2026 Padres Affiliate Season Recap: Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas

[Steve Drumwright]

If you are looking for good news about the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, it's admittedly tough to come by. At least they weren’t the worst Triple-A team this season. The Chihuahuas had a full-season record of 60-90, which was the worst mark in the Pacific Coast League. That was only a notch better than the Norfolk Tides, a Baltimore Orioles affiliate that went 58-89 in the International League.

Yes, it was a trying season for the Chihuahuas, the San Diego Padres’ top affiliate. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some fun performances to keep track of individually, though.

Of the players who finished the season on the roster, first baseman-corner infielder Nick Solak led the Chihuahuas in RBIs with 80 while posting a .311/.376/.487 slash line with 16 homers. Outfielder Carlos Rodriguez was a hit machine, leading the team with 148 of them while posting a slash line of .308/.375/.416 with 77 RBIs and 55 walks, both second on the team. Rodriguez had a team-high and career-best 22-game hitting streak this season. Second baseman Marcos Castanon paced the Chihuahuas with 17 homers while recording a .282/.336/.445 slash line and shortstop Mason McCoy had a career-high 40 stolen bases and team-best 57 walks while putting up a slash line of .285/.361/.406. 

They were some of the reasons why the Chihuahuas finished sixth in the Pacific Coast League in OPS (.793), fifth in runs and sixth in homers. As you can see, offense wasn’t the problem.

Pitching, on the other hand, was an issue, and you can chalk that up in part to the elevation El Paso plays at. The 3,700 feet isn’t as bad as Denver’s Coors Field, but is also slightly worse than Las Vegas’ Triple-A stadium. The Chihuahuas had the worst ERA in the PCL at 6.28 and gave up the second-most homers and the third-most walks while striking out the fewest amount of hitters. Opponents batted .290, which was the second-worst mark in the PCL.

Right-hander Evan Fitterer was the best of the Chihuahuas’ starters, posting a 4.06 ERA in 28 games, including a team-high 20 starts. Left-hander JP Sears also made 20 starts in his 23 appearances and had a 7.49 ERA. Left-hander Jackson Wolf, before he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the Casey Mize deal, had a 7.05 ERA in his 24 games (17 starts). You get the point. There were some good relief performances that you can’t see through the final stats due to blow-up games. Right-handers Ethan Routzahn, Logan Gillaspie and Sean Boyle are counted among them, with Boyle also making 16 starts and leading the team in wins with 10.

With all the runners on base, the Chihuahuas did lead the minors in one positive category: They turned 154 double plays.

In another season highlight, Ethan Salas, Padres Mission’s No. 1 prospect, came up from Double-A San Antonio and continued to rake. The 20-year-old catcher slashed .326/.410/.539 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 24 games before getting promoted on Sept. 1 for his MLB debut.

The Chihuahuas, with a roster filled mainly with minor-league free agents and players looking to get back to the majors, did have a couple of other good stories. Two other catchers, Rodolfo Duran and Blake Hunt, each got called up to make their MLB debuts and, at one point, were the only two catchers on the Padres’ roster. El Paso was also part of the journeys for outfielders Samad Taylor, Jase Bowen and Luis Rengifo en route to their surprising roles in San Diego this year.

El Paso Chihuahuas Stat Leaders

League: Pacific Coast League East Division

First half: 35-40, third place, 10 GB, minus-23 run differential

Second half: 25-50, fifth place, 23 GB, minus-120 run differential

Hitting leaders

(20 games minimum)

Average: Dustin Harris .350, Ethan Salas .326, Nick Solak .311

Slugging percentage: Harris .617, Blake Hunt .617, Jase Bowen .600

OPS: Harris 1.039, Hunt .998, Bowen .962

Runs: Mason McCoy 94, Nick Solak 89, Marcos Castanon 71

HRs: Castanon 17, Solak 16, Bowen 13

RBIs: Solak 80, Carlos Rodriguez 77, Castanon 72

Pitching leaders

(10 games minimum)

ERA: Hunter Stratton 1.93, Jhony Brito 2.78, Evan Fitterer 4.06

Strikeouts: Sean Boyle 97, Jackson Wolf 90, JP Sears 87

WHIP: Brito 1.26, Eli Villalobos 1.28, Stratton 1.29

Opponent average: Garrett Hawkins .205, Andrew Moore .222, Stratton .235

Wins: Boyle 10, Logan Gillaspie 6, Alek Jacob 6

Saves: Jacob 9, Ethan Routzahn 7, David Morgan 4

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