Last July, the Padres gave up six draftees from the 2024 class to pry Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles. Organizations can no longer hoard endless numbers of minor leaguers, so that ultimately led to outfielder Jake Cunningham surprisingly becoming chopping block material in late January.

Yes, he’d seen his OPS drop from .621 to .598 over his first two full seasons of pro ball, but he was a fifth-round pick in 2023 and even enjoyed a spell in 2024 in the Arizona Fall League (two homers in six games).

The Orioles had been invested in him and had two more years of team control.

But they were releasing him five months before his 24th birthday.

“I was pretty shocked,” Cunningham said.

In hindsight, the split might have been the best thing for his career.

The Padres signed him to a minor league deal within the week and he’s rewarded their faith with a system-best 18 home runs, including three since his promotion to Double-A San Antonio. On Sunday, the right-handed-hitting outfielder doubled and drove in three runs in the Missions’ 6-0 win over visiting Frisco.

Cunningham is hitting .287/.327/.465 following a promotion from high Single-A Fort Wayne, where he hit .269/.369/.560 for a .929 OPS that was more than 300 points better than either of his previous full seasons in the Orioles system.

“I felt like it was a fresh start,” Cunningham said.

Indeed, with a team that was familiar with him.

Area scout Jake Koening followed him closely at the University of North Carolina and flagged him for athleticism and size. Sensing perhaps the need for a change of scenery, pro scout Dom Viola set up a workout through Cunningham’s agent.

By that time, Cunningham had decided to get back to basics in the box.

“Last year was a lot mentally,” he said. “I was working with the people in Baltimore and trying new things in the box … and I forgot where my swing was. I was trying new things out instead of working on my approach and trusting myself and swinging at the right pitches.”

He certainly fine-tuned his forward movement, but the gist of the change with the Padres was to get back to being athletic as a hitter.

It helped immediately landing with a team that believed in him.

“I was super excited,” Cunningham said. “It felt like a fresh start. At the end of the day, baseball is a game. I could show up to spring training, treat it like a game and not like do or die every time I stepped into the batter’s box.”

The fresh start paid immediate dividends.

He hit five homers in April (.982 OPS), five more in May (.989 OPS) and was given his first Double-A promotion after hitting 15 homers in 57 games (.929 OPS). He’s also swiped 10 bases across the two stops after collecting 29 and 24 the last two years, respectively.

So at 18 homers and 10 steals, Cunningham is within striking distance of a big goal of his if he can go on a little bit of a run to close the season with the Missions.

“A big part of my game is speed,” Cunningham said. “I think it would be awesome to be a 20-20 player. I feel like that’s something I can attain.”

 

Sunday’s scoreboard

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (44-57)

Chihuahuas 15, Las Vegas 9: C Blake Hunt (1.024 OPS) hit his sixth and seventh homers and drove in five runs. 3B Will Wagner (.722 OPS) drove in two runs on his fifth homer. LF Nick Solak (.901 OPS) drove in two runs on four hits, including two doubles. SS Mason McCoy (.763 OPS) went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, a walk and two runs. RHP Jeremiah Estrada (0.00 ERA) struck out a batter and walked a batter in one-third of an inning in his latest rehab appearance.

 

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (44-52)

Missions 6, Frisco 0: RHP Eric Yost (5-2, 3.11 ERA) struck out five over six shutout innings in the win. CF Jake Cunningham (.792 OPS) drove in three runs on a double. RF Braedon Karpathios (.698 OPS) drove in two runs on his ninth homer.

 

HIGH SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (41-54)

TinCaps 7, Lake County 5: SS Justin DeCriscio (.830 OPS) hit his ninth homer. LF Ryan Wideman (.698 OPS) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three steals (13). 3B Zach Evans (.588 OPS) hit his third homer. LHP Jose Leclerc (0.00 ERA) struck out a batter in a scoreless inning in his third rehab inning with Fort Wayne.

 

LOW SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (50-46)

Storm 2, Visalia 1: 1B Yoiber Ocopio (.743 OPS) and C Truitt Madonna (.678 OPS) hit his second homer. RHP Luis Maracara (2-2, 8.10 ERA) struck out a batter and allowed a run in five innings in the win.