El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost at Tacoma Rainiers, 2-4)
Nick Pratto has had a huge September. (Photo: Deanna Almaguer)
Players of the Week: Nick Pratto, 27, continued his scorching September with a big week, posting a slash line of .417/.483/.667, holding his OPS for the month at 1.181 in 55 plate appearances. Pratto, who earned PCL Player of the Week honors, was once the fourteenth overall pick by the Kansas City Royals way back in 2017, but the left-handed slugger struggled in parts of three seasons in the big leagues with a .216 batting average and an OPS of .659 in 527 plate appearances. He has mainly played first base, but also has a few reps in left field since signing with the Padres in June. … Ian Koenig had the best showing on the mound, with a six-inning shutout to earn the win on Wednesday. The 25-year-old right-hander spent most of the year in San Antonio, where he posted a 4.60 ERA in 121.1 innings, but has pitched better in three appearances and 16 innings in El Paso with a 2.821 ERA. Koenig works heavily with a sinker/slider mix, adding in a few changeups and a curve to lefties.
Top Prospects and Others of Note: Bryce Johnson just missed matching Pratto with a .533 average and three doubles in five games. After posting solid numbers in July and August, he has been sizzling in September, hitting .370/.452/.593 in 31 plate appearances. This season, the 30-year-old switch-hitter has a .788 OPS after tough early months with the Padres, when he hit .178 in 49 plate appearances. … Marcos Castañon, 27, has enjoyed hitting in the PCL after spending parts of three years at Nelson Wolff Stadium in San Antonio. The former University of Santa Barbara Gaucho had four doubles and three RBI for a .985 OPS across six games in Tacoma and now leads the team with 17 home runs and ranks third with 70 RBIs on the year. … JP Sears, 30, appeared in two games against Tacoma, going four innings in Tuesday’s start, then coming back with 2.2 scoreless innings on Sunday. So far in September, the left-hander has a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings, which is markedly better than the 7.58 he has for El Paso on the season. The lefty delivered a better 4.68 ERA in eight outings for the big league club. … Evan Fitterer, 26, piggybacked on Saturday, and threw five innings of shutout ball to get one of the visitors’ two wins of the week. As we noted in the Daily, he has intriguing stuff, but needs to dial in his control of a six-pitch repertoire much more consistently. … Luis Gutierrez, 22, was solid as he joined his fourth team in the system this year, pitching four innings and only allowing a run on three hits. Guitterez has only thrown 33 innings this season as he has battled shoulder problems after pitching 125 innings in 2025. He is eligible for minor league free agency this winter. … Garrett Hawkins had two clean appearances, not allowing a run in three innings. The big Canadian had a rough go early on but seems to be getting back on track to close out his first season on the 40-player roster. (John Conniff)
San Antonio Missions (Lost at Amarillo Sod Poodles 1-5)
Alex McCoy continued to punish the ball after his promotion to Double-A. (Photo: San Antonio Missions)
Players of the Week: Alex McCoy continued to excel in Double-A, ending the season with a hit in each game of the series. McCoy collected eight hits, including a double and his only home run of the month. He finishes the year with 19 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 123 games between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. In just over a month with the Missions, McCoy hit .314 with an .827 OPS. After Salas, the 24-year-old can make a case as the top offensive prospect in the system. … Abraham Parra was promoted to the Missions on August 27. In his first start, the 20-year-old failed to escape the first inning, allowing five runs for a brutal 67.50 ERA. This week, however, Parra clearly settled down, throwing five shutout innings while allowing three hits and three walks and striking out five. The five scoreless innings lowered his Double-A ERA to 5.91, a full 61 points lower than it was on September 1. The 20-year-old finished with a 5.78 ERA with 91 strikeouts over 99.2 innings this season.
Top Prospects and Others of Note: Kerrington Cross was called up for the final week of the season and managed to record a hit in every game, including his first Double-A home run on Sunday. The 2025 seventh-round pick hit .300/.364/.500 with a double, a home run, two walks, and a stolen base. Cross finishes his first full season of professional baseball with 18 home runs, 21 stolen bases, a .277 batting average, and a .915 OPS. … After appearing in just three games in August, Oswaldo Linares made the most of his opportunities this week. The backup catcher went 4-for-10 with two doubles, two walks and his first Double-A home run and third of the season. The 23-year-old has been in the organization since 2019. … Speaking of players ending long home run droughts, Kai Roberts went deep for the first time since July 17. The 2024 seventh-round pick went 6-for-19 with the home run and four stolen bases. His late-season barrage allowed Roberts to finish the season at the Mendoza line. … Romeo Sanabria finished his season with home runs in each of the final two games to end the week with seven RBI and five walks. While most hitters find the Pacific Coast League to be heaven, Sanabria posted a .575 OPS with the Chihuahuas. After returning to Double-A in August, Sanabria hit .324 with a .857 OPS. He finishes the season with 12 home runs and a .787 OPS. (Ben Davey)
Storm (Division Series sweep and 3-0 on the week)
Kruz Schoolcraft dialed it up for his final start of the year. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Players of the Week: The Storm offense was middle-of-the-pack all year in the Cal League, but they erupted in the playoffs, putting up 28 runs over three games to put themselves one game away from a Cal League championship. Alex Conover led the way, going 7-for-12 with a pair of doubles and a homer. He added a pair of stolen bases and a walk to a strong week in the middle of the lineup. The 21-year-old outfielder drove in seven runs as he looks to cap a solid debut season after the Padres selected him out of Oklahoma State in the fourth round of July’s draft. After posting a 16.1% strikeout rate in the regular season, he only punched out twice in his 12 playoff plate appearances. … There is no way around it; Kruz Schoolcraft had an extremely disappointing debut campaign. But the Padres’ top pick in 2025 put together a stellar outing to claim the win in their division-clincher. Schoolcraft tossed five scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out eight Ontario batters. The big lefty posted 45 strikes in his 78 pitches, getting both swinging and called strikes with all three pitches. It was just the second time all year Schoolcraft threw on only five days of rest, but he looked as comfortable on the mound has he has in a Storm uniform.
Top Prospects and Others of Note: Qrey Lott has quietly been one of the club’s most consistent offensive contributors from the bottom of the lineup since arriving in Lake Elsinore in late April. He kept it up in the postseason, going 5-for-12 with a triple and homer, and finished with a .500 on-base percentage thanks to a walk and getting hit by one pitch. An undrafted free agent out of junior college in Florida, Lott finished the year with an .805 OPS and 27 stolen bases in 32 attempts while playing solid defense across all three outfield spots. … Elliot Lascelles only went 1-for-8 in the division series, but collected three hits in the leadoff spot as the Storm jumped ahead of San Jose on Sunday. The Padres’ second-round pick had two doubles and two walks in the week, pushing his OPS to .804. … Corner infielder Joe Tiroly made a strong transition to the professional ranks, posting a 1.072 OPS in 17 games down the stretch. He carried the hot bat into the playoffs, going 4-for-11 with three walks and, improbably, a team-best four stolen bases. … Coleman Borthwick made his professional debut a memorable one, punching out four batters over two innings in the series-clincher Thursday. The huge right-hander gave up a run, but showed feel for both his fastball and slider. The 18-year-old, who the Padres drafted in the first round out out of high school in Florida, will be the anchor of Lake Elsinore’s rotation in 2027. … Jesus Castro set the tone on the mound for the Storm, tossing six innings of one-run ball to win the first playoff game. The diminutive righty struck out five while allowing just two hits. The 19-year-old had an impressive campaign in his first season stateside even as he bypassed the Arizona Complex League. Castro finished the regular season with a 4.18 ERA even after struggling through August. He’ll make the start Tuesday night trying to bring home a championship. (David Jay)
Ty Harvey has had some big moments for the Storm. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Interviews and Features: This week we caught up with two of the top catchers in the Padres’ system: Robbie Lavey in Fort Wayne and Ty Harvey with the Storm.
