The Padres signed Dominican shortstop Victor Acosta and Venezuelan outfielder Samuel Zavala as the headliners of their 2021 international signing class.

Both have since been traded to bolster San Diego’s big league roster.

The Padres also signed Dominican righthander Miguel Mendez in 2021. Now, the 23-year-old stands as the organization’s minor league player of the year in a season in which San Diego traded a number of its top prospects, including Leo De Vries, Boston Bateman and Braden Nett.

Before hitting a wall at Double-A San Antonio, Mendez penned a 1.73 ERA over 72.2 innings as he rose from Low-A Lake Elsinore to High-A Fort Wayne. He didn’t allow an earned run in 24 July innings for Fort Wayne and then threw six more scoreless frames, striking out 11, in his Double-A debut on Aug. 7.

While Mendez’s performance unraveled afterward, he proved that his improved stuff would play at the upper levels. He finished with a 3.22 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 95 innings, with 118 strikeouts and 45 walks.

“I’m not surprised personally,” Padres vice president of amateur and international scouting Chris Kemp said. “The last couple of years, you could see the arm talent. He’s a really smart kid, a kid who’s coachable and makes adjustments.

“When you give him something to do, he’s wired to do it the right way.”

Mendez had only been pitching for about six months when Padres scouts first discovered him touching 91 mph while training in Bani, on the south side of the Dominican Republic. He signed for $10,000 because he was already 18 years old and inexperienced on the mound.

Mendez’s velocity jumped to 94-95 mph in 2023, and earlier this year he touched triple digits in a Midwest League game that Kemp was scouting. He pairs his heat with a tight upper-80s slider and a developing 88-91 changeup with sink and fade.

While his 11% walk rate remains high, it is improved from past seasons, as is his zone rate.

“We’ve put a lot on his plate,” Kemp said, “but he’s ready to have a killer offseason.”

Father Figures

— Double-A San Antonio catcher Ethan Salas headlines eight Padres prospects headed to the Arizona Fall League. He will use the offseason circuit to make up for lost at-bats. The 19-year-old has not played since mid April because of a stress reaction in the lower right side of his back. The other Padres prospects going to the AFL are righthanders Isaiah Lowe, Maikel Miralles, Carson Montgomery, Johan Moreno and Tucker Musgrove; outfielder Braedon Karpathios and shortstop Ryan Jackson.

— Triple-A El Paso outfielder Yonathan Perlaza had racked up 107 RBIs with a week to go left in the season. That total breaks Hunter Renfroe’s Chihuahuas record of 105 in 2016.