It’s February here in San Antonio, Texas, and with temperatures climbing into the 70s and 80s (Fahrenheit), [Ed: 22-27°C] the dawn of a new minor league season in San Antonio is upon us.
Although I’m the Chicago White Sox correspondent for Batflips & Nerds, I live in San Antonio, which is 198 miles from Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros. If I want to get my live baseball fix, I have to go watch the San Diego Padres’ Double-A affiliate, the San Antonio Missions, who may have the best minor league mascot in baseball – Ballapeño.
The Missions kick off their season in just over two months with a three-game homestand against the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AA affiliate. While the Missions’ recent performances over the past four years won’t earn them Texas League honours, the Padres’ farm system has never really been their strong suit.
The Padres tend to promote their young players very quickly – Fernando Tatis, Jr. played two full minor league seasons after being traded from the White Sox before his call-up, and Jackson Merrill just straight-up skipped Triple-A ball.
That being said, there’s still some young talent coming up through the ranks that could soon find themselves on the diamond for the Padres. One of the cool things about watching minor league baseball is that if a player makes it to the majors and performs well, one can always say: I remember watching that guy when he was in Double-A!
In previous seasons, I’ve been able to see CJ Abrams, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams. If you’re wondering why Burnes and Williams played for the Missions in the minors, it’s because the Missions used to be a Brewers affiliate until 2021, when the Padres took over in the Minor League Baseball restructuring that occurred that year.
Here are a few players I’ll be keeping an eye on this Missions’ season, as well as one player who could soon get another extended look at the Double-A level.
Victor Lizarraga – Pitcher
Victor Lizarraga struggled some with his form in 2023 before getting more comfortable at the Double-A level in 2024. His fastball can touch 94-95, but is more consistently in the low 90s. As he ages into his 20s, many scouts believe that he’ll be able to add a few more ticks to his fastball and keep it in the mid-90s consistently. Lizarraga showed that he can miss opponents’ bats, registering a 25% strikeout rate last season.
However, his command seems to come and go, as he posted a 10% walk rate in 2024, as well. While projection systems aren’t fans of his metrics, I’m looking for Lizarraga to continue missing bats while also improving his command and lowering his walk rate.
Bradgley Rodriguez – Pitcher
An international signing for the Padres in 2021, Bradgley Rodriguez can pump his fastball up near triple digits. Moving to the bullpen last year helped him find that speed more consistently, but he’s struggled with his fastball command, which is normal for a young flamethrower learning to harness his elite fastball velocity.
Rodriguez’s changeup usually sits in the upper 80s, which provides great speed differential from his heater. Rodriguez struck out 35% of batters he faced in his short stint with the Missions last season, indicating his potential to be a top reliever, but he walked nearly 12% of batters faced.
If he can improve his fastball command and continue to pair his high velocity heater with his changeup, I expect Rodriguez to continue solidifying his role as a top reliever in San Diego’s farm system. Spending the whole 2025 season with the Double-A Missions will allow him to work on commanding his fastball better and reducing his walks.
Romeo Sanabria – First Base
Drafted in the 18th round out of Indian River State College, Romeo Sanabria has sped through the minor league ranks of the Padres. Last season, Sanabria spent time in Single-A, High-A, and Double-AA and acquitted himself well at each level, ending the season with the Missions and a 130 wRC+ between all three levels.
Sanabria should get an extended look at the Double-A level this year. He struggled with strikeouts during his 22-game stint with the Missions last year, but his 15% walk rate indicates he has a good feel for the strike zone. A full season of Double-A ball should allow Sanabria to showcase his power potential as he adjusts to better pitching.
As a non-roster invitee to spring training, Sanabria will also get the chance to prove himself against some upper-level pitching. If Sanabria starts hot in 2025, I anticipate a quick call-up to Triple-A with the potential to earn a September call-up to the Padres, depending on where they sit in the playoff race.
Ethan Salas – Catcher
This last one is a bit of a stretch, as Ethan Salas only spent nine games at the AA level in 2023, but he’s too good of a prospect not to include here.
Only 18 years old, the young Venezuelan has struggled at times at the Single-A and High-A levels, but shows enough with the glove and bat for FanGraphs to rank him as one of the Padres’ top prospects.
Salas spent his 2023 season between Single-A, High-A and Double-A, but struggled significantly at the plate once he reached the Missions’ roster despite posting a 122 wRC+ at Single-A.
Salas spent all 2024 at High-A where he continued to struggle at the dish. Projection systems aren’t too high on Salas improving much offensively this season, but he’s still young and has plenty of time to improve offensively, especially as a catcher.
He’s much more advanced defensively but is still learning some of the finer points of game management. Bouncing between minor league levels didn’t allow him time to form solid connections with his pitchers in 2023, but 2024 saw him spend all season at High-A, allowing him to work with the staff and create solid game plans.
If he’s serviceable with the bat in the first couple months of the minor league season, I’d expect to see Salas get another call-up to the Missions this summer.
Who’s Coming Up…
Unfortunately, one of San Diego’s most exciting prospects won’t be starting the season with the Missions – Leodalis De Vries. An international signing from the Dominican Republic, De Vries was the number one international prospect of 2024. He played 75 games last year with San Diego’s Single-A affiliate, and while his average wasn’t great – .237 – his BABIP was .291, he had a .361 OBP, and his OPS was .803.
He finished the year with a 113 wRC+ and got a non-roster invite to the Padres’ spring training games this year. With the way the Padres have advanced their best prospects, I expect to see De Vries in a Missions uniform sometime this summer with a chance for a September call-up later this year.
I’m excited to track these guys throughout the minor league season, as well as any new guys the Padres bring in this season through trades, especially if they can’t keep pace with the Dodgers in the NL West and decide it’s time for a reset.
Hopefully this glimpse into minor league baseball in Texas was informative, and stay tuned for more on that front throughout the year. Go Missions!
Featured image of Ethan Salas by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images
Jack Turek is, as he mentioned, Bat Flips & Nerds White Sox correspondent, but he is much more than that, with a wealth of knowledge about both teams in Chicago and of minor league baseball. It will be exciting to follow Jack’s content this season.
