The Lake Elsinore Storm became the first minor league affiliate to sweep a series this season and now have a winning record going into a tie for first in their division. The Low-A team, boasting many of the 2025 draftees of the Padres, has had many surprise players surge in the last couple of weeks. Two undrafted free agents join a couple of the top-rated draft prospects to form the nucleus of an offense that has heated up for the Storm.
Both starter Griffin Canning and reliever Yuki Matsui are reaching
the ends of their rehab windows and will be joining the San Diego Padres soon. Canning should be fully built up and must be activated by Monday. Matsui has pitched in back-to-back games and has completed a two-inning appearance. He will join the Padres by this weekend.
Sung-Mun Song was the 27th man for the Mexico City Series but returned to El Paso after debuting with the Padres as a pinch runner. A brief glance at his numbers would make many wonder why he has not been brought up to the major league team. A little deeper look shows major concerns with barrel and hard-hit rates. He has almost no slug, has not stolen a base and has an alarming K-rate.
El Paso Chihuahuas (12-15 record with a 4-2 record in their last series, 3rd in Pacific Coast League East)
Outfielder Samad Taylor leads the team with a .325 average; infielder Pablo Reyes has a .438 OBP while outfielder Jase Bowen is tops in both slug .625 and OPS .968 and has seven homers. Infielder Jose Miranda leads with 18 RBI. The depth of the talent sitting in Triple-A is reassuring if reinforcements are needed for the Friars. The only real concern is that Bowen has 28 strikeouts in his 96 at-bats, a 29% K-rate.
RHP Evan Fitterer has started four games out of the six games he has appeared in and has a 1.23 ERA in the 14.2 innings pitched. Reliever Garrett Hawkins, who is on the 40-man roster, has a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched. Griffin Canning has had four appearances (fifth should be in the books on Tuesday) with a 5,40 ERA in 10 innings.
San Antonio Missions (5-16 record that makes them last in Texas League South)
The Double-A Missions are having a difficult time so far this season but there is a big bright spot for Padres fans. Catcher Ethan Salas is heating up of late and is leading the team in OPS at .859 and slug at.481 and that includes two homers.
1B/DH Leandro Cedeno has only played in 10 games but is hitting .333 with a .415 OBP. Infielder Carson Tucker continues to hit, batting .317 in 13 games and has four stolen bases without being caught. He has an .806 OPS and .391 OBP.
Starter Miguel Mendez is on the 40-man roster and has started four games with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings but had a rough start his last time out. Reliever Andrew Moore has a 1.29 ERA in five games and 7.2 innings and Eric Yost, who has made one start in his four games, has a 1.32 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-14 record, last in Midwest League East)
Outfielder Jake Cunningham, 23, who signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent in February, has had a good start for his new organization and their High-A affiliate. He leads the team with a .321 average, a .607 slug and a .965 OPS. He has hit four homers and has seven RBI. Outfielder Kasen Wells has a team leading .384 OBP with 14 walks and a .266 average. He also leads the team with three stolen bases. Outfielder Alex McCoy is continuing to show he can be an all-around player with a .324 average, four home runs and 12 RBI.
Starter Carson Montgomery has three starts and a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings. Starter Andrew Parra has a 3.12 ERA in four games with 17.1 innings pitched. LHP Kash Mayfield has four starts and a 1.65 ERA in 16 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts and could be pushing the organization into an early promotion.
Reliever Clay Edmondson has a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched and two saves.
Both offense and pitching has struggled so far this season for the TinCaps with the above exceptions noted.
Lake Elsinore Storm (12-9 record, swept the Visalia Rawhides 6-0, 1st, in a tie, in California League South)
The Low-A Storm got off to a slow start but several players are surging to push them into their winning ways. Infielder Bradley Frye is hitting .419 with a .621 slug and a 1.083 OPS with 17 RBI. Outfielder Connor Westenburg, the other undrafted free agent with Frye, is hitting .371 with a .935 OPS and has 13 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman, the Padres No. 9 prospect, will shoot up the prospect rankings if he keeps this up. Wideman is hitting .299/.404/.529 for a .933 OPS. He has seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBI with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He also has 11 walks to 18 strikeouts while playing an excellent center field. Coming into the season, the concern was his hitting mechanics and whether he could adapt to higher velocity and spin. He chased out of the zone and there were questions about his ability to be selective. So far, he has altered his mechanics and seems to be adjusting well. He has plus-plus speed and a good arm with good defensive range.
Catcher Victor Duarte leads the team with a .490 OBP, collecting a team high 13 walks. He can also play first base and is in his fourth season with Lake Elsinore but has never played more than 54 games in a season.
Unfortunately, the Storm has lost outfielder Kale Fountain for the season with a shoulder injury requiring season ending surgery. He had a collision with an outfield wall.
Carlos Medina has pitched in six games and has started two games. He has 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Winyer Chourio has a 2.25 ERA in four games/three starts over 12 innings pitched and 26 strikeouts. Bryan Balzer has 19 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched and four games started. One difficult outing upped his ERA to 4.50.
Reliever Javier Chacon has a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings with 21 strikeouts. Ethan Long has a 1.35 ERA in six games and 6.2 innings with three saves. Nick Falter has a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings in seven appearances with 14 strikeouts.
Jeremiah Estrada made one rehab appearance with Lake Elsinore, pitching one inning with a strikeout. The most encouraging sign was that his pitches were back up to his normal velocity and he allowed no hits. He should resume his rehab with El Paso.
New Padre Lucas Giolito made his first start and went 2.2 innings but was removed after a comebacker hit his pitching hand. He allowed two runs and two hits with three walks and reached 63 pitches. He must be added to the Padres roster by May 16.
Injuries
Miguel Mendez was placed on the IL with a neck strain after his last start. It is not likely to be a long stint. Luis Gutierrez was placed on the 60-day IL with a lat strain. Omar Cruz was sent to San Antonio to fill in for the injured pitchers.
Qrey Lott, an undrafted free agent sign, was added to Lake Elsinore to replace Fountain.
