San Diego Padres Week in Review: June 24 – June 30

El Paso Chihuahuas (Defeated Sugar Land Space Cowboys, 5-1)

Players of the Week: Despite struggling when receiving limited opportunities on the major league roster, Luis Campusano continues to pound PCL pitching into submission. Campusano, 26, reached base thirteen times with six walks and seven hits for a .519 on-base percentage for the week. Five of the hits went for extra bases, including three home runs for a .900 slugging percentage as he played all six games. Since returning from his latest stint with San Diego, Campusano has rotated between catching, first base, and designated hitter for the Chihuahuas. In 48 PCL games and 214 plate appearances on the year, he has a slash line of .316/.439/.626. … Kyle Hart, 32, had a strong outing, throwing six two-run innings as the left-hander struck out six against a pair of walks. It was a nice bounce-back for the lefty who opened the year in the Padres rotation. He came into the game with a 7.71 ERA in his four previous June starts and hadn’t been able to reach six innings since he was sent out to Triple-A.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: El Paso had six players post an OPS over .900. Yonathan Perlaza, 26, led the way with Campusano, putting up a 1.450 OPS driven by a .593 on-base percentage. He collected 10 hits and six walks, adding four extra-base hits. Perlaza had a big April followed by a brutal May when he posted a .565 OPS. In June, he rebounded with a .300/.407/.500 slash line. He’s been much better at home, with a batting average of .338 compared to .238 on the road. … Clay Dungan, 29, had another strong week as the left-handed hitter who rotates between second, shortstop, and center field hit .348, reached base at a .448 clip, and had five extra-base hits, three of which landed over the fence. The surge has pushed his OPS for the year up to .837. … Nate Mondou, 30, had a stellar .450 average with nine hits in six games. … Tim Locastro, 32, and Forrest Wall, 29, were also solid, with OPS of .985 and .926, helping El Paso outscore Sugar Land 50-36 in the series. … Eduarniel Núñez, 26, came out of the bullpen three times and didn’t allow a run in three innings with four strikeouts and only gave up one hit. Núñez sits in the high 90s and can consistently reach 102 mph, however, the right-hander’s slider may be his best pitch.  This season, between San Antonio and El Paso, he has 49 strikeouts in 30 innings against only 14 walks for a 2.70 ERA. … Bradgley Rodriguez, 21, made his return after missing a few weeks with some discomfort in his upper arm. He didn’t allow a run, hit, or walk while striking out two in 1.1 innings across 2 appearances. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Split at Midland Rockhounds 3-3)

Player of the Week: Braden Nett continues to string together quality starts. The right-hander made a pair of starts against Midland. Over his combined 11.1 IP against the RockHounds, the 22-year-old allowed one run on 10 hits, walked five, and struck out seven. Nett’s start Tuesday was the more impressive of the two, as he generated 13 whiffs and a 30.9% whiff rate over six innings of work. Nett made five total starts in June and worked into the six innings in each, posting a 1.29 ERA and 2.67 FIP, while racking up a strong  27.4% strikeout rate. For the season, his 26.1% strikeout rate, 3.11 ERA and 3.59 FIP, rank fourth, seventh, and seventh among qualified Texas League pitchers. With his pair of starts Nett has logged a new career-high 66.2 inning pitched this season. In five games before going down with appears to be a major leg injury, Francisco Acuña went 5-for-17 with a homer. Acuña enjoyed a fruitful June at the plate, as the 25-year-old hit .326 for the month with an .866 OPS good for a 159 wRC+ and .408 wOBA. Perhaps his most impressive number from this past month was Acuña’s whopping 16.0% walk rate as his swing decisions and plate discipline have been solid this season. He has an 82.5% in-zone contact rate on the year.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Brandon Valenzuela had a slow week at the dish as the 24-year-old catcher went just 2-for-19, striking out five times. Valenzuela hit just .235 on the month while posting a .328 wOBA and 108 wRC+. Even with the bat cooling off, Valenzuela’s plate discipline allowed him to reach base at a decent clip. For the month, he posted an 11.2% balk rate. On the year, he’s posted a respectable 27.3% chase rate… Moisés Gómez played in only four games but still left his mark on the series. The Missions right-fielder went 4-for-12 with a home run, four RBIs, and five walks. Over his last 11 games, Gómez has settled in at the dish, hitting .353 with a 190 wRC+ and 1.027 OPS. … Romeo Sanabria’s struggles at the dish also persisted against Midland. The 23-year-old first baseman went just 4-for-21 with a home run.  Sanabria will likely be happy to see the calendar flip to July, as in June, he hit .194 with just a .496 OPS with only two extra-base hits while striking out at a 28.8% rate well above his career marks. …Tyson Neighbors made just one appearance for San Antonio this past week. In his multi-inning relief, he went two innings, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks, and struck out two. His first eight innings since being promoted have been a bit of a mixed bag. He’s allowed three home runs and posted a 6.75 ERA. However, he is still showing impressive swing-and-miss stuff, with the right-hander posting a 36.4% strikeout rate. … Reliever Andrew Moore appeared twice, working a combined 2.1 innings. He didn’t allow a run, yielded just one hit, walked two, and struck out four. Finding consistent command continues to be a work in progress for Moore. Since joining the Padres organization, Moore, who owns a high 90s fastball with 17-18 inches of iVB and a power slider, has walked 23.1% of the batters he has faced. Still, since June 6, he owns a 1.17 ERA, 2.67 FIP, and 36.4% K%…(Clark Fahrenthold)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Beat Great Lakes Loons 4-2)

Player of the Week: Although June was a tough month for Leo De Vries, he managed to turn into a walking machine.  De Vries walked eight times on the week, and finished with 21 for June. While he only hit .198 in the month, his .375 on-base percentage still made him a force to be reckoned with. De Vries added five hits this week, including a walk-off drive on Saturday. While De Vries finished the month with a disappointing five extra-base hits, two of them came in the week as he looks to turn things around again in July. … On June 19, Miguel Mendez struggled with command an tied a career high with five walks while striking out just one, although he allowed just one earned run over 5.1 innings. This week, he bounced back and continued his breakout campaign. While Mendez once again allowed one run, this time it was over six innings and he walked only two while striking out six. The 23-year-old can top out in triple digits, but sat most of the game at 97 mph on his fastball. In four June starts, Mendez had a 1.27 ERA, striking out 20 over 21.1 innings.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Ryan Jackson was scorching hot when he was promoted to Fort Wayne on June 15. In the two weeks since, he has remained just as hot. Jackson went 6-for-19, with a home run, six runs scored and six walks.  In his two weeks with Fort Wayne the 2024 17th-rounder is hitting .294/.478/.412.  He’s done this all while learning left field on the fly and logging time at four different spots defensively. … Brendon Durfee caught three games , turning in a solid 2-for-8 line with four walks.  After a strong start to the year, the 23-year-old has struggled offensively the last six weeks. However, that has not bled into the field. Durfee threw out three Great Lakes baserunners on Friday alone and four on the week. … After two disappointing months, Jack Costello finally started to come alive in June. He finished the last week 4-for-17 with a double, but had a lot of hard hit liners that found gloves.  The former USD Torrero hit .274/.354/.425 in June. … As a hitter, Sean Barnett went 3-for-9, with 2 RBI and a walk and finished June hitting .242/.405/.333. As a pitcher, Barnett did not have nearly the same success. The righty allowed six runs on six hits and five walks while recording only two outs in his two appearances on the week. After his first month working on the mound, the Saint Louis native owns an ugly 17.05 ERA as he attempts to ramp-up having faced fewer than 100 batters in his collegiate career. … Garrett Hawkins continues to be the most dominating reliever in the Midwest League. The 25-year-old picked up two wins as he allowed only one walk and struck out four over 2.2 innings. As July begins, Hawkins has not allowed a run since April 23. … Fresh off earning the circuit’s pitcher of the week honors, Eric Yost followed it up with another spectacular outing.  The 22-year-old allowed one run on four hits over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts, though he did walk a career-high four batters. The 2023 draft pick out of Northeastern has a 2.36 ERA on the season with 72 strikeouts in 68.2 innings. … Ruben Galindo opened the 2024 season as one of the better arms in the TinCaps bullpen before undergoing elbow surgery and landing on the IL in early June. He returned to action in Fort Wayne just over a year later, and so far, Galindo has been rock solid.  This week, he did not allow a hit over two scoreless innings, striking out three and picking up the save on Sunday. The 24-year-old has allowed one run over six innings since returning. … After a short start last week, Luis Gutierrez bounced back impressively, giving up one run over five innings while walking three and striking out four.  The 21-year-old has allowed no more than one earned run in eight of his 13 outings this year.  Between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne the Venezuela native has a 2.73 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 62.2 innings.  (Ben Davey)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Split with Modesto Nuts, 3-3)

Top Performers: The Storm lost the first two games of the series, won the next three, and dropped the series finale to earn the split in their last ever series with the Modesto Nuts. Modesto will move to Ontario and become the Dodgers’ affiliate in 2026. … Victor Figueroa demolished Modesto pitching in yet another banner week for the big first baseman. The 21-year-old smashed two homers in a game Thursday, and put up a ridiculous .368/.458/.842 line with three doubles and six RBI in the series. After forcing his way out of the Complex League, Figueroa has been a bit inconsistent, but when he has gotten hot, he’s put up incredible results. Among Cal League batters with at least 130 plate appearances, the Florida native ranks sixth in the Cal League with a wRC+ of 143 and his .912 OPS ranks fourth. … Righty Carson Swilling returned from the injured list and pitched a pair of scoreless innings. Between the two outings, the former South Alabama righty allowed just one hit over 2.2 innings, striking out five. The former undrafted free agent has a 4.22 ERA for the Storm this season. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Catcher Lamar King Jr. had another stellar week, delivering a 1.119 OPS with four doubles, two walks, and a pair of RBI. King’s excellent week put the exclamation point on an incredible June for the 21-year-old. He will finish June with a slash-line of .408/.505/.579. He had 11 doubles, 13 walks, and struck out just nine times all month. In addition to his prowess at the plate, King also stole nine bases on ten attempts. … Left fielder Kaden Hollow had a terrific week at the plate, putting together a 1.153 OPS. The 24-year-old tied for the team lead with six RBI, and he connected on his first homer of the year. The catcher-turned-outfielder doesn’t possess much power, but he makes frequent contact and he has been very steady for the Storm this season. Overall, the former Utah Tech catcher has a wRC+ of 116 for the Storm in 2025. … Outfielder Kavares Tears connected on his ninth homer of the year, the main highlight of an otherwise slow week at the plate. The former Tennessee outfielder had a .606 OPS with three walks and eight strikeouts. … Shortstop Cobb Hightower had a rough week at the plate, going 2-for-16 at the plate in four games played. The North Carolina native has struggled in a limited sample of about 100 plate appearances. Overall, he is hitting .205/.354/.269. … Lefty Boston Bateman showed outstanding stuff on Thursday, racking up nine strikeouts. He completed five innings and allowed a pair of runs on six hits. The 19-year-old has impressed for the Storm, showing better command than expected. He’s punched out 27.2% of the hitters he has faced this season. … Lefty Kash Mayfield had an abbreviated outing last week, recording just two outs before departing. He allowed a run on a hit, walking a pair of batters. After missing time with a shoulder injury, the 20-year-old lefty had a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 June innings. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Dodgers 13, ACL Padres 8
(0-4 on the week)

Key Stats: 1B Kale Fountain 1-for-4, BB; CF Donte Grant 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, HBP; C Yoiber Ocopio 1-for-4, 2B, BB; RF Jesmaylin Arias 2-for-5, 2B, SB (3); LF Gustavor Marquez 2-for-4, HBP;RHP Jesus Lopez 1.1 IP, 6 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, HBP; RHP Jimmy Reyes 1.2 IP, 2 H, 4 K

Prospect Watch and Top Performers: The Dodgers jumped Jesus Lopez for nine runs in the first two innings. While the Padres put up late runs, this one was never in doubt. Center fielder Donte Grant reached base four times, including his seventh double of the year. That put a solid cap on a strong abbreviated week for the 20-year-old, who was 4-for-12 with a 1.000 OPS in the team’s four contests. The Washington State native, who signed out of high school as an undrafted free agent in 2023, has shown flashes of tools and skills all year, but is hitting just .216/.364/.309 overall. He’ll look to add muscle mass over the offseason to make a run at a spot in Lake Elsinore next year. … Fellow outfielders Jesmaylin Arias and Gustavo Marquez each had a pair of hits in Monday’s contest. Arias, 18, finished the week 4-for-13. … The ACL club’s pitching staff has struggled mightily on the year. They gave up 37 more earned runs in 32 innings on the week. Maikel Miralles, working his first rehab outing since hitting Lake Elsinore’s IL in May, Ruben Salinas, and Elvis Reyes each threw two shutout innings on the week while eight different hurlers posted an ERA of nine or higher.