Rylan Renteria/ EVT Sports
With the minor league season in the rearview mirror, it is worth highlighting several of the minor leagues’ best performers in the Padres minor league system. Our sojourn through the system begins at the highest level, with the Padres’ Double-A affiliate San Antonio Missions.
These awards are based on performance with the Missions, as our system-wide awards will be coming soon.
MVP & Hitter of the Year – Marcos Castanon
After a second in the Texas League that saw him post middling numbers, Marcos Castanon bounced back to become one of the Missions’ most consistent players of the season. Castanon played in 106 games for the Missions, slashing.269/.332/.426 with 12 homers, 57 RBI, and a career-high four stolen bases. When adjusted for the pitcher-friendly nature of both The Wolff and the Texas League as a whole, Castanon finished with a 119 wRC+.
Outside of a midsummer slump, Castanon’s strongest months came at the start and end of the season. He had 16 RBI in each of May and August, with a five-homer month of May showcasing his highest power output of the season. The former UCSB Gaucho delivered his most notable performance in his final series with the Missions, as he had a two-homer game against Frisco on August 29. If Castanon’s versatility does not net him a spring training invite, then his bat at the end of 2025 certainly could.
Pitcher of the Year – Jagger Haynes
It goes without saying that the Missions’ pitching staff was somewhat depleted following the Padres’ trade deadline But, even after all the movement in the system, left-hander Jagger Haynes continued to take steps forward in his development. The left-hander led the Missions in innings with 103.2 on the year. Haynes fanned 101 batters while walking 62. His walk and strikeout rates were comparable to those that he had at High-A Fort Wayne in 2024, and the left-hander kept his ERA at 4.11 while inducing more ground balls.
His 43.7% ground-ball rate was his highest since his debut two seasons ago, and his 32.2% fly-ball rate was the lowest of his career. Despite the low fly-ball rates, Haynes allowed homers on 13.8% of fly balls, a career-high. If Haynes is able to continue generating whiffs on his slider and can show further incremental improvements in his command, he has a shot at making it to the Major Leagues, and his will certainly be one of the most intriguing Rule 5 cases for San Diego this offseason.
Reliever of the Year – Jake Higginbotham
Signing with the Padres organization prior to the 2025 season, Jake Higginbotham opened the season at Triple-A, but an ERA in the 30’s prompted his reassignment to Double-A. In a much more pitcher-friendly environment compared to El Paso, HIgginbotham rebounded, pitching in 31 games. Across 40.2 innings, the left-hander pitched to a 2.21 ERA and 2.03 FIP. Higginbotham struck out 33.3% of batters faced with the Missions, walking only 7.9%.
Higginbotham also picked up five wins with the Missions, pitching a career-high 65 innings across both levels this season. The left-hander’s best outing as a Mission came early in the season, as he struck out five of six batters faced back on April 8 against Corpus Christi. If he remains in the organization this off-season, Higginbotham could be a near-MLB ready left-handed relief option for the Padres come 2026.
Comeback Player of the Year – Albert Fabian
Coming off a 2024 season cut short by a season-ending knee injury, Albert Fabian did not return to play until June 3 in the ACL. After spending June with the Complex League Padres to build up his strength, Fabian was assigned to the Missions to open July. Fabian opened his first Double-A experience with a six-game hitting streak.
The left-handed swinging Fabian saw time at first base, DH, and in the corner outfield spots, faring well defensively wherever he played. He also continued to generate power to the pull side, while going to the opposite field on 30.3% of batted balls. Much of his results were continuations of how he played in 2024, and his improvements in plate discipline will allow him to succeed in the pitcher-friendly Texas League.
A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.
A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.
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