The San Diego Padres promoted catching prospect Ethan Salas from Double-A San Antonio to Triple-A El Paso on July 29. Since then, the Padres’ top prospect has made up for the lack of extra-base hits that he had while in San Antonio. If a confidence boost was the goal for the promotion, that goal was achieved.
Salas has destroyed the baseball since arriving with the Chihuahuas. Over the past week, Salas hit .471/.524/.765 with eight RBI. Since his promotion, he has a .377/.453/.698 slash line with a 1.151 OPS, which includes six doubles, a triple, and three homers for 20 RBI. He is the youngest player in the league by four years.
The small sample size should temper expectations, but he has definitely announced his presence with authority. The league will adjust, given enough time, but with only a month left in the season, he could do real damage.
His bio lists Salas at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. In a recent interview with MadFriars.com, Salas reported that his growth over the past year has contributed to his power surge and stated that he is now 6-foot-3 and 210-215 pounds. The 20-year-old also reworked his approach during his time away from the field due to a back injury that robbed him of almost all of the 2025 season.
More roster movesThere were more adjustments made to minor league rosters over the past week. After sending Gage Workman to Triple-A, the Padres released pitcher Misael Tamarez from the El Paso roster. Infielder Dylan Grego was activated and sent to Fort Wayne.
Newly signed draftees were activated and infielder Joe Trioly and first baseman Chris McHugh were placed on the Lake Elsinore roster. Catcher Robbie Lavey was activated and assigned to Fort Wayne, a highly unusual skip of the first A-level for a new draftee.
LHP Miguel Cienfuegos was released from the El Paso roster.
RHP Michael Salina, who was removed from his first start after one inning, was placed on the injured list for Lake Elsinore. He will probably see work in Arizona for the rest of the year.
Free agent RHP Brent Honeywell was signed to a minor league and deal and placed on the El Paso roster.
Outfielder Alex McCoy, 24, the 6-foot-6, 275-pound undrafted free agent from 2024, was promoted from Single-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio on Aug. 14. After signing, McCoy missed much of the 2025 season with injuries. He had a short run with Lake Elsinore at the end of the year and McCoy started 2026 with Fort Wayne. He has had slumps but always bounced back after making adjustments.
Since his promotion to San Antonio, McCoy has played in three games and is making a memorable first impression. Over his minor league career, he has 158 games played with 24 homers and 101 RBI. For those who would like to get to know this outfielder, who can also play first base, MadFriars.com had an interview on their site earlier this month.
El Paso Chihuahuas (49-70 record, last in PCL East)Salas has been the highlight for this team since his promotion. They also hosted Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove for his past two rehab starts.
Otherwise, the team has been underwhelming. The past week showed a 2-4 record with some lopsided losses. After acquiring RHP Hunter Stratton in exchange for Andrew Moore at the trade deadline, the Chihuahuas have benefited from five good outings from the reliever. He has six innings pitched and allowed no runs with only four hits.
RHSP Jhony Brito continues to do well with El Paso. He has a 2.70 ERA in 33 innings pitched with 24 strikeouts to nine walks.
The Triple-A season ends on Sept. 20.
San Antonio Missions (51-63 record, last in Texas League South)Outfielder/first baseman McCoy was promoted on Aug. 14 and has played in three games with 14 plate appearances. He has two doubles and two home runs with six RBI since his arrival. His pattern over the past two levels has been a hot start and then a slump when the league gets a book on him and adjusts. He then struggles for a period of time but then gets hot again as he adjusts to the way he is being pitched. It will be interesting to note if that pattern repeats with Double-A San Antonio. The season ends Sept. 18, leaving a month to watch how this plays out.
RHRP Tucker Musgrove began the season with Fort Wayne and was promoted to Double-A at the break. He has pitched 15.1 innings with a 2.93 ERA and 28 strikeouts to 12 walks. For the season, Musgrove has 34.1 innings pitched with a 3.41 ERA and 68 strikeouts to 25 walks. He still needs a little more work on his command after his return from Tommy John surgery in 2025, but his fastball tops out in triple digits. He is expected to be added to the major league roster this offseason, as he will be Rule 5-eligible in December.
LHSP Luis Gutierrez, 23, is returning from a lat strain and has pitched in three games for the Missions. In his 12 innings pitched, he has a 3.75 ERA. For the season, after returning from injury, Gutierrez has appeared in games for the ACL and Lake Elsinore teams before being assigned to the Missions to complete his rehab. When complete, he will likely need to see more work after the season ends. He is Rule-5 eligible again this year after going unclaimed last December at the age of 22.
Outfielder Jake Cunningham went on the 7-day injured list on Aug. 14.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (46-65 record, last in Midwest League East)Outfielder Kasen Wells leads the TinCaps with a .264 batting average, with first baseman Luke Cantwell hitting .262. Cantwell has a .404 OBP while outfielder Kavares Tears leads with a .471 slugging percentage. Tears also leads with 13 home runs, and infielder Rosman Verdugo has 49 RBI. This explains the poor record (they were 0-5 this week), but they have had many issues with their pitching.
After Kash Mayfield was traded at the deadline, RHP Carson Montgomery is the most effective starter. He has a 4.58 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Allowing 45 walks to 67 strikeouts shows a lack of command that could improve after more work. He is Rule-5 eligible this offseason.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman continues to struggle after being a breakout performer in Lake Elsinore. He is hitting .258 with a .275 slugging percentage after 39 games and has only three doubles as extra-base hits. Wideman had a known issue with holes in his swing when drafted, and the toolsy outfielder will need to make adjustments
The Padres made the rare decision to start a college-level drafted player in the High-A level. Catcher/DH Robbie Lavey was drafted in the fourth round last month. He had an evaluation period in Arizona with the bridge league and was assigned to Fort Wayne when all the rest of the assigned draftees went to Lake Elsinore. The lefty-hitting catcher has an advanced approach with the bat but needs development behind the dish. In his four games and 15 plate appearances, Lavey has two home runs, including a homer in his first at-bat.
Lake Elsinore Storm (61-53 record, first in California League South)Lake Elsinore has benefited from the infusion of players after the draft. The arrival of outfielder Alex Conover, third baseman Nu’u Contrades, first baseman Chris McHugh, and second baseman Joe Tiroly has injected some energy and production into the team.
Catcher Augie Lopez has also been getting some playing time but has not had much success with the bat.
McHugh is hitting .409 with a 1.117 OPS in 5 games with three doubles and a homer. Tiroly is hitting .364 with a .937 OPS in 5 games. Contrades is hitting .324 with a .972 OPS, two doubles, two homers, and eight RBI in 10 games. Conover is hitting .235 with two doubles and two homers with nine RBI.
The Storm have two starters that are worth watching as they move through the system. Cameron Nohos, 23, is an undrafted free agent signed in 2025. He had a brief showing with Lake Elsinore at the end of last season and pitched in the ACL to start this year. The 6-foot-8, 235-lb righty was promoted to Lake Elsinore after the ACL season was completed.
In five games/three games started, Nohos has a 4.58 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts to 10 walks. In his last start with the Storm, he struck out nine in 5.2 innings with three hits and an earned run allowed. He also walked four in the outing. Over his last three starts, Nohos has allowed four earned runs with 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.
Jesus Castro, 19, is a right-handed pitcher signed as an international player out of Mexico in January of 2025. He played for the DSL Gold team in the Dominican Republic last season, winning the DSL championship. He had a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched.
He hasn’t been quite that dominant with Lake Elsinore, but the 3.96 ERA over 77.1 innings is still a good result for a teenager. Castro has made 18 starts in his 19 appearances and has 88 strikeouts to 28 walks.
RHP Tyler Schmitt, 22, was drafted in the 17th round of the 2025 draft. He has quietly put together a good first pro season as a Padre. In 20 games/17 starts, Schmitt has a 4.76 ERA in 87 innings with 94 strikeouts to 46 walks.
DSL Gold and BrownThe Gold team has a 40-15 record, first in the Northwest Division. First baseman Sebastian Nadales has a .429 average in 78 plate appearances. C/1B/RF Dayquer Alfonzo is hitting .337/.470/.542 in 219 plate appearances and leads the team with four homers and 49 RBI.
LHP Carlos Alvarez has a 3.25 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched with 37 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Reliever Albert Perez leads all the pitchers with 40 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched.
The Brown team has a 11-43 record, last in the West Division. 1B/LF/2B Gabriel Teran remains their best hitter. He has played in 23 games with a .382 batting average and 1.106 OPS. He leads the team with three home runs. IF/DH Osmy Osorio has a .653 OPS but leads the team in RBI with 23.
The pitching for the Brown team has struggled, with only one pitcher having an ERA below 4.00. Righty reliever Angel Gamarra has a 3.44 ERA in 18.1 innings, striking out 16 and walking 22. The strikeout leader, reliever Dioscaride Sarit, has 27 strikeouts and 39 walks with a 11.48 ERA. RHP Raudi Perez has the most innings with 37 IP but has a 6.81 ERA with only 19 strikeouts.
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