Quote from Randy Manese on August 28, 2025, 2:35 pm

Padres don't usually let their drafted HS pitchers throw competitively in the year they are drafted.  Schoolcraft may be doing some work in Arizona and could even be pitching in "bridge" games prior to the Arizona Fall League season starting (although not expected to be in the AFL).  If as advanced as advertised, will start 2026 in Lake Elsinore - I'll be driving up to see him!  Can't wait!

Quote from Randy Manese on August 28, 2025, 3:26 pm

Padres Gold grab the first game of the DSL Cup over the Athletics.  Very clean game on both sides - no errors and only 2 WPs and 1 PB.   Gold came back in bottom of the 8th to break a 3-3 tie with two runs and then shut down the Athletics in the 9th, turning their second DP to end the game.  Gold was able to control the Athletics running game as Athletics had zero SBs and had one runner picked off.   Second game tomorrow - GO PADRES GOLD!

Quote from ultratvfan on August 28, 2025, 4:51 pm

Kash Mayfield is pitching very well in Single-A Lake Elsinore. IMO, it is time to promote him  to Fort Wayne Tincaps.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 28, 2025, 5:49 pm

With only 10 games left in both the Lake Elsinore and Ft. Wayne seasons, it is possible that Mayfield would get 1 or possibly 2 more starts with the objective to keep him under 75 IP this year.  Padres moved Salazar and Miralles earlier this week from LE to FtW but both are looked upon more as RPs than SPs, so theoretically each would get into more games than Mayfield.

My guess is that the Padres will keep Mayfield on the Lake Elsinore roster and let him finish the season on the road in San Bernardino vice fly him out to the Midwest to join the TinCaps on the road at Grand Rapids, Michigan.  No need to rush him this year; Mayfield will get his chance with the TinCaps next year and likely start the season as their #1 SP.

Quote from LynchMob on August 29, 2025, 6:07 am

https://www.si.com/mlb/padres/san-diego-padres-news/padres-sign-free-agent-catcher

Still unsigned going into the 2025 season, Sargent re-signed with Ogden and went back to work. He was slashing .384/.443/.741 with 35 home runs and 130 RBIs in 80 games, when the Padres signed him to a minor league contract Wednesday and assigned him to Double-A San Antonio.

... and ... from yesterday's DFR ...

Prior to the game, the Padres announced they had signed catcher Christopher Sargent to his first contract and assigned him to the Missions. The 25-year-old right-handed slugger made an impression in his first game in affiliated ball, capping the big seventh inning with a two-out, two-run homer. Undrafted out of the University of Southern Mississippi last year, Sargent went to the offense-happy Pioneer League, where he put up huge home run totals last year and this. He played exclusively first base in college, but added catching to his resume while working in one of MLB’s partner leagues.

Quote from LynchMob on August 29, 2025, 4:56 pm

Bradgley Rodriguez came in after and threw a scoreless inning topping out at 98.3 mph. Rodriguez has yet to be scored on in three appearances since coming off the IL.

 

Quote from Randy Manese on August 30, 2025, 12:28 pm

Padres Gold rebounded from the middle game loss to the Athletics to take the DSL Cup convincingly, 12-5.  Gold pounded out 13 hits, drew 8 walks and had 5 HBs to put a lot of traffic on the base paths.  Despite the Athletics having 2 DSL All Stars (per MLB Pipeline) to the Padres Gold none, Gold outplayed the Athletics for most of the series and kept the Athletics running game at bay.  Gold got good results from their bullpen today to shut down the Athletics after they had made the game close at 6-5.

Some of these guys may make it to the ACL in 2026 but for the majority of them, this is as good as it's going to get for their careers.  Most of the these Padres DSL players were signed for 10K or less and some were considered too old to be considered a prospect for even the DSL so not talking about high ceiling players.  I believe this is the first time the Padres ever had a champion in the DSL.  Congrats to a great team effort!!!

Quote from LynchMob on August 31, 2025, 10:05 am

Quote from Randy Manese on August 30, 2025, 12:28 pm

Padres Gold rebounded from the middle game loss to the Athletics to take the DSL Cup convincingly, 12-5.  Gold pounded out 13 hits, drew 8 walks and had 5 HBs to put a lot of traffic on the base paths.  Despite the Athletics having 2 DSL All Stars (per MLB Pipeline) to the Padres Gold none, Gold outplayed the Athletics for most of the series and kept the Athletics running game at bay.  Gold got good results from their bullpen today to shut down the Athletics after they had made the game close at 6-5.

Some of these guys may make it to the ACL in 2026 but for the majority of them, this is as good as it's going to get for their careers.  Most of the these Padres DSL players were signed for 10K or less and some were considered too old to be considered a prospect for even the DSL so not talking about high ceiling players.  I believe this is the first time the Padres ever had a champion in the DSL.  Congrats to a great team effort!!!

Thanks for these updates, Randy!

From DFR ...

DSL Padres Gold Secure Championship

The Padres affiliate pounded out five doubles among 13 hits to drub the Athletics 12-5 in the final game of the DSL Championship Series to claim the league’s title. The club finished the regular season with a 39-17 record good for second overall in the 52-team league (the Padres’ second squad finished in the bottom five at 20-35), before cruising through the three-phase playoffs with just one loss. Middle infielders Jose Verdugo and Jhoan De La Cruz, both 17, were the club’s top producers all season and both contributed in the finale. Verdugo finished the day 2-for-6 and hit .300 with only two strikeouts in 34 playoff plate appearances. De La Cruz, a switch-hitter who landed a million dollar signing bonus, drew a bases-loaded walk in the first and was hit twice in the game. He finished his first professional season with a .477 on-base percentage, then topped it with a .484 mark in the playoffs. The duo will headline a large group of players who will head stateside for the first time next spring.

Quote from Randy Manese on September 1, 2025, 9:46 am

Glad to do it!  My wife and I have been to all the Padres minor league venues except for the Dominican Republic - not sure when or if we'll go there.  To comment on the DFR post, Jose Verdugo did have a good playoff series but was hurt the majority of the year, getting into only 25 games for the Gold.  I would give my kudos to Eduarlin Tejeda, Santiago Contreras or Moises Valdez (who was one of the two Padres representatives at the All-star game) as they were very consistent during the year and all but Valdez had a very good playoff series.  A couple of reliable and effective SPs and a strong bullpen carried them to a good regular season record and, of course, winning the Cup.

Saw some big jumps in productivity from kids who played when they were 16/17 and also good contributions from the newcomers.  Disappointments were 3b/ss David Coronil (900K bonus but only had a .541 OPS, a 57 wRC+ and finished with a combined fielding average of under .900) and LHSP Carlos Alvarez (1M bonus who was taken off the Gold Roster and sent to the Brown team before the end of the season; he had a 2.57 WHIP, a 7.76 FIP, 13.3 BB rate and an 11.84 ERA).  Hopefully, these high bonus kids will show their value next year as they mature and absorb developmental training.  Don't see the next De Vries or Jarlin Susanna in this group but in baseball, you never know who or when a player becomes a valued prospect.  Kudos to Preller for uncovering more hidden talent.

P.S.  While Humberto Cruz was touted as the best pitching prospect in Mexico this year, keep an eye on DSL Gold RHP SP Jesus Castro from Sinaloa, Mexico, who was consistently good and 6 months younger than Cruz.