The Padres have two pitchers working on coming back from injuries suffered during spring training. Both starter Matt Waldron and reliever Bryan Hoeing are working toward completing their rehabilitation from those injuries.

Waldron started his second game, this time with San Antonio, and completed 2 IP with 1 ER, 2 K and 2 BB. Hoeing also pitched for Double-A San Antonio with a K in 1 IP. Waldron will be increasing his innings pitched and his pitch count while Hoeing will probably be pitching multiple innings before he is ready.

OF/IF Eguy Rosario had a miserable start to his season in El Paso after clearing waivers at the end of spring training and re-signing a minor league contract. He was sent to the rookie league (ACL) in Arizona for a “mid-season reset” (per MadFriars.com).

OF Oscar González was released from his contract with the Padres to pursue an opportunity with Nippon Professional Baseball and subsequently signed a two-year contract with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Multiple promotions and reassignments marked the first third of the season:

1B/OF/DH Victor Figueroa was sent from the ACL to Lake Elsinore after hitting .605/.659/1.263 with an OPS of 1.922 over 11 games and 38 AB. He had 5 HR and 17 RBI over that span.

OF Kai Roberts completed his rehab with the ACL Padres and was activated for Fort Wayne.

IF/OF Nerwilian Cedeno was promoted from Fort Wayne to San Antonio, which is more age-appropriate for him. Wyatt Hoffman (son of Padres HOF, Trevor Hoffman) was sent to the development list to make room.

El Paso Chihuahuas (24-25 record, 3rd in PCL, East Division)

IF Mason McCoy returned from his injury (dislocated pinky finger) and is on a rehab assignment with the Chihuahuas. He will most likely continue with El Paso when his rehab is completed.

Luis Campusano continued to get starts at first base and also continued to rake for El Paso before getting called up today. His .313/.432/.611 line with an OPS of 1.043 includes a 55.3% hard hit rate and a max exit velocity of 107.8 mph. The slash line is typical for the thin, dry air of El Paso for a good hitter but his underlying metrics continue to impress.

Starter Kyle Hart has four starts with El Paso and 19.2 IP. His 2.29 ERA is exceptional in those conditions. His 16 K to 15 BB rate is the only concerning number, he has a WHIP of 1.373.

RHP Ryan Bergert has a 4.22 ERA in 32 IP that includes 32K and 14 BB. LHP Omar Cruz has a 3.20 ERA but has 17 BB in 19.2 IP. LHP Jackson Wolf has a 4.02 ERA in 15.2 IP with 17 K to 5 BB.

Reliever Reiss Knehr has a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 IP. His 24 K and 7 BB has allowed him to accumulate 8 saves in the 18 games he has appeared in. Formerly a starter and reliever, Knehr had multiple call-ups for the Padres from 2021- 2023. He suffered an arm injury requiring Tommy John surgery and is now working exclusively in relief while working his way back.

San Antonio Missions (22-21 record, 3rd in Texas League, South Division)

1B Romeo Sanabria continues his quest for a spot on the Padres roster. He is hitting .320 with a .859 OPS. Tied for second on the team with 5 HR, he has 19 RBI (that leads the team if you take out the two 26-year-olds).

Just behind Sanabria in OPS is catcher Brandon Valenzuela at .828. His 32 K to 17 BB rate is a bit concerning so he has issues that can still be worked on.

Newly promoted IF/OF Nerwilian Cedeno has started hot for the Missions. In 3 games and 9 AB he has a 1.101 OPS.

RHP Henry Baez has started 9 games with a 2.70 ERA in 43.1 IP. He has 45 K to 13 BB. His fastball sits 92-95 and tops out at 96 and he is carrying a 20.9% whiff rate (per MadFriars.com).

RHP Braden Nett is still inconsistent with his command but has an overall 4.50 ERA in 36 IP with 41 K to 17 BB but leaves too many pitches in the zone. A work in progress that could be a plus starter in the future.

Reliever José Geraldo has a 1.32 ERA in 13.2 IP with 16 K to 6 BB. Fellow reliever Stephen Jones is carrying a 1.50 ERA in 18 IP with a 18 K to 4 BB ratio.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (22-21 record, 5th in Midwest League, East Division)

Newly activated OF Kai Roberts has started hot for Fort Wayne. In 3 games he has a .970 OPS and 3 stolen bases while hitting .333.

1B/OF Kaden Hollow was promoted to the TinCaps from Lake Elsinore and has played in 2 games. He already has 2 RBI and a .857 OPS.

IF Rosman Verdugo has a .823 OPS across 147 AB with 26 RBI and 8 HR. He is also striking out more than anyone on the team with 63 to only 15 BB.

Shortstop Leo De Vries is still carrying a good OPS at .803 but has cooled off in May. He has also made 11 errors for the season, mostly throwing, and needs to show better judgement about when to hold onto the ball. He still has excellent range and his maturation will hopefully take care of that issue (report per MadFriars John Conniff).

RHP Eric Yost has 34.2 IP and a 1.82 ERA with 34 K and 13 BB. He was not on the pre-season prospect list but appears to be trying to correct that slight with a stellar start to his second season as a professional.

Reliever Tyson Neighbors has a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings of relief with a 31 K to 6 BB ratio. He is the Padres 15th rated prospect (per MLB.com) and seems to be pushing for a promotion to Double-A.

Reliever Harry Gustin has a 1.93 ERA in 28 IP with 29 K and 6 BB. Both he and Neighbors have 2 saves.

Lake Elsinore Storm (17-26 record, 3rd in California League, South Division)

Victor Figueroa didn’t miss a beat after his promotion to Lake Elsinore. In 4 games and 17 AB he is hitting .353/.389/.647 with a 1.036 OPS. He has knocked IF Ryan Jackson off the leaderboard on the team. Jackson is still carrying a .962 OPS with 46 BB to 37 K rate as well as 23 RBI with his 16 extra base hits. He also has 10 SB and 3 HR.

3B Zach Evans leads the team with 31 RBI and has a respectable .806 OPS.

The starters for Lake Elsinore, except for rehabbing Luis Patiño, seem to spend too much time in the meaty part of the strike zone. LHP Boston Bateman has a 4.45 ERA, allowing 15 ER in 30.1 IP and LHP Kash Mayfield has a 4.87 ERA in 20.1 IP with 11 ER.

Patiño has started 3 games with 6 IP and has 1 ER to give him a 1.50 ERA. His progression will be slow in his return from Tommy John surgery.

ACL Padres (5-11 record, last in West Division)

Catcher and 1B Carlos Rodriguez has played in 9 games with 28 AB and has a .863 OPS with 10 hits and 3 RBI.

IF Yimy Tovar has 19 hits in 59 AB with 9 RBI and a .778 OPS.

3B Kale Fountain continues to only DH while coming back from his Tommy John surgery. He has played in 8 games with a .775 OPS. Plate discipline was a concern when drafted and he so far has 7 K with 3 BB and 5 RBI with 4 SB.

Right-handed starting pitcher Humberto Cruz continues to impress in his first full professional season at the age of 18. In his 3 games started and 4 IP he has a 2.25 ERA with 6 K and 1 BB. The organization is moving him along slowly but there is lots to look forward to with this power righty.

The ACL Padres have struggled to create much offense since the departure of Victor Figueroa and have lost the 4 games since he left.