a 10.38 ERA and eight walks in 8.2 innings, Isaiah Lowe tossed five scoreless innings in his first start of May. Not only was it scoreless, but Lowe surrendered only one hit as he walked three and struck out five. It was a season-high in strikeouts, and his opponents’ average dropped from .278 to .212. The 21-year-old is one of the top pitching prospects in the Padres’ system, and should continue to put things together.  … The hit allowed by Lowe was the only hit the TinCaps allowed on Saturday as Harry Gustin followed him with four scoreless frames of his own. The 22-year-old allowed one baserunner and struck out four. After walking nine batters over his first three outings, Gustin has walked one over his last 13.1 innings and has a 2.33 ERA on the season. … After being unable to make it out of the first inning in his previous start, Clark Candiotti at least worked deeper into the game.  It was a similar result, though, as he surrendered three runs (one earned) on three hits over 2.2 innings.  He walked four and hit a batter while striking out three.  In 10 innings this year, the fourth-round pick has 11 walks and 15 strikeouts. … While David Morgan was getting promoted to San Diego for the first time, Tyler Morgan (no relation) tossed four scoreless innings across two appearances on the week in Fort Wayne. He allowed one baserunner while striking out five and picking up a win on Tuesday. Aside from one bad outing when he allowed five earned runs in two innings, Morgan has allowed one earned run over 15.1 innings, striking out 19. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (won series vs. Inland Empire 66ers, 4-2)

Top Performers: The Storm had a successful week at home, shutting out the 66ers in three straight games and capping off the homestand with a walk-off victory to earn their first series win of 2025. … Kasen Wells was the best offensive performer for the Storm, playing great defensive, racked up stolen bases, and showing a little bit of pop as well. In the six-game series, Wells hit .400/.478/.550 with a double, a triple, eight runs scored, and a pair of RBI. He also added six stolen bases without being caught. He walked three times and struck out just twice. Through the first month of the season, Wells has a fantastic wRC+ of 137, and he leads the league with 29 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. … As we wrote about on Thursday, lefty Boston Bateman delivered the best start of his career. The 19-year-old went six innings and allowed just two hits. He walked one and struck out five. Through four professional starts, Bateman is carrying a 3.86 ERA, averaging 28.8% strikeout rate, and has a hefty 65% groundball rate. Assuming Bateman can fill the zone consistently, he has the stuff to move up to Fort Wayne before the end of the season. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Shortstop Cobb Hightower made his professional debut over the weekend, going 1-for-8 in two games. The North Carolina native was drafted in the third round last year out of high school. … Kaden Hollow continued his excellent play as the 24-year-old delivered an .827 OPS, with a pair of doubles, and two RBI. The former Utah Tech catcher ranks just outside the top 10 in the league with a wRC+ of 139. Hollow is also sporting an excellent 10% K-rate and his 4.8% whiff rate is the lowest in the California League. … Kavares Tears missed a few games dealing with a family issue but in three games, he delivered a .940 OPS with a homer and four RBI. In 13 games for the Storm, the former Tennessee star has been 12 percent above league average offensively despite a K-rate just above 30%. Tears struggled with in-zone contact as well in college but he possesses tremendous power. He will need to continue to refine his bat-to-ball skills at the plate but he’s one of the more interesting players in Lake Elsinore in 2025. … Lamar King Jr. had a solid week hitting .263 with a pair of doubles. He also made a fantastic catch on Wednesday night while moonlighting at first base. … Righty Miguel Mendez started Friday night and pitched five shutout innings. He allowed just five hits and did not walk a batter, striking out eight. Mendez put up solid numbers with the Storm last season and could be the next arm on the move to Fort Wayne. … After a solid rehab start from system veteran Sam Whiting, righty Maikel Miralles pitched five shutout Wednesday in relief. He allowed just three hits, walking two and striking out five. Like most of the Storm pitching staff, Miralles struggled in the early part of the season but Wednesday’s outing lowered his ERA to 6.11. … Kash Mayfield made his normal Tuesday start last week and took the loss. He allowed three runs early but pitched four scoreless innings to end his out. In four starts, Mayfield has a 5.02 ERA. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Royals 9, ACL Padres 2 (0-2 on the week)
Key Stats: 1B Victor Figueroa 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, BB, E; DH Kai Roberts 0-for-1, 2 BB; PH/DH Kale Fountain 1-for-2, 2 RBI; C Carlos Rodriguez 2-for-5; C Donte Grant 2-for-5, 2 K; RHP Langston Burkett 1.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 K, BB; LHP Igor Gil 3.1 IP, H, 5 K;

Prospect Watch and Key Performers: The ACL got underway Saturday, getting the remaining players at the Peoria Sports Complex into official game action. The big news Saturday was Jake Cronenworth’s rehab appearance, and he looked healthy enough to head out to an affiliate for his next step before a planned return to the Padres in Colorado. … Kai Roberts got his season underway after a spring training hamstring injury and he reached base in three of his five trips to the plate in two games. Both Saturday and Monday, he gave way to Kale Fountain who had two hits and a walk in his first four professional plate appearances. Roberts will look to get into the outfield for a few games before he’s ready to join a full-season affiliate. Fountain, coming off Tommy John surgery in October, will likely be limited to designated hitter work through the first month in the season. … Victor Figueroa, listed at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, had a huge game on Monday, coming up a homer short of the cycle. The left-handed hitting first baseman has big raw power from the left side, but needs to work on some swing mechanics in his first professional season after the Padres drafted him from a junior college in Florida in the 18th round last year. … Langston Burkett worked a scoreless first inning with a pair of strikeouts, but the Royals jumped him for seven runs in the second. The big righty had a bit of bad luck, giving up two infield hits and three more ground ball hits, finishing his first outing of the year with an unsightly 37.80 ERA. An undrafted free agent out of high school in 2023, the Padres like the Santa Cruz area product’s stuff, but he’ll need to build consistency in his second summer in the desert.