Friar Futures: Karpathios Heats Up at Double-A, Salas Heads to San Diego
By Alex Martinez ·
Friar Futures covers the last 7 days of action for the Padres farm system.
Karpathios Puts Up a Monster Week at San Antonio
Braedon Karpathios (AA, OF, Rank: 22) went 14-for-24 with three doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBI across 24 plate appearances at San Antonio this week, the best counting-stat line in the system by a wide margin. The surface numbers are gaudy, but the underlying context makes them worth taking seriously: over his last 30 days at Double-A, he is slashing .347/.415/.600 with six home runs, six doubles, and 26 RBI in 106 plate appearances. That is a sustained stretch of impact production, not a single hot series inflating a thin sample. His swing rate over that stretch has nudged up to 48.2 percent while his contact rate has dipped to 61.7 percent, a pattern consistent with someone pressing for more damage rather than playing his typical patient game. The strikeout rate over the last 30 days sits at 35.8 percent, which is elevated even relative to his season mark of 31.8 percent, so the power is coming with some additional swing-and-miss cost.
The scouting picture on Karpathios centers on a 45 hit tool and a 50 power grade, with the projection landing at an up-down or four-corners outfielder. His carrying traits are selective aggression and above-average exit velocity at peak contact, along with a walk rate and approach that keep him from being simply a free-swinger. What August has shown is the power playing in games: six home runs in 30 days from a guy who entered the season with a modest projection on raw power is real signal. The honest caveat is the contact-rate dip, because a 45 hit tool that also starts missing significantly more can erode the on-base foundation that makes the rest of the profile work. At 23 with a full Double-A season in the books (.268/.353/.444, 17 home runs through 510 plate appearances), he has built a meaningful résumé at the level. I'd take the over on his up-down projection if he can keep the walk rate above 10 percent and land somewhere near his season contact baseline through the final weeks.
Salas Gets the Call; Su Strikes Out Nine in 4.2 Innings
The biggest news in the San Diego system this week had nothing to do with a box score. Ethan Salas (MLB, C, Rank: 1) had his contract selected on September 1, joining the big-league roster after posting a .326/.410/.539 line with three home runs across 105 plate appearances at Triple-A El Paso. He went 0-for-7 in his first eight plate appearances at the major-league level, which tells you very little about anything, but the promotion itself confirms the organization's view of his readiness. A 20-year-old catcher running a big-league rotation in September, with a Triple-A contact rate over 90 percent and a K rate under 10 percent in his El Paso stint, is ahead of the development curve by any reasonable measure. The early offensive struggles are noise; the signal is that San Diego decided September was the right time to start the clock.
In a week that also saw Salas promoted, Lan-Hong Su (A, RHP, Rank: 10) posted the most exciting pitching line in the system: 4.2 innings against 16 batters, allowing just one hit, two earned runs, zero walks, and striking out nine while generating nine swinging misses on 64 pitches. A 19-year-old right-hander striking out nine in fewer than five innings at Low-A is worth paying attention to. His season ERA at Lake Elsinore sits at 5.63 through 32 innings, which has been propped up by home-run damage (seven allowed) and some inconsistency, but the strikeout rate over the last 30 days tells a different story: 45.5 K% across 55 batters faced, a 3.6 BB% in that stretch, and a 39.4 percent whiff rate. The fastball sits 91-94 with a 55-grade slider doing most of the put-away work. The changeup is still a 40 and needs to develop before he can miss bats from both sides of the plate, and command remains a work in progress at 45. Still, a 19-year-old arm who can generate a 45 percent strikeout rate over a month-long sample has a foundation worth projecting onto.
Quick Hits
- Romeo Sanabria (AA, 1B, Rank: 25) · collected 10 hits and three RBI in 26 plate appearances, adding two doubles and a pair of walks. The week extended what has become a genuinely remarkable August: over his last 30 days at Double-A, he is slashing .429/.500/.532 with eight doubles, a 12.9 BB%, and a strikeout rate of just 15.1 percent in 93 plate appearances. The swing rate over that stretch sits at 46.4 percent and the contact rate has climbed to 82.5 percent, the combination of a hitter getting on time against secondary stuff rather than just running into a hot zone. The season line at Double-A reads .290/.382/.427 with a 12.5 BB% across 384 plate appearances, the best walk rate of his career. His power grades as a 45 and the first-base-only defense leaves almost no margin for error, but the approach has been so consistent this month it is hard to dismiss.
- Jorge Quintana (A, SS, Rank: 12) · went 9-for-18 with a double, two home runs, and five RBI against just one strikeout in 18 plate appearances. He is 19 years old hitting Low-A pitching with 29 stolen bases on the season, a 55 speed grade, and enough defensive fluidity to stay at shortstop. The power is a 35 and the season line of .234/.328/.367 across 443 plate appearances still shows a contact tool that needs to tighten, but a week like this from a teenager is worth marking. His last-30-day line includes four home runs and a 23.4 K% that is meaningfully better than his season average, a small sign the bat may be gaining on the level.
- Tirso Ornelas (AA, LF, Rank: 24) · drove in five on six hits, including three doubles and two home runs, across 19 plate appearances. At 26, with his projection sitting at up-down corner outfielder, he is not a prospect to get carried away about, but 16 home runs and 32 doubles in 497 plate appearances at Double-A in 2026 is a credible offensive season. His contact rate of 80.2 percent is a strong mark in the system, and the K rate of 17.7 percent for the season keeps him from being a liability on contact. The power and arm are both fringy, so the margin is thin, but the bat has held up at Double-A across a full season.
- Francis Pena (AA, RHP, Rank: 37) · covered 3.1 innings against 14 batters, allowing two hits, no runs, walking two, and striking out six while generating seven swinging misses. A 97-99 mph fastball paired with a 50-grade cutter is a workable late-inning foundation, and his season ERA at Double-A sits at 3.00 across 57 innings with a 27.6 K%. The walk rate at 14.2 BB% is the persistent issue and the reason the command grade sits at 40, but when the zone finds him, the stuff plays in leverage.
- Luis Gutierrez (AA, LHP, Rank: 31) · went 2.2 innings, faced 12 batters, allowed three hits, no runs, struck out four, and generated 10 swinging misses. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he owns a 3.72 ERA with a 28.3 K% and a whiff rate of 32 percent. A left-hander with a 50 changeup and a 50 slider flashing put-away stuff against Double-A hitters fits the #5 starter or long reliever projection, even with a 40 command grade dragging efficiency down.
- Ty Harvey (A, C, Rank: 6) · had a rough week: 4-for-18 with one home run, five RBI, and seven strikeouts across 18 plate appearances. The homer and the RBI total keep it from being a total washout, but the strikeout rate is the ongoing concern. Over his last 30 days at Low-A, he is hitting .179 with a 33.0 K% and a contact rate of 69.1 percent across 88 plate appearances, a stretch that reflects the swing-length and timing issues described in the profile. He is 20 years old with a 55 power grade and a 55 arm, and both of those tools are real, but the hit tool at 45 with a contact rate that has dipped in August is a real hurdle. The season line across both levels (.251/.336/.389) is survivable for a catcher his age, but the most recent month is one to watch.
- Kruz Schoolcraft (A, LHP, Rank: 5) · went five innings against 19 batters, allowing three hits, two runs, walking three, and striking out three. It continues a difficult last 30 days: a 7.94 ERA, 12.7 BB%, and a strike rate of just 40.2 percent across four outings at Low-A. The season ERA sits at 5.90 through 79.1 innings with a 15.5 BB%, and the command grade of 45 has been the ceiling, not the floor, in recent weeks. A 60-grade fastball and a 60 changeup give him mid-rotation projection, but those tools mean nothing until he can throw strikes at a higher clip. The delivery timing on his big frame falls apart under pressure, and right now that is happening in nearly every outing.