San Diego Padres Week in Review: June 10 through June 15

El Paso Chihuahuas (Split at Round Rock Express, 3-3)

Top Performers: As the leadoff hitter for most of the series, Clay Dungan, 29, did what was expected and reached base at a .414 clip in 28 plate appearances. The Indiana native, acquired in the minor league phase of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, bounced between San Antonio and El Paso last year. This season has been the primary shortstop for the Chihuahuas but has also seen time at second and third base.  The left-handed hitter has a .751 OPS on the season.  His strong week in Round Rock follows a pattern for the year, where he’s been much better on the road (.821 OPS), than in El Paso (.668). … Matt Waldron, 28, picked up two wins, throwing 10.2 innings across a pair of starts. The knuckleball can be tough in the thin air of many Pacific Coast League parks, but Waldron took advantage of the neutral environment of Round Rock, allowing only three earned runs with nine strikeouts against four walks. After starting the year on the 60-day IL, the righty has been solid since being optioned to Triple-A and certainly fits as an option if the Padres need more starting pitching.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Although he only had 12 plate appearances, Rudolfo Durán, 27, made the most of it as the catcher posted a .955 OPS with five hits and a walk in three games. The Dominican native has been a part of three different organizations, most recently with the Kansas City Royals last season, where he hit .282/.323/.467 between Double and Triple-A.  With Luis Campusano riding the bench with the big club, he’s been receiving more opportunities behind the plate. … Mason McCoy, who has been rotating between second base and shortstop with Dungan, posted a solid week with a .353 batting average on six hits, along with a walk, in 18 plate appearances.  McCoy, 30, had a brief look at the big leagues this season before a finger injury cost him his opportunity. He is considered one of the better defensive players in the league.  In 33 games in Triple-A, he’s been solid at the plate as well, with a .912 OPS. … Bryce Johnson, 29, had another strong week before his Monday call-up, with four doubles and an .862 OPS. He has a .865 OPS while primarily playing center, but has covered across all three outfield positions this season in El Paso. … Francis Peña made two scoreless appearances, finishing the week with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings against a lone walk and one single. This season, the 24-year-old’s walk rate has more than doubled from  7.1% last year to an unsustainable 14.3% as he works to hone his slider. The hard-throwing righty will look to build on the improved showing last week to prove he is an option for the major league bullpen. …  Bryan Hoeing, 28, made three appearances in his rehab, only allowing one run and one hit in three innings. He will need to come off the 60-day IL this week. … Finally, Jason Heyward appeared in three games against the Express, all as a designated hitter, and was 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts in 13 plate appearances. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Won series at Amarillo, 4-2)

Top Performers: Ripken Reyes is a rather easy choice for player of the week after joining the Missions for the week’s series. He went 6-for-16, with three triples, two doubles, a home run, and 10 RBIs to take home Texas League Player of the Week honors. The utility man collected three straight three-RBI games, including back-to-back games with bases-clearing triples. The six-game heater continues what has been a strong June for Reyes. In 11 games played this month, Reyes owns a .435 batting average, 254 wRC+, and 1.345 OPS. … Henry Baez‘s stuff isn’t the flashiest or most dominant, but he nonetheless continues to gets results. The right-hander worked six shutout innings Saturday against Amarillo, allowing five hits and striking out three without a walk. The start marked the fifth time in his last seven outings that Baez has worked into the sixth inning. While he’s posted just a 22.3% K rate, his other numbers remain excellent, as he owns a career-best 2.24 ERA, 3.32 FIP, and 3.81 xFIP in 64.1 IP. Over six starts since May 16, Baez has allowed only three earned runs, good for a 0.84 ERA.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Braden Nett’s start Thursday afternoon against Amarillo was one of his most impressive outings of the year. Despite pitching at the most hitter-friendly park in the Texas League, Nett worked six complete innings, allowed three runs on five hits, with eight strikeouts. Importantly, it was the first outing of the year where he did not allow a walk. His fastball sat 95-96 mph and topped at 98 mph with its usual plus ride, while the low-70s curveball showcased excellent depth. Nett tallied 19 total whiffs and a 41.3% whiff rate while throwing 61 of his 79 pitches for strikes. … After a slower month of May offensively, Brandon Valenzuela’s bat seems to have awoken again in the second week of June. The 24-year-old took advantage of the 3,662 feet of elevation, going 9-for-27 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple, and eight RBIs. Valenzuela continues to flex career-best power numbers, posting a career-high .473 slugging percentage and .198 isolated power. The big backstop continues to draw free passes at an 11.9% clip on the year. … Kai Murphy reached base 12 times, going 6-for-16 while swatting his first home run of the year. Along with his long ball, and five singles, Murphy drew five walks and was hit by a pitch. Drawing walks has been a standout feature of Murphys offensive profile throughout this career, but he’s taken another step forward this year with a  13.3% walk rate this season. … Francisco Acuña found ample success against Amarillo pitching, going 7-for-26 with two doubles and five runs scored. Acuña has been hot since mid-May, hitting .305 over his last 102 at-bats, with a 137 wRC+ and .374 wOBA. … Right-hander Tyson Neighbors made his first appearances in the Texas League and in both outings, was tagged for a home run. Going into the week, the Kansas State alum had allowed had just one homer through his first 27.1 professional innings. Neighbors had three strikeouts and a 28.5% whiff rate in his combined three innings of work. He, like most of the Missions pitching staff, likely will be happy to return to normal elevation levels this week. … Jagger Haynes made a pair of starts, and in both, the left-hander struggled to find his rhythm and battled his command. Over a combined 9.1 innings on the week, Haynes allowed three earned runs on seven hits, six walks, and struck out six. Haynes’s command remains a work in progress. While he’s improved on last year’s 13.9% walk rate, this season’s 12.7% clip still likely isn’t workable over a full season as a starter. (Clark Fahrenthold)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series to South Bend Cubs, 1-5)

Player of the Week: Making his sixth start with the TinCaps Miguel Mendez once again dialed his fastball up to 100 mph while holding South Bend to one earned run over four innings. He struck out six while only allowing three hits, though he did battle with location, hitting two batters and walking two. The breakout prospect of the year has struck out a third of the batters he has faced while posting a 2.89 ERA over nine starts at two levels this year. He has only allowed more than two earned runs in one start. … The offense scored nine runs in the series opener, then added just seven move over the following five games. They were shut out twice. That leaves Jack Costello, who had three hits, including a home run in the first game, as the week’s top performer. He ended the week 5-for-17, with two walks and a home run.  After posting a .616 OPS in May, the former USD Torero has rebounded nicely this month, slashing .297/.350/.486 in June.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Top prospect Leo De Vries continues to try and rebound from an ice-cold month.  He hit his first home run since April 29 on Tuesday, but then went hitless until Sunday, when he reached base four times.  On the week, the 18-year-old hit .167/.348/.333. He now owns a .756 OPS for the year, about 13% above league average, while posting a very strong 13.1% walk rate and limiting his strikeouts to just 20.1%. … Two-way player Sean Barnett continued his progression on the mound with mixed results. After throwing 1.2 scoreless innings on Wednesday, Sunday he couldn’t locate, allowing a hit and two walks while facing four batters. Two came around to score, tallying the first runs the 21-year-old has surrendered in four appearances. At the plate, he went just 1-for-8, with an RBI and two walks. He will not be batting on days that he pitches in the foreseeable future. … After posting a 3.09 ERA last year with Fort Wayne, hard-throwing right-hander Ruben Galindo made his first appearance back at Parkview after missing the first few months on the IL.  The 24-year-old threw 1,2 scoreless innings, allowing one baserunner and striking out two. … After spending the first two months of the year with Lake Elsinore, Luis Gutierrez pitched about as well as could be hoped in his first High-A start. The 21-year-old gave up two runs (one earned) across six innings with five hits allowed. He walked one and struck out three. In 11 appearances this year, Gutierrez has a 2.73 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 56 innings. … Another week, another two scoreless outings for Garrett Hawkins.  The 25-year-old allowed only one baserunner while striking out two in three innings. The former starter, coming back from Tommy John surgery, has not allowed a run since April 23. On the season, batters are hitting .138 against him. … Isaiah Lowe retired his first 10 batters, striking out five and made it to the fifth inning before an infield hit, two walks and a balk cost him his first run. Overall, the 22-year-old had a successful outing, allowing one run over five innings while walking three and striking out six.  Lowe is still battling with location as he threw 45 strikes and 37 balls in the outing.  He is averaging roughly two more walks per start this year than last, leading to his 5.82 ERA.  … After a breakout 2023 campaign, Cole Paplham is still trying to get healthy.  After moving his rehab to Fort Wayne at the beginning of the month, Paplham tossed another three innings of relief this week.  He was tagged for two runs on Tuesday, before throwing two scoreless on Saturday.  The hard-throwing right-hander’s 10.2 innings this year have already surpassed last year’s total. (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost series to Visalia Rawhide, 2-4)

Top Performers: The Storm had some nice offense performances but another inconsistent week led to a series loss at home to Visalia. The squad will start a series in Rancho Cucamonga Tuesday. … First baseman Victor Figueroa had another terrific week, hitting .313/.421/.625 with two doubles, a homer and two RBI. The 21-year-old broke out in the desert this season, putting up a ridiculous slash-line of .605/.659/1.263. While his numbers haven’t been as otherworldly in Lake Elsinore, his performance is clearly no fluke. Since joining the Storm roster, the Florida native has improved his walk rate from 13.6% to 16.9% and he’s lowered his K-rate from 15.5% to 13.5% at the higher level. Despite producing a 155 wRC+ with the Storm, Figueroa has actually been a bit unlucky; his .276 BABIP is below average. First base-only prospects really have to mash to get a chance, but Figueroa could not have possibly started his career any better than he has in 2025. … Reliever Igor Gil made two appearances on the week and allowed just one unearned run in 4.1 innings of work. The 24-year-old allowed just one hit, walking two and striking five. The Storm bullpen has largely struggled this season but Gil has been one of the bright spots, functioning in a multi-inning role. In 27 innings, Gil has a 2.00 ERA. 

Top Performers and Others of Note: B.Y. Choi had one of his best weeks of the year, as the 24-year-old produced a 1.024 OPS with a double, three walks, and just one strikeout in 21 plate appearances. Choi had a solid April, producing a .724 OPS, but struggled to just a .463 OPS in May. In June, he has found his way again, and in 10 games, the South Korea native is hitting .333/.400/.389. … Lamar King Jr. continued to clobber Cal League pitching with more impressive results. King went 6-for-17 with a double, a triple, four walks, and just one strikeout. Since May 20, the 21-year-old has quietly been one of the best hitters in the Padres’ system, hitting .347/.420/.514 – good for a wRC+ of 159. Perhaps more impressively, over his last 19 games, King has struck out in just 7.4% of his plate appearances. … After going hitless on the road in the previous series, Kavares Tears hit two homers and slugged .542 over six games. Tears has been streaky this season but overall he leads the Storm with seven homers. … Kash Mayfield continued to stretch back out after shoulder discomfort last month. Wednesday, he threw three shutout innings, striking out six in the process. In eight starts for the Storm, Mayfield has a 3.91 ERA. … Young righty Abraham Parra worked six innings on Sunday but took the no-decision in a game the Storm ultimately lost. It was the second time Parra has completed six innings as a professional and the first since 2023, when he was pitching in the DSL. The 19-year-old from Venezuela got pounded in his first Cal League appearance, but has given up just three earned runs in 19 innings since. … Kannon Kamp pitched five innings on Wednesday, marking his Single-A debut. He allowed three runs (two earned), striking out four. … Lefty Boston Bateman earned a win, tossing 5.2 innings of two-run ball. He struck out four without allowing a walk. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Athletics 9, ACL Padres 8 (10 innings)
(2-4 on the week)

Key Stats: 2B Luis De Leon 1-for-4, 2 BB, 2 SB (8); 1B Kale Fountain 1-for-3, BB; DH Albert Fabian 2-for-5, 2B, 2 K; C Yoiber Ocopio 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI; RHP Elvis Reyes 1.2 IP, 1 H, 5 ER, K, 6 BB, HBP; RHP Roberto Burgos 2 IP, 4 K, 2 BB

Top Prospects and Others of Note: The A’s took advantage of six walks and a hit batter from starter Elvis Reyes to jump out to an early lead. While the Padres ultimately came back to tie it, they lost in extras in a nearly four-hour contest. Kale Fountain made an important step in his return from Tommy John surgery, taking the field at first base for the first time this year. The big righty, who the Padres wagered third-round money on in the draft last year, went 1-for-3 with a walk at the plate, capping a week in which he hit .300/.417/.300. … Albert Fabian capped his first full week of rehab with a two-hit effort that included his second double. On the week, he had a team-best 1.063 OPS while striking out just twice in 17 plate appearances. He will look to get out of the complex before the end of the month. … Catcher Yoiber Ocopio had a double among three hits on Monday to boost his OPS for the week to .807. The 20-year-old backstop drew four walks in 16 trips to the plate this week. … Reliever Roberto Burgos tossed two innings of scoreless relief as he threw blanks for the second time in the week. After walking 16 in his first 9.1 innings of the year, the 21-year-old “only” issued four free passes, against five strikeouts, in 3.2 innings this week. Opponents have managed just four hits against him when he has been in the zone this year, good for a stellar .093 average against. … Righty Luis Maracara made one appearance on the week, working behind a pair of rehabbers. In his three hitless innings, he struck out four. At 17, Maracara is the youngest pitcher in the Arizona Complex League. He’s been predictably inconsistent this year, working to a 7.65 ERA, but has punched out 27 in 20 innings. (David Jay)