San Diego Padres Week in Review: May 5-11

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won series vs Tacoma Rainiers 4-2)

Players of the Week: Infielder Pablo Reyes had another monster week, hitting .421/.478/1.000 with three homers to lead the El Paso offense to a series win. The 32-year-old, who has logged 259 big league games over parts of seven seasons, has reached base in 27 straight games in his first season in the Padres organization. After driving in a team-best 10 runs against Tacoma, he has 21 on the year. He punched out four times in the series, which constitutes a high total for the the right-handed hitter who has a stellar 12.1% strikeout rate for the season. … JP Sears turned in his best start of the year this week, working five scoreless innings and striking out eight to pick up a victory. After coming into the year as a favorite for a back-of-the-rotation spot with the big league club, the lefty carried a 7.00 ERA through his first six starts with El Paso. With Lucas Giolito now joining a numbers-heavy rotation and Jhony Brito beginning to work back from last year’s elbow surgery, Sears will need a lot more outings like this one to stay in the mix for an opportunity this season.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: While four different Chihuahuas relievers had ERAs over 15 on the week, the back end of the bullpen had a great series. Garrett Hawkins, whose velocity and fastball life continue to lag this year, had a pair of scoreless outings, striking out three over as many innings. The big righty was in the zone more this week than he had been, walking only one batter. … Logan Gillaspie turned in 5.1 scoreless frames over three appearances on the week as he held the Rainiers hitless and gave up only one walk. Now in his third season in the organization, the 29-year-old righty shaved more than a run off his ERA in the series and now has a 4.44 mark in 24.1 innings this year. … Sidearmer Ethan Routzahn continued to deliver results, making a pair of scoreless outings and recording his third save of the year. An undrafted free agent back in 2021, the righty has a 3.02 out of the pen for El Paso in parts of three seasons. … Offensively, Jase Bowen continued his torrid start to the year, collecting three homers to fuel a .773 slugging percentage for the week. He punched out six times in 24 plate appearances, dropping his K rate for the year. Bowen collected a triple and now has a league-leading four on the year. … Fellow minor league free agents Nick Solak and Samad Taylor continued their strong seasons, as Solak hit .429 with a 1.049 OPS and Taylor went 7-for-21. Taylor, in particular, remains a depth option for the big league club if they need speed and versatility off the bench later this year. (David Jay)

San Antonio Missions (Won series vs Midland Rockhounds 4-2)

Players of the Week: For the first time in 2026 the Missions won a series as former first-round pick Carson Tucker continued his onslaught against the Texas League. The 24-year-old, who signed with the Padres this past offseason after being completely out of baseball in 2024 and playing in the independent Pioneer league last year, went 8-for-15 with three doubles, three runs scored, and a walk. While he only had one RBI on the week, he made it count, delivering the walk-off hit on Sunday. His three doubles this week equaled his total in 29 games at Low-A before the Guardians released him in 2023. Tucker is hitting .429 with a 1.077 OPS for the month. … Fernando Sanchez cruised to his first win of the year with his first five-inning start since June, 2024. The lefty tied a career-high with eight strikeouts while not allowing a run over five innings. The 25-year-old has allowed one earned run over his last 9.1 innings, though his ERA remains inflated by a four-run, one-out appearance early in the year. While Sanchez does not throw hard, he has generated a lot of whiffs on his off-speed pitches and has a strong 33.7% strikeout rate this season despite a troubling 17.4% walk rate.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: While Ethan Salas might have been beaten out as player of the week, the 19-year-old still had a great one. Salas went 8-for-22, with two doubles as he scored four and drove in four. Salas failed to reach base on Thursday for the first time since April 17, though he did hit a sac fly. Salas is hitting .344/.436/.625 this month. … Leandro Cedeño continues to impress in his first year in the Padres organization.  Cedeño went 5-for-19, with two doubles, a home run, three walks and three RBI. The 27-year-old is hitting .325 with a 1.006 OPS in his return to the Texas League for the first time since 2022. … Multiple players contributed to the winning week as Ryan Jackson, Tirso Ornelas, Braedon Karpathios, and Romeo Sanabria all reached base at least eight times with an extra-base hit on the week. … For the first time since last May, Jagger Haynes threw six innings in back-to-back starts. In this week’s outing, the lefty allowed two runs on seven hits; he walked three and struck out three.  The 23-year-old has now allowed two runs in three straight starts (17 innings) after allowing nine over his first 11 innings of the year. … Eric Yost also tossed six innings of two run ball in his outing. The 23-year-old threw six innings for the first time this year and has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his seven appearances this year. Yost has jumped his strikeout rate to 28.9% this year, easily the best mark of his career and nearly double what he managed in a late-season promotion to San Antonio last year. Opponents are hitting just .179 against him on the year. … Victor Lizarraga picked up a pair of wins on the week, working five scoreless innings in his start and then coming back with three innings of one-run ball in relief of Lucas Giolito. The Imperial Beach native only struck out three on the week, while issuing three walks and a hit batter. After a nightmare start to the year, he has a 2.65 ERA over his last four appearances. … Honorable mention to Andrew Moore who struck out five over two hitless innings. Moore has punched out seven over three innings this month, and has a 1.64 ERA on the year despite continuing to walk too many batters. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (won series against Beloit, 4-2) 

Players of the Week: Clay Edmondson worked a pair of scoreless outings for Fort Wayne, picking up two saves. The 22-year-old UNC-Asheville product only allowed one batter to reach on a walk while striking out five, lowering his ERA to 0.63 with a 1.73 FIP. The sidewinder owns an absurd 38.2% strikeout rate and, when opponents have made contact, they’ve hit it into the ground at a 56.7% rate. Edmondson leads all of MiLB with seven saves and has gotten to that total faster than any TinCap in franchise history than Brad Brach and Kevin Quackenbush, who each did it in 10 appearances. … There are a several strong offensive performers for Fort Wayne, but outfielder Kasen Wells takes the honors for the week. The undersized lefty, drafted out of Weatherford Junior College in 2024, went 6-for-17 against Beloit with a pair of doubles, an RBI, three runs scored, and three stolen bases. While Wells has solid bat-to-ball skills and offers strong defense in center, he offers little power in his profile. Over his past 10 games, he’s hitting .258 with a .666 OPS.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: With each passing week, Lamar King Jr.  continues to look more and more comfortable against High-A pitching. The 22-year-old went 4-for-12 at the plate and drew six walks against just two punch outs. He added a double and stole three bases. Over his past 15 games, King is now hitting .326 with a .910 OPS. In that same span, he has walked (11) more than he has struck out (10). For the season, he now claims and 121 wRC+, .390 wOBA, and .807 OPS. He still needs to get the ball in the air more often to boost his power production, as he owns a a 49.3% ground ball rate. … After earning Midwest League Player of the Month honors for April, Alex McCoy went hitless for the week against Beloit, drawing only two walks while striking out four times. It’s the first bad stretch for McCoy dating back to last July. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts as High-A pitchers continue to tinker their game plans against him. Even with the hitless week, McCoy is still batting .284 with an .885 OPS in 2026. … Kash Mayfield was brilliant in his Friday start as he allowed just one hit over five innings, walking one and striking out three. Friday’s start marked the second time this season Mayfield has pitched at least five innings while allowing one hit. For the season he owns a 1.82 ERA in 24.1 innings, though his 3.94 FIP suggests there has been some luck in the results. Notably, the left-hander topped out at 95.7 mph in the outing. The organization will hope he gets back up to that velocity more consistently as he increases his workload significantly this year. Mayfield owns a 35.6% whiff rate and has struk out 27.8% of hitters this season. … Carson Montgomery, 23, worked five innings for the first time in his professional career on Thursday. In his start he allowed no runs, just three hits and one walk as he struck out five and generated 10 whiffs. During his start, the 23-year-old out of Florida State’s four-seamer saw as much as 19.1 inches of induced vertical break. The outing lowered his ERA on the year to 1.64 with opponents hitting just .213. … Tucker Musgrove made a pair of appearances against Beloit, allowing one run in his two combined innings of work while striking out five. Command is still a work in progress for the uber-talented right-hander as he walked two batters in Friday’s outing and one in his Wednesday outing. For the season, he has owns and extremely impressive 35.6% strikeout rate and 39.7% whiff rate, but it’s paired with an eye-popping 22.2% walk rate. He is throwing just over 55% of his offerings for strikes.

Lake Elsinore Storm (lost series at Inland Empire 66ers, 2-4)

Players of the Week: The Storm lost the first three games of the series, won the next two, and had a chance to split the set, but the bullpen blew a big lead Sunday. The Storm are tied for first place with Rancho Cucamonga at 19-14. … It was another banner week for Storm outfielder Ryan Wideman, who continues to be the spark that fuels the Storm offense. Wideman played in five games, going 10-for-17 with two doubles and a triple, and stole nine bases without getting caught. He notched a 1.456 OPS for the week, and he now has 27 stolen bases to lead all of affiliated baseball. In 145 plate appearances this year, Wideman ranks fifth in the Cal League with a wRC+ of 145, and he’s cut his K-rate down to just 17.4%. … Righty Tyler Schmitt earned his second straight Cal League pitcher of the Week honors for his performance against Inland Empire. The former 17th-rounder worked a career-high six innings, allowing just one hit. He walked three and struck out six. Schmitt, 21, struggled mightily to start the year, but he has found his groove this month. After pitching to a 9.75 ERA in April, the former Illinois righty has not allowed a run in 11 May innings. He’s allowed just three hits while striking out 11. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Left fielder Conner Westenburg had an excellent week at the plate, hitting .400/.471/.800, with a double, triple, and his first homer as a professional. While the production was impressive, it also came with seven strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. The former McNeese outfielder has been very successful in his pro debut despite some alarming trends. He has the fifth-lowest walk rate in the Cal League at 5.9% and a troubling 27.5% K-rate. He’s using his plus-speed to ride a league-high .473 BABIP in 2026. He will need to make more frequent contact, but he’s been a huge factor for the first-place Storm in 2026. … Shortstop Jorge Quintana had a productive offensive week, posting an .850 OPS with eight hits, including a double. After a slow start to the season, the 19-year-old is showing positive signs. Over his last 14 games, Quintana is hitting .315/.373/.407 – production that has been five percent above the league average. … First baseman Luke Cantwell had another nice week, producing an .892 OPS with a pair of doubles. After a monster series two weeks ago against Ontario, last year’s 20th-rounder continues to produce. In 88 plate appearances, the former Pitt Panther has a .970 OPS. … Bryan Balzer pitched well on Thursday, but the lack of run support led to him taking the loss. The 21-year-old allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five. Balzer has flourished in his second trip through the Cal League. Opposing hitters are batting just .198 against him this season; last year, they hit over .300. He’s also improved his strikeout rate from 20% to 27%. Overall, he has a 3.54 ERA this season for the Storm. … Kruz Schoolcraft turned in his best start as a professional Friday, pitching four innings in a game the Storm won. The overall line of three hits, an unearned run, two walks and two strikeouts over four innings won’t stand out, but he made progress. The 19-year-old lefty got off to an abysmal start but has looked sharper each time out. He touched 98 mph in his last start, sitting in the 94-95 mph range. … Righty Carlos Medina tossed four scoreless innings in his weekly start, striking out five while giving up three hits and a walk. The 21-year-old has posted a 1.98 ERA and punched out 14 in 13.2 innings over four outings since stepping into the rotation. 

ACL Angels 4, ACL Padres 3 (10 innings) 3-2 on the week

Key Stats: C Ty Harvey 1-for-4, BB; 3B Yimy Tovar 1-for-4, 2B, BB; RHP Luis Maracara IP, 2 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2 BB; RHP Cam Nohos 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 K; RHP Bernard Jose 2 IP, H, R (0 ER), 3 K, 2 BB

Prospect Watch and Key Performers: After two sloppy games to begin the year, the rookie team bounced back and had a winning record this week. Monday night, a two-out error in the first opened the gates to an RBI double and homer to put the club in a 3-0 hole, but then the pitching staff turned in eight straight scoreless frames before yielding another unearned run in the tenth. Big righty Cameron Nohos dialed in his command after a wild first appearance of the year and turned in 3.2 innings, giving up only three singles while striking out a pair. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of University of Illinois-Chicago last summer, The 6-foot-8 22-year-old, who didn’t pitch at all his senior year because of a broken rib, is working in the mid-90s now, but showed more in his college career. The organization will likely build him up to a starters workload. Righty Bernard Jose started the year in Fort Wayne and got absolutely blown up by Midwest League hitters as he walked 15 and gave up six homers in 11 innings. Sent back to the desert to regroup, the 23-year-old has gotten solid results in his first three appearances. He took the loss when the  Manfred Man scored, but didn’t allow an earned run in three outings this week. He punched out three Monday and now has 12 in 6.1 frames at the lowest level of the game. He’ll look to get back to an affiliate shortly. … The offense only managed three hits on Monday, but made the most of them thanks to five walks. Ty Harvey had a hit in four trips and should be about ready to head back out to Lake Elsinore. The 19-year-old backstop hit .333/.412/.400 on the week as he worked his way back from a quad injury. … Yimy Tovar had the club’s only extra-base hit Monday with a double, capping a strong week in which he hit .353/.421/.706 in five games. After collecting only eight extra-base hits in 38 games in the desert last year, he’s already tallied five in seven games to start this season.