Fort Wayne TinCaps
The irony of this season for Fort Wayne is that the infusion of those players who excelled at Lake Elsinore didn’t really help them. They ended the season 56-74, last in the East Division of the Midwest League.
Infielder Justin DeCriscio finished with the best average of the players promoted, hitting .259 with a .759 OPS, nine home runs, and 39 RBI in 73 games.
OutfielderJake Cunninghamhad hit 15 home runs with 35 RBI in 57 games when he was promoted to San Antonio. Center fielder Ryan
Wideman, who did everything well in Lake Elsinore, struggled to do anything well for Fort Wayne and really slumped in extra-base hits, an area he excelled in with the Storm. In 44 games, he hit four doubles and no other XBH with a .559 OPS.
Outfielder Alex McCoy, who in less than two seasons (injured for part of 2025) reached Double-A and did well, played in 98 games for the TinCaps. He hit .268/.354/.468 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. The 24-year-old undrafted free agent lists at 6-6, 275 pounds, but is not just a slugger. He runs amazingly well for a big man, finishing the season with 24 stolen bases in 33 attempts over two levels. McCoy was promoted to San Antonio for the final part of the season.
After Miguel Mendez and Kash Mayfield were traded at the deadline, the TinCaps were a bit thin at starting pitching.
RHP Carson Montgomery, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, started 22 games before being promoted to Double-A. He had a 4.65 ERA in 93 innings with 80 strikeouts to 50 walks with Fort Wayne. Command was an issue at times, which is expected after TJ surgery.
RHPWinyer Chourio started nine games after his promotion to Single-A, finishing with a 6.15 ERA in 41 innings. He still had 48 strikeouts to 32 walks but also struggled with his command at times.
Japanese/American RHP Bryan Balzer has had his first full season as he comes back from Tommy John surgery and begins a career as a starting pitcher. He was primarily playing as an infielder in high school. Over two levels, both A-levels, Balzer started 21 games with 23 appearances total and pitched 98.2 innings. His combined ERA was 4.74 with 100 strikeouts to 48 walks. Balzer, the Padres’ No. 6 prospect, is only behind Schoolcraft and the recently drafted Coleman Borthwick in the Padres rankings per MLB.com.
Losing their most productive offensive player to Double-A seemed to hurt the TinCaps offense. After Cunningham left Fort Wayne, the offense was never as productive.
San Antonio Missions
Outfielder Alex McCoy played in 25 games for the Missions after his promotion from Single-A, and finished with a .314/.360/.467 line, including four homers and 16 RBI. It would not be a surprise to see a non-roster invite to 2027 spring camp in the future.
Outfielder Braedon Karpathios, another UDFA, tied with Tirso Ornelas for the home run lead on the team with 17. Karpathios had 73 RBI, compared to Ornelas’s 54. His .268/.353/.444 line is not good for a slugger, but the 162 strikeouts in 510 plate appearances will not get him to where he wants to go. At 23, he still has time to work on strike zone command as a hitter, but the fix needs to happen for him to hope for a major league call-up.
Outfielder Jake Cunningham, a free agent signed by the Padres out of the Orioles organization, started at Fort Wayne and hit himself into a promotion to San Antonio. In his 39 games before injury put him on the shelf, Cunningham had 13 XBH and 26 RBI with a .301/.370/.459 line. The 23-year-old should return to Double-A to start next season.
RHP Ian Koenig played most of 2026 with San Antonio. In 24 games started, Koenig had a 4.60 ERA in 121.1 innings pitched. He is a workhorse who had 98 strikeouts and 33 walks over those starts. He doesn’t feature electric stuff but has good command of his pitches. Another UDFA, Koenig could work out to be a back-end starter if he keeps progressing. He finished the season as the El Paso Chihuahuas’ best starter after a late promotion.
RHRP Francis Peña had a bad end to 2025 and a slow start to 2026. A reliever who was a top 20 prospect at the start of last season, Pena finished that season with a 4.99 ERA for El Paso. He pitched 59 innings for the Missions with a 3.05 ERA and was an opener for one game. His return to form could prove helpful if he can stay consistent. His sinker/slider combo requires good control to allow him to play in MLB.
El Paso Chihuahuas
The Chihuahuas were the last affiliate to finish their season. They played against the best team in their division to end the year, losing four of the six games.
The biggest plus to the season for the Chihuahuas was being a proving ground for all the players A.J. Preller signed to supplement the Padres’ roster. Or at least that is the way it turned out.
El Paso finished 30 games under .500, and no wonder. Their roster was in flux for the whole year as players came and went after signing, being promoted or demoted, being released and resigned, and just about every other move that could be made.
They hosted rehabbing big leaguers on multiple occasions and had their early-season success torpedoed when San Diego needed all their good players due to underperformance or injury.
Every Padres fan should be grateful to El Paso for suffering through a season unlike any other that I can remember for the Triple-A franchise.
IF/OF Nick Solak, catcher Carlos Rodriguez, IF Mason McCoy, and IF Marcos Castanon played the season as the only consistent Chihuahuas on the offensive side.
RHP Evan Fitterer started 20 games and finished the season with a 4.06 ERA, remarkably good for the league. He had 64 strikeouts in 95.1 innings pitched. LHP JP Sears did not fare as well. In 85.1 innings pitched and 20 starts, Sears ended with a 7.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts.
Both Ian Koenig and LHP Jagger Haynes got late-season promotions to Triple-A. Koening had five starts with a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings, while Haynes pitched 40.1 innings with a 5.80 ERA.
El Paso played host to the Padres’ top prospect, catcher Ethan Salas, for 17 games before his promotion to the big leagues. At the time, it wasn’t clear why the organization would need to promote Salas to Triple-A. He was clearly ready, if they wanted to test him during the playoff run for the big club.
After his promotion, the reason for his brief appearance in Triple-A became clear. Salas needed exposure to the ABS system before joining the Padres. Those 17 games provided a base of knowledge that has proven very useful for the young catcher in his early MLB career.
There will be lots of movement this offseason for the Padres minor league system. Multiple players are reaching the end of control for the organization while others were signed as free agents and will need their contracts renegotiated. Outfielder Jake Cunningham has already signed for next season.
Even some of their top 30 prospects are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this December and their future with the organization is to be determined.
Arizona Fall League
Not an actual minor league team, the Arizona Fall League is an instructional and development league used to give extra work to players who are coming back from injury and to players who need to transition into different roles or into professional baseball.
It is comprised of six teams; five MLB teams contribute players to each team roster. The Padres play on the Peoria Javelinas with the Peoria Sports Complex as their home field. Games begin Oct. 3 and continue through the end of their regular season on Nov. 4.
The Padres are sending five pitchers and three position players to play for Peoria.
There will be a full preview before the season begins.
