Padres' Minor-League Hitter of the Month, April 2026: Alex McCoy

[Steve Drumwright]

It's hard to miss Alex McCoy. After all, he is listed at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds. While looking more like a football or basketball player, the outfielder is standing out for other reasons on the baseball diamond.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of college in 2024, McCoy has thrived in his brief time in the San Diego Padres' organization. Building off a good 2025, his first season in pro ball, McCoy, the left fielder for the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps, has been the best overall hitter in the farm system through the first month of the season, making him an easy choice for Padres Mission's Minor-League Player of the Month for April.

The 24-year-old had a 15-game hitting streak that was snapped last weekend and had a 19-game on-base to finish the month. His hitting streak was the longest by a TinCap since a 15-gamer by Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2017. During that run, McCoy had a .339/.354/.645 slash line (.999 OPS) with seven doubles, four homers and nine RBIs.

That was the core of his April production. McCoy finished April with a .354/.386/.683 slash line, with a Midwest League-leading 10 doubles to go along with five homers and 14 RBIs in 21 games. He has stolen five bases in seven attempts. He concluded the month with his first three-hit game of the season, including his first triple. Since April 7 among players with as many at-bats, he leads the league in doubles, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases. His five homers thus far are two shy of what he hit in 58 games last season. McCoy doesn't currently rank among Padres Mission's Top 20 prospects, but that could change in our next update. As with any young slugger, McCoy has struggled to draw walks, with a 3.4% walk rate (three walks in 88 plate appearances), and his 23.9% strikeout rate is slightly above what the MLB average is. Nevertheless, McCoy has some of the best power in the system. Last season with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, McCoy had a peak exit velocity of 118 mph, a figure that would look elite even at the MLB level.

His emergence is definitely a win for the Padres' player development at a time the farm system could use a few. The Friars are universally ranked last among the 30 farm systems due to the way president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has traded prospects to bolster the major-league roster in recent years.

The Padres signed him in 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra, where he played after three seasons at Maryland-Eastern Shore. McCoy hit 11 homers in 56 games, mainly as a center fielder, at Hofstra with 44 RBIs and 22 stolen bases while putting up a .306/.384/.509 slash line. In 80 games At Maryland-Eastern Shore, first base was his primary position, hitting four homers, driving in 29 and stealing 36 bases in 43 attempts combined in his two playing seasons (his freshman year was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic). His slash lines were .294/.388/.368 in 2022 and .253/.357/.347.

His evolution as a hitter at Hofstra could be attributed to the Pride's head coach, former MLB infielder Frank Catalanotto.

McCoy didn't play professionally after signing in July 2024 until making his debut with Lake Elsinore in April 2025. With the Storm, he had a .318/.394/.513 slash line with six homers and 33 RBIs in 53 games, with 14 steals in 16 attempts. McCoy also had 12 doubles and three triples. He had a brief rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, posting a .278/.381/.611 slash line in five games with three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs. McCoy had eight- and nine-game hitting streaks with Lake Elsinore.

As a 24-year-old in High-A, McCoy is a bit old for the level (he is about 18 months older than the average player), so it wouldn't be surprising to see him move up to Double-A San Antonio soon if he continues to hit like this. His ability to hit and hit for power will need to be maintained if his ascent is to continue. Defensively, McCoy should be able to stick in left, but he also does have experience at first base, giving him positional flexibility.

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