Overview
The Fort Wayne roster will house a bulk of the nationally-recognized talent in the Padres’ farm system, as well as six of our top 20-ranked prospects. Along with the influx of known names, the roster also includes several players who could break out in 2026.
Three Strikes with Mike Daly, the Padres Assistant Director of Player Development:
Kash Mayfield looked good when he was on the field last season for Lake Elsinore. Why do you believe he should be able to double his workload for the coming season?
Mike Daly: When these guys go through it for the first time, I don’t think they understand everything that goes into it. Kash had a strong offseason, and he knew early on that he was going to Fort Wayne this year, so it allowed him to really focus on what he needed to.
Last year, he did make a lot of starts for us, probably not the number of innings that he would have liked. He throws strikes, and as we saw in the Breakout Game, he has a lot of different weapons. You know, he’s left-handed, throws strikes, and has talent. There is a lot to like. If he can go out there and throw 125 innings this season, chances are there are going to be some really good accompanying numbers.
Kannon Kemp and Carson Montgomery are two names many fans won’t know much about. What has impressed you the most about each one?
Mike Daly: Kemp throws a lot of strikes, has great size, improved velocity on the fastball, and his slider and changeup have been great. I think Carson is at the point in his career where he is ready to go. He pitched well in the Fall League, and he has looked good in camp. He’s been a very well-known pitcher since he was in high school. We talked a little about [Lake] Elsinore with him, but because of his age and talent, we thought that Fort Wayne was the appropriate place for him.
Alex McCoy came on at the end of last year and has a huge upside, both literally and figuratively. What do you expect from him this year?
Mike Daly: Alex is a really good human being, talented and physical, with a ton of upside. He was hurt some in Lake Elsinore last year, but he really came on at the end of the year. He has put himself in a great position. He has a nice swing; the power is there, and he also makes very good contact. The key is to keep him on the field as much as possible. If he is healthy, we expect the production to be there.
From a physical standpoint, there is just stuff that you don’t see every day, and he is a very hard worker who is always looking to get better. If he gets 500 at-bats, it will be fun to see what he can do.
Catch a Rising Star
Kash Mayfield, In terms of results, 2025 was a solid debut season for the Oklahoma native, as he worked 60.2 innings, posting a 3.06 FIP and 3.39 xFIP, while striking out a dominant 34.1% of the batters he faced. The organization is hopeful that the already 21-year-old Mayfield can work well beyond 100 innings in 2026 and see an uptick in velocity. For a majority of the 2025 season, his four-seamer sat at 90-91 mph. While that mark came up slowly as the season rolled on, he still only topped out at 95. Mayfield’s best secondary offering is his changeup, which sees around 12 to 15 inches of arm-side run. It will be interesting to see how Mayfield’s breaking ball fares, as while it did generate a 35% whiff rate against Cal League hitters, it has more of a slurve shape that could see trouble vs. High-A Hitters.
On the Spot: It wasn’t too long ago that Isaiah Lowe looked like one of the more interesting arms in the Padres system when he was dominating the Cal League in 2024. But at the end of 2025, the organization opted to sit him out for the final series of the year after he looked lost for much of August. In 2026, he’s lost his rotation spot, will need to adapt to a bullpen role, and appears to be pitching for his life/spot in the organization. His fastball, as a starter, sat in the low 90s with only around 16 inches of ride and topped out at 98 mph. Perhaps the switch to the bullpen will allow him to see an uptick in velocity. Lowe will also need to see one of his secondaries to make a leap in 2026. The sweeper has shown flashes, but has struggled to be consistent. This offseason, he noted he has continued to hammer away at his cutter, an offering he plans to use more this season.
Under the Radar: The Padres inked Alex McCoy as an undrafted free agent in 2024. After a slow start with Lake Elsinore in 2025, which included him tearing his quadriceps in mid-May, he exploded in the second half of the year. Yes, he is an older prospect at 24, but he still flashes fun tools. McCoy’s Max Exit Velocity of 118.9 mph would have been the fifth in Major League Baseball last season. McCoy’s overall plate discipline – including a 32.1% whiff rate and 73% in-zone contact rate – was far from perfect in 2025. But like the rest of his game, he saw noticeable improvements upon his return in July and posted a 10.3% walk rate against only a 21% strikeout rate over his final 37 games played last season.
TinCaps Roster Preview
Projected Lineup
1B Zach Evans OF Kavares Tears*
2B Dylan Grego# CF Kasen Wells*
3B Rosman Verdugo OF Alex McCoy
SS Jonathan Vastine C Lamar King Jr./Carlos Rodriguez*
* Left-handed hitter #Switch-hitter
Pitching Staff
LHSP Kash Mayfield RHRP Isaiah Lowe
RHSP Kannon Kemp RHRP Clark Candiotti
RHSP Jaxon Dalena% RHRP Tucker Musgrove%
RHSP Carson Montgomery
RHSP Maikel Miralles
RHSP Abraham Parra
% On the Injured List
MadFriars’ Top 20 Prospects in Fort Wayne: LHSP Kash Mayfield (#3), OF Alex McCoy (#8), C/1B Lamar King Jr. (#12), RHSP Kannon Kemp (#14), RHRP Tucker Musgrove, and RHP/SP Carson Montgomery (#20)
Kannon Kemp. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Starting Pitching: Along with Mayfield, the TinCaps starting rotation will feature a few interesting names to follow. 2023 sixth-round selection Kannon Kemp will look to put together his first full professional season in 2026. After shoulder surgery at the end of spring training that cost him all of the 2024 season, Kemp returned to the mound as a 20-year-old in 2025. Things started slowly, but after some time tinkering with things at the Arizona Complex League, Kemp’s arsenal began to show life. Most notably, his fastball has seen a jump in velocity, now sitting 96 to 97 mph and topping out at 100. He ended last season on a high note in the Arizona Fall League, where he allowed one run over seven innings and his stuff induced a 28.6% whiff rate…Carson Montgomery will be playing his first affiliate ball since April 2024, when a torn UCL forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery and ended his year. The Florida State right-hander did make an appearance in 2025, throwing 10.2 innings at the AFL with mixed results. Montgomery boasts two fastballs: a four-seamer around 2400 rpm that runs 94-96 mph with a decent ride, averaging 16 inches of IVB. For his secondaries, Montgomery flashes a plus mid-80s slider and a high-80s changeup that can get up to 15 inches of arm side run… After making a handful of short appearances at Lake Elsinore to end last season, Jaxon Dalena will fit into the middle of the TinCaps rotation in 2026 when he returns from the IL. At 23 years of age, he will be older than many of his peers, but he’s still a relatively low-mileage arm who boasts some of the more metrically appealing stuff among starting arms in the system. His four-seamer sits 94-95 mph, while topping out at 98 mph, and can see up to 18 inches of induced vertical break. To pair with it, he owns a handful of interesting secondaries like a low-80s gyro slider with decent two-plane tilt, a low-90s cutter that flashed more ride than traditional cutters, and a mid-80s changeup that saw about 10 inches of arm-side fade…
Tucker Musgrove. Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Pen: If there is an area on this roster with the most question marks for the 2026 TinCaps, it’s with their bullpen. Vicarte Domingo worked high-leverage innings last season in Lake Elsinore and will probably see similar opportunities in the Midwest League. In 62 innings last season, he posted a 3.15 FIP, 32.0% K%, and 3.86 ERA. His four-seamer flashes some fun characteristics, showing around 19 inches of induced vertical break while sitting in the mid-90s… After a disappointing 2025, Isaiah Lowe returns to Fort Wayne in 2026, and with a new role, as the right-hander will be shifted to the bullpen to start the season. The decision comes on the heels of Lowe posting a 4.88 FIP, 5.07 xFIP, and 5.69 ERA over 91.2 IP and struggling to miss barrels, posting a 16.2% strikeout rate and a 9.0% swinging strike rate. … Another starter from last year’s team making the move to the bullpen will be Clark Candiotti. A season ago in 48.1 innings, Candiotti posted a 5.77 ERA, 4.03 FIP, and 3.90 xFIP. While he was hit hard at times, he showed a knack for getting strikeouts, generating a 28.9% K rate and a 15.5% swinging-strike rate. Candiotti’s fastball won’t blow anyone away; however, he does claim a few fun secondary offerings, like a high-80s splitter that saw around 14 inches of arm-side fade, and a mid-80s gyro slider. … While he won’t start the season with Fort Wayne due to a reported minor setback, Tucker Musgrove will be, without question, the most interesting arm to watch jog out of the TinCaps bullpen. His fastball is potentially the best in the system. The pitch sits consistently at 96-97 mph and tops out at 100 with 17 inches of ride. His second fastball is an upper-90s sinker with a foot of induced vertical break and 14.8 of arm-side run. Musgrove is also capable of uncorking a trio of plus-breaking balls that include a mid-80s slider that displays good two-plane tilt while spinning at 2,770 rpm. In his limited work last season, the slider generated a 39% whiff rate. Along with the slider, Musgrove throws a tight-spinning, high-80s sweeper that averaged 13 inches of horizontal break and a low-80s curveball.
Catching: Lamar King Jr. will see a bulk of the catching duties in 2026. After dealing with a flurry of injuries ranging from concussions to shoulder surgery in his first two years in the organization, the Padres’ 2022 fourth-round selection finally found a way to stay on the field for a full season in 2025. King made 97 plate appearances with Fort Wayne at the end of 2025. In that small 24-game sample size, he tallied only six extra base hits, a .067 ISO, and 70 wRC+. King’s swing is simple, with the only truly moving part being a handle wiggle during his load. With solid natural raw strength, his 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame, and quality bat speed, King can play for power, but mostly gap-to-gap. He posted a 110 mph max exit velocity last season. … Carlos Rodriguez should also see opportunities behind the dish. The 22-year-old native of Venezuela had a strong 2025, as he posted a 139 wRC+ and .413 wOBA in 223 plate appearances between the ACL and Lake Elsinore last season.
Infield: Rosman Verdugo will return to Fort Wayne for the 2026 season and once again split time between multiple infield spots. A season ago, he posted a 104 wRC+ and a .338 wOBA against Midwest League pitching. The still only 21-year-old Verdugo will look to improve his plate discipline this season, as last year he posted a 32.2% strikeout rate and 25.7% whiff rate, both in the 10th percentile of High-A Hitters. Even with the swing-and-miss that plagued him last season, Verdugo flashed ample power with a .149 Isolated Power and launching 13 home runs; Both marks ranked inside the top 20 of qualified Midwest League hitters. … Dylan Grego should man the middle infield for Fort Wayne. The 22-year-old was the Padres ‘ 13th-round selection out of Ball State in the 2025 MLB Draft. He’d play 32 games with Lake Elsinore last season, posting a 95 wRC+, .337 wOBA, and 10.1% BB%. … Zach Evans struggled mightily with Fort Wayne last season, posting a 35 wRC+, .225 wOBA, and logging only two extra-base hits in 105 plate appearances… Jonathan Vastine will again man shortstop as he did for the tail end of 2025. A three-year starter at Vanderbilt, Vastine is a glove-first prospect who has flashed good range, above-average arm strength, and has shown the ability to make throws off platform from a number of arm slots.
Alex McCoy’s huge frame helps him generate big power. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Outfield: A lot of power potential will roam the outfield grass of Parkview Field this season. Likely seeing time and multiple outfield spots, and perhaps time at first base, will be Alex McCoy. Standing at a whopping 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds, McCoy is one of the most physically gifted prospects in the system. Over his final 156 plate appearances last season with Lake Elsinore, he posted a 164 wRC+ and .454 wOBA… Kavares Tears will see most of his time out in right field. At 6-foot and 205 Tears made plenty of loud contact last season with 106.4, 90th percentile exit velocity, and flashed true plus power to all fields. Mixed in with the power, though, was plenty of swing and miss with Tears posting a 67.5% in-zone contact rate, and a far too high 34.2% whiff rate. Those are marks he’ll look to dramatically cut down on in 2026… Kasen Wells will balance out the power profiles in the corners with his speed and bat-to-ball skills. The 5-foot-9 Wells posted a 103 wRC+ and hit .271 between Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne a season ago. He showcased his skills on the base path, stealing 32 bases on 38 attempts.
