The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas got a head start on all the other San Diego Padres minor league affiliates, playing their first game the day after the parent club. The Double-A San Antonio Missions, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm didn’t get started until either April 2 or 3.
On April 2, San Antonio and Lake Elsinore kicked off their seasons with Fort Wayne joining on April 3. The Missions roster features top prospects catcher Ethan Salas, pitchers Miguel Mendez, Luis Gutierrez,
Victor Lizarraga and Jagger Haynes as well as first baseman Romeo Sanabria who distinguished himself during the spring.
Lake Elsinore features many of the 2025 draft class, including top pick LHP Kruz Schoolcraft and two catchers, Ty Harvey and Truitt Madonna. Shortstop Jorge Quintana, outfielder Kale Fountain and outfielder Ryan Wideman are other top prospects playing with the Storm.
Fort Wayne will feature LHP Kash Mayfield atop their rotation after his debut season last year with the Storm. Both pitchers Kannon Kemp and Jaxon Dalena will be with the TinCaps but start the year in Arizona, dealing with injury issues. RHP Clark Candiotti, formerly a starter last year with the Storm, has been put in the bullpen to start this season. Catcher Lamar King Jr. will catch as well as play first and DH. Physical standout Alex McCoy will man the outfield with Kavares Tears and Kasen Wells.
El Paso Chihuahuas
The Chihuahuas went 2-2 over their first four games and played six games total versus the Tacoma Rainiers from March 31 thru April 5 with a rainout that was made up as a doubleheader. They moved on to the Albuquerque Isotopes on April 7. Through the week they went 3-4 and played host to multiple Padres players on rehab assignments. Matt Waldron, Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui, Griffin Canning and Sung-Mun Song are all working with the Chihuahuas for their rehabs.
Waldron turned in the best pitching performance as a starter, throwing seven innings over two starts with five hits and no runs allowed. He has no walks with nine strikeouts. Reliever Ethan Routzahn has a 2.08 ERA in 4.1 innings pitched for El Paso.
Outfielder Samad Taylor leads the team with a .333 batting average and has a .843 OPS. Outfielder Jase Bowen is slugging .722 with three homers and seven RBI and a 1.020 OPS.
San Antonio Missions
The Missions started their season versus the Tulsa Drillers for three games, losing two of three. RHP Victor Lizarrage started the first game with Miguel Mendez and Ian Koeing following. Mendez allowed three hits and a run over 3.2 innings
The Missions started a series versus the Corpus Christi Hooks with LHP Luis Gutierrez throwing four innings with two hits and a run getting five strikeouts in a loss. LHP Jagger Haynes only lasted 1.2 innings with three earned runs in a loss in the second game.
Closer Michael Flynn has pitched 1.2 innings over two games without allowing a hit.
Infielder Carson Tucker was signed by the Padres in the offseason after leaving the Cleveland Guardians system. A former first-round pick, the 24-year-old was released due to a significant injury history. He and infielder Luis Verdugo are leading the Missions with batting averages over .400 and an .OPS of 1.200 and 1.323 respectively.
Fort Wayne TinCaps
The TinCaps started their season against the Great Lakes Loons, going 1-2 for the three games. They were rained out on Saturday and played a doubleheader on Sunday. They are 1-4 overall.
LHP Kash Mayfield heads the rotation and pitched in the season opener for three innings with no runs allowed and 4 strikeouts. RHP Isaiah Lowe piggybacked with Mayfield and allowed one run in 3 innings of work. RHP Andrew Parra also only allowed a hit and a run in 4 innings in the first game of the doubleheader.
The next series against the Lansing Lugnuts began with a 4 inning performance from Maikel Miralles with one hit and 9 strikeouts in another loss. Reliever Braian Salazar has appeared in three games with one run allowed.
Catcher Carlos Rodriguez is hitting .364 with a .871 OPS. Outfielder Alex McCoy leads the team with two doubles and two RBI in a struggling early season offense.
Lake Elsinore Storm
The Storm started their season against the new team in the division, the Ontario Tower Buzzers. They won the first game with a good outing by Bryan Balzar over four innings and one run allowed with seven strikeouts. They lost the next two games with lefty Schoolcraft only lasting 1 inning in the second game and allowing four hits and six runs in 51 pitches with four walks. The Storm is 2-3 overall in the young season.
RHP Winyer Chourio started the series opener against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes with four innings and three hits with one run and six strikeouts. They won their second game against the Quakes with a bullpen game.
Jose Verdugo, 18, is making his US debut after playing last season in the DSL. He is hitting .385 with a .928 OPS. Catcher Ty Harvey leads the team with two doubles and four RBI.
The Padres minor league system saw three players retire before the start of the season. Pitchers Jared Kollar, Riley Pint and Carter Loewen all announced that they were leaving baseball.
Padres pitchers Humberto Cruz, rehabbing from ACL surgery, and Emmanuel Pinales have both been removed from all rosters due to legal issues involving them.
Alex Verdugo, the former major leaguer and minor league signee who began spring camp playing with the affiliate teams, has been placed in extended spring/Arizona Complex League for further work but could be in El Paso by mid-to-late April.
Catcher Blake Hunt, outfielder Tirso Ornelas and infielder Will Wagner all started the season on the IL.
