2026 Padres Affiliate Season Recap: Double-A San Antonio Missions

[Steve Drumwright]

For most of the season, the main attraction for the Double-A San Antonio Missions was Ethan Salas. And rightfully so.

Padres Mission’s No. 1 prospect put everything together after a lost 2025 due to injury and used it as a springboard to eventually make his MLB debut as a Sept. 1 promotion. Starting the season at 19 years old, Salas put up a .286/.361/.417 slash line with seven homers, 37 RBIs and 14 steals in 72 games.

While there were other key prospects on the Missions at the beginning of the season and then later on, the results were poor. The Missions finished last in the Texas League’s South Division in each half and had a minus-166 run differential, which was 59 runs more than the next-worst team. As you might expect, a league-worst number of runs scored, reaching 600 on the final day of the season and one of only two teams not to score at least 700, and allowing the fourth-most runs was not a good combination.

Many of the offensive leaders played fewer than 40 games at Double-A. But there were bright spots. Right fielder Braedon Karpathios emerged as a legit prospect, tying for the club lead with 17 homers and having a team-best 73 RBIs while slashing .268/.353/.444, before getting a late-season promotion to Triple-A El Paso. Kai Roberts, the Padres’ seventh-round pick in 2024, was a force on the bases, stealing 43 bags, including a Texas League-record 28 consecutive to begin the season. The center fielder slashed .200/.296/.282 in 110 games. Tirso Ornelas, who began spring training on the Padres’ 40-man roster, finished third in the league with 33 doubles.

On the pitching side of things, three arms stabilized the rotation. Those would be left-hander Jagger Haynes (Padres Mission’s No. 13 prospect) and right-handers Ian Koenig and Eric Yost (Padres Mission’s No. 16 prospect). Koenig led the staff in starts (24) and innings (121⅓) and was second in strikeouts (98). Yost led with 101 K’s in 106⅔ innings. Right-handers Josh Mallitz and Francis Pena were also good out of the bullpen. Right-hander Andrew Moore was also a big part of the relief corps before going up to Triple-A El Paso and then being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-hander Hunter Stratton. 

San Antonio Missions 2026 Stat Leaders

League: Texas League South Division

First half: 31-38, fifth place, 8½ GB, minus-72 run differential

Second half: 28-41, fifth place, 13 GB, minus-94 run differential

Hitting leaders

(20 games minimum)

Average: Leandro Cedeno .315, Alex McCoy .314, Jake Cunningham .301

Slugging percentage: Cedeno .528, McCoy .467, Cunningham .459

OPS: Cedeno .949, Romeo Sanabria .831, Cunningham .829

Runs: Braedon Karpathios 62, Tirso Ornelas 58, Ryan Jackson 52

HRs: Karpathios 17, Ornelas 17, Albert Fabian 12

RBIs: Karpathios 73, Fabian 54, Ornelas 54

Pitching leaders

(10 games minimum)

ERA: Andrew Moore 1.85, Tucker Musgrove 2.93, Francis Pena 3.05

Strikeouts: Eric Yost 101, Ian Koenig 98, Jagger Haynes 85

WHIP: Omar Cruz 1.08, Josh Mallitz 1.18, Haynes 1.27

Opponent average: Moore .117, Musgrove .157, Igor Gil .178

Wins:  Yost 7, Sadrac Franco 6, Koenig 5, Mallitz 5

Saves: Mallitz 6, Johan Moreno 4, Franco 3, Pena 3

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