San Diego Padres Minor League Relievers Of The Month - May 2025

[Greg Spicer]

It was a roller coaster month for Padres relievers throughout the organization. While the top and bottom ends of the organization, Triple-A El Paso and ACL Padres, had struggling bullpens with few bright spots, the middle squads, Tin Caps, Mission, and Storm, were littered with strong months from high-quality arms. One of the most challenging aspects of putting together a great month as a reliever is that a couple of bad innings can completely upend your stats. Still, the following pitchers were able to stay steady for the entirety of May. 

#5- Bradgley Rodriguez (San Antonio Mission) - 10 G, 1.74 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 11 K
Rodriguez, the reliever out of Venezuela, is one of the most promising arms in the Padres system. Last season, he made the jump from Low A to Double A quite quickly and has been a significant factor in clutch innings for San Antonio this year. At just 21 years old, Rodriguez is already one of the big inning pitchers for the San Antonio bullpen, and May was his most dominant month yet. Despite not starting a single game, Rodriguez led San Antonio with four wins on the month and coupled that number with zero losses and two saves (no blown saves). Rodriguez gave the Mission big inning after big inning, helping them finish May with a winning record. While his hits and ERA keep him at five in a competitive month of relievers, his accuracy and clutch play deserve recognition. 

#4- Josh Mallitz (Fort Wayne Tin Caps) - 6 G, 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 20 K
After a terrible start to the season as a multi-inning reliever, Mallitz was finally able to settle into his role. His ERA is still sitting above five, but a solid last month is a good step in the right direction for the 23-year-old right-hander out of Mississippi. Being a long reliever is a difficult task because you still don’t get a high enough inning count to keep a low ERA after bad outings, but you're also tasked with higher pitch counts and more innings than other relievers. Continued consistency from Mallitz could be crucial for Fort Wayne to stay on track as the summer gets going. The key to his success will be to keep missing bats. When players are putting the ball in play, things tend to go south for Mallitz. In May, he led Fort Wayne relievers with 20 strikeouts, and hitters batted just .154 against him. Keeping those numbers sustainable has to be his goal moving forward. 

#3- Jose Espada (San Antonio Mission) - 8 G, 0.79 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 15 K
The 28-year-old from Puerto Rico joins the list as its oldest member. A career journeyman in the minors, Espada is looking to capitalize on success for San Antonio to keep progressing through the system. He contributed a lot of high-quality innings for the Mission this month. He got his ERA down to 2.66 on the season and displayed his ability to get both late-inning outs (two saves) and multi-inning stretched appearances (five one-plus-inning appearances). Given his age and consistency to start the year, Espada is a candidate to look out for promotion to Triple A, but for now, he remains a key part of what was a dominant bullpen for San Antonio in May. 

#2- Garrett Hawkins (Fort Wayne Tin Caps) - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 15 K
Two through four on the list were very hard to place and could be viewed as interchangeable. They all put together dominant months. All three arms had great WHIPS and K/BB ratios, and the ERAs increased with their innings pitched. The ranks came down to a choice between the value of the inning difference and runs allowed. I decided to give Hawkins the second spot because, at the end of the day, you can’t ask for more from your reliever than not allowing a single run. Hawkins, a 25-year-old from British Columbia, has established himself on the High-A roster this season. He pitched just four games for them last season (all starts), but has transitioned to becoming one of the Tin Caps' back-end relievers. Making the transition from starter to reliever has been challenging for many pitchers who have tried, but a May with 15 strikeouts in just over nine innings and a 0.64 WHIP suggests that his stuff can play as a reliever in the minors. 

Padres Minor League Reliever of the Month- Adam Conrad (Lake Elsinore Storm) - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 7 H, 11 BB, 14 K
Conrad has had an incredible start to his professional career. He is the first player to sign with an MLB team out of Carolina University, and he has already established his presence in the Storms' bullpen. The Padres signed Conrad due to his stuff and potential. Despite having a 4.85 ERA at Carolina, his 6'3 ", 205-pound frame at age 22, coupled with his electric fastball and plus breaking ball, gave the Padres enough to work with. 

Conrad's performances in May continue what has been the best start of any reliever's season throughout the Padres organization. In 21 2/3 innings pitched, he is yet to allow an earned run and is thriving in long relief and late-inning appearances. Conrad had three outings of three-plus innings pitched and five multi-inning outings last month. His only short performances came early, on May 4, when fielding let him down, as he conceded three unearned runs in one inning. Later, he showed his versatility by getting the two-out save against San Jose on May 11. 

Although this has been a dream start to his professional career, there are some concerns about the numbers Conrad has put up thus far. Despite the immaculate ERA, his 11 walks in 14 1/3 IP this month are not sustainable if he wants to keep runs from crossing home, and a 1.26 WHIP is sure to lead to earned runs at some point. His dominant scoreless inning streak is worthy of recognition as the Padres' reliever of the month. Still, it will be interesting to see if he can make the necessary adjustments to sustain this success throughout a professional season. The bright side is that Conrad is a young, healthy arm, which means he has time to make the necessary changes needed to be a productive player for a very long time. 

Sustainability will be the key for these pitchers moving forward, but a strong May could give them momentum that lasts the entire season. While the Padres MLB squad would’ve liked to see more production from the Triple-A relievers in case reinforcements are needed, it’s encouraging to see that MLB arms could be developing down the line. 

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