Synopsis: The Chihuahuas will again be a mix of minor league free agents and a few longtime Padres farmhands, as the organization continues to view the Triple-A level as a taxi squad where they can find auxiliary pieces rather than stars.
With a solid outfield and deep pitching staff, it could be one of the better teams in the Pacific Coast League this season.
Three Strikes with Mike Daly, the Padres Assistant Director of Minor League Development:
Rodolfo Duran is one of many players who originally arrived in the organization as a minor league free agent who could wind up in San Diego to bolster the back of the roster. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
We discussed last year that the organization looks at your Triple-A squad more as a place for carrying the 27th and 28th men more than a key development stop. This seems particularly true of this year’s pitching staff?
Mike Daly: Zamo and all those guys do a great job of creating an outstanding environment. We are trying to win a championship this year, and when we call someone up, we are looking for them to help contribute towards the team winning, not necessarily hitting a three-run home run or throwing a complete game shutout, but to help the big league team win. Both of those would be great, but we expect them to contribute, whether it is playing defense, bunting a guy over, or getting a big out. Zamo does a great job of understanding San Diego’s needs and getting the players to buy in and contribute on any given night.
How has Alex Verdugo looked so far, and what are your plans for him?
Mike Daly: He will start up in the ACL just because of health. We want to make sure when we send him out, he is fully built up. Alex has been outstanding here in camp. I didn’t really know him personally, but when he came into minor league camp, he was part of the group from Day 1.
He has a bunch of interesting tools, namely the bat. If you watch his swing, it is easy to see why he has had the success that he has had in the major leagues. He definitely has something to prove, and he believes that there is more in the tank. He’s been slowed a little by his shoulder, and we hope he will be out in El Paso by mid-April. We want to see him not only as a DH, but in the field as well.
Who is someone that Padres fans should pay attention to that they might not be familiar with?
Mike Daly: Excellent question. Many times, the guys coming here were in big-league camp for most of the spring and also have major-league experience. What you see most here is that they open up a lot of eyes and have a lot of success.
I don’t know who that player is specifically, but there are a lot of players here with major-league track records. Many of the guys who were in the camp until the very end are on everyone’s radar and will get an opportunity.
2026 Projected Lineup:
1B Marcos Castañon OF Jase Bowen
2B Samad Taylor CF Carlos Rodriguez*
3B Clay Dungan* OF Nick Schnell*
SS Mason McCoy DH Jose Miranda
* indicates left-handed or switch-hitter
SP/RHP Triston McKenzie RHP/RP Alek Jacob
SP/RHP Logan Gillaspie RHPP/RP Ethan Routzahn
SP/LHP JP Sears RHP/RP Eli Villalobos
SP/LHP Jackson Wolf LHP/RP Omar Cruz
SP/LHP Marco Gonzales RHP/RP Garrett Hawkins
MadFriars’ Top 20 Prospects in El Paso: RHP/RP Garrett Hawkins (#10)
Garrett Hawkins impressed in big league camp in 2026. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Catch a Rising Star: Garrett Hawkins, 26, had a breakout year after missing all of 2024. Recovering from Tommy John surgery, he came back as a reliever and dominated. Hawkins set a Midwest League record with Fort Wayne in throwing 34 straight scoreless innings before being promoted to San Antonio. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Canadian’s fastball sits in the upper 90s, but he will need to take another step with his sweeper, and especially his changeup, to get to the next level.
Starting Pitching: San Diego will have three potential viable options waiting in El Paso if a big league starter goes down: Triston McKenzie, JP Sears, and Logan Gillaspie, with Sears and Gillaspie in the lead. Last year, after coming over from the Athletics, where he threw 111 innings and made 22 starts with a 4.95 ERA, Sears, 30, struggled in limited action with San Diego (5.47 ERA) but pitched well in El Paso (3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings). Gillaspie, 28, can both start and be the long man out of the pen. He had some nice cameos for San Diego, but was much better coming out of the pen for the Chihuahuas, 3.71 ERA in 17 innings, than as a starter in 46.1 with a 7.38. McKenzie had some success with the Cleveland Guardians, particularly in 2022, the year after current Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla left, but the 28-year-old has struggled over the past three years.
Jackson Wolf, 26, returns, after finishing last year second on the team with 103.2 innings pitched. The 6-foot-7 lefty was slightly better on the road with a 4.61 ERA as compared to a 5.49 ERA at Southwest University Park. Marco Gonzales, 34, was a minor league free agent signee by the organization in the offseason after missing all of last year with injuries. A former two-way player at who St. Louis drafted out of Gonzaga in the first round back in 2013, he’s pitched in parts of 10 major league seasons with a 66-50 record and had some strong seasons for the Seattle Mariners.
Pen: In addition to Hawkins, the Chihuahuas will once again have a very strong pen and more than a few guys who should see their Southwest frequent flier miles increase substantially in 2026. Alek Jacob, 27, was probably back in Triple-A because he has minor league options left, as much as for his performance. He’s been up and down from El Paso since 2022. After a rough May and June last year, he allowed only eight earned runs in the final three months of the year. … Ethan Routzahn, 28, threw 50 innings between Double-A San Antonio and El Paso last year for a 4.50 ERA and was better with the Chihuahuas than the Missions, with a 3-1 record and 3.75 ERA. Like Jacob, he throws from a unique lower arm slot that could make your arm hurt just watching him. … Omar Cruz, 27, made his major league debut last season, and the lefty from Hermosillo, Mexico, can both start and relieve, but is probably best suited to long or middle relief. He was third on the Chihuahuas last year in innings pitched with 83.1.
Catching: Rodolfo Duran, 28, had a big year in his first season with the Padres’ organization, hitting 16 home runs and posting an OPS of .847. He was impressive in Spring Training, and a continued strong performance in El Paso could lead to his first major league call-up. He will go out as the lead catcher. With Blake Hunt, 27, still recovering from an oblique injury, Anthony Vilar, 27, who can also play all over the infield, will start the year in El Paso. The left-handed-hitting Vilar is one of the favorite receivers in the organization and serves as a Swiss Army knife for the team, able to play multiple defensive positions.
Mason McCoy’s stellar defense has kept him on the 40-man roster. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Infield: The key for many of the position players on this roster is versatility. As a result, you’ll see a mix-and-match approach of the names above at multiple positions each week. Both Mason McCoy and Clay Dungan are the epitome of what Mike Daly described as players that can be called up to the big leagues to be the 27th man. McCoy, 31, is considered one of the better defensive shortstops in the Pacific Coast League. His manager, Pete Zamora, expands that to all of baseball. McCoy will be going back to El Paso for his third season after he raised his OPS by nearly 100 points in 2025 compared to his previous seasons. He will continue to get reps at second and third base as well as short. Dungan, 29, has yet to make his major league debut. Still, the Indiana native, who came over from the Royals organization in the minor league Rule 5 draft in 2023, posted one of his better years offensively and hit 14 home runs to go along with 30 stolen bases last year. The left-handed hitting Dungan mainly played in the middle of the field at short, second, and center field, but also saw time at third base and right field. … High-steppin’ Marcos Castanon, 27, finally escaped the winds of Nelson Wolff Stadium in San Antonio and had a .936 OPS in 16 games and 70 plate appearances with the Chihuahuas in 2025. Defensively, this year, he should see most of his time at first base with some time at third and designated hitter. … Jose Miranda, 27, put up some numbers in spring training after signing as a minor league free agent over the winter. The former top prospect with the Minnesota Twins played in parts of four seasons in the major leagues before struggling in 2025 with both the Twins and Triple-A. A trip to the PCL might be the first step in coming back. … Will Wagner, 27, who came over at last year’s trade deadline, missed most of spring training with an oblique injury. When he returns to El Paso, the left-handed hitting former Liberty University star should see action all around the infield.
Jase Bowen impressed with his athleticism this spring. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Outfield: Tirso Ornelas, 26, will start the year on the injured list, but in the offseason, San Diego picked up an interesting collection of minor league free agents to supplement the roster. Jase Bowen, 25, had a great spring and was one of the last cuts from the big-league roster. Bowen split last year between Double-A and Triple-A, posting an .870 OPS in Triple-A Indianapolis. He was originally an 11th-round selection of the Pirates in 2019, when they bought him out of his Michigan State commitment to play both football and baseball. … Nick Schnell, 26, came over from the Washington Nationals organization to escape the outfield logjam as a minor league free agent. He was a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018. Last year, between Double and Triple-A, the left-handed hitting outfielder hit 23 home runs with 18 stolen bases for a .799 OPS. Carlos Rodriguez, 25, has played in the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves organizations and, last year, posted a .650 OPS across both levels. … Samad Taylor has seen big-league time in each of the last three seasons as a speed-first option. All four can play each outfield position well, with Taylor adding plenty of infield versatility as well.
On the Spot: In 2022, Triston McKenzie was one of the more talented pitchers in the major leagues, posting a 3.9 WAR, and since then has compiled a -0.6 WAR and struggled last year in the minors. Since his breakout performance, he has suffered shoulder and elbow injuries, which have affected his command. Despite not having a great Spring, his fastball velocity jumped, averaging 95.7 and peaking at 98.8.
Under the Radar: The whole team could really qualify under this category, but Marco Gonzales is the type of pitcher that the Padres need to find in free agency, a potential back-end starter that can eat innings. Gonzales underwent season-ending left flexor tendon surgery in September of 2024, and the Pirates declined to pick up his option. He has been really hurt since 2023 and 2024. The lefthander struggled in 13.1 innings in the Spring with a 10.80 ERA, but if he can find the form before he got hurt, he could be a big pickup. Among the players who have yet to make their big league debuts, Rodolfo Duran has the skillset to come up as a viable back-up catcher if the organization needs him to.
