Padres Prospect Hot Sheet: Storm's Ryan Wideman Steals Nine Bases In Four Games

[Steve Drumwright]

Checking in on the San Diego Padres prospects who made a mark in the last week:

Ryan Wideman, CF, Low-A Lake Elsinore

Season stats: 32 games, 9 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 13 BB, 25 K, 27 SB, 6 CS

If there is a player to dream on in the Padres' system, it just might be Wideman. Why? Take the center fielder's last game as a prime example. Wideman went 4-for-4 and stole five bases—yes, FIVE steals—in the Lake Elsinore Storm's 5-4 loss to the Inland Empire 66ers (Seattle Mariners). That put an exclamation point on a dynamic week for Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect.

All the 22-year-old Wideman—the Padres' third-round draft choice last year out of Western Kentucky—did last week was go 10-for-19 (.526) with four runs, four RBIs and nine stolen bases. That came despite not playing in one game and going 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in another. So that line is really covering just four games. Last week accounted for one-third of his steals for the season. Sunday's five thefts marked the seventh game with multiple stolen bases and surpassed the four he swiped on April 23.

Wideman's 27 steals are the most in all of Minor League Baseball by four and is 11 clear of the next-highest total in the Cal League. The Storm, not so coincidentally, lead the Cal League with 105 steals, with the No. 2 team at 54, and are second in all of MiLB. Based on the first 33 games of the season, Wideman is on pace to steal 118 bases.

But the reason the 6-foot-4, 204-pounder is able to steal the quantity of bases he has been is due to an improved offensive approach. First, he has cut down on his strikeouts. In his debut season last year with the Storm, Wideman struck out 32 times in 112 plate appearances (28.6%) over 26 games. In 32 games this year, he has just 25 strikeouts in 144 plate appearances, a much more palatable 17.4% rate.

That more selective approach has allowed his batting average to climb from .229 to .328, which ranks eighth in the Cal League and third on the Storm. He could still stand to draw a few more walks (9% walk rate this year), but that is something he can develop over time.

Carson Montgomery, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne

Season stats: 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 22 IP, 16 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 8 BB, 18 K

The 11th-round draft choice in 2023 out of Florida State turned in his second straight start of five scoreless innings Thursday in a 3-1 win over the Beloit SkyCarp.

Montgomery, 23, allowed three hits and a walk with five strikeouts, nearly identical to his line in his previous outing (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K). He now sports a 1.64 ERA in five starts, allowing four earned runs in 22 innings. Montgomery's ERA would be fourth in the Midwest League if he had enough innings to qualify.

It is a good comeback story for Montgomery, who had 718 days between his previous appearance this season and his 2026 debut. He started 2024 at Low-A Lake Elsinore and appeared in three games (7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 10 K) before his elbow gave him problems. He took a little time before deciding on Tommy John surgery, which KO'd the rest of his 2024 and 2025 regular seasons. But the Padres gave Montgomery a look in the Arizona Fall League in 2025. There, he made four starts, pitching 10⅓ innings with a 1.74 ERA, allowing two runs on 11 hits with seven walks and 17 strikeouts.

Pitching in the Arizona Fall League set him up to begin 2026 with confidence, which has shown in the results. Opponents are hitting just .213, which would rank in the top eight in the Midwest League if he had enough innings to qualify. His comeback is certainly a good turn for a Padres system needing some positive stories.

Tyler Schmitt, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore

Season stats: 2-2, 5.09, 1-0, 3.64 ERA, 6 games (5 starts), 23 IP, 16 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 18 BB, 27 K

There isn't much room for statistical improvement following Schmitt's last two outings. The 17th-round draft choice in 2025 out of Illinois, Schmitt turned in his second consecutive shutout start, going six innings and allowing just one hit against the 66ers. He did walk three and struck out five.

That game Saturday came after the 21-year-old went five shutout innings and gave up two hits with a walk and six strikeouts, giving him an 11-inning scoreless streak. On Monday, Schmitt was named the California League Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row.

Schmitt's ERA is a bloated 5.09 based on allowing seven runs in three innings April 18 vs the Stockton Ports (Athletics). But the promise is there. He has 27 strikeouts in 23 innings, which includes seven K's in 3⅓ innings in his pro debut April 4 against the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Los Angeles Dodgers). He has five or more strikeouts in four of his six games. Schmitt's one relief appearance came as the bulk guy in Lucas Giolito's rehab appearance April 25.

Schmitt made the jump to Division I with Illinois in 2025 after playing two years at Division III Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Carson Tucker, IF, Double-A San Antonio

Season stats: 22 games, .352/.405/.507, 9 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 21 K

The 2020 first-round draft choice (23rd overall selection) by the Cleveland Guardians signed with the Padres in January after being released by Cleveland in July 2024 following some injuries and a lack of production. He didn't play at all in 2024. Now 23, Tucker is realizing some of that potential after spending 2025 playing independent ball. Tucker is the younger brother of infielder-outfielder Cole Tucker, who was a 2014 first-round selection (24th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both were drafted out of Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix.

Tucker is coming off a week in which he played in four of the San Antonio Missions' six games and had a pair of three-hit games as part of an 8-for-15 showing with three doubles, a walk and an RBI against the Midland RockHounds (Athletics). Tucker went 3-for-4 Wednesday for his first three-hit game since June 14, 2023. After a hit and a walk Thursday, Tucker had another 3-for-4 performance, including his third straight game with a double. Tucker's nine doubles lead the Missions.

He spent 2025 playing for the Ogden Raptors in the Pioneer League, an independent league. There, he slashed .323/.469/.452 with a homer, 12 RBIs and six stolen bases in 18 games. He also drew 16 walks.

With the Guardians, for whatever reason, Tucker never got going offensively. He had slash lines of .150/.320/.300 in 2021 (six games, Arizona Complex League), .137/.257/.222 in 2022 (38 games, Low-A Carolina League) and .200/.296/.263 in 2023 repeating in the Carolina League.

Zach Evans, 3B, High-A Fort Wayne

Season stats: 24 games, .222/.278/.300, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 17 K, 3 SB, 0 CS

Entering last week, the 23-year-old was having a rough season offensively, with a .188/.263/.232 slash line with three doubles and an RBI in 18 games. But something has changed recently as the ninth-round pick in 2024 out of Lenoir-Rhyne University has been more of a threat at the plate. Last week against the Beloit SkyCarp (Miami Marlins), Evans went 7-for-21 with a double, a homer and six RBIs with two stolen bases.

A rainout Tuesday set up a Wednesday doubleheader. In the first game, Evans doubled his RBI total with an RBI double in his first at-bat, but he saved his biggest hit of the season for his next trip to the plate. That is when he drilled a 1-1 pitch for a two-run homer and a 4-0 lead. It was his fourth career homer after making his pro debut last year with Low-A Lake Elsinore and then coming up to Fort Wayne. The next day, Evans had a tie-breaking two-run single up the middle in the eighth inning in a 3-1 victory.

Perhaps his most dramatic moment, though, came in Friday's 1-0. In the fifth inning, Evans had a leadoff single and went to third on a Jonathan Vastine double. The next two batters were unable to drive him in with a groundout and a popup. That prompted Evans to steal home against a left-handed pitcher in what would be the game's only run. Evans finished the game 2-for-3.

Evans also had singles Saturday and Sunday to give him a modest four-game hitting streak and hits in 10 of his last 13 games. A year ago during his debut season, Evans had a .275/.343/.344 slash line with three homers, 72 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

Honorable Mentions

Two other players are worth taking note of. One, of course, is Double-A San Antonio catcher Ethan Salas. Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect went 8-for-15 with a pair of three-hit games. While there were no homers, unlike the three he hit the previous week, Salas did have three doubles while scoring four times and driving in four.

The other is catcher Rodolfo Duran, who went 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and four RBIs for Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, then made his MLB debut with the Padres Thursday. He spent 11 years in the minors before finally getting the official call-up when Luis Campusano went on the 10-day injured list (he actually was on standby this season following Freddy Fermin's concussion scare).

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