Padres Prospect Hot Sheet: Braedon Karpathios Carries Hot August Into September

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!). Note: This will be the last edition of the Hot Sheet as the regular seasons for High-A Fort Wayne and Low-A Lake Elsinore have concluded, although the Storm are in the playoffs this week. Double-A San Antonio is in its last week, while Triple-A El Paso has two more.

Braedon Karpathios, RF, Double-A San Antonio Missions

Season stats: 268/.353/.444, 120 games, 62 R, 22 2B, 3 3B, 17 HR, 73 RBI, 60 BB, 162 K, 6 SB, 6 CS

Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect didn't slow down just because the calendar flipped from August to September. After being our Minor-League Hitter of the Month for August, Karpathios had his most productive week since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2022. The left-handed hitter drove in 13 runs for Double-A San Antonio, all coming in just three games, while putting together a .636/.667/1.045 (14-for-22) slash line over five games against the Midland RockHounds. His week got off to a tremendous start as he hit a grand slam Tuesday in his second at-bat of the game and would drive in another for a five-RBI game. It was his second slam of the year.

The next day, Karpathios would produce his first career five-hit game while driving in four more runs, including homering in back-to-back games and for the third time in four games. After a 2-for-3 game with a walk Thursday (no RBIs), he came up with another four-RBI game Friday while going 3-for-5 with two doubles. Karpathios got Saturday off, then finished his week with another 2-for-3 day with a walk. He is certainly a player to watch for a possible backup outfield spot in 2027 as the one-time pitcher has a strong arm for either corner spot. Karpathios is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason.

Jorge Quintana, SS, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

Season stats: .234/.328/.367, 103 games, 56 R, 18 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 52 RBI, 52 BB, 125 K, 29 SB, 6 CS

The 19-year-old certainly isn't known for his bat as his batting average has hovered in the .230 range all season. Padres Mission's No. 7 prospect will bring a stellar glove, one reason why the Padres acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers at the 2025 trade deadline in the Brandon Lockridge-Nestor Cortes deal. But Quintana, wrapping up his first year in full-season ball with Low-A Lake Elsinore finished the regular season showing a bit of his offensive upside. The switch-hitter homered in each of his final two regular season games, including a mammoth blast over the big wall in right field at The Diamond.

In addition to the big-time power, Quintana hit in all four games he played in last week against the Inland Empire 66ers, compiling a .563/.611/1.000 slash line. He also had a double, two walks and five RBIs as well as three stolen bases. Quintana, however, does have a strikeout problem, going down on strikes 125 times in 381 plate appearances, a scary 31.8% rate. For comparison, Kyle Schwarber leads MLB with 200 strikeouts entering the week, a 32.4% rate.

Lan-Hong Su, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm

Season stats: 0-5, 5.10 ERA, 17 games (16 starts), 47⅔ IP, 48 H, 28 R, 27 ER, 17 BB, 58 K, .268 opponent average

In his final start of the regular season—and perhaps the season depending on his postseason usage for Low-A Lake Elsinore—the 19-year-old right-hander out of Taiwan continued his strong finish to his debut season. Su, a key international signing last year, struck out a season-high nine over 4⅔ innings allowing just one hit (a two-run homer) to his final batter. He didn't walk anyone, although he did hit a batter. Su was coming off his previous season best of seven strikeouts and has punched out 21 over his last three games covering 11⅔ innings.

After making six appearances in the Arizona Complex League with a 4.06 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15⅔ innings, the slender 6-foot-1, 150-pounder had some significant struggles when bumped up to the Storm. He allowed four runs in each of his first three starts over 7⅔ innings. After a small reset, he has turned things around in his last six starts. Over 15⅔ innings, he has allowed seven runs on 18 hits and five walks while fanning 26. That type of progress over a short period should bode well for Su, who was in the 89-94 mph range with his fastball before signing, then touched 97 in the Spring Breakout game in March. Considering his development stage, there would seem to be plenty of upside on the horizon for Su.

Javier Chacon, LHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps

Season stats: 6-1, 3.76 ERA, 38 games (all relief), 3 holds, 1 save (2 chances), 67 IP, 51 H, 37 R, 28 ER, 47 BB, 82 K, .213 opponent average

The 23-year-old left-hander has been a quiet yet steady performer this season. That was evident in his two relief appearances last week as he struck out eight over 5⅓ innings, while walking four and giving up just two hits while facing 22 batters. That included matching his season high of six punchouts over three innings Saturday vs. the 66ers. This has been a strong bounce-back season after missing almost all of 2025 due to injury.

Chacon turned in a stellar first eight appearances for Low-A Lake Elsinore, with a 1.59 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 17 innings, earning him a quick promotion to High-A Fort Wayne. With the TinCaps, Chacon has continued to turn in valuable innings, posting a 4.50 ERA over 50 frames, walking 40 (15.7%) and striking out 58 (27.4%). He was signed as an international free agent in 2021 and putting up the numbers he did following last year's injury is a positive.

Romeo Sanabria, 1B, Double-A San Antonio Missions

Season stats: .273/.362/.404, 109 games, 52 R, 23 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 55 BB, 102 K

It has been a bit of a trying season for the left-handed-hitting first baseman. After a strong showing in spring training, Sanabria was sent back to Double-A San Antonio to begin 2026 when he might have thought he was going to Triple-A El Paso entering camp. San Antonio is a better environment for prospects as El Paso and many other Triple-A venues skew offensive performances. Last week, Sanabria had a .455/.500/.545 slash line in six games, with two doubles, three RBIs and two walks.

That brought his Double-A line up to .290/.382/.427 with eight homers and 45 RBIs in 88 games. He did get a promotion to El Paso at midseason, but only produced a .200/.268/.307 slash line with two homers and 12 RBIs in 20 games before going back to the Missions in early August. Sanabria doesn't provide much in the way of power, topping out at 12 homers in 2025, but he does have the ability to make good contact. Perhaps this year will get him a ticket to El Paso to begin 2027.

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Interested in learning more about the San Diego Padres' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!