While major league spring training seemingly lingers on endlessly, minor leaguers face more of a sprint once the entire group is together on the field each March.

While a large contingent of players have been in Peoria for more than two weeks in the Padres’ minor league minicamp, and another 31 players on minor league contracts have been in big league camp, Tuesday was officially the first full day for minor league spring training. Now that all 175 players under contract are at the complex, games will start next Monday, and players who make a roster will depart for their teams before the end of the month.

With the player development group fully operating, the Padres sent their first five big league spring training invitees out to the backfields on Tuesday. In the coming weeks, more than two dozen other players will join the minor league contingent.

With a much thinner system than in past years, 14 minor league free agents who signed in the offseason are working on the backfields, ranging from 23-year-old outfielder Jake Cunningham to 34-year-old righty Andrew Thurman, who last played in affiliated ball in 2017 before starting an improbable comeback in independent ball last summer.

Ty Harvey adds to the catching depth in the Padres’ organization. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)

Even with Ethan Salas still working with the big league club, the catching position is the position of greatest depth in the organization, with top-20 prospects Lamar King Jr., Ty Harvey and Truitt Madonna in camp.

While Harvey and Madonna each made their professional debuts last summer, three of their fellow draft classmates and 10 of last year’s undrafted free agents are preparing for their first official action in the coming months. Righty Michael Salina, who had Tommy John surgery before the draft, will be the most intriguing to watch as he ramps up to be ready to join a full-season affiliate after the season gets underway.

The club brought pitchers Jesus Castro (unrelated to the catcher in the organization by the same name), Jeronimo Palmeros, Florangel Vasquez and Jeferson Villabona, catchers Jhojan Downer and Isaac Ponce, infielder Jhoan De La Cruz, and outfielders Santiago Contreras and Moises Valdez over from their complex in the Dominican Republic to participate in full spring training activities. De La Cruz, 18, is a switch-hitting middle infielder whose .837 OPS last year helped lead one of the Padres’ two entries to the DSL championship.

While no members of the Padres current 2026 international free agent class are starting their careers stateside, Lan-Hong Su, who drew a mid-six figure bonus to sign out of Taiwan in October, has been working toward being ready for the Arizona Complex League season.

The organization will need to trim down to 165 active minor league players – inclusive of 40-man players sent to the minors – by April 1, when the Triple-A season begins. They have the ability to put up to 10 players on the full-season and another 10 on the 60-day IL who will not count against that limit. For the thirtieth consecutive year, that group will include Matt LaChappa, the Barona tribal member who suffered a massive heart attack warming up before a game in Rancho Cucamonga in 1995.

Left-Handed PitchersRight-Handed Pitchers
CecilAdlerBalzerBryan
ChaconJavierBarnettSean
CienfuegosMiguelBatistaErick
CruzOmarCampbellJacob
GilIgorCandiottiClark
GustinHarryCastroJesus
GutierrezLuisCastroManuel Octavio
HaynesJaggerChourioWinyer
HerreraJosephConradAdam
HittJamesCruzHumberto
LaChappaMattDalenaJaxon
MayfieldKashDalquistAndrew
PalmerosJeronimoDavilaManuel
QinZimoDietzTyler
ReedRyanDomingoVicarte
SalazarBraianEdmondsonClay
SanchezFernandoFalterNick
SchoolcraftKruzFlynnMichael
SmeltzJacksonFrancoSadrac
SneltenDJGalindoRuben
WidgerCJGermanLuis
WolfJacksonJoseBernard
JureckaLandry
CatchersKempKannon
BoldJakeKoenigIan
CastroJesusKogerWill
DownerJhojanKollarJared
DuarteVictorKoppsKevin
HarveyTyLaisDane
HernandezAlcidesLangleyBrandon
King, Jr.LamarLizarragaVictor
LinaresOswaldoLoewenCarter
MadonnaTruittLongEthan
MatheyJackLoweIsaiah
OcopioYoiberMallitzJosh
PonceIsaacMaracaraLuis
RodriguezCarlosMejiaRordy
SargentChristopherMirallesMaikel
VincentColtonMontgomeryCarson
MooreAndrew
InfieldersMorenoJohan
CantwellLukeMorganTyler
CrossKerringtonMusgroveTucker
De La CruzJhoanNohosCameron
De LeonLuisOlmedoKleiber
DeCriscioJustinOrtegaJose
EvansZachPaplhamCole
FountainKaleParraAbraham
FryeBradleyPinalesEnmanuel
GregoDylanPintRiley
HoffmanWyattPolancoDariel
JacksonRyanReyesJose Luis
MondouNateSalinaMichael
QuintanaJorgeSchmittTyler
TovarYimySuLan-Hong
TuckerCarsonSwillingCarson
VastineJonathanTamarezMisael
VerdugoJoseThurmanAndrew
VerdugoLuisValenzuelaJordan
VerdugoRosmanVarmetteWill
VasquezFlorangel
OutfieldersVillabonaJeferson
AriasJesmaylinVillalobosEli
BileckiGeorgeWalkerCharlie
CedeñoLeandroWatsonMatthew
ContrerasSantiagoWhitingSam
CostelloJackYeagerJustin
CunninghamJakeYostEric
FabianAlbertZabalaMario
GrantDonte
KarpathiosBraedon
LottQrey
McCoyAlex
MearsJoshua
MurphyKai
OrnelasTirso
RobertsKai
RobertsonTyler
TearsKavares
ThibodeauxCardell
ValdezMoises
VerdugoAlex
WellsKasen
WestenburgConner
WidemanRyan

Posted by David Jay

David has written for MadFriars since 2005, has published articles in Baseball America, written a monthly column for FoxSports San Diego and appeared on numerous radio programs and podcasts. He may be best known on the island of Guam for his photos of Trae Santos that appeared in the Pacific Daily News.

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