Padres Prospects Week in Review: April 14-April 19

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Jase Bowen continues to reach base, posting a .435 clip and tying for the team lead with five runs scored on the week. In five games, he had five extra-base hits and walked four times.  Unfortunately, his speed didn’t translate into success on the bases, as he was caught stealing on both of his attempts. On the year, the 25-year-old has a .350 on-base percentage, but is striking out 26.3% of the time, which is slightly better than his numbers last year with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate. He can play all three outfield positions, but is considered the team’s best center fielder. … Nick Schnell, 26, blasted a pair of home runs in the three games he played and tied for the team lead with five RBI. Pablo Reyes, a 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic who has seen major league time in seven seasons, had a solid week with six hits, one of which went out of the park, to go along with three walks in four games. Reyes has played everywhere but catcher in his career, but has seen the majority of his time this year at second and third. … Mason McCoy, 31, only had three hits and struck out six times in five games, but all three went over the fence to give him the interesting slash line of .200/368/.800. … Logan Gillaspie, 29, got the other win this week, appearing in two games and throwing 4.1 innings with six punchouts against just one walk.  It was a bit of a bounce-back as Gillaspie has a 6.35 ERA in 11. 1 innings on the year. … Ethan Routzahn, 28, didn’t allow a run in any of his three appearances. The sidewinder from St. John’s University has been solid in eight appearances this year with a 2.79 ERA. … Eli Vialobos, 29, one of the Padres’ pro scouts’ favorite offseason signings, was also perfect in his two appearancesHe struck out four in 3.2 innings, allowing just one runner on a single. The Marlins drafted Villalobos out of Cal State-Long Beach in 2018 and he made three big league appearances for them in 2024. He spent last year pitching for Chihuahua in Mexico, posting a 3.40 ERA in 39.2 innings. His four-seam fastball can sit comfortably at 97, and he mixes in a splitter and slider. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Lost series at Midland RockHounds 1-5)

Player of the Week: If there were questions about Miguel Mendez‘s readiness to handle Double-A after last year’s 8.06 ERA at the end of the year, he is working to dispel them quickly. This week, the 23-year-old threw five innings for the first time this season as he continues to build up his pitch limit, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six. He also earned the only win of the week for the Missions.  In 12.2 innings this season, the Padres’ number 4 prospect has a 1.42 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate. … The Missions scored only 13 runs on three homers over the six games of the series. Romeo Sanabria contributed two of the home runs and drove in five runs as the big first baseman went 5-for-18 and slugged .667. Despite a cold start, Sanabria now leads the team with two home runs.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: The Padres’ top position prospect, Ethan Salas, showed signs of getting going with a 4-for-15 line on the week with a double, walk, RBI, and two stolen bases. While the results have not been pretty so far, Salas is working more counts and swinging at fewer balls out of the zone than he did in 2024. … While the Missions barely hit .200 on the week, big Leandro Cedeño collected a team high six hits. The 27-year-old first baseman, returning to the US after three seasons in Japan, hit .353/.450/.412 in his first full week with the Missions despite an unsustainable 40% K-rate, thanks largely to a .667 average on balls in play. … Albert Fabian came back from a four-game suspension on Tuesday and went 4-for-14 with a walk and two strikeouts. The 24-year-old outfielder was one of the system’s most productive power hitters in 2022-23, but hasn’t gotten to it as much in Double-A since returning from a serious leg injury in 2024. He has one home run through nine games this season. … After a stellar first week, Luis Gutierrez only lasted three innings against Midland this time out. The lefty allowed four runs on four hits after allowing one run across his first two starts. The 22-year-old still is averaging over a strikeout an inning and has a 3.75 ERA. … Francis Peña looks to be getting back on track in his return to Double-A. Over two games this week, the 25-year-old allowed two hits and a pair of walks over 3.1 innings, but he struck out five. On the year, he boasts a 30.3% strikeout rate and batters are hitting just .125 off him, but he has walked nine in 6.2 innings. … Eric Yost came on in a piggyback relief role for the third time this season and continued to produce stellar results. The 23-year-old allowed one hit over four scoreless innings. He walked three and struck out three. On the season, Yost has a 0.93 ERA and .188 BAA, relying on a five-way mix. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Split series at Lake County Captains 3-3)

Players of the week: For the first 31 games of his career in High-A Fort Wayne, Lamar King Jr. looked overmatched. However, this week in Lake County, the former fourth-round pick seemed to flip the switch. The 22-year-old catcher had his best week of his short Midwest League career going 9-for-21 with three doubles and his first High-A home run. King’s week included a pair of three-hit nights as he posted a 1.143 OPS and .512 wOBA. Thus far this year, King owns a 83.8% contact rate and and just an 8.7% swinging strike rate, notably improved from 74.1% and 13.0% last season. … Kash Mayfield was masterful in his lone start of the week for Fort Wayne, working five scoreless innings on Friday and allowing just one hit while punching out eight. The southpaw needed only 56 pitches and generated a career-high 18 whiffs, striking out at least two hitters in three of the five innings he worked. He heavily favored his changeup and fastball to generate his swings-and-misses, with the four-seamer getting 10 whiffs and his changeup eight. In 12 innings of work on the year, Mayfield has yet to allow a run while yielding just one hit and putting together a stellar 40.0% strikeout rate.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: While he isn’t player of the week, Alex McCoy was exceptional once again, going 9-for-23 with four extra base hits that included his third home run of the season. It’s a very small two week samples size, but McCoy has looked unfazed by High-A pitching. Thus far, McCoy owns a 151 wRC+, .436 wOBA and .991 OPS. Still, it’s fair to ask whether McCoy can sustain his results in the long term with a very aggressive 56% swing rate that contributes to just a 3.6% walk rate. If he can keep tormenting High-A pitching, he could be among the early promotions to San Antonio late this spring. … Rosman Verdugo went 8-for-24 on the week, blasting his first two home runs of the season. Even after the outburst, the infielder has a 69 wRC+ and .298 wOBA this season. While it’s early, the Mexico native is putting bat to ball a bit more often,  posting a 75.5% contact rate to start the year, up significantly from his 66.5% mark a season ago … What’s been and interesting start to the season for Kavares Tears continued this week as the University of Tennessee alum went 2-for-15, with both hits being booming home runs. He also walked seven times and scored five runs. Despite hitting just .133 for the week, he ended the six game stretch with a .430 wOBA and .942 OPS. So far this season Tears is walking at a 23.1% rate which ranks seventh in the Midwest League. … Jake Cunningham, a 2023 fifth-round pick of Baltimore, stayed hot this week going 9-for-19 with three home runs and a double. This season, the 23-year-old outfielder has posted a 196 wRC+ and .511 wOBA. His four home runs are the third most in the Midwest League. … Tucker Musgrove made his first two appearances of the year. In his first, he struck out the side. Meanwhile in his second he allowed two runs, both coming off a two run shot. In the two outings he generated seven whiffs and a 58.3% whiff rate. … Abraham Parra was solid Sunday as the right-hander turned in a quality start, allowing one unearned run on two hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out three. Parra, 20, generated five whiffs and a 18.5% whiff rate, and now owns a 2.13 ERA through three starts for the TinCaps. (Clark Fahrenthold)

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost series at Stockton Ports, 2-4) 

Players of the Week: The Storm left Southern California for the first time this season, traveling up to Stockton to take on the Ports. The Storm were one inning away from a split on the road before blowing a ninth-inning lead to lose the series. … At the plate, Justin DeCriscio had an excellent week at the plate, hitting .273/.333/.500 with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. The 23-year-old hit safely in the first five games of the series before going hitless Sunday. Through 13 games, the former USD and NC State infielder has the third-lowest K-rate (12.8%) in the California League. … Righty Carlos Medina had a nice week, pitching 6.1 scoreless innings over a pair of outings. The 21-year-old pitched out of the bullpen on Wednesday, striking out six Ports in just 3.1 innings pitched. He allowed just one hit and didn’t walk anyone. Medina turned around and started Sunday and once again, he kept Stockton scoreless. The native of Mexico signed in December for $150,000 as an international free agent. Through 12 innings, he’s walked just one batter and punched out 13.  

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Kerrington Cross only had 11 plate appearances on the week, but he made them count. Last year’s Big 12 Player of the Year delivered a 1.420 OPS with four runs, a homer, and three walks. In nine games, the former University of Cincinnati infielder has a 130 wRC+ in 2026. … Infielder Bradley Frye continued his hot start to the season, hitting .368/.455/.421 with a double and a pair of walks. Through three weeks, the undrafted free agent out of Mercer University has been Lake Elsinore’s best hitter. He ranks second in the Cal League with a .390 average, although that is driven by an unsustainable .500 BABIP. He’s posted a 10% walk rate and his 33% line-drive rate ranks seventh in the league. … Outfielder Ryan Wideman had a quiet series, posting just a .547 OPS in six games. Despite the poor week, Wideman has shown progress at the plate. Through three weeks, he’s struck out in just 18.8% of his plate appearances – down 10 points from last year. … Kale Fountain performed well against Stockton, with a homer and a team-high five RBI. The 2024 fifth-round pick has shown impressive exit velocities this season but he’s still striking out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Through three weeks, the Nebraska native has a .646 OPS. … Last year’s first-rounder Kruz Schoolcraft shook off a pair of disastrous outings and looked more comfortable on Friday. He tossed three innings, allowing a pair of runs (one earned). He looked especially more comfortable over the last pair of innings, with his fastball command improving as the outing progressed. The young lefty is on schedule to start again Friday. … Javier Chacon made a pair of relief outings and pitched to a 2.08 ERA with seven strikeouts in four innings. The Cuban-born lefty is back in Lake Elsinore for a fourth straight season. (Kevin Charity).