Padres Prospects Week in Review: May 12-18

Key Roster Moves: The organization had a relatively stable week, but there were a few notable transactions. Perhaps most significant was a move to send Eguy Rosario all the way back to the Arizona Complex League for a mid-season reset. Coming into the year, the 25-year-old seemed a strong candidate to start the season in the big leagues, but he cleared waivers at the end of spring training and eventually joined El Paso. He had just a .509 OPS in 30 games for the Chihuahuas. He’ll look to get back on track in the desert. … Pitchers Manuel Davila, Darlin Mendez, and Jordan Valenzuela were brought over from the Dominican Republic to bolster the staff in the desert. … Offensively, the club in Peoria will look significantly different this week as first baseman Victor Figueroa has been promoted to Lake Elsinore, while Kai Roberts completed his rehab assignment and will be activated from the TinCaps’ IL.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost series at Las Vegas Aviators, 4-2)

Top Performers: Luis Campusano continued to destroy PCL pitching with four extra-base hits on the week, including three home runs in five games and 24 plate appearances. The 26-year-old has split time behind the plate and at designated hitter through the year, but this week, he made his first appearance of the year at first base. For the season, he has a slash line of .333/.448/.658 in 147 Triple-A plate appearances. In a quick three-game run with the Padres this season, he walked four times in 10 plate appearances. … Nothing jumps out about Kyle Hart’s stuff, but he only gave up one run, pitched the most innings of anyone on the staff, and won his start. The 32-year-old lefty was up-and-down in San Diego, but in three starts and 14.2 innings since going down to Triple-A, he has a 1.84 ERA.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Tirso Ornelas continues to hit, leading the team with 13 hits, but only two went for extra-bases – both doubles. That led him to a 1.235 OPS for the week. The 25-year-old is now the primary left field option in El Paso. … Trenton Brooks, 29, took the opposite approach to productivity, only hitting .238. But with three walks and five extra-base hits, he finished the week with a 1.000 OPS. … Utilityman Clay Dungan, 29, had another solid week with a .375/.464/.500 slash line. The left-handed hitter has a .790 OPS in El Paso since the Padres selected him in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. … On the mound, lefty Jackson Wolf, 26, gave up three runs in only 4.2 innings, but he also led the team for the week with eight strikeouts and only walked one. In two starts in the PCL, the lefty, who relies on a lot of movement, has made it work at altitude with a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings. … Ryan Bergert, 25, who continues to stretch out after his bullpen cameo in San Diego, looked good with four shutout innings, with three strikeouts against two walks and two hits.  This season at home, he has a 6.57 ERA in four appearances and 12.1 innings, but he has a 2.61 ERA in seven appearances and 20.2 on the road. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Lost series 2-4 at Midland Rockhounds)

Top Performers: Driveline baseball alum Stephen Jones continued a strong, but under-the-radar season, working three scoreless outings on the week. In 3.1 frames, Jones allowed only two hits without a walk, and struck out two. Jones’ fastball sits 94-96 mph and has reached 98 with solid ride. His sweeper possesses a sharp, late, horizontal break while sitting in the mid-80s. Jones owns a 1.08 ERA with a 2.89 FIP that is fueled by a 28.6% K-rate against a strong 6.3% walk rate for the year. … UC Santa Barbara alum Marcos Castañon took advantage of the Midland elevation and wore out Rockhounds pitching, going 9-for-26 with two doubles, a pair of home runs, and seven runs batted in. Castañon logged multi-hit games in three of his six starts. For the week, posting a 1.124 OPS. Castañon continues to perform well in his third stint in Double-A, as he owns a 124 wRC+ and .356 wOBA.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Braden Nett turned in his longest outing of the 2025 season Saturday night, working six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks, while punching out four. Throwing in Midland, one of the hitter-friendly parks in the Texas League at 2,782’ above elevation, Nett’s stuff played a tick down, generating a season-low seven whiffs, but he managed traffic well. The four walks tie his single-game season high. Nett has struck out a quarter of the batters he has faced and owns a 28.8% swinging strike rate in 36 innings this year. … Going into the 2025 season, Brandon Valenzuela was expected to start the season in Triple-A El Paso, where his 2024 season ended. However, with Campusano not making the opening day roster and Brett Sullivan making it through waivers and starting the year with the Chihuahuas, the 24-year-old found himself back with the Missions again. The situation quickly became sink-or-swim for Valenzuela. He’s not only swimming, but lapping the competition as he extended a hot start to the 2025 season by going 8-for-22 while posting a 143 wRC+ and .385 wOBA for the week. Valenzuela’s week included a career-high five-hit game on May 16 against the Rockhounds. For the year, Valenzuela owns an .858 OPS, .392 wOBA, and 147 wRC+. Even with a a 28.9% whiff rate, the 24-year-old still owns solid plate discipline numbers. He’s walking 12.1% of the time while striking out only 18.2%, and has chased at a 24.6% clip. Romeo Sanabria played in just three games, but that didn’t stop the Missions’ first baseman from posting good numbers. The 23-year-old went 5-for-13 to post a .976 OPS. His solid week was fueled by a 4-for-5 game Tuesday with , two doubles. … Much like Nett, left-handed Jagger Haynes battled through the hitter-friendly conditions, going 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks, while striking out seven. Haynes’ arsenal was still good enough to help him rack up 10 whiffs, and a 27.7% whiff rate. … Bradgley Rodriguez made a pair of appearances this week. His first was an easy one-two-three outing, but he allowed two earned runs on four hits when he came back on Friday. The swing-and-miss was still there as Rodriguez generated seven whiffs and a 41.1% whiff rate between his two outings. … Henry Baez once again worked into the sixth inning on Friday night; the third time he’s done so in his last four starts. The 22-year-old went 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out four. A throwing error by Baez himself made four of the runs he allowed unearned. Baez’s numbers remain excellent for the season, as he boasts a 3.11 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and 3.58 xFIP. His strikeout rate has seen an uptick this season as he is punching out hitters at a 25% rate this year, up from 15.4% in his 50 innings of Double-A action last year. (Clark Fahrenthold) 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series at West Michigan Whitecaps, 1-5)

Top Performers: The offense was sparse for the TinCaps as no player had more than five hits in the series.  Rosman Verdugo had one fantastic game, which made him the club’s top performer. On Thursday, the 20-year-old doubled and hit two home runs to claim sole possession of first place in the Midwest League with eight on the season. He came back to next day to collect two more hits, giving him a line for the week of .227/.291/.591 … Harry Gustin claimed the TinCaps’ only win of the week. The 23-year-old long reliever went 3.1 scoreless innings in his lone outing of the week, striking out five. Gustin has yet to allow a run in 9.2 innings this month, posting a 0.62 WHIP with 11 strikeouts.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Leo De Vries played the first four games of the series, going 4-for-16 with a double and two runs scored. He did not walk and struck out five times. Since nearly hitting for the cycle for a second time on April 29, De Vries is hitting .250/.333/.292 with no home runs and two RBI in 12 games. The youngest player in the league has also committed a team-leading 10 errors in 29 games.  He committed eight errors in 58 games last year.  … Braedon Karpathios hit a towering three-run home run and finished the week hitting .286/.444/.500.  The home run tied him for second on the team and is already only two away from his total in 119 games last year. He walked four times, and while he is only hitting .231, the walks have given the 21-year-old a strong on-base percentage of .371. … Tyson Neighbors continued his dominance, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts in two games.  In 12 High-A games this year, the former Kansas State closer has a 1.13 ERA and has struck out 43.8% of the batters he has faed.  Over his last 8.1 innings, Neighbors has allowed one run on three hits, walking one and striking out 12. … Garrett Hawkins threw 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the week’s lone save, then came back on Sunday to throw two more scoreless.  On the week, the former ninth-round pick threw 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out seven. In May, he allowed four total baserunners over seven innings, striking out 15. … Fellow reliever Josh Mallitz worked a pair of scoreless innings, striking out nine over five innings. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent has had an up-and-down campaign in his first professional season. … Top TinCaps pitching prospect Isaiah Lowe‘s rough 2025 campaign continued as the 22-year-old allowed three runs over 4.1 innings. More worrisome, he walked three and only struck out two. While he continues to show good velocity and movement, his walk rate has spiked from 10.3% to 15.2% while he’s striking out only 16.2%. Midwest League hitters are seeing the ball really well from Lowe, causing his chase rate decrease substantially. … Ian Koenig threw into the sixth inning for the first time this season as the 24-year-old allowed three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five.  After a tough end to April, Koenig has gone at least five innings, giving up three or fewer in each of his two starts this month. … After throwing a five-inning shutout in his High-A debut, Miguel Mendez gave up two runs over three innings before a rain delay ended his evening this week. He still struck out five without walking a batter.  In two starts with the TinCaps, Mendez has no walks and 12 strikeouts in eight innings. Across two levels on the season, the 22-year-old has punched out 36.6% of his opponents while walking only 4.9% in five starts. … For the third consecutive start, Eric Yost pitched into the sixth inning. The 2023 17th-round pick allowed only one earned run on four hits in 5.2 innings. In three May starts, Yost has a 1.47 ERA, with three earned runs and 19 strikeouts in 18.1 innings. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost series to Fresno Grizzlies, 2-4)

Top Performers: The Storm had a rough week at home, losing four of six to Fresno. The Storm struggled to prevent runs, and the offense struggled before a 12-run explosion on Sunday, which made the series look less one-sided. Lake Elsinore did not homer in the six-game set, and they managed just six extra-base hits. Through 39 games, the Storm are 17-22, 11 games behind first-place Rancho Cucamonga, who will cruise to a first-half title. … Shortstop Ryan Jackson led the Storm offense with an .882 OPS and nine hits on the week. Jackson hit .375/.423/.458 with a pair of doubles, two walks, and three stolen bases. Through roughly the season’s first quarter, the former Nevada and USC infielder leads the league with a .472 on-base percentage. His wRC+ of 163 is third-best in the league, trailing Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota – a pair of Dodgers’ prospects. Given his age and production at the plate, Jackson is a good bet to see Fort Wayne in the not-too-distant future. … As we wrote Sunday, Luis Gutierrez was the second part of a piggyback with Boston Bateman, and the southpaw turned in his best outing of the season. The 21-year-old tossed a season-high six innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit. He walked just one and struck out eight Grizzlies. Gutierrez has seen parts of three seasons in Lake Elsinore, and he’s taken a step forward this year. In eight games (three starts), he has a 3.77 ERA. If you remove the season-opening outing in which he walked six batters, Gutierrez has walked two or fewer in all outings but one. While Kash Mayfield and Bateman have drawn the headlines for the Storm this season, Gutierrez might be their performer in the rotation so far in 2025. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Zach Evans had eight hits on the week, four in Sunday’s series finale. His excellent Sunday helped him carry a slash-line of .400/.480/.400 with four RBI. The former ninth-rounder hasn’t shown much power in his pro debut, but that has not prevented him from being an excellent offensive contributor to the Storm. His .331 batting average and 30 RBIs both rank fourth in the league. He’s only connected on one home run all year, but his overall offensive production has been 25% better than the league average. … Outfielder Kavares Tears had a nice week offensively, hitting .350/.409/.400 with a double and a pair of RBIs. The former Tennessee outfielder is off to a nice start in his pro career, hitting a solid .301/.368/.430 with a pair of homers in 24 games. The left-handed hitting outfielder is striking out in 29% of his plate appearances this season, and a .419 average on balls fuels his .301 average in play. Tears has shown impressive power at times, but he will need to make more contact for it to play in the upper levels. … Lamar King Jr. had another slow week at the plate, as the former fourth-rounder went just 3-for-21 in five games. King, 21, enjoyed a solid April for the Storm, hitting .284/.368/.432, however, he has struggled mightily in May. In 13 games this month, King is hitting .143/.232/.245. The production is not as bleak as it looks. King has cut his K% from 25 to 16% this month. His BABIP this month is a comically low .150, after he finished April with a .365 mark. Clearly, the catcher has improved his approach, but the results tell a different story. Assuming King can maintain his discipline at the plate, he could be poised to break out soon. … Shortstop Cobb Hightower had a nice week, hitting .300 while getting on base at a .417 clip. Through 11 games, the 20-year-old has a .385 on-base percentage. … Lefty Boston Bateman pitched two innings on Sunday, allowing a pair of runs. He missed his original turn in the rotation due to an illness. … Kash Mayfield started Tuesday and lasted just one inning before leaving with a shoulder injury. We expect an update on his status today. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Rangers 7, ACL Padres 3  (3-2 on the week)

Key Stats: CF Donte Grant 1-for-4, SB (3); SS Yimi Tovar 1-for-4; 3B Eguy Rosario 1-for-4, 2B; C Yoiber Ocopio 1-for-3, HR (1), BB; RHP Kannon Kemp 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; RHP Jordan Valenzuela IP, 2 H, ER

Prospect Watch and Top Performers: Righty Kannon Kemp gave up four runs on five hits in the first inning, but then bounced back nicely and allowed just one more hit over the next four frames. That’s been a recurring theme for the big righty from Texas, who earned a big signing bonus out of high school in 2023. He’s allowed 10 runs in the opening frame in his three starts, but just one in 11 innings after that. … In his first game since the unusual move to send him down from Triple-A, Eguy Rosario had a double in four at-bats and committed an error while playing third base. The 25-year-old isn’t expected to be in the desert for long. … Backstop Yoiber Ocopio, who spent the last two summers in the Dominican, connected on his first home run in the States and drew a walk Monday night. The 20-year-old from Venezuela is 5-for-19 so far this year. … The rookie league club’s lineup was light Monday night as Victor Figueroa and Kai Roberts were in transit to their new affiliates. Roberts completed his rehab assignment with a homer on Saturday to leave him with a .533/.667/.933 line in 22 plate appearances. Somehow, Figueroa managed to dwarf that production to bash his way out of the desert. The big first baseman went 8-for-11 with four extra-base hits in four games last week, posting a 2.331 OPS. Through the first three weeks of the ACL season, the 18th-round pick put up a mind-blowing 1.922 OPS that totally lapped the field in the Valley of the Sun. The gap between his production and number two was greater than the gap between second and 53rd. … Righty Winyer Chourio was the top pitching performer of the week, giving the staff a much-needed five-inning, one-run turn on the mound in his second stateside appearance. The 21-year-old righty, who signed just prior to last year’s DSL season, will look to join the parade of recent older Padres international signees to perform well.  (David Jay)