Padres Prospect Hot Sheet: Alex McCoy Levels and Powers Up

[Steve Drumwright]

We are back after a two-week absence, one for the trade deadline and the other because I had jury duty. Anyways, let's check in on the San Diego Padres prospects who made a mark in the last week (check out Padres Mission's latest Top 20 rankings as well!).

Alex McCoy, OF, Double-A San Antonio Missions

Season stats: .277/.356/.491, 100 games, 63 R, 29 2B, 1 3B, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 41 BB, 115 K, 22 SB, 6 CS

Talk about having a week. Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, after going 2-for-4 Tuesday for High-A Fort Wayne, was promoted to Double-A San Antonio, a big enough event in itself. In his debut Friday, the big right-handed hitter crushed a pair of homers and had four RBIs in a 14-12 loss to the Frisco RoughRiders. That was the highlight of a .500/.474/1.000 (9-for-18) slash line with three doubles, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and the two homers. He also stole three bases. He is now up to 17 homers for the season.

After starting out the season sizzling with a slash line of .354/.386/.683 in April as the corner outfielder was named Midwest League Player of the Month, he wasn't as productive in the next few months before picking it up in July and being named Midwest League Player of the Week (July 28-Aug. 7). He ranked second in doubles with 27, fourth in hits with 99, third in extra-base hits with 43 and fifth in total bases with 173. That was enough for the Padres to promote him when outfielder Jake Cunningham went on the seven-day injured list with a groin strain. McCoy went 7-for-14 in his first three games with the Missions, including a two-steal game Sunday and a stint in center field. 

Ethan Salas, C, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas

Season stats: .301/.377/.465, 86 games, 51 R, 19 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 42 BB, 55 K, 15 SB, 8 CS

Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect continues to sizzle since his promotion to Triple-A El Paso. In his third week with the Chihuahuas, the left-handed-hitting catcher put up a slash line of .471/.524/.765 (8-for-17) in five games with two doubles, his career-high 10th homer and eight RBIs. The 20-year-old, the youngest player in Triple-A, had three walks and did not strike out. That pulled his season batting average above .300 for the first time since June 3. Yes, the hype is strong, although he has had a few defensive missteps since coming up from Double-A San Antonio.

Salas has a 10-game hitting streak and reached base in all 14 games at Triple-A, putting up a tremendous slash line of .377/.453/.698 with six doubles, a triple and three home runs. His home run Sunday was an opposite-field shot down the left-field line, while he also doubled off the base of the wall in center field. The power comes easy with his swing, which is more of a line-drive tilt with gap power. More power will come as his body matures, but his hit tool has taken a major step forward this season.

Bryan Balzer, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps

Season stats: 7-4, 4.47 ERA, 20 games (18 starts), 88⅔ IP, 75 H, 48 R, 44 ER, 39 BB, 92 K, .230 opponent average

In what was perhaps his second- or third-best game of the season, the right-handed starter struck out 10 and allowed just one hit over five innings in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. He did walk four and hit another, which kept this from being his best game of 2026. His strikeouts and 94 pitches were career highs as he continues to build his prospect profile. He didn't allow a hit until a leadoff double in the fourth, although the walks and the hit batter prevented him from having a clean inning. He did strike out three in the first and third innings and nine of the first 10 outs he recorded were punchouts.

Balzer was signed as an international free agent out of Japan in 2023, coming off Tommy John surgery, which delayed his pro debut until 2024. He has appeared in 20 games (18 starts) this year, including eight games (seven starts) with High-A Fort Wayne following a promotion from Low-A Lake Elsinore. Balzer's strikeout rate is up from Lake Elsinore (22.6% to 26.9%), but his walk rate is worse (8.3% to 13.8%). He has mitigated those walks with a .202 opponent batting average with the TinCaps. His ERA sits at 4.47 for the season, including 4.45 at Fort Wayne. His innings are likely to be monitored over the final three weeks as he is at 88⅔ after covering 50 last year.

Tyler Schmitt, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

Season stats: 8-6, 4.76 ERA, 20 games (17 starts), 87 IP, 80 H, 46 R, 46 ER, 46 BB, 94 K, .246 opponent average

Check out the game logs for the right-handed starter and you will be in for a bit of a roller-coaster ride. But there have been more ups than downs for the 2025 17th-round draft choice out of Illinois. When on, Schmitt has been pretty good. That was certainly the case when he piggybacked left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect, on Saturday with five shutout innings and eight strikeouts. He walked two and allowed three hits.

Schmitt's eight punchouts were the most since he had nine and 11 in a three-start span May 30-June 13. In half of his 20 games, he has allowed one or zero runs. He also has four outings where he gave up at least five runs. Walks are his Kryptonite. He had back-to-back starts July 11-18 with no walks, but otherwise has had at least one in every game. This is his first full season in pro ball, so the walks are something that can be ironed out by the 22-year-old.

Luis Maracara, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

Season stats: 2-3, 6.92 ERA, 15 games (13 starts), 40⅓ IP, 40 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 21 BB, 51 K, .255 opponent average

The 18-year-old right-handed starter, signed as an international free agent in 2024 out of Venezuela, has had a mixed bag of results since coming to the U.S. last year. He spent all of 2025 in the Arizona Complex League with a 9.19 ERA in 12 games (four starts) and 32⅓ innings. This year, he began in the ACL and had a 5.94 ERA in seven starts with 23 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings. That earned him a ticket to Low-A Lake Elsinore, where he has appeared in eight games (six starts) with a 7.61 ERA.

But he has had some nice outings between the rocky ones. That was evident Sunday. In an 11-7 loss to the Inland Empire 66ers, when Maracara struck out eight over four innings, matching his career high from 2024 in the Dominican Summer League. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits and no walks. With three weeks left plus the California League playoffs still to come, it is certainly something for him to build off.

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