Garrett Hawkins entered Spring Training with the San Diego Padres eyeing a spot on the major-league roster after he had a season for the ages in the minor leagues in 2025.
The native of Saskatoon, Sask. pitched to a 1.50 earned-run average over 45 appearances split between the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and Double-A San Antonio Missions last season.
His run included a 38-inning scoreless streak split over the two levels that spanned 29 appearances, where he allowed just 19 baserunners and compiled 51 strikeouts.
His historic season was capped off by the Padres organization naming him their Pitcher of the Year.
“There were definitely outings where it was like, ‘I don’t have it today and we’re just gonna try and scrap through and we’re gonna see what happens,’” Hawkins said, per MLB.com’s Jesse Borek. “That happened a few times and I kind of just got lucky that no one scored. But I just got into a rhythm and the biggest thing was just not thinking about it.”
The only thing in the way for Hawkins is the players ahead of him on the depth chart – including star fireballer Mason Miller and elite arms in Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada.
“We know what he brings to the table,” said manager Craig Stammen. “Now it’s proving it in a big-league setting against different players.”
The 25-year-old Hawkins is a rare player who was drafted to the majors out of USports in Canada – he was selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft out of the University of British Columbia.
Hawkins underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entirety of the 2024 season, and since he was converted to the bullpen headed into 2025, he has elevated his fastball velocity into the mid-90s after consistently throwing 90-92 miles per hour as a starter.
Now the final step for the righty reliever is earning the promotion to the major-league club.