Friar Futures: McCoy's Double-A debut explodes, Salas keeps torching Triple-A
By Alex Martinez ·
Zero Adjustment Period: Alex McCoy Opens His Double-A Account with a Bang
Alex McCoy (AA, OF, Rank: 27) was promoted from Fort Wayne to San Antonio on August 14, and the jump to Double-A looked like a non-event by the end of the week. He went 9 for 19 with two home runs, three doubles, and 8 RBI in his first look at the Texas League, giving him 17 home runs on the season between both stops. For context on how he arrived: over his final 30 days at High-A, he was slashing .321/.402/.571 with five home runs, six doubles, and 17 RBI across 97 plate appearances, making this one of the hotter promotions in the system this year. Combined on the season, he is hitting .277/.356/.491 with 29 doubles, 22 stolen bases, and a 9.4 BB% across 438 plate appearances, a broader profile that has outrun what most projections attached to a 45 hit tool and fringe-average power grade would suggest at this stage.
The honest evaluation here is still a corner outfielder with a ceiling of a 4/5 bench bat who shuttles between Triple-A and the majors, and the concerns that come with a 52.9% swing rate and a 66.6% contact rate are real: upper-level pitchers will find his swing with spin and work him on the inner third. His track record at Low-A last year (.318/.394/.513 at Lake Elsinore) showed the same power-and-speed blend without a fully resolved approach, and the strikeout total of 115 at a combined 438 plate appearances this season is the number worth watching as the competition sharpens. But the bat speed, the run production, and the ability to impact the ball into the gaps make the floor more comfortable than the grades alone imply. Two home runs in his first three games at Double-A is a statement, even with all the appropriate sample-size caveats applied.
Not Even Blinking: Ethan Salas Keeps Triple-A Honest
Ethan Salas (AAA, C, Rank: 1) went 8 for 21 with two doubles, a home run, and 8 RBI against El Paso's schedule this week, adding three walks and zero strikeouts to a line that is starting to feel less like a hot start and more like a baseline. He was promoted from Double-A San Antonio on July 29 after posting a .286/.361/.417 line with 7 home runs and 13 doubles over 72 games at that level, and the transition has been seamless. Over the last 30 days entirely at Triple-A, he is slashing .373/.467/.627 with 3 home runs, 8 doubles, a triple, 21 RBI, and a 16.3 BB% against a matching 16.3 K%, the cleanest approach number in the system by a significant margin. His contact rate at Triple-A sits at 86.8% on a swing rate of just 39.4%, which reads as a hitter who is being extremely selective and punishing the pitches he chooses to attack.
The scouting framework on Salas centers on a 60 arm, 60 glove, and premium receiving skills already graded as a carrying tool, with the power ceiling pegged closer to average at physical maturity rather than now. What 2026 has added is the contact consistency to make everything else matter sooner. A 50 hit tool playing at a 85.6% contact rate across two levels says the bat-to-ball skill is outperforming the grade, which happens to be the developmental curve you want to see from a 20-year-old catcher. The Padres have 10 home runs, 19 doubles, 15 stolen bases, and a combined .301/.377/.465 line out of the catching position from a prospect who will not turn 21 until February. A late-2026 call is not far-fetched if the roster situation creates an opening, and the version of Salas that shows up in San Diego will be a legitimate everyday catcher from day one.
Quick Hits
- Bryan Balzer (A+, RHP, Rank: 22) · was nearly unhittable in five innings of work, allowing just 1 hit and no runs while striking out 10 and walking 4. It was his best start of the season at High-A Fort Wayne, coming off a month in which he has a 27.1 K% and a 4.15 ERA across 13 innings. The combined ERA across both stops sits at 4.47 through 88.2 innings, but the stuff is legitimate: a four-seam fastball that touches 99 mph, a sweeper with significant horizontal break, and a splitter that dives under barrels. The walk rate (16.9 BB% over the last 30 days) remains the variable that defines a #4 starter ceiling from a high-leverage reliever outcome, and a start like this one is a reminder of how wide that range actually is.
- Braedon Karpathios (AA, OF, Rank: 31) · drove in 7 on 9 hits, including two home runs, against San Antonio opponents this week, his second strong week in a row. Over the last 30 days he is hitting .337/.411/.614 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI in 95 plate appearances, by far the best stretch of his Double-A career. The season line of .257/.349/.424 with 14 home runs and a 12.5 BB% across 439 plate appearances is the stabilizing context: the plate discipline is real, the exit velocity grades above average, and the power has ticked up meaningfully from his High-A days. The 31.4 K% on the season is the ceiling-capper for a 40 hit tool profile, but a left-handed bat with 90th-percentile exit velocity putting up a .614 slugging over 30 days at Double-A earns a closer look.
- Romeo Sanabria (AA, 1B, Rank: 11) · went 8 for 24 with three doubles and 3 RBI, adding four walks to his ledger. His recent form at Triple-A has been better than his season line there suggests: over the last 30 days, he is slashing .304/.391/.482 with 2 home runs and a 12.1 BB% in 66 plate appearances, showing the contact bat and improved walk rate that define his best version. The question is whether the carrying hit tool (graded at 50) survives upper-level arms consistently enough to matter at a position where offensive expectations are high. So far the contact is there; the power has not fully arrived.
- Jorge Quintana (A, SS, Rank: 9) · collected 3 hits, a double, a home run, and 3 RBI in 14 plate appearances, walking twice and taking a hit by pitch as well. Over the last 30 days he is posting a 19.1 BB% at Low-A Lake Elsinore, the highest in the system among hitters with meaningful playing time, and his 25 stolen bases on the season lead the Padres' full-season affiliates. The power is a 35 grade right now and the .230 season average reflects a hit tool still in development at 19, but a switch-hitting shortstop with plus speed and a genuine feel for the strike zone gives the profile enough ingredients to stay interesting through the rough patches.
- Jagger Haynes (AAA, LHP, Rank: 7) · logged 4.2 innings of scoreless ball this week with 5 strikeouts and only 2 walks, his most functional start since arriving at El Paso. The Triple-A ERA sits at 9.00 through four starts, with a 15.7 BB% over the last 30 days that has defined the rough stretch. When the command is anywhere near average, the fastball/slider combo is enough to miss bats, as this week showed, but the inconsistency against upper-level hitters is a real problem for a profile already projected as a back-end starter or multi-inning reliever.
- Timothy Mogen (RK, SS, Rank: 36) · put together his best week of the Arizona League season, going 7 for 21 with a double, a home run, and 6 RBI. At 17 years old with plus speed (60 grade) and a plus arm, Mogen is among the youngest players in professional baseball, and the .385 on-base percentage across 219 plate appearances this year is a legitimate signal that his feel for the zone is ahead of his age. The contact rate of 46.1% on a 57.8% swing rate is the developmental hurdle for a long-lever swing, but nobody is expecting that to be resolved at this stage.
- Michael Salina (A, RHP, Rank: 23) · was placed on the 7-day injured list at Lake Elsinore on August 14. The specific nature of the injury has not been confirmed. His last appearance came on August 6, and he had thrown just 1 inning at Low-A this season before the placement.
- Victor Lizarraga (A, RHP, Rank: 28) · was promoted from the ACL to Lake Elsinore on August 14, his first look at full-season ball. The 21-year-old has posted a 6.35 ERA across 68 innings at Double-A this year, so the assignment to Low-A reads as a developmental reset rather than a traditional promotion path.