El Paso Chihuahuas (Won series at Sugar Land Space Cowboys, 4-2)
Manuel Castro gets full extension. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Players of the Week: Francisco Acuna, 25, spent most of the year with the Double-A San Antonio, where he had a rather pedestrian .706 OPS. However, in two series with the Chihuahuas, he hit .364/.452/.667. This week, he posted an OPS of 1.330, with 10 hits in six games, including three walks and three extra-base hits, with two home runs. Acuna came over from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and has played the overwhelming amount of his career at shortstop. …. Manuel Castro, 23, appeared in two games and didn’t allow a run while striking out against no hits and no walks. The Gusave, Mexico native has pitched better in the Sun City than he did in San Antonio with a 3.66 ERA in 32 innings as opposed to a 4.39 ERA in 26.2 with the Missions. Despite standing only 5 feet 8 inches, he is listed as 5 feet 11 inches. He can uncork a fastball that sits in the 92-95 range and occasionally touches 97, accompanied by a decent curve and changeup. However, the big problem for him in Triple-A, as opposed to Double-A, is his strikeout-to-walks ratio of 30:23, compared to 43:13 in Double-A.
Tirso Ornelas had a big week. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Top Prospects and Others of Note: Tirso Ornelas had an excellent final week heading into the offseason, with a .429 batting average, nine hits, and five walks in six games, resulting in a 1.157 OPS. Ornelas, 25, finished the year with a very respectable .289/.384/.450 slash line, but had a wRC+ of 102 and faces a crowded outfield in San Diego for 2026. Ripken Reyes, 28, also closed out the season strong with a .385/.529/.538 slash line against Sugar Land. The switch-hitter, who is also a PhD candidate at the University of San Diego in his spare time, didn’t have a great year in his fourth year in San Antonio with a .668 OPS, but played well in limited time with El Paso, posting a .273/.382/.373 OPS, but his overall wRC+ was also below league average at .87. In the field, he played at five different positions, but saw most of his time at third base. … Left-hander JP Sears, 29, was effective in his one start, pitching four innings and allowing one run while striking out six and walking three. In four starts with the Chihuahuas, Sears had a 3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings with 16 strikeouts against six walks. Victor Lizarraga, 21, did well in his second start in Triple-A, not allowing a run and scattering five hits. He has a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings with El Paso, and how well his “backwards stuff” will play in the PCL will be one of the more interesting questions in 2026. Finally, Misael Tamarez threw five innings in relief and only allowed two runs while striking out six and walking one. The twenty-five-year-old Dominican native joined the Padres from the Houston Astros’ organization and had his best week with the Chihuahuas, after giving up 13 runs in his first four appearances.
