San Diego Padres Minor-League Hitters of the Month: June 2026

[Steve Drumwright]

Although June wasn't the most promising month for the big-league club, the San Diego Padres did get some positive developments down on the farm. Assuming A.J. Preller continues his aggressive approach at the trade deadline to upgrade a deeply flawed roster, it's possible that some of these players could be playing elsewhere come August.

For now, let's rank the prospects who had the best months at the plate in the Friars' organization.

Ranking Padres' Best Minor-League Pitchers In June

Honorable mention: Bradley Frye, 3B, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

June stats: .305/.438/.441, 19 games, 16 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 12 K, 4 SB, 1 CS

An undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, the third baseman who turns 24 next week has been one of the unsung players on a Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm team that won the California League's South Division first-half championship. Frye came on strong following the midseason promotions last week, going 9-for-16 in the final four games of June with three of his six RBIs for the month. That brought his season slash line up to .282/.371/.380 with two homers and 33 RBIs. He also has 17 steals.

Honorable mention: Dawson Willis, 3B-1B, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

June stats: .280/.341/.537, 22 games, 16 R, 6 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 7 BB, 34 K, 5 SB, 0 CS

The 22-year-old undrafted free agent who played collegiately at Oklahoma and LSU split June, his first full month in pro ball, between the Arizona Complex League and the Cal League with Lake Elsinore. He did not disappoint offensively. The 6-foot-4 corner infielder had a .300/.373/.617 slash line with four homers and 13 RBIs in 16 ACL games, beginning in mid-May, before joining the Storm and put together a .295/.347/.500 slash line, hitting two homers and driving in 11 with three steals at each stop. One issue is he has a combined 38 strikeouts in 28 games, though the rest of his production is hard to poke holes in.

No. 3: Carlos Rodriguez, OF, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas

June stats: .323/.385/.398, 23 games, 10 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 10 BB, 6 K, 5 SB, 2 CS

The 25-year-old outfielder hasn't stopped hitting just because his career-best hit streak came to an end. The left-handed hitter, who signed with the Padres on a minor-league deal in the offseason, had a 22-game run that ended in mid-June. He has hits in seven of the nine games since. He is more contact-oriented as only five of his 30 hits went for extra bases, with four doubles and a homer. But that also meant he struck out just six times in 93 June at-bats. He finished June by reaching base in 34 of his previous 35 games and led the team with 16 RBIs in the month.

Rodriguez had a slow start in the first two weeks of the season, with his average at .212 on April 10. But then he had three hits in two of the next three games to set him on his way to a .303/.372/.390 slash line as he enters July. Thus far, this is Rodriguez's best season since signing out of Venezuela in 2018 aside from short-season ball in 2018 and 2019. It is perhaps telling that in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Rodriguez hasn't tried to hit more homers. He hit a career-high eight last year in the Atlanta organization, but has two just past the halfway point this year.

No. 2: Kerrington Cross, 1B, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps

June stats: .294/.450/.588, 24 games, 20 R, 7 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 23 BB, 25 K, 11 SB, 2 CS

The 24-year-old first baseman continues to be an interesting hitter to watch. A seventh-round draft choice last year out of Cincinnati, the Hawaii native slashed .313/.467/.608 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 17 steals in 58 games at Low-A Lake Elsinore, earning a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne. Surprisingly, the TinCaps, with a number of hitter promotions, have struggled to begin the second half offensively with Cross among them. He is off to a 5-for-23 start (.217/.419/.348) with a homer and three RBIs in seven games.

One of Cross' best abilities is getting on base. After 43 walks and 56 strikeouts with the Storm, Cross has eight walks and four strikeouts with the TinCaps. That has allowed him to score four runs for Fort Wayne after 49 with Lake Elsinore. Before his promotion, he had hits in 10 of 12 games and RBIs in six of eight. An advanced hitter, he should get acclimated to the Midwest League pretty soon.

No. 1: Kavares Tears, OF, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps

June stats: .300/.364/.717, 17 games, 11 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 6 BB, 23 K, 0 SB, 1 CS

After a rough start to his season, the 23-year-old outfielder has turned things on since mid-May. Since homering as part of a 3-for-5, four-RBI game on May 15, the 2024 fourth-round draft choice out of Tennessee has put up a .272/.346/.576 slash line, which brought his numbers up from .176/.330/.341 to .236/.344/.489. He has hit seven of his nine homers in that span.

It has been a steady climb for Tears. Following that initial three-hit game May 15, he has only had one more since then. That came June 24 when he came a triple shy of the cycle. Power was his big tool coming out of college as he hit 20 for Tennessee en route to a national championship in his draft year. He had an 106.4 mph max exit velocity in 2025, which was the third-best in the Padres' system, but the question for Tears was whether he would be able to make contact consistently. He has a 32.1% strikeout rate this season after being at 29.1% last year when he spent the full season at Lake Elsinore, which bears monitoring as his breakout season continues.

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