Steve Drumwright

There was a reason (or two) why the San Diego Padres' defense was much-improved during the 2026 season. And now there is tangible proof. First baseman Ty France and catcher Freddy Fermin were revealed as finishing in the top three for NL Gold Gloves on Wednesday. There is only one round of balloting, which was already done. The winners at each position in each league will be announced Nov. 1. Managers and up to six coaches from each of the 30 teams vote on the best defenders at each position, although they can't vote for players on their club. That accounts for 75% of the vote, with SABR's defensive index making up the remaining 25%. France, who won his first Gold Glove last year as an AL first baseman as he played for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, played 127 games at first, starting 116 times. He made just three errors in 951 chances at first, but was also responsible for saving other Padres infielders from errors with throws in the dirt or otherwise off-target. He was involved in 75 double plays. That resulted in a .994 fielding percentage. The other two top vote-getters at first base in the NL are Matt Olson of Atlanta and TJ Rumfield of the Colorado Rockies. Olson won last year's NL Gold Glove at first. Fermin was behind the plate for 94 games, including 74 starts. He committed only seven errors in 684 chances for a .990 fielding percentage. Fermin threw out a nice 30.4% (24 of 79) of would-be base stealers (league average is 23.3%). Also in the top three in the NL at catcher are Gabriel Moreno of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Luis Torrens of the New York Mets. Moreno won the award in 2023, with Patrick Bailey, then of the San Francisco Giants, taking it the last two years. The Padres finished with the second-best fielding percentage in MLB at .989, only behind the Chicago Cubs, who had five Gold Glove candidates in the top three at their positions and had a .990 fielding percentage. View full rumor

The San Diego Padres do a nice job of finding pitching talent. The problem is they trade it away before the players can develop and help the major-league staff, instead getting a rental for the final two months of the season and losing the prospects dealt away. There is talent that the Padres have in their system, but most of it is at the lower levels, still at least a couple years away from making an impact. And that doesn’t even include 2026 first-round draft pick Coleman Borthwick, who made his pro debut for the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm in the playoffs, appearing in two games. There are other draft picks who could be on this list a year from now. But for 2026, we have a solid selection of pitchers. Determining how to compare relievers and starters is always tough, but that mostly just makes ranking them difficult; all the players that appear here more than earned their spot on this list. 2026 Padres Mission Minor-League Pitchers of the Year We'll kick things off with a number of honorable mentions before diving into the top five pitching prospects from this season. Javier Chacon, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne 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 Braian Salazar, LHP, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: 3-4, 4.25 ERA, 38 games (all relief), 5 holds, 1 save (1 chance), 55 IP, 45 H, 26 R, 26 ER, 31 BB, 67 K, .225 opponent average Bryan Balzer, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: 7-5, 4.74 ERA, 23 games (21 starts), 98⅔ IP, 89 H, 59 R, 52 ER, 48 BB, 100 K, .241 opponent average Winyer Chourio, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: 6-5, 4.56 ERA, 23 games (20 starts), 92⅔ IP, 78 H, 50 R, 47 ER, 57 BB, 122 K, .229 opponent average Josh Mallitz, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: 5-0, 4.09 ERA, 39 games (all relief), 5 holds, 6 saves (8 chances), 61⅔ IP, 50 H, 30 R, 28 ER, 23 BB, 63 K, .224 opponent average 5. Francis Pena, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: 4-3, 3.05 ERA, 42 games (1 start), 3 holds, 3 saves (5 chances), 59 IP, 26 R, 20 ER, 36 BB, 71 K, .230 opponent average The 25-year-old right-handed reliever has had a terrific season. It began with an invitation to major-league spring training and is concluding in the Arizona Fall League. In between, he was a force out of the Double-A San Antonio Missions' bullpen. An international free agent who signed out of the Dominican Republic when he was 21, Pena had three blow-up outings that would have made his numbers better if you take them out of the equation (though you obviously can't literally do that). While good all season, Pena was more consistent in the second half. He often went multiple innings, maxing out at three in his lone start of the year. He could still use some work at limiting free passes (13.7% walk rate), but his strikeout rate was a nice 27.1%. Pena pitched 2025 at Triple-A El Paso after just 19 Double-A games in 2024. Depending on how the Padres approach their Triple-A pitching staff in 2027, he could move up to the Chihuahuas to begin next year. 4. Adler Cecil, LHP, Arizona Complex League, Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: 2-3, 4.09 ERA, 19 games (11 starts), 1 hold, 61⅔ IP, 41 H, 37 R, 28 ER, 6 HR, 38 BB, 107 K, .187 opponent average A 19th-round draft pick in 2023 who had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2025 season, Cecil was a breakthrough prospect this season. He started his comeback in the Arizona Complex League, where the lanky left-handed starter (6-foot-4, 160 pounds) put everyone on notice with 70 strikeouts in 41⅓ innings. He moved up to the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm at the end of July, adding another 37 strikeouts in 20⅓ innings. Adding a playoff appearance to his ledger, he finished with 112 strikeouts, which was fourth-best in the Padres’ system. He did that in 64⅔ innings. Lake Elsinore is just a few miles up the road from where he went to high school at Temecula Valley. As you can imagine, his strikeout rate was extremely high at 39.5%, though his walk rate of 14% offset that a bit. Cecil’s ERA was much better despite the increased competition with the Storm, going from 4.79 in the ACL to 2.66 in six games at Lake Elsinore. With now having a full healthy season under his belt, all eyes will be on how the southpaw progresses in 2027. Starting at Lake Elsinore would seem to be the prudent path, with the potential for an early promotion to High-A Fort Wayne depending on his performance. 3. Tucker Musgrove, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: 2-2, 3.41 ERA, 34 games (all relief), 5 holds, 3 saves (7 chances), 34⅓ IP, 25 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 25 BB, 68 K, .200 opponent average For some reason, the right-handed reliever flies a bit under the radar. The 24-year-old, a seventh-round draft pick in 2023 out of Mobile, an NAIA university, was a two-way star until the draft process revealed that he needed Tommy John surgery. Not only would he be out the rest of 2023, but all of 2024 as well. Even then, the Padres took it easy when he returned to the mound in 2025, having him pitch once a week for the most part, including starts in the second half of the season. There were a couple of setbacks, but nothing that put him out for very long. In 2026, Padres Mission's No. 12 prospect began with the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and was on a reliever’s schedule, which allowed his stuff to pop a bit more. His athleticism as a college center fielder shows through as Musgrove can easily reach triple digits thanks to a terrific spin rate. His strikeout rate was a sparkling 42.8% between Fort Wayne and a midseason promotion to Double-A San Antonio, but he did walk 15.7% of batters this year before his season ended early due to injury. Musgrove is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason and considering his potential, the Padres might add him to the 40-man roster. He doesn’t feel ready for the majors yet with his control issues, but with a potential change as to how MLB teams handle Rule 5 picks coming in the new collective bargaining agreement, another team might take a chance on him. 2. Ian Koenig, Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: 8-10, 4.19 ERA, 29 games (all starts), 148⅓ IP, 140 H, 82 R, 69 ER, 38 BB, 120 K, .248 opponent average An undrafted free agent coming out of Cabrillo College in Northern California who signed in 2022, the right-hander is one of the few starters in the upper levels of the Padres’ system who has shown the ability to potentially help out the major-league rotation at some point. The 25-year-old spent most of 2026 at Double-A San Antonio, where he had a 4.60 ERA in 24 starts and 121⅓ innings. He was promoted late in the season to Triple-A El Paso, where he made five starts and put up good numbers (2.33 ERA, 27 innings, .198 opponent average). Overall, he had a 6.1% walk rate and a 19.4% strikeout rate, with those numbers at the Triple-A level a bit better in the smaller sample size (4.9%, 21.6%). Koenig’s excellent walk rate helped to keep runners off base, which helped his good .248 opponent average look even better. That added up to a 1.200 WHIP, which was best among starters in the Padres’ system and only behind reliever Josh Mallitz (1.184). Koenig led the system in innings pitched with 148⅓ (13⅓ clear of Jagger Haynes), which helped him rack up 120 strikeouts, second-best in the system, just two behind Winyer Chourio. The knock on Koenig was his proclivity for giving up the long ball. He was tagged for 22 this season (1.33 per nine innings), only a modest improvement from the 17 (1.48 per nine) he gave up in 2025. Koenig is eligible for the Rule 5 draft, but it doesn’t feel like a team would take a shot with him at this point. Starting at Triple-A El Paso to begin 2027 seems likely. 1. Jesus Castro, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: 6-5, 4.18 ERA, 22 games (20 starts), 90⅓ IP, 87 H, 50 R, 42 ER, 31 BB, 100 K, .249 opponent average It feels wrong to put anyone else here after the Padres named the 19-year-old right-hander the organization’s Pitcher of the Year. The younger brother of another Padres prospect, Double-A right-hander Manuel Castro, Jesus Castro is carving out his own path. Padres Mission's No. 18 prospect more than doubled his innings from 2025 in the Dominican Summer League to his first year in the U.S., going from 43⅓ to 90⅓ with Low-A Lake Elsinore and there were the usual bumps that came with that. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, sitting in the low-90s, but it does have excellent movement that has resulted in a groundball rate above 50%. He also has a changeup that is effective, while his slider has good spin but could stand to find the zone more often. He was the Storm’s No. 2 pitcher in the first half to Winyer Chourio, then took over the No. 1 slot after Chourio’s midseason promotion to High-A Fort Wayne. His best outing this year came July 28 vs. Stockton, where he went seven shutout innings, allowing just a fourth-inning leadoff single, while striking out seven and walking none. He had a nice 7.9% walk rate and 25.4% strikeout rate in his full season with the Storm. He made two postseason starts as the Storm won the California League championship, including six innings of two-hit ball in Game 1 of the Division Series vs. Ontario. He'll likely open next year at High-A Fort Wayne, with the chance to join the patented Padres fast track if he continues to impress there. View full article

The Arizona Fall League, a showcase for key prospects for all 30 MLB teams, just wrapped up its first full week of action and the eight San Diego Padres players participating had some nice performances. The 30 MLB teams send players that are split among the six AFL teams. Padres prospects play for the Peoria Javelinas, who call the Friars' minor-league and spring training complex home. The other teams supplying players to the Javelinas are the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals. Each week, we will take a look back at how the Padres' prospects fared. Ty Harvey, C Making up for time lost due to a pair of injuries in the regular season for the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, the 2025 fifth-round draft choice has had a mixed bag of success. The 20-year-old catcher, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, has gone just 1-for-13, but he has walked six times, which makes for an odd-looking .077/.368/.077 slash line in five games. When on base, Harvey has continued what the Storm did during the regular season: run. He has a team-high five stolen bases. He had nine in 57 regular-season games. Those five steals include three in one game and have contributed to Harvey scoring four runs. Justin DeCriscio, SS The 10th-round draft choice in 2025, who played at three levels including at Double-A San Antonio this year, went 2-for-14 with a double and three RBIs in four games. He has walked three times, was hit by a pitch and stolen a base. DeCriscio has started twice at shortstop and twice at second base. Alex McCoy, OF The breakthrough prospect in the Padres' system this season, the 24-year-old outfielder got off to a quick start in the AFL. Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2025, homered in the first AFL game of the season and is 4-for-16, also notching a double with five RBIs. McCoy's homer was a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth inning and was a no-doubter 420-foot shot with a 110.6 mph exit velocity. It came on a 2-2 slider that was middle out. McCoy also had a big game Friday, when he went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two stolen bases. He has four steals in the five games he has played. Winyer Chourio, RHP The soon-to-be 23-year-old is looking to put his second-half struggles at High-A Fort Wayne in the rear-view mirror. He certainly took a good step forward in his first AFL start. The right-hander, Padres Mission's No. 17 prospect, went three shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out one. He also hit a batter. That one strikeout came against Kevin Flewelling (Tampa Bay Rays), who was the MVP of the Futures Game, on a nice curveball. But Chourio also sent a murmur through the stands as he reached 96.7 mph on his four-seamer. He induced five groundball outs to just one in the air. Jordan Valenzuela, RHP Another arm to keep an eye on next year, the 21-year-old right-handed reliever made his AFL debut with a pair of one-inning appearances. Against Salt River, Valenzuela gave up two runs on three hits while not allowing a walk nor notching a strikeout. He bounced back against Glendale with a scoreless outing, striking out two while walking one and hitting another. He finished the season at Low-A Lake Elsinore. View full article

There are so many different factors when deciding who to pick as an organization’s hitter of the year. Sure, you can choose based on who had the best batting average, but that is only one piece of the equation. To me, it came down to expectations and performance, as well as the level the players were at. A variety of hitters, from MLB journeymen to top prospects, starred in the San Diego Padres organization this season. Only a few spots were available for the best players on this list, so keep in mind all of the criteria from above. 2026 Padres Mission Minor-League Hitters of the Year We'll kick things off with a number of honorable mentions, many of whom greatly improved their standing within the organization in 2026. Nick Solak, 1B-OF, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: .311/.376/.487, 116 games, 89 R, 28 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 80 RBI, 39 BB, 63 K, 7 SB, 2 CS Carlos Rodriguez, OF, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: .308/.375/.416, 124 games, 62 R, 18 2B, 8 3B, 6 HR, 77 RBI, 55 BB, 61 K, 23 SB, 6 CS Ryan Wideman, CF, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: .286/.350/.406, 109 games, 73 R, 24 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 34 BB, 103 K, 65 SB, 22 CS Qrey Lott, OF, Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: .282/.393/.452, 95 games, 60 R, 14 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 29 BB, 84 K, 27 SB, 5 CS Dawson Willis, CIF-CF, Arizona Complex League, Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: .270/.367/.506, 65 games, 46 R, 16 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 39 RBI, 26 SB, 4 CS 5. Jake Cunningham, OF, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .283/.369/.516, 96 games, 60 R, 18 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 44 BB, 120 K, 10 SB, 6 CS A fifth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, Cunningham was released last year after playing in just 76 games due to injury. The 24-year-old found a home with the Padres and showed he was a power threat to be taken seriously; he had three multi-homer games, including blasting three for the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps on June 5. Cunningham finished tied for the Padres’ system lead in homers with 19 and produced an .885 OPS. After a good showing with Fort Wayne, Cunningham was bumped up to Double-A San Antonio on June 23 and raised his game, slashing .301/.370/.459 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 39 contests. While drawing more than his share of walks (11.3% rate), he also strikes out quite often (30.8%). After being a minor-league free agent following his release last year, Cunningham will be on the market again this offseason. If he returns to the Padres, he likely begins 2027 with the Missions. Notably, he is also eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason, but it'd be a shock to see him put on the Padres’ 40-man roster or selected to another MLB roster. 4. Luke Cantwell, 1B, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: .289/.429/.443, 81 games, 51 R, 51 R, 19 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 52 BB, 73 K, 6 SB, 4 CS Selected in the 20th round of the 2025 draft out of Pitt, the 23-year-old showed a nice ability with the bat during his first full pro season. The left-handed hitter was really good to begin the season with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, posting a .328/.475/.496 with just two homers and 30 RBIs in 40 games. One of those homers was an inside-the-parker, which he also did following a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne. With the TinCaps, he struggled at the plate with a .250/.386/.391 slash line, but he did hit four homers. As a first baseman, Cantwell doesn’t provide the typical power from the position, but if he can show consistency at the plate in 2027, that would bode well for his future. Cantwell also has a good eye, drawing 51 walks and leading the Padres’ system in on-base percentage for anyone with at least 300 plate appearances (.429). Following his second-half slump, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him return to Fort Wayne to begin 2027, but the Padres could also push him up to Double-A San Antonio. 3. Alex McCoy, LF, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .278/.355/.467, 123 games, 74 R, 31 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 50 BB, 142 K An undrafted free agent signed out of Hofstra in 2025, the 24-year-old saw his profile skyrocket this year due to producing some of the highest exit velocities in all of baseball. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder showed an all-around hitting ability, tying for the homer lead in the Padres’ system while finishing second with 31 doubles. He hit 27 of those doubles for High-A Fort Wayne, a total that led the Midwest League, before an Aug. 14 promotion to the Double-A San Antonio Missions. Those are many of the reasons McCoy went from not being on Padres Mission’s Top 20 prospects list to finishing the season at No. 8. McCoy put up a .314/.360/.467 slash line in 25 games with the Missions, showing a nice ability to adjust to a tougher level of pitching. With this being his first full pro season, he did have a bad habit of striking out. He finished second in the Padres’ system with 142 K’s, which yielded a 26.2% strikeout rate, though he also drew 50 walks for a 9.2% rate (a solid mark). The big man can also steal a few bags, swiping 24 in 33 tries. McCoy will play in the Arizona Fall League, where he will continue to build on an impressive 2026. He figures to start 2027 where he finished this year, at Double-A San Antonio. 2. Kerrington Cross, 3B-1B, Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .277/.414/.500, 115 games, 78 R, 26 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 64 RBI, 80 BB, 111 K, 21 SB, 7 CS Another position player in his first full pro season, the 2025 seventh-round draft choice out of Cincinnati has a terrific eye at the plate as evidenced by his 80 walks, which led the Padres’ system, in 115 games. How does that compare to the big boys? Xander Bogaerts leads the Friars with 77 walks in 152 games. Cross also put together a .914 OPS, which also led the system (200 minimum plate appearances). His 18 homers were third in the Padres’ system. Cross also had a stellar start to the season at Low-A Lake Elsinore, posting a slash line of .313/.467/.608 (1.075 OPS), with 11 homers, 43 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 58 games. He earned a midseason promotion to High-A Fort Wayne, where the sledding was a bit tougher: he slashed just .239/.365/.392 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 52 games. He did get a final-week call-up to Double-A San Antonio, where he went 6-for-20 (.300/.364/.500) with a homer and three RBIs. He will need to sharpen up his defense to remain at third, with a move to first possible. The Padres could push Cross to start the season at Double-A San Antonio, unless they want to see him have success at High-A Fort Wayne before advancing him. 1. Ethan Salas, C, Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: .296/.374/.448, 96 games, 54 R, 19 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 47 BB, 58 K, 17 SB, 8 CS The 20-year-old wunderkind put everything together this season and took himself all the way to the MLB roster. Following a 2025 season in which he missed all but 10 games due to a stress reaction in his low back, Salas was the best hitter the Padres had in their system in 2026. Sure, there were others who had higher homer totals, better OPS figures, or more RBIs, but the young catcher realized a lot of the potential the Friars envisioned when they signed him to a then-record bonus of $5.6 million in 2023. He has played most of his four years in the Padres' system as the team's No. 1 prospect, as he has been at Padres Mission. Salas, who had slipped in all of the national Top 100 rankings due to missing all that time last year and a poor offensive season in 2024, started his season at Double-A San Antonio as a 19-year-old, where he was playing against guys an average of four years older than he was. All he did in 72 games was put up a slash line of .286/.361/.417 with seven homers and 37 RBIs, as well as 14 steals in 20 chances. After turning 20, he played in his second Futures Game. Just a couple weeks after that, Salas was promoted to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, where he was even better against players roughly eight years his elder. There, he slashed .326/.410/.539 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 24 games, walking more times than he struck out (14-10). That was enough for the Padres to bring him up for his MLB debut when rosters expanded Sept. 1. While at times seeming like the organization might be pushing the young backstop too hard, promoting him up to Double-A as a 17-year-old in his debut season and then watching him struggle at High-A Fort Wayne in 2024 (.206/.288/.311 in 111 games), the work Salas did while recovering from his back injury last year and in the offseason paid off handsomely. He should be a fixture in the big leagues moving forward and is in the mix to be the Opening Day catcher next year. View full article

While the minor leagues include a number of players who aren’t prospects, particularly at the upper levels, the focus of the farm system is about developing those who have long-term futures with a team. For the San Diego Padres, that is very true. The Friars’ Triple-A team was made up mostly of players trying to get back to the majors or journeyman minor-league free agents. Why is that important? Because this part of Padres Mission’s awards season for the minors is all about the prospects. There will be no players who have had any MLB experience or are past prospect age. So, welcome to the 2026 Padres Mission Prospect All-Star Team. It is with that caveat why you will not find two players on this team. One is obvious: Left-handed starter Kash Mayfield would have been an easy choice for this list, but he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the Casey Mize deal. Another is Carlos Rodriguez, the outfielder for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. I ruled him out due to his age (26 in December) and the fact that he has already been a six-year minor-league free agent. That was a tough call because Rodriguez had a very nice season this year. Without further adieu, here is this year’s all-prospect team. 2026 Padres Mission Prospect All-Star Team Catcher: Ethan Salas Team(s): Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: .296/.374/.448, 96 games, 54 R, 19 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 17 SB, 8 CS The no-brainer of no-brainers. Padres Mission’s No. 1 prospect set career highs in pretty much every offensive category while playing 17 fewer games than 2024 in his first full pro season at High-A Fort Wayne. The performance of the left-handed hitter was even more significant considering Salas, who turned 20 on June 1, missed all but 10 games of the 2025 season with a stress reaction in his lower back. That caused him to fall down most national prospect rankings. He won’t be on this list in the future after making his MLB debut down the stretch and is destined to be the Padres’ starting catcher starting in 2027. First base: Albert Fabian Team(s): Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .268/.326/.432, 107 games, 59 R, 20 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 12 SB, 2 CS The 24-year-old split time between first base and the two outfield corners, logging the most time at first. The left-handed hitter, signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, re-signed with the Padres after becoming a minor-league free agent last offseason. Fabian was also coming back from a major injury. He returned late in the 2025 season from a significant leg injury in May 2024. This year, he had the best slash line of his career, with his slugging percentage just down from the .441 mark he put up in 2022 and 2023, when he hit 16 homers in each season. He has done a nice job of cutting down on his strikeouts, posting an 18.6% strikeout rate this year, the best of his career. Second base: Jose Verdugo Team(s): Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: .277/.333/.362, 105 games, 27 R, 12 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 54 RBI, 37 SB, 7 CS Playing his first season in the U.S. and doing it as an 18-year-old, Verdugo is a very good defender who mainly played second base this season, although he started all five of the Storm’s playoff games at shortstop, with Jorge Quintana (Padres Mission’s No. 7 prospect) shifting over to third and 2026 second-round draft pick Elliot Lascelles at second. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Verdugo, signed as an international free agent out of Mexico in 2024, doesn’t hit for much power, but did do a nice job when he did make contact with a .277 average. Of the right-handed hitter’s 104 hits, only 20 went for extra bases, with 12 doubles, four triples and four homers. His size will always have people doubting him, but the Padres gave him a good look this year and he held his own. Third base: Kerrington Cross Team(s): Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .277/.415/.500, 115 games, 78 R, 25 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 64 RBI, 24 SB, 7 CS The Padres’ seventh-round draft choice in 2025 out of Cincinnati did in his first full pro season what he did in his college career: hit. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter had a .313/.467/.608 slash line with 11 homers in 58 games for the Storm before getting bumped up to the TinCaps, where he didn’t have the same success (.239/.365/.392) in 52 games. He got a brief, end-of-season promotion to Double-A San Antonio, where he went 6-for-20 (.300/.364/.500) with a homer. One other big piece of Cross’ game is getting on base. He easily led the Padres’ system with 80 walks. Cross played both infield corners and has a chance to stick at third. Shortstop: Justin DeCriscio Team(s): Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .270/.358/.425, 121 games, 70 R, 29 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 22 SB, 11 CS Selected in the 10th round of the 2025 draft out of North Carolina State after three years at the University of San Diego, the former Orange Lutheran High School hit a total of 14 home runs in four years in college (182 games), then turned around and hit 13 in his first full pro season while reaching three levels. Like other draft picks, he got his feet wet at Low-A Lake Elsinore in his draft year, then began 2026 back with the Storm. There, he opened the season with a .311/.363/.544 slash line with three homers and 18 RBIs in 28 games. He went up to High-A Fort Wayne and while the slash line suffered a bit (.259/.355/.403), he did hit nine homers in 73 games. DeCriscio went up to Double-A San Antonio and posted a slash line near his Fort Wayne mark in 20 games (.257/.366/.343). While shortstop was the position he played most, he also showed versatility by playing second, third and a bit in the corner outfield spots. Left field: Alex McCoy Team(s): High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .278/.355/.467, 123 games, 74 R, 31 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 24 SB, 9 CS The 24-year-old undrafted free agent was the breakout star in the Padres’ system this year. The hulking right-handed hitter (6-foot-5, 260 pounds) isn’t just a power hitter, though. Yes, Padres Mission’s No. 8 prospect did tie for the system lead with 19 homers, but he also finished second in the chain with 31 doubles. Even with 25 games at Double-A, he still finished third in the High-A Midwest League with 27 doubles, just two off the lead. There is more power to be had as McCoy has 90th percentile exit velocity, according to FanGraphs. That is, there's more power to be had if he resolves the one big hole in his game: strikeouts. He struck out 142 times in 123 games, good for a whopping 26.2% strikeout rate. McCoy will look to refine that as he participates in the Arizona Fall League this autumn. The corner outfielder has a little speed in his game, too, just missing a 20-20 season by one homer as he swiped 24 bases. Center field: Ryan Wideman Team(s): Low-A Lake Elsinore, High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: .286/.350/.406, 109 games, 73 R, 24 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 59 RBI, 65 SB, 22 CS One of the brightest stars in the Padres’ system, the 2025 third-round draft pick out of Western Kentucky possesses game-changing speed. After stealing 43 bases in the first half of the season at Low-A Lake Elsinore, Padres Mission’s No. 2 prospect stole another 22 with High-A Fort Wayne before an injury sidelined the 22-year-old for the final three weeks of the season. The right-handed-hitting center fielder led all of the minors in steals for much of the season, with his 65 bags falling just five short of the minors lead. After a .314/.389/.504 slash line in 65 games with the Storm, he slumped to a .246/.292/.267 mark in 44 games for the TinCaps. It was a little surprising not to see Wideman not picked for the Arizona Fall League, but perhaps the Padres felt he needed a break. In a brief debut last year with Lake Elsinore, Wideman had a 28.6% strikeout rate over 26 games. That improved to 20.6% between his two stops this year, a nice bit of progress. His walk rate, however, had a precipitous drop from 10.7% to 6.8%. Getting on base more frequently will help him take advantage of his blazing speed. Right field: Braedon Karpathios Team(s): Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: .258/.344/.423, 130 games, 64 R, 22 2B, 3 3B, 17 HR, 73 RBI, 64 BB, 174 K, 6 SB, 6 CS Another surprise this year, Padres Mission’s No. 9 prospect put together a nice season at Double-A San Antonio before playing the final two weeks with Triple-A El Paso. With San Antonio, the left-handed hitter had a slash line of .268/.353/.444 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs. The 23-year-old had gotten his feet wet with the Missions last year with 21 Double-A games after an okay year at High-A Fort Wayne (.254/.370/.410, 12 HRs, 55 RBIs, 103 games). Karpathios had an impressive 13-RBI week before his promotion, then struggled in his brief time with the Chihuahuas. Strikeouts remain a problem for the young outfielder, who led the Padres’ system with 174 K’s (more than 30 clear of No. 2) for a 32% strikeout rate, up from 28% the year before. Karpathios is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason, but it would be surprising to see the Padres add him to the 40-man roster without a major carrying tool. Designated hitter: Jake Cunningham Team(s): High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: .283/.369/.516, 96 games, 60 R, 18 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 10 SB, 6 CS The only player to have a three-homer game in the chain, the 24-year-old outfielder resurrected his career in his first season in the Padres’ system. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of North Carolina-Charlotte was released by the Baltimore Orioles after a .206/.295/.303 slash line in 2025, his second in which he missed good chunks of time with injuries. He mostly avoided major injuries this year, only missing the final month of the season. Cunningham had his three-homer game June 5 vs. Lake County, the fourth three-homer game in Fort Wayne history. He had a nice showing with the TinCaps, posting a career-high slash line of .269/.369/.560 in 57 games, hitting 15 homers and driving in 35. But he improved those numbers when he moved up to Double-A San Antonio, going .301/.370/.459 in 39 games. Since the Padres signed him as a minor-league free agent, Cunningham will hit the market again this offseason and his return is uncertain. Right-handed starter: Ian Koenig Team(s): Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A El Paso Season stats: 8-10, 4.19 ERA, 29 games (all starts), 148⅓ IP, 140 H, 82 R, 69 ER, 38 BB 130 K, .248 opponent average Another successful undrafted free-agent signing, the 25-year-old right-hander has put himself on the radar for the Padres. After 24 starts and a 4.60 ERA over 121⅓ innings at Double-A San Antonio, Koenig jumped up to Triple-A El Paso and had a tremendous final five starts: He turned in a 2.33 ERA over 27 innings. The biggest reason for Koenig’s success this year was his improved control. He walked 38 over 148⅓ innings this year after issuing four fewer walks in 45 less innings. He also dropped his opponent batting average by 20 points to .248 this year. However, one issue exists: He gives up homers. Koenig is a fly-ball pitcher, with a 35.4% mark this year that produced 22 homers. That fly-ball rate improved after three straight seasons between 40% and 43.3%. The question for his offseason will be whether the Padres protect him in the Rule 5 draft. Left-handed starter: Adler Cecil Team(s): Arizona Complex League, Low-A Lake Elsinore Season stats: 2-3, 4.09 ERA, 19 games (11 starts), 61⅔ IP, 41 H, 37 R, 28 ER, 38 BB, 107 K, .187 If you want to get excited about a Padres pitching prospect, the 21-year-old left-hander deserves the hype. When including a postseason appearance, the 2023 19th-round draft pick struck out an eye-popping 112 over just 64⅔ innings, finishing fourth in the system in K’s. The three players ahead of him had innings totals of 92⅔, 143⅓ and 135. That gave Cecil a 39.5% strikeout rate. Granted, 41⅓ of his innings came in the Arizona Complex League, but Cecil missed the entire 2025 season after having Tommy John surgery. He had two 10-strikeout games in the ACL (five- and four-inning starts), then topped out at eight in his six appearances at Low-A Lake Elsinore. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him start out with the Storm, then get an early promotion to High-A Fort Wayne based on his performance in 2027. Right-handed reliever: Tucker Musgrove Team(s): High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio Season stats: 2-2, 3.41 ERA, 34 games (all relief), 5 holds, 3 saves (7 chances), 34⅓ IP, 25 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 25 BB, 68 K, .200 opponent average Originally thought of as a two-way player when the Padres took him in the seventh round of the 2023 draft out of NAIA school Mobile (Ala.), Tommy John surgery following the draft changed the right-hander's course. The Padres wanted Musgrove to ditch his dream as a center fielder and focus on what he can do on the mound. Musgrove spent 2025 getting accustomed to pro ball and just being a pitcher. What the Padres figured out, because of a couple of small setbacks in his recovery, is that Musgrove is best off in a relief role. The right-hander's stuff, which includes the ability to reach triple digits, has played up in the bullpen. He had a tremendous 42.8% strikeout rate, while his walk rate was at 15.7%. While his rates were slightly worse following his promotion from High-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio, he did post a better ERA (3.79 to 2.93). Musgrove, whose season ended early due to injury, should be back at Double-A to begin 2027. Left-handed reliever: Braian Salazar Team(s): High-A Fort Wayne Season stats: 3-4, 4.25 ERA, 38 games (all relief), 5 holds, 1 save (1 chance), 55 IP, 45 H, 26 R, 26 ER, 31 BB, 67 K, .225 opponent average Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Venezuela, the 21-year-old left-hander ended the season on the injured list, but finished strong otherwise. Salazar had a 10⅔-inning scoreless streak before being sidelined in late August. He made the second-most appearances for High-A Fort Wayne (38). After spending most of 2025 at Low-A Lake Elsinore with three appearances at Fort Wayne, Salazar made some strides this year. While pitching almost the same innings this year (55) as he did last year (55⅔), Salazar allowed fewer hits (53-45), runs (40-26) and walks (45-31), but also struck out fewer batters (80-67). His opponent average also went down from .244 to .225, though he gave up five homers after not giving up a single one last year. The biggest target area for improvement remains his control, as his 12.9% walk rate remains too high for comfort. View full article

It is OK to be mad. The San Diego Padres were that close to potentially having not only one game, but any if not all of the four going their way. It is OK to be sad. What the Padres did since July 24 almost feels miraculous. They were on the verge of being declared dead for the season. It is OK to be envious. What happened to the Padres wasn’t easy to do. Probably only three teams had the wherewithal to do what the Milwaukee Brewers did to the Friars. But this will be one to stew over all winter and into spring or beyond, depending on when the lockout ends. The Padres rolled into the NL Division with a short deck of pitchers and it cost them. The strength of the Padres all season was the area they fell short or underperformed throughout this series. The bullpen. It ended rather solemnly. A 3-1 loss gave the Brewers the requisite three wins in the best-of-five series. The Brewers have bigger dreams than just advancing out of the Division Series, which would have been a huge accomplishment for this Padres team that was at one point 50-53, then sprinted home and earned the top NL wild-card spot. A full-throated crowd of 47,712, four more than the day before that was the third-highest gathering of the Friar Faithful in Petco Park history, was there from the first pitch to give the Padres every extra ounce of energy the players would need. It almost worked. Just ask Manny Machado, who saw a potential tying two-run homer in the eighth robbed by center fielder Garrett Mitchell. Yes, the players on the field Wednesday lost this game. It was another fierce battle with a Brewers team that has put up the best record in MLB each of the last two regular seasons. But it was how the Padres approached their bullpen in the first three games that left them in this situation. Yes, you want to have your best pitch in the biggest situations, but there were other avenues to take to get there. It was the decision of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and manager Craig Stammen to go with only 11 pitchers on their postseason roster for the Division Series, just like they did for the Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs. It was the same 11. Three pitchers—Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray and David Morgan—didn’t see action in the two games from the first round. Two pitchers had yet to see action entering Game 4 vs. the Brewers. They were Morgan and Joe Musgrove. Even the two pitchers who were on the roster for a combined three games due to Buehler and Mason Miller being away from the team as their wives gave birth didn’t set foot on the mound. One of those was Randy Vasquez, who was surprisingly left off the Division Series roster. The desperation set in during the sixth inning. Miller, the superstar closer, warmed up in the sixth inning. That is because manager Craig Stammen was burning through relievers like a 7-year-old devours candy bars at Halloween. After four combined innings from Buehler and Ray, the oft-used Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui combined for just three outs. Jason Adam got the Padres through the sixth, but he allowed a run. The Miller plan backfired, though not as bad as it could have. The Brewers, as they do, made Miller work. Facing the top of the order, Miller got two quick outs, then yielded two singles and a walk before getting a lineout to center on his 20th pitch to end the inning. Miller went just the one inning before sitting and watching the final two innings of the season. Then it was Joe Musgrove, who made his triumphant return for the final inning of the Wild Card Series. He pitched the eighth and ninth, a feel-good story after missing all the time he did. While the game was still tight, it also had a feel of mopup duty because the offense couldn’t solve the Brewers’ rested bullpen. They carried 13 relievers. With 11 pitchers, Rodriguez and Matsui, two of the Padres' top five relievers, wound up being the early firemen. They appeared in all four games. Morejon’s shoulder injury, sustained when he went two innings in Game 1, left only 10 available arms for Games 2, 3 and 4. He warmed up in the ninth, but didn't come in. If he was truly available, he would have been in sooner. Jason Adam pitched in three and perhaps it should have been four as he wasn’t used in Game 2. Was leaving Vasquez off the roster worth the extra bat? Austin Hays got more plate appearances than you would have thought with Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets on the roster. Sheets, though, was scratched from the Game 3 lineup with a stiff neck after missing most of September with an injured left foot. Vasquez gave the team important innings throughout the season, starting and relieving, and took a bullet for the team by pitching six innings in the regular-season finale. Preller and Stammen said he would be on the Division Series roster. But he wasn’t. Sure could have used him. For Stammen, a first-year manager who did a superb job of keeping what at one point felt like a sinking ship afloat, it was certainly a learning experience. Who swayed the decision to go with 11 instead of 12 pitchers? Preller should have known better that an extra arm or two would prove valuable. There were better decisions to be made that would have alleviated the issues that forced the Padres into their Game 4 plan. But that is tough to do when you didn't have the trust in the unit you trusted all season. View full article

After a season-saving performance by a starting pitcher in a relief role, the San Diego Padres are turning to their most postseason-tested pitcher to force a decisive Game 5 in the NL Division Series. Right-hander Walker Buehler is the starting pitcher for the Padres in Wednesday's Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park (7:08 p.m., FS1). The other options are left-hander Robbie Ray and right-hander Joe Musgrove. Both of those pitchers, though, were warming up in the bullpen during the frantic ninth inning of Game 3, a 4-3 Padres win that staved off elimination for the first time this postseason. That could be indicative of their role for Game 4. Buehler, who, like Pivetta in Game 3, will have a short leash, has 19 games of postseason experience, all but one a start. It is mostly a good track record, although he has four blowup outings of four or more runs. Two of those came in his first two playoff appearances in 2018, with the last one coming in his first of four games in 2024. Buehler also notched the final out of the 2024 World Series. Three of those 19 postseason games have come against the Brewers, two in the 2018 NL Championship Series and the other in the 2020 NL Wild Card Series. The most crucial of those was Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS, where he went 4⅔ innings, allowing a run on six hits and no walks while punching out seven. That one run was a first-inning homer by Christian Yelich, who would not drive in another postseason run until Tuesday's Game 3. Buehler faced the Brewers once this season. In an 11-2 win on Aug. 11 at Petco Park, Buehler tossed six innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. There is a very small sample size of the Brewers against Buehler during the regular season. Yelich is the only Brewer on the current roster with even six plate appearances vs. Buehler. Yelich is 2-for-6, Garrett Mitchell is 1-for-3 with two walks, Jackson Chourio is 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Walker Buehler vs. Milwaukee Brewers: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Christian Yelich L 6 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 0 2 Jake Bauers L 5 5 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .200 .200 .800 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 3 William Contreras R 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0 0 0 4 Garrett Mitchell L 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 .333 .600 .333 .933 0 0 0 0 0 5 Brice Turang L 5 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 .250 .400 .750 1.150 0 0 0 0 0 6 Jackson Chourio R 4 3 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 .333 .500 .333 .833 0 0 0 0 0 7 Bo Naylor L 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0 0 0 0 8 Sal Frelick L 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 9 David Hamilton L 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 10 Luis Lara B 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 11 Joey Ortiz R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 12 Brandon Lockridge R 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 10/7/2026. The Brewers are going with left-hander Robert Gasser, a former Padres prospect who was shipped to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader deal at the 2022 trade deadline. Gasser doesn't have much of a track record against the Padres. In fact, he has faced just one of the current Padres hitters. That is Gavin Sheets, whom Gasser faced in a 2024 start when Sheets was with the Chicago White Sox. Sheets homered in one of his two at-bats, striking out in the other. Gasser made two opener-type starts in the 2025 postseason, going three innings in one and 2⅔ innings in the other. This year, Gasser was a solid performer in the Brewers' rotation. He started the season at Triple-A Nashville and was yo-yo'd a few times. He had a 4.24 FIP (3.87 ERA) in 109⅓ innings, with a good 7.6% walk rate and a 22.2% strikeout rate, right at the MLB average. However, he had a 1.67 ERA over his final six outings. He is capable of going deep, having pitched seven shutout innings in his next-to-last start of the regular season, a 1-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, but with the Brewers' bullpen in decent shape, the hook will be quick. Robert Gasser vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Gavin Sheets L 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 .500 .500 2.000 2.500 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 10/7/2026. View full article

While the San Diego Padres were able to maneuver around not having either of their top relievers and won Game 3 of the NL Division Series, one will be back for Game 4 with the other's status up in the air. Superstar closer Mason Miller was activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth on Tuesday. Manager Craig Stammen said "everything went well" with the birth. Left-hander Wandy Peralta was removed from the roster. Peralta was not used in Game 3. The Padres won Game 3 4-3 and trail the best-of-five series against the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. As for left-hander Adrian Morejon, Stammen said the team had yet to see him report to the clubhouse to see how he was feeling and to evaluate his availability for Wednesday's Game 4. Morejon has not pitched since going two innings in Game 1. Stammen said postgame Tuesday that Morejon had "stickiness" in his left shoulder. On Wednesday, Stammen said Morejon felt slightly better following the game than he did beforehand. Miller and Morejon have been the top bullpen pair in MLB this season, but both took losses in the two games in Milwaukee. View full rumor

If you thought pitching chaos was a thing at the end of July, the San Diego Padres took it to a new level in Game 3 of the NL Division Series. And because of that, their season remains alive for at least one more day. What Nick Pivetta started, Michael King finished. How it got to that formula and what happened in between was certainly chaotic. But that describes the Padres' season in a nutshell. Now, thanks to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in front of the third-largest Petco Park crowd of 47,708, the Padres have their first win of the NLDS and can pull even in the series Wednesday (7:08 p.m., FS1). As desperate as the Padres were in the final days of July to get anything positive in the early innings of games, the sixth day of October saw the Friars clamoring for a finishing touch to an elimination game from a unit that has been one of the toughest in all of MLB this season. Only the two biggest arms the Padres had relied upon weren't available. Superstar closer Mason Miller was abruptly removed from the roster shortly before first pitch as his wife went into labor. Miller's sidekick, left-hander Adrian Morejon, was unavailable for a second game in a row after he threw two innings in Game 1 and took the loss after giving up a seventh-inning homer to Padres fans' newest villain, William Contreras. With starters in MLB playing a bigger role in end-of-game situations as the regular season came to a close and now in the postseason, King rose to the occasion for the Padres when they needed it the most. In addition to Morejon's Game 1 loss, Miller unexpectedly yielded a walk-off single to Jackson Chourio with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Sunday's Game 2. Knowing his teammates' situation, King was ready for a relief role in Game 3. While manager Craig Stammen said in his pregame press conference that both of his big bullpen weapons were good to go, he knew they weren't. That deception is fine. You don't want the other team to know all your secrets. There were heroes all around in this game, from Jackson Merrill's defense to Jake Cronenworth's homer to Xander Bogaerts' all-around play. But this one belongs to King. The ace right-hander had thrown 72 pitches just two days before in Milwaukee. But the Padres needed more from him and he delivered. King had made just one relief appearance in his three seasons in San Diego, coming in 2024 during the regular season. King has been the Padres' savior all season. While it wasn't known publicly about Morejon's status, it seemed pretty clear when the seventh inning rolled around and King started to warm up. That would have been prime Morejon territory. Stammen said after Game 3 that Morejon was battling a shoulder issue. After right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez escaped the eighth inning after allowing the Brewers to pull within 4-3, it was King's turn. While the pressure was high, King entered the game to face the Nos. 7-8-9 hitters in Cooper Pratt, Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz. Pratt hit a deep fly down the right-field line that was snared on the run by Fernando Tatis Jr. Frelick grounded out to Cronenworth at second base. David Hamilton pinch-hit for Ortiz and singled to center, bringing up the top of the order in Chourio, the Brewers' postseason star in each of his three MLB seasons. But Chourio grounded out to Bogaerts at short to take it to the ninth. King got his only strikeout when Jake Bauers led off the ninth by going down swinging. Contreras drew a feisty nine-pitch walk, then Brice Turang walked on six pitches. Was King tiring? Was the adrenaline rush wearing off? Up came Christian Yelich, the Brewers' captain who already had two hits and his first postseason RBI since the 2018 NL Championship Series. King threw Yelich a first-pitch slider that was pounded into the ground and right at Bogaerts, who was playing up the middle. Bogaerts fielded the ball, stepped on second and then threw to first to edge Yelich for a game-ending double play. King got the save after Morejon and Miller couldn't in Games 1 and 2. He hadn't had a save since notching six in 2023, his final season with the New York Yankees before being traded to the Friars. Now the question is what do the Padres have left? Right-hander Walker Buehler is probably the starter for Game 4 after Robbie Ray was up in the bullpen in the ninth inning in case of extra innings, although the left-hander could get the nod as he did for Game 1. As Pivetta did in Game 3, he will have a short leash. There will be more bullpen chaos needed. Will Miller be back? What is Morejon's availability? Left-hander Yuki Matsui held his own by getting three outs, then Rodriguez came on to get four outs. Both have pitched in all three games. Stammen will have to trust someone he has yet to put into a postseason game, whether it is right-hander David Morgan or right-hander Joe Musgrove, especially early on. Jason Adam, who got just one out in the fifth inning in Game 2, and Rodriguez will need to be saved for late-inning situations regardless of whether Miller returns for Game 4. Ray will be an early option along with Morgan and Musgrove if he doesn't start with Buehler being that guy if he doesn't start. But those are situations to be addressed as they arise in Game 4. For now, the Padres live another day thanks to a little more chaos. View full article

For the second time this series, with this one at the most inopportune time, the San Diego Padres are losing a pitcher on a temporary basis. Superstar closer Mason Miller was placed on the paternity list just before Tuesday's Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. His wife went into labor Tuesday afternoon. Left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta replaced Miller on the roster. It is unknown whether Miller would be available if there is a Game 4. The Padres trail the Brewers 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Right-hander Walker Buehler went on the paternity list before Game 1 as his wife was due to give birth Saturday. He missed both games in Milwaukee and was active for Tuesday's Game 3. Miller, arguably the top closer in MLB, surrendered the walk-off single to Brewers star Jackson Chourio with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of Sunday's Game 2. View full rumor

With their season on the line, the San Diego Padres are relying on a pitcher that has certainly been tested this year. Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the call to start Tuesday's Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch is 6:38 p.m. (FS1). The Brewers lead the best-of-five series 2-0. Pivetta has experienced the highs and lows of a season. He was the Opening Day starter for the first time in his career, but he lasted just four games before hitting the injured list, walking off the mound in a start in mid-April. That injury would keep Pivetta out until September, when he returned to make four regular-season seasons. Pivetta, who did not face the Brewers this season, proved himself worthy in those outings to get the ball for Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. the Chicago Cubs. He gave what the Padres expected, going 3⅓ innings, allowing a run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. That set the stage perfectly for the high-leverage arms in the Padres' bullpen to secure a 4-1 victory. Pivetta will face one Brewers hitter who has a great deal of success. That would be designated hitter Christian Yelich, who has a .389/.455/.833 slash line in 22 plate appearances, including two homers and nine RBIs. Another player with a much smaller sample size against Pivetta to be aware of is right fielder Sal Frelick, who is 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pivetta has held Brewers star left fielder Jackson Chourio hitless in three at-bats, while he has struck out catcher William Contreras six times in 13 at-bats. Nick Pivetta vs. Milwaukee Brewers: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Christian Yelich L 22 18 7 2 0 2 9 3 3 .389 .455 .833 1.288 0 1 0 0 1 2 William Contreras R 15 13 3 1 0 0 1 1 6 .231 .267 .308 .574 0 1 0 0 0 3 Brice Turang L 8 6 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 .167 .375 .167 .542 0 0 0 0 0 4 Gary Sánchez R 7 6 3 0 0 1 3 1 3 .500 .571 1.000 1.571 0 0 0 0 0 5 Jake Bauers L 5 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 .250 .400 .250 .650 0 0 0 0 0 6 Sal Frelick L 5 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .400 .400 .400 .800 0 0 0 0 0 7 Joey Ortiz R 4 4 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 .250 .250 .500 .750 0 0 0 0 0 8 Bryse Wilson R 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250 .250 .250 .500 0 0 0 0 0 9 Jackson Chourio R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 10/5/2026. Going for the Brewers in Game 2 is right-hander Dustin May, who has a good history against the Padres, primarily from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. May did face the Padres once this season and was spectacular. Pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, May threw a one-hit shutout on June 15, with superstar Manny Machado getting a seventh-inning single with two outs to break up the no-hit bid. Machado has faced May the most of any player on the current Padres roster, going 10-for-40 with two homers and five RBIs. Fernando Tatis Jr. is also hitting .250 vs. May (7-for-28, one homer, four RBIs). Ty France has had the best success, going 4-for-12 with a solo homer. France has also been the best hitter for the Padres this postseason, going 7-for-15 with a double and two RBIs. Machado (13 at-bats), Xander Bogaerts (14 at-bats) and Jackson Merrill (16 at-bats) each have five hits in the four games. The Brewers acquired May from the Cardinals at the trade deadline for two prospects. He didn't fare well in his 10 starts for the Brewers, putting up a 5.06 FIP (5.65 ERA) over 36⅔ innings. His walk rate was up from where it was with the Cardinals (9.3% from 7.6%), while his strikeout rate was very similar (23.5% with the Brewers, 23.1% with the Cardinals). Dustin May vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Manny Machado R 42 40 10 2 0 2 5 2 8 .250 .286 .450 .736 0 0 0 0 4 2 Fernando Tatis Jr. R 31 28 7 1 0 1 4 3 6 .250 .323 .393 .715 0 0 0 0 0 3 Jake Cronenworth L 25 21 5 0 0 1 1 3 4 .238 .360 .381 .741 0 0 0 1 1 4 Xander Bogaerts R 17 16 3 1 0 1 1 1 3 .188 .235 .438 .673 0 0 0 0 0 5 Ty France R 13 12 4 0 0 1 1 0 3 .333 .385 .583 .968 0 0 0 1 1 6 Jackson Merrill L 12 10 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 .000 .083 .000 .083 0 1 0 0 1 7 Gavin Sheets L 12 11 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .091 .167 .091 .258 0 0 0 0 1 8 Freddy Fermin R 6 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 0 9 Sung-Mun Song L 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0 0 0 10 Austin Hays R 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .250 .250 .500 .750 0 0 0 0 1 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 10/5/2026. View full article

After being away from the team for the first two games of the NL Division Series, the San Diego Padres have one of their veteran pitchers back. Right-hander Walker Buehler was activated by the Padres from the paternity list Monday, with another right-hander, Randy Vasquez, being taken off the roster. Buehler and his wife, McKenzie, were expecting the birth of their second child Saturday, the same day of Game 1 of the best-of-five series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Buehler had been in consideration to start Game 1, but that assignment went to left-hander Robbie Ray, perhaps because Buehler was going to be with his wife. Right-hander Nick Pivetta is scheduled to start Game 3 on Wednesday, with Buehler a possibility for Game 4. Vasquez did not pitch in either of the first two games of the Division Series. He was left off the roster for the NL Wild Card Series after pitching six innings in the regular-season finale, leaving him unlikely to pitch in the best-of-three series that the Padres swept from the Chicago Cubs. The Padres return home to Petco Park for Game 3 of the Division Series facing a 2-0 deficit against the Brewers. The Padres won both of the Wild Card Series games at Petco Park after a 26-6 finish at home to conclude the regular season. View full rumor