Sugar Land Space Cowboys 12, Chihuahuas 6 (8 innings)
Key Stats: 2B Ripken Reyes 1-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI; RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, BB; CF Trenton Brooks 2-for-4, 2B, BB; SS Francisco Acuña 3-for-4, 2 R; LHP Luis Gutierrez 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 6 K, HBP; RHP Andrew Moore (L, 0-1) IP, 2 H, 3 ER, K, BB, WP
Tirso Ornelas surged over the final seven weeks of the season. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas held leads of 3-0, 4-2, and 6-5, but gave up seven runs between the sixth and eighth innings. Rain started to come down heavily in the bottom of the eighth, keeping the final inning of the year from being played and sending El Paso to a second straight loss to finish at 81-68, the only winning record among the Padres’ domestic affiliates. Tirso Ornelas had a pair of hits and a walk to cap a strong final series in which he reached base multiple times in five of six games. The 25-year-old system veteran struggled through much of the year, but slugged .500 after returning from plantar fasciitis in early August. He earned his first promotion to the 40-player roster earlier in the year and seems likely to retain his spot in the offseason. … Trenton Brooks finished a roller coaster of a year with a two-hit game that included an RBI double. The San Diego County native demolished the PCL for the first two months of the year, to earn a promotion to the big league club. There, he struggled badly for six weeks before getting sent back down, and he never regained his footing for El Paso. The 30-year-old, who was outrighted back off the 40-player roster, finishes the year with a .275/.388/.491 line. He’ll be looking for a contract with an invitation to spring training as a minor league free agent in the offseason. … Lefty Luis Gutierrez put a nice bow on a strong season, striking out six over five innings without allowing a walk in his PCL debut. The 22-year-old, who opened the year in Lake Elsinore, got one outing each in San Antonio and El Paso to finish the year, pushing his career-high workload to 25 appearances and 125 innings. A 2019 signee, Gutierrez didn’t reach full-season ball for the first time until last season, but has made impressive strides over the last 18 months. Gutierrez works primarily with a sinker/slider mix, but has developed a changeup that can be his best offering when he trusts it. He drew 12 whiffs on 37 swings in the game and induced a lot of weak contact alongside the strikeouts. Gutierrez is Rule 5 eligible this winter, but isn’t ready to hold down a big league roster spot all year. He should open 2026 in the Missions’ rotation.
Cardell Thibodeaux (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
And that’s it for the 2025 minor league season! Thanks to all of your who’ve rolled through yet another campaign with us – especially to our amazing subscribers who keep this site alive and make it possible to provide on-site coverage from every affiliate.
For our subscribers, we’ve got an interview with 16th-round pick Cardell Thibodeaux on the site today. Over the next few days, we’ll finish out a few final in-season interviews and then turn our attention to the level-by-level wrap ups before you start to see our individual Top 30 lists heading into 2026.
