San Diego Padres Week in Review: August 25 – August 31

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost series at Oklahoma City Comets, 3-4; includes make-up game)

Players of the Week: Carlos Rodriguez may have had the best week of his career with 11 hits, including a double and triple, and a pair of walks in 23 plate appearances. The only negative is that he was thrown out on three of five stolen base attempts. Rodriguez is fifth in the PCL with 131 hits and fourth in triples, with seven. This season, the 25-year-old Venezuelan, who was in the Braves organization last year, has an .803 OPS. His 95 wRC+ remains slightly below league average because of his lack of power. … Right-hander Sean Boyle squeezed in between rehab appearances by Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta to throw twice. He delivered six two-run innings to pick up the win on Tuesday, then threw 2.2 innings behind Pivetta on Sunday while only giving up a run. With Jackson Wolf having been traded, Boyle leads the Chihuahuas in innings pitched at 108.2 with an ERA of 5.88. He’s posted an impressive 3.02 ERA as a reliever, but has struggled to a 7.66 when he has started games.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: In what’s likely our Ethan Salas inclusion in the weekly wrap-up, the 20-year-old delivered a .947 OPS on the week as he walked four times, tripled, and added a pair of stolen bases without getting caught. In 96 games between San Antonio and El Paso, he has a slash line of .296/.374/.448 and has done everything he can to answer the questions about his health and offensive ceiling that followed him into the year. … Bryce Johnson, 30, also played well with a .933 OPS. The switch-hitter was on base six times in five games and stole a pair of bases without being caught. Johnson has a .748 OPS since his demotion from San Diego, but has struggled to drive the ball with a .380 slugging percentage. … Jagger Haynes, 23, had another good outing, throwing five scoreless innings, striking out four and only giving up one walk. After a few rough starts following his call-up from San Antonio, he lowered his ERA for August to 3.38 in 24 innings. … Both Musgrove and Pivetta looked solid against the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Musgrove only allowed one run in five innings in what could be his final tune-up before returning to the Padres for the first time in nearly two years, while Pivetta threw 4.1 shutout innings as he looks to get ramped back up for later in September. … JP Sears, 30, had a truncated start, which was his best since returning to the Sun City, throwing three innings of shutout ball and only giving up a hit. … Ethan Routzahn, 28, appeared in three games. The St. John’s alum didn’t allow a hit or a run in 3.2 innings while picking up the win. (John Conniff)

San Antonio Missions (Lost series at Springfield Cardinals 1-5)

Players of the Week: It was another tough week for the team as they got only one victory on Saturday to snap a seven-game losing streak. The top pitcher of the week was Garrett Hawkins. After a breakout season last year, when he posted a 1.50 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 60 innings, Hawkins has struggled mightily this season. This week, however, the 26-year-old righty allowed just one run over 4.2 innings. He gave up two hits, walked one, and struck out seven. Hawkins is still averaging 10.68 K/9, but his FIP has ballooned from 2.22 in 2025 to 5.26 in 2026.  … Justin DeCriscio had a hit in every game as he went 7-for-16 with a double, three walks, and a stolen base. In his two weeks with the Missions, last year’s 10th-round pick is hitting .364/.462/.424. Before his promotion, he was hitting .259/.355/.403 in 73 games with the TinCaps. The 23-year-old has seen time defensively at second, third, and short and both corner outfield spots.

Top Prospects and Others of Note  In a dreary week for the Missions, Romeo Sanabria continued his dominating month back in the Texas League. Sanabria went 7-for-19 with two doubles, two walks, and four RBI. Since rejoining the Missions, Sanabria is hitting .368 with a .958 OPS in 19 games. In 103 games across two levels this season, Sanabria has a .750 OPS, nearly a 70-point improvement over last season. … In his third week with the Missions, Alex McCoy had his worst results but still delivered one of the better lines on the team. After a slow start, he capped the week by going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI on Sunday. Overall, McCoy went 6-for-19 with a home run and three walks. Since joining the Missions, McCoy is hitting .328 with three home runs and an .891 OPS. … After a slow start to the week, Braedon Karpathios finished strong with five hits in his final three games, including a double and a home run. The former undrafted free agent finishes August hitting .313 with a .946 OPS. His 13 extra-base hits for the month tie his career best. … The only starter to deliver a successful outing was Fernando Sanchez, who earned the team’s lone win of the week. Sanchez pitched into the sixth inning for the first time this season, allowing one run on four hits. He did hit a batter for the third consecutive game and walked six while striking out just two. The lefty earned his first win since April 3. Despite missing nearly two months on the IL, Sanchez has a 5.18 ERA over 18 outings between San Antonio and El Paso. The 25-year-old was a reliever all of last year before moving back to the rotation this season. He has posted a 9.68 K/9 this year. (Ben Davey)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost series to Dayton Dragons 2-4)

Players of the Week: Lamar King Jr. had one of his best weeks of the year, going 6-for-16 with six RBIs in route to posting a 1.100 OPS across four games. It has been a difficult season for the 22-year-old, who owns just a .307 wOBA and .656 OPS in 89 games played for Fort Wayne, but he’s looking to finish the year strong. He delivered an .813 OPS in August, which could be the result of a few minor adjustments he’s made to shorten his swing length and start with his hands raised rather than the bat leaning on his shoulder in his pre-load. … Will Varmette made a pair of impressive appearances, working 4.1 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and punching out eight. While 2026 has been a struggle for the right-hander, who owns one of the best breaking balls in the system, he has looked better over the past month. Dating back to July 26, he owns a 1.80 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 25.8% strikeout rate. The biggest key to his improvement has been walking only five batters in 15 innings. He had issued 28 free passes in 36.2 frames before that.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Robbie Lavey had a strong week at the plate, as the 2026 fourth-rounder went 6-for-18 with a pair of doubles and seven RBIs. The 20-year-old’s most impressive showing of the series came on Sunday when he went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. The young backstop’s loudest contact of the afternoon came on his ringing two-run single in the fifth, which left his bat at 110 mph. In his first 13 games at High-A, Lavey owns a .764 OPS. … Ryan Gerety made a strong first impression going 3-for-8 with a pair of RBIs and five walks. The 22-year-old signed with the Padres last month as an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern where he hit .326/.456/.492 with five homers and 37 RBI, making the All-CAA First Team. … Yoiber Ocopio delivered two multi-hit games, going 6-for-18 with one extra-base hit. Ocopio’s performance on the week is a bright spot in what was otherwise a struggle-filled August. In 12 games played in the month, the 1B / DH slashed .234/.317/.270. Between two minor league levels, the 22-year-old sports a 90 wRC+ and .339 wOBA. … Carson Montgomery delivered a solid start, working four innings and allowing two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out six. It is worth noting that after throwing 92-94 mph for a majority of the year, Montgomery’s velocity has ticked up in recent weeks, sitting 94-96 mph over his past three starts. Since July 1, the FSU alum owns a 4.81 ERA, while allowing opponents a .347 wOBA, despite just a 16% strikeout rate. …Righty Bryan Balzer made one start and worked just three innings as he walked two, hit a batter, and punched out four. The 21-year-old has some of the best stuff among starters in the system, but he’s struggled with command of late. While he owns a strong 30.5% whiff rate since arriving in Fort Wayne, he’s also walked 14.5% of the batters he’s faced. … Sean Barrett made two appearancesin the series. After allowing six runs in his first outing, he rebounded nicely by working a scoreless inning on Sunday, striking out one. The right-hander’s fastball got up to 98 mph as his pitch mix generated a 40% whiff rate. While he has some of the most electric stuff in the Padres system, Barnett has still struggled in his second go-around at High-A, posting a 6.98 FIP and 11.25 ERA with the TinCaps. … Making two starts, Winyer Chourio worked a combined 7.2 innings, yielding four runs on eights hits and punched out 11. After a strong showing in Single-A, the right-hander has struggled since arriving in Summit City, posting a 7.00 ERA with opposing hitters generating an .874 OPS against him. (Clark Fahrenthold)

Lake Elsinore Storm (Lost series at Rancho Cucamonga 1-5)

Players of the Week: Infielder Joe Tiroly has added thump to the lineup since arriving in Lake Elsinore on August 11. The 21-year-old, who the Padres drafted out of the University of Virginia in the seventh round this year, blasted four homers in as many games against Rancho, fueling a .353/.353/1.059 line in 17 trips to the plate. In 13 professional games, he has collected six homers with 12 strikeouts against three walks through 56 trips to the plate. …Righty Lan-Hong Su has had an up-and-down year after signing late last year as a high-profile international free agent, but the 19-year-old is finishing the year strong. Su, whose workload has been managed tightly all year, only worked three innings in his start, but he punched out seven as he held the Quakes scoreless with only two hits. Over his last six appearances, he’s posted a 2.95 ERA with 26 strikeouts against just five walks in 18.1 innings of work.

Top Prospects and Others of Note: Utility player Dawson Willis had another strong week at the plate, going .357/.526/.500 across 19 plate appearances. The 22-year-old had a rough week on the basepaths, getting thrown out three times in four stolen base attempts after having been caught only once in his first 25 attempts on the year. Willis has put together a strong .840 OPS in 45 Cal League games, despite a 37.1% strikeout rate in his first season after signing as an undrafted free agent. … Jose Verdugo went 7-for-14 with a walk and no strikeouts to post the rare .500/.500/.500 line in the series. The 18-year-old middle infielder has hit .270 on the year despite being far less physically developed than any of his competitors, but predictably has just a .085 isolated power rate. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him back in the Cal League for a repeat campaign next year. … Qrey Lott posted a .945 OPS but struck out 10 times in a mixed week at the plate. Another undrafted free agent, the 21-year-old has hit .265/.376./401 on the year. … Lefty Adler Cecil worked 3.2 innings of scoreless relief despite three walks and a hit batter because he racked up eight strikeouts. The 24-year-old put himself on the radar with a strong season in 2025, but he’s struggled to a 5.10 ERA for the Missions this year. … Jesus Castro gave up a pair of runs in four innings in his start despite seven strikeouts without a walk. Now 19, Castro has faded down the stretch after he skipped over the ACL for his first season in the U.S., but he has impressed with 97 strikeouts over 85.1 innings of work.