San Diego Padres Week in Review: June 9 – June 15

El Paso Chihuahuas (Won series at Round Rock Express 4-2)

Players of the Week: Nick Pratto started his week on the Round Rock roster, but was released Tuesday, signed a deal with the Padres Wednesday, and proceeded to post a .313/.450/.750 line with a double and a pair of home runs against his former club. The left-handed power-hitter from Huntington Beach, California, has always shown big raw power and has played parts of three seasons in the majors, but his poor chase and strikeout rates have minimized his overall production. The one-time first round pick of the Royals has seen some time in the outfield, but is primarily a first baseman. … After struggling badly in his first two months, 34-year-old lefthander Marco Gonzales is off to a nice start in June. He threw five innings in the series opener to pick up the win, then came in and tossed four innings in a piggyback outing Sunday. His nine innings led the staff and he allowed just three earned runs to post an ERA of 3.00. Gonzalez has 10 years of major league experience, mainly with Seattle, where he had some solid years, but has struggled after signing a minor league deal with the Padres over the winter, posting a 7.99 ERA in 47.1 innings across 12 starts.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Carlos Rodriguez, 25, extended his hitting streak to 20 games as he collected 10 hits in six games and an .871 OPS. He also tacked on two stolen bases. The Venezuelan managed just a .650 OPS across two levels in the Atlanta Braves organization last year, but has bumped his production up to .736 this year. … Marcos Castañon showed some power on the week with three extra-base hits, including two home runs. The 27-year-old didn’t do much else though, reaching base at just a .280 clip, but still posted an .845 OPS . … Lefty Jackson Wolf picked up his fourth win with a workman-like five-inning performance on Saturday, when he struck out six, limited his walks to three, and only gave up a pair of runs. The lanky left-hander sports a 6.20 ERA as he has seen his strikeout rates drop off this year. This season he has a 4.91 ERA at home and a 7.77 on the road. … Having been activated from the big league IL and optioned earlier in the week, Jhony Brito only gave up one run across four innings while striking out four and walking three. Over three rehab appearances with San Antonio, the righty with a plus change-up had allowed four runs in 12.1 innings. The Chihuahuas got rehab starts from both German Marquez and Matt Waldron. Marquez didn’t allow a run in his four-inning stint, striking out two and walking one in his third appearance coming back from forearm inflammation. Waldron, making his first appearance after getting shut down in mid-May, allowed just one hit to the eighth and final batter he faced. Both of them could be back in the mix for the big league club shortly. (John Conniff)  

San Antonio Missions (Lost series to Frisco RoughRiders 2-4)

Players of the Week: Jagger Haynes turned in the best start of his career, allowing one hit over six scoreless innings. It was his second career one-hitter over at least six innings, but when he did it last April, he also allowed a run. Haynes has held opposing hitters to a .227 batting average on the year and has drastically improved his walk rate to 9.9% this season after a 14% mark in 2025. The 23-year-old has a 1.54 ERA in two June starts. … In a rough week for the Missions offense, one of the lone bright spots was Ryan Jackson. The USC product went 8-for-26 on the week with a double, triple, three RBI, and two stolen bases. Jackson has consistently hit around .260 since the Padres drafted him in the 17th round in 2024, and he has gotten on base at a .380 clip as a professional while showing a solid glove on the infield and some speed. He has been one of the most consistent Missions performers all season.

Top Performers and Others of Note: It was a struggle on offense for the Missions, who averaged less than three runs a game and were held scoreless for a stretch of 17 straight innings. Padres top prospect Ethan Salas went just 4-for-20, with two walks. Salas has yet to collect an extra-base hit in June, but he is still hitting the ball hard and has struck out just twice over 10 games and 46 plate appearances this month. … Even hit the hottest Missions hitter, Braedon Karpathios struggled in the series. Karpathios had been on a tear with a .920 OPS and a 159 wRC+ since May 1, but this week, he went just 3-for-17 with a double and 12 strikeouts. The 22-year-old now has a career worst 32.8% strikeout rate on the year, but his production has been saved by a career-best .378 average on balls in play. … Over two appearances, former big leaguer Omar Cruz threw five scoreless innings, striking out 13 of the 18 batters he faced.  The 72% strikeout rate for the series is a season best for any Missions pitcher throwing at least five innings in a week.  After a slow start to the season, Cruz has allowed two earned runs over his last 18.1 innings while striking out 32. … For the second time in three starts, Ian Koenig did not allow a run.  The 25-year-old threw five scoreless innings, walking three and striking out two despite consistently falling behind batters and needed 86 pitches to get through five innings.  Despite the wildness, the former undrafted free agent leads the team with a 1.20 WHIP.  In June, Koenig has a 1.69 ERA over three starts. … After two good starts, Miguel Mendez had one he would like to forget.  The Padres’ best right-handed pitching prospect allowed a season-high five earned runs over four innings.  Mendez was still pumping his fastball in the upper-90s, but had problems controlling his secondary pitches.  He allowed all five runs in the third inning, before coming back out and tossing a scoreless fourth. Mendez currently has a 4.83 ERA over 31.2 innings. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series at Dayton Dragons, 1-5)

Players of the Week: The TinCaps pitching staff had another brutal week, with 10 different hurlers giving up at least one run per inning in Dayton. The staff has given up more runs than any other squad in the Midwest League this year, thanks in no small part to having league-worst walk and hit batter totals. Against that backdrop, the 3.2 scoreless innings Ryan Och tossed across a pair of outings on his rehab assignment last week were especially welcome. The 27-year-old lefty allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out six Dragon batters. Och opened the year on the San Antonio injured list after posting a 3.46 ERA in the Missions bullpen last season. … Things have been only marginally better for the Fort Wayne offense this year. The club has scored less than all but one other team on the circuit and has a Midwest League-low .331 on-base percentage. Outfielder Kavares Tears provided much-needed thump for the TinCaps on their swing through Ohio, hitting .429/.500/1.000 in his four games in the lineup. It was the second straight strong series for the 23-year-old outfielder, who continues to work back from a brutal April in which he hit just .161 and struck out at more than a 30 percent clip. He had two homers in Dayton and now has seven on the year.

Top Performers and Others of Note: Scatback outfielder Kasen Wells did what he’s best at, collecting a team-high eight hits and drawing four walks to post a strong .565 on-base percentage. As is typical, he also didn’t collect an extra-base hit along the way. The 22-year-old, who is listed at 5-foot-9, has an isolated power rate of just .041 on the year, tied for the second lowest among more than 600 batters with at least 200 plate appearances in the minors this year. … After several weeks of struggles, Alex McCoy got back on track a bit this week, going 7-for-22 with a pair of doubles. Encouragingly, the big man struck out only twice while drawing three walks. That was an impressive turn-around after 14 punchouts in his previous 11 contests. The doubles were the first extra-base hits of the month for McCoy, who is still slugging .524 on the year. … It was a brutal week for TinCaps starters as Kash Mayfield had a scheduled one-week break to manage workload. In his absence, the rotation combined to surrender 30 runs in 16.1 innings of work. … Relievers Tucker Musgrove and Will Varmette each tossed 1.2 innings across two scoreless appearances on the week. Musgrove struck out four against just one walk. The righty with nasty stuff has been dominant over the last month, allowing only one run over eight innings. While his 19 strikeouts over that stretch are impressive, perhaps more important for the 24-year-old former two-way player is that he has issued only two walks along the way. He has dropped his ERA on the year to 3.24. (David Jay)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Split series vs. Ontario Tower Buzzers, 3-3)

Players of the Week: The Storm bounced back from a pair of disappointing losses to win the last two games of the series and split with Ontario. They are closing in on a first-half title, as they’ve lowered their magic number to just one. … First baseman Luke Cantwell was excellent as he led the team in OPS. The former Pitt Panther hit .429/.600/.714, with four doubles, a triple, eight walks, and just four strikeouts. He also drove in seven runs. Last year’s 20th-rounder spent a month on the injured list, but when he has been in the lineup, he’s been productive. In 35 games, he has a .504 on-base percentage and a 1.013 OPS. He has just one homer to his name, but his offensive output in his first full season as a professional has been strong. … The Storm received a bevy of excellent starting pitching, but former Illinois right-hander Tyler Schmitt had the cleanest start of the week. Schmitt tossed six shutout innings Saturday, allowing just four hits. He walked just one, struck out a career-high 11, and earned the win for his effort. Over his last seven starts, Schmitt has an excellent 2.65 ERA while striking out 27.3% of hitters faced. 

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Ryan Wideman had another productive week at the plate, hitting .455/.538/.636 with 10 hits, capped by a walk-off homer on Sunday. The 22-year-old has been the sparkplug of the Storm offense, combining speed, power, and frequent contact. Wideman has a solid 18% K-rate, and his overall slash-line of .327/.394/.527 is 31 percent above the league average. The Western Kentucky product could move up at some point after the first half of the season comes to a close. … Kerrington Cross chipped in with a .960 OPS on the week, which included four doubles and a homer. The 24-year-old has been one of the most productive hitters in the Cal League this season. He leads the Storm with nine homers, and his wRC+ of 159 leads the circuit. … Jesus Castro was splendid Wednesday night, as the 18-year-old racked up 12 strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Castro has dominated this season, especially over his last six starts. During that span, the teenager from Guasave, Mexico, has posted a 1.55 ERA while punching out over 13 batters per nine innings. His 5.8% walk-rate over the span shows his command has been incredibly sharp for a pitcher making his stateside debut this season. … Kruz Schoolcraft pitched into the sixth inning for the first time as a professional, but he was removed after allowing a walk and a double. The Storm bullpen couldn’t hold a five-run lead, and Schoolcraft left with a no-decision. Despite the disappointing finish to his start, the 19-year-old tossed five shutout innings to start the evening. He walked just one and struck out seven batters. Overall, Schoolcraft has a 6.49 ERA this season and a 2.70 ERA in two June starts. (Kevin Charity)

ACL Royals 5, ACL Padres 4 (4-2 on the week)

Key Stats: RF Jesmaylin Arias 2-for-2, HR (3), BB, SF, SB (3), CS (1); 2B Luis De Leon 2-for-4; RHP Dariel Polanco 3 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 K, BB

Top Performers and Others of Note: Right fielder Jesmaylin Arias had a full day in a losing effort, connecting on his third homer of the year and collecting two of the ACL Padres’ four hits. The 19-year-old, who is repeating in the ACL, succeeded on one stolen base attempt but was also thrown out trying to swipe home on the back end of a double-steal. He added a sacrifice fly and also contributed defensively, cutting down a runner at third base using his above-average arm. The production capped a strong week in which he hit .444/.625/1.111 across four games. Arias already has matched his home run total from last year while cutting his strikeout rate from north of 31% to a more manageable 25% this season. … Luis De Leon, the only player to appear in all six games this week, collected the team’s two other hits in the game, to finish a strong week in which he posted a 1.182 OPS. The undersized middle infielder went 8-for-16 on the week while drawing a pair of walks. His lack of power limits his upside, but the 20-year-old has a healthy .393 OBP on the year. … Pitching in relief, Dariel Polanco matched a season high with three innings, giving up one earned run. The 20-year-old righty struck out three and now has 34 in 27.1 frames on the season. After just punching out only 16.3% of ACL hitters last summer, he has jumped that to a strong 29.8% this season, though his walk rate has more than doubled to 8.7% as well. Polanco made three appearances out of the bullpen on the week, pitching to a 1.29 ERA. He will likely join Lake Elsinore after the first half comes to an end. … Righty Bernard Jose made two scoreless appearances on the week. The 23-year-old opened the year in Fort Wayne, but his control absolutely cratered as he walked 15 in just 11 innings before being sent back to the desert to regroup. The 2023 international free agent has done exactly that, posting a 27:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 16 innings in the desert while delivering a 1.13 ERA. He should return to full-season work next week. (David Jay)