Lake Elsinore Storm 2026 Preview

Overview

A year after making the California League championship series in 2024, the Storm struggled last year, finishing with a 56-76 record. The 2026 club will feature a premium arm in 2025 first-rounder Kruz Schoolcraft and a pair of intriguing young catchers in Ty Harvey and Truitt Madonna. 

Three Strikes with Mike Daly, Padres Assistant Director of Player Development:

Both Schoolcraft and Bryan Balzer have tremendous stuff, but need work with their control. How is the organization working with them?

Mike Daly: Bryan is a guy who went out last year to Lake Elsinore, and he’s going back, but we expect him to spend more time at a higher level. Hopefully, he will take what he learned out there last year, what we saw in the Instructional League, and what he has shown here at camp, and show that he is ahead of that level. We expect him to go out there and really put it together.

With Kruz, there is just a tremendous amount of talent and upside, and it will be his first full professional year. He’s had a very strong camp; he needs mound time in games.

Kale Fountain looked very good throughout the spring, especially in the Spring Breakout game. How excited is the organization about him?

Mike Daly: Kale is a tremendous athlete, and he’s fully healthy. The goal with Kale, which is somewhat similar to that of Alex McCoy in Fort Wayne, is to get him 500 at-bats. If that happens, as we saw in the Spring Breakout game, a lot of good things will happen.

Both Harvey and Madonna have a lot of upside in the same position. What are your plans for them this season?

Mike Daly: They will split the catching position, three and three [games each week]. We also plan to give them some time at first base and designated hitter. Right now, both of them are going out on a very similar plan. Both are big, strong kids.

Catch a Rising Star

LHP Kruz Schoolcraft was the Padres’ top pick in last July’s draft, and he is a pitcher Padres fans should make the trip into Riverside County to watch. The soon-to-be 19-year-old starred as a two-way player in high school, but he will focus solely on pitching as he begins his first full year as a professional. He got his professional feet wet last season, when he made one late-season start for the Storm. The 6-foot-9 lefty features a fastball capable of topping out in the high-90s, an excellent changeup, and a slider. He is an imposing figure on the mound and is arguably the top prospect in a thin system. Last season, the Padres kept 2024 first-rounder Kash Mayfield in Lake Elsinore all season after he dealt with a shoulder issue early in the season. Assuming Schoolcraft can avoid any injury setbacks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Fort Wayne by season’s end.

On the Spot

After battling a knee injury and recovering from Tommy John surgery last season, Kale Fountain’s stock seems to be trending in the right direction. He had a great performance in the Spring Breakout game, including a majestic home run in the Padres’ tilt with the Cubs’ top prospects. His performance earned him First-Team Spring Breakout honors. Fountain put up impressive exit velocities, maxing out at 110 mph during the prospect game. He also homered in the Padres’ spring finale against the Mariners. With the myriad of injuries behind him, Fountain will figure prominently in the Storm batting order. He will see most of his time in right field this season, where his surprising speed could be a real asset. The 20-year-old could be poised for a breakout in the Cal League this season.

Under the Radar

Jose Verdugo, 18, is the youngest player on the Storm roster and is a name that many Padres fans may not have heard of. He signed with the club last year for just $10,000 out of Mexico. He was also a part of the Padres’ Spring Breakout roster, and he delivered with a hit in two plate appearances. He impressed last season in the DSL, hitting .337/.437/.505 with a pair of homers. Despite the minimal signing bonus, it’s clear the Padres are intrigued by his potential. He split time between shortstop and second base for the DSL group last season and figures to see time at both with the Storm in 2026.

Storm Roster Preview

Projected Lineup: 

1B Luke Cantwell*               C Ty Harvey/Truitt Madonna
2B Jose Verdugo                 CF Ryan Wideman
SS Jorge Quintana#            RF Kale Fountain
3B Kerrington Cross           LF Conner Westenburg
*Left-handed hitter  #Switch-hitter

Pitching Staff

LHSP Kruz Schoolcraft       RHRP Sean Barnett
RHSP Bryan Balzer             RHRP Ethan Long
RHSP Landry Jurecka         LHP Javier Chacon
RHSP Nick Falter                 RHP Daichi Moriki
RHP Winyer Chourio           LHP Jamie Hitt
LHP Joseph Herrera            RHRP Brandon Langley
RHP Carlos Medina             RHP Rordy Mejía
RHP Tyler Schmitt

Starting Pitching: After Schoolcraft, who already appears on many top 100 lists in the industry, the rotation features a group of pitchers looking to break out in the California League. Bryan Balzer is back for another stint in Lake Elsinore, and he will look to find more consistency. The 21-year-old routinely touched the upper-90s with his fastball last year but struggled badly with command. In 50 innings with the Storm, he walked 28 batters and hit 14 more. Opposing hitters often tagged him for loud contact, which resulted in a 7.92 ERA. Despite the struggles, Balzer has tantalizing stuff, and it’s easy to see why the organization believes he can thrive given another opportunity. … Landry Jurecka, the Padres’ 18th-round pick last year, made a late-season cameo with the Storm, appearing in six games down the stretch. The 22-year-old attended Queens University of Charlotte. … Undrafted free agent Nick Falter signed with the Padres last season and has yet to make his professional debut. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound righty had a big season last season, pitching for Denison, a Division III school in Ohio. He went 12-0, with a 2.52 ERA in 15 starts. He made four appearances in the MLB Draft League, pitching for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, where he pitched to a 6.32 ERA. … Righty Winyer Chourio bounced between the rotation and the bullpen and showed some flashes of potential with the Storm late last season. His best outing came against Inland Empire on August 29, when he allowed one run in four innings, walking just one and striking out six. He had a 6.30 ERA in 20 innings for the Storm. He will likely piggyback to open the year … While Hitt isn’t the best name for a pitcher, last year’s eighth-rounder Jamie Hitt will be the highest-drafted pitcher on the Storm roster other than Schoolcraft, at least until righty Michael Salina is ready to join the club later this spring. The senior inked a below-slot, $10,000 bonus to sign with the Padres last season. The 23-year-old worked exclusively as a reliever for the Oklahoma Sooners last season, pitching to a 3.82 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 35.1 innings, but the Padres are open to seeing what happens by stretching him out.

Pen: The Storm bullpen features a pair of players who have hit their share of homers in the system as hitters. Sean Barnett began last season with the Storm, attempting to develop as a two-way player. However, that experiment ended midway through the season. Barnett hit five homers between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne last season while striking out in more than a third of his plate appearances. Barnett moved to the mound in Fort Wayne but produced horrid results, including an ERA of 21.09 in 14 games. In 10.2 innings, he walked 16, hit five batters, and uncorked six wild pitches. Going down a level should allow the former Wingate star to refine his arsenal and potentially step into a late-inning reliever role. … Ethan Long signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State in 2023 and had success at the plate for the Storm in 2024, hitting .271/.406/.393, good for a 123 wRC+ in 41 games. He opened last year in Fort Wayne, where he struggled mightily at the plate, hitting .184 with a 31% K-rate in 49 games. Long worked as ASU’s closer during the beginning of his freshman year before dealing with a shoulder issue. In high school, he worked his fastball up to 97 mph. At 24, he’s a bit old for the California League, but like Barnett, he is looking for a second chance at developing as a pitcher. … Javier Chacon is back for his fourth season with the Storm after missing most of last year with an injury. The Cuban-born lefty has always been able to miss bats, but he’s struggled to command the strike zone. He’s still just 23, but 2026 looks to be a make-or-break year for the southpaw. … Daichi Moriki, 22, has one of the more intriguing backstories on the Lake Elsinore roster. The righty was a first-round pick out of high school by the Hanshin Tigers in the NPB draft back in 2021. He was lauded for a high velocity but struggled to throw strikes consistently. His velocity never took a step forward, and he completely lost the feel for the strike zone. He was ultimately released by the Tigers, allowing him to sign a minor league free agent deal with the Padres over the winter. Moriki will make his North American pro debut while attempting to develop as a member of the Storm bullpen. 

Catching: The Storm have a pair of interesting prospects behind the dish in Ty Harvey and Truitt Madonna. Harvey earned the second-largest bonus in the Padres’ draft class last season, signing for $1.5 million, buying him out of a commitment to Florida State. The fifth-rounder with intriguing power upside should hit in the middle of the order. … Madonna, 19, was drafted in the 11th round last year, and the Padres signed him for $654,000 to pry him away from a commitment to UCLA. The Washington native impressed in the MLB Draft League last season, hitting .279/.360/.512 against much-older competition. … System veteran Victor Duarte rounds out the group, as he provides an experienced option behind the plate. This will be Duarte’s fourth stint in the Cal League. He produced a .524 OPS in 17 games last season for the Storm. 

Infield: The Storm infield will be headlined by 18-year-old shortstop Jorge Quintana, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Milwaukee Brewers. Quintana spent most of the 2025 season in the complex league with the Brewers, where he hit .264/.349/.403 with three homers and 19 stolen bases. The switch-hitting infielder saw time in August with the Storm, delivering a .582 OPS. Despite the struggles offensively, he showed excellent range and a good arm at shortstop. He turns 19 in early April. … While Verdugo doesn’t offer much physical projection, his hit tool and baseball instincts are very high. Look for him to be the primary second baseman, shifting over to shortstop on days off for Quintana. … Luke Cantwell actually made his pro debut in Fort Wayne last year, but he will start this season in the Cal League. The former University of Pittsburgh first baseman played in five games with the ‘Caps last year and connected on a homer. He was the Padres’ final selection in the 2025 MLB Draft after delivering a .992 OPS in college. He should add some left-handed pop in the middle of the Storm lineup. … Kerrington Cross was a senior sign last season after being named the Big-12 Player of the Year at Cincinnati and a Golden Spikes Award semi-finalist. He had a .648 OPS in 14 games with the Storm before an injury ended his year. He’ll see time at both corners. … Undrafted free agent Bradley Frye and tenth-rounder Justin DeCriscio will both see time on the dirt for the Storm. Both players, now 23, made brief appearances at the end of last season.

Outfield: For the second consecutive year, Kale Fountain is working on a new position. The Nebraska high school product was pushed to first base last spring by injuries, but the organization wants to put his speed to better use in right field. If he can get to the power at the plate the Padres envisioned when they agreed to a fifth-round record signing bonus in 2024, they will certainly figure out a home on the field for him. … Fountain will be flanked by last year’s third-round pick, Ryan Wideman. The athletic center fielder had a massive junior year at Western Kentucky, hitting .398/.466/.652 while stealing 45 bases. He played in 26 games for the Storm last season, struggling to a .229/.330/.271 slash-line. Wideman possesses incredible athleticism, but some poor swing mechanics and swing-and-miss issues made the jump from Conference USA to the Cal League overwhelming at the plate. He will need to make more frequent contact and improve his routes in the outfield to turn his exciting tools into performance. … George Bilecki was the Padres’ 15th-rounder last season out of Division II Lewis University. The Chicago native was slated to play his senior season at Arizona State before the Padres nabbed him in last year’s draft. Bilecki had a monster junior campaign for Lewis University in which he clobbered 23 homers and produced an OPS north of 1.200. He saw time down the stretch for the Storm, struggling with a .398 OPS. He will look to make the most out of a second opportunity with the Storm. … 22-year-old Conner Westenburg made the Storm out of spring training, after signing as an undrafted free agent out of McNeese State. He stole 26 bases and had a .990 OPS in his senior season.