The start of the second half of the minor league season always includes promotions of minor league players that have distinguished themselves over the first half of the season.
Several of the promotions this year were expected. Multiple members of the San Diego Padres’ minor league system had excellent first halves of their year and forced the organization to push them up the ladder.
A few players struggled and were sent down a level to regroup and try to get some consistency in their game. Of the 23 moves made on Tuesday, 16 were promotions.
Lake Elsinore lost multiple members of their team that won the first half in the South Division in the California League.They are guaranteed a playoff spot at the end of the season but the team will look significantly different than the one that won the first half.
El Paso Chihuahuas (35-40 record, 3rd in the PCL East)
El Paso went 4-2 for the week against the Reno Aces, with the starting pitching consisting of Jhony Brito, Germán Márquez, JP Sears, and Matt Waldron for the first four games of the week.
Brito has completed his rehab and is continuing to tune-up following recovery from UCL surgery. Márquez and Waldron are in rehab and Sears is still struggling with PCL hitters. Sears was called up to the Padres on Tuesday to make a start when Lucas Giolito went on the injured list.
Right-handed reliever Andrew Moore, acquired last season as the return for Connor Joe at the trade deadline, was promoted from Double-A San Antonio to the Chihuahuas after posting a 1.85 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched with 45 strikeouts for the Missions.
First baseman Romeo Sanabria, 24, who made a big impression in spring camp with the major league team, was promoted from the Missions to El Paso and will get an opportunity to show what he can do in a more hitter-friendly environment. Sanabria started the season slowly but has really come on over the past few weeks. After hitting .176 in April, Sanabria has hit .283 with an OPS over .800 for May and June.
Infielder Dylan Grego, who was promoted to El Paso to help replace players needed by the Padres, has been returned to Lake Elsinore.
San Antonio Missions (31-38 record, 5th, last, in Texas League South)
San Antonio went 4-2 for the week. After losing Moore and Sanabria to Triple-A, the Missions received outfielder Jake Cunningham, right-handed reliever Tucker Musgrove and right-handed reliever Clay Edmondson from High-A Fort Wayne.
Cunningham, 23, was a free agent signed by the Padres before the season after being released by the Baltimore Orioles organization. In his previous three seasons in their minor league system, Cunningham had worse outcomes each year. He had injury issues as well as declining performance over those three seasons and was released in January. He signed with the Padres eight days later.
A healthy Cunningham has a .264/.362/.548 line with a .910 OPS. He has hit 15 homers with 35 RBI, adding 11 doubles to the mix. He will need to improve his K rate (34%) and his walk rate (12.88%) as he goes forward in the system.
Righty relievers Musgrove and Edmondson excelled in High-A with Musgrove, 24, holding his high 90’s fastball consistently mixed with an excellent sweeper, slider and curve. Edmondson, 23, a sidearmer that features a fastball, curveball and changeup, has 11 saves to lead the Midwest League and is carrying a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched into his new team.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (29-40 record, 5th in the Midwest League East)
Fort Wayne went 4-2 for the week. After losing Cunningham, Musgrove, and Edmondson to the Missions, the TinCaps received a massive infusion of talent from Lake Elsinore.
Right-handed starter Bryan Balzer, 21, was signed by the Padres in 2023 out of Japan. He began his career with Tommy John surgery and is now fully recovered. His season started a bit rocky but his last three starts has brought his ERA down from 5.32 to 4.41 and he has 57 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched with 21 walks.
Right-handed starter Winyer Chourio, 22, has a 3.18 ERA in 56.2 innings pitched with Lake Elsinore. He has 78 strikeouts to 28 walks. The Venezuelan signed with the Padres in 2024 and played the past two seasons in the DSL and ACL respectively. He has not appeared on any preseason prospect lists but is making a name for himself quickly.
Left-handed reliever Will Koger, 23, is a 2025 round nine draftee in his first professional season. He has 36 strikeouts in his 26 innings pitched despite having had some difficult appearances. He has six saves, ranking him tied for second in the California League at the time of his promotion.
Right-handed reliever Bernard Jose, 23, recently finished his rehab assignment with the ACL Padres and was briefly with the Missions to help out but is now with Fort Wayne. He has only pitched 29 innings with 43 strikeouts but has struggled at times and has a 7.28 ERA.
Right-handed reliever Nick Falter, 23, was signed by the Padres as an undrafted free agent in 2025. He has begun his career with Lake Elsinore with 44.2 innings pitched and a 3.02 ERA. He has 43 strikeouts to 14 walks.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman, 22, had a long swing and a big leg kick when drafted in the third round last year. He played in 26 games after being drafted and then spent this past offseason reworking his swing. It seems to have worked pretty well. Wideman was hitting .314/.389/.504 with the Storm with 20 doubles, six triples, six homers and 44 RBI. He tacked on 43 stolen bases in 56 attempts to force his promotion. He has speed and an above-average arm in the outfield as well. He is an exciting player to keep track of going forward and prime trade bait for AJ Preller, the Padres trader-in-chief.
1B/3B Kerrington Cross, 24, was drafted in the seventh round last year and probably could have been promoted sooner. He had a 1.075 OPS with Lake Elsinore before his promotion, hitting .313/.467/.608 in his 58 games with the Storm. He has 11 homers and 43 RBI with 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts. He has recently been used in left field as well as the two infield corners.
First baseman Luke Cantwell, 23, was drafted in the 20th round in 2025 and spent a bit of time on the injured list this season but has still played in 40 games for the Storm. He had a .328/.475/.496 line with 30 RBI. Not showing much home run power with two homers, Cantwell has great contact skills and has had only 30 strikeouts with 26 walks.
Right-handed reliever Daison Acosta was assigned to Fort Wayne to continue his rehab.
Lake Elsinore Storm (39-30 record, 1st in California League South)
The Storm had a 3-3 record for the past week after clinching the first half championship in the first game of the series. They have lost a lot of their power and speed with these promotions but have a playoff spot clinched for 2026.
After the players that left, the Storm received some players form the ACL Padres.
Left-handed pitcher Zack Qin, 20, signed out of China in 2024, started the season injured and on a rehab assignment. He has 21.2 innings pitched so far with a 1.25 ERA while with the ACL team. He has both started and appeared out of the bullpen so far this year.
Right-handed starter Lan-Hong Su, 19, signed with the Padres out of Taiwan in October of last year. He has six games and five starts for 15.2 innings pitched with the ACL Padres. His 4.02 ERA is due to one bad start on June 19, where he allowed five runs in six innings pitched but had a 1.38 ERA before that start. He has 17 strikeouts and eight walks in his appearances.
Lake Elsinore also received right-handers Isaiah Lowe and Jeferson Villabona from Fort Wayne.
ACL Padres (20-17 record, 3rd in ACL West)
After losing two of their best pitchers, the ACL team might not be able to maintain their winning ways. Right-handed starter Kannon Kemp has been sent their way to begin his rehab assignment. Newly activated Adler Cecil has also been assigned to the ACL team at this point.
Outfielder Cardell Thibodeaux, drafted in the 16th round last year, has been released by the Padres. Left-handed pitcher Joseph Herrera, 20, was sent from Lake Elsinore to the ACL Padres.
DSL Padres Brown (4-12 record, last in DSL West)
The Brown team has both pitching and offense problems. There are no currently top-rated international prospects with the Brown team.
DSL Gold, on the other hand, has a 13-3 record and sits atop the Northwest Division. They feature all of the Padres top international prospects from last year. Shortstop Joniel Hernandez, 17, is hitting .365/.468/.571 with 10 XBH and 24 RBI in 63 at-bats for the Gold.
Rightfielder Ricardo De La Paz, 16, is a lefty-hitting outfielder who is hitting .375/.596/.563 with 6 XBH and 17 RBI in 32 at-bats.
Left-handed starter Diego Serna, 17, is a highly-ranked Mexico prospect in the Padres system. He has just made his first start for the Gold team and will bear watching for the second half of their season. He has been in the development program up until now.
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