El Paso Chihuahuas
This article is the first in a series of articles highlighting roster projections and team predictions for Padres minor league affiliates. We open the series with the highest level below the Majors, with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
After a strong second half that saw the Chihuahuas in contention for a postseason berth down to the final week, the team has new faces joining in the quest for both development and on-field success. Based solely on roster additions and players coming up the pipeline, El Paso looks to be in a good spot to accomplish said goals.
Here is a projected lineup and pitching staff for the 2026 Chihuahuas:
Graphic by D. Garcia – EVT Sports
Perhaps this revamped roster has the bite and power to make the Pacific League playoffs after coming so close in 2025. With that, here are some predictions for this team related to the players on the roster or the team’s performance as a whole.
1. Romeo Sanabria, Francisco Acuna, and Marcos Castanon all finish with above-average offensive production by Pacific Coast League standards.
The aforementioned trio was among the notable performers in big league camp as the Spring went on, with Sanabria and Castanon’s batted-ball data turning heads. Sanabria’s spring was such that some believed he was closer to MLB playing time than others. While Sanabria’s season at Double-A in 2025 left some with doubts, he appears to have raised his stock in the eyes of the organization. After seeing a full season with the San Antonio Missions in 2025, and without anyone really blocking him in the depth chart, Sanabria is poised to be the Chihuahuas’ starting first baseman in 2026. If he can take advantage of the gaps at Southwest University Park for extra bases, Sanabria could finish the season as a 120-130 wRC+ bat.
Francisco Acuna and Marcos Castanon will be clustered together in this breakdown, as each saw similar amounts of playing time with El Paso last season. Castanon hit .300 with a .936 OPS in 16 games with the Chihuahuas, launching three home runs and driving in 18 runs. While he did strike out in 19 of 67 plate appearances (28.4% K), his power output in that span and quality of contact made up for it. For a player who ran into hurdles over the past two seasons, Castanon has every opportunity to put himself back on the map in 2026, and his positional versatility will certainly be useful for the Chihuahuas.
His Missions double-play partner, Francisco Acuna, also made the jump to the Chihuahuas and the PCL last season, playing in 12 games. Acuna looked right at home in the PCL, crushing two home runs and driving in nine runs in 33 at-bats. Acuna’s .364/.452/.667 slash line in 42 plate appearances registered a 161 wRC+, and he held his own in MLB Spring Training. Acuna delivered a .775 OPS in 36 spring plate appearances as of the time of writing, and graded out as one of the best defensive middle infielders in the system last year. While his in-game power is not as pronounced as that of his teammates, Acuna showed last season that he’s got the ability to mash all his own. With his ability to hit to all fields, look for Acuna to build on his 2025 success with El Paso this year.
2. Jase Bowen reaches 15 home runs by the All-Star Break
One of the most unsung performers from Padres Spring Training was Jase Bowen, who crushed four home runs and posted a .936 OPS. Bowen was one of the final roster cuts in camp and is set to be on the Chihuahuas’ roster. While he came into the season as an unknown, he has certainly raised the expectations for himself this season. Bowen spent last season in the Pirates organization, and slashed .272/.353/.449 for an .802 OPS with nine home runs and a 124 wRC+. He split most of the season at Double-A and Triple-A, and made adjustments at Triple-A to cut down on his strikeout rate.
This spring, Bowen has cut down on his whiffs and chases, while making more contact within the strike zone. If these changes continue and he can continue to demolish mistake pitches from opponents, the adjustments he’s made and the hitting environment could allow him to tap into his power upside. Bowen should have every opportunity to be a starter against all pitching, and is not a platoon bat at this point. Should he be able to make a successful transition to the Padres organization, he will see MLB time in 2026.
3. The trio of Victor Lizarraga, Jagger Haynes, and Jackson Wolf sees MLB time by season’s end
The Chihuahuas’ rotation will likely be anchored by younger talent this season, as outside of Matt Waldron on rehab assignment and JP Sears, the three most logical options for starting opportunities deserve the runway of starting. Victor Lizarraga battled through an up-and-down season at Double-A in 2025 before making two starts with the Chihuahuas as the season came to a close. The right-hander found something in his two starts with El Paso, as his ability to get ground balls returned. After a career-low ground ball rate in 2024, he saw positive regression, and by using his sinker efficiently, Lizarraga could be an efficient starter at altitude.
Then we get to the pair of left-handers in Jackson Wolf and Jagger Haynes.
Haynes spent all of 2025 at Double-A, and while he succeeded in limiting hits, he notoriously struggled against right-handed batters. Haynes made adjustments to his arsenal this offseason, tightening the shape of his slider. While this change cut down on the horizontal break the slider had in 2025, it allows him to make the pitch a more platoon-neutral offering. The new slider, when paired with his changeup, can allow him to be successful against right-handed batters. He was already getting whiffs when locating pitches on the corners, which brought him success. If Haynes can limit his walks, he will be able to stick as a starter. However, if his stuff ticks up early in outings and he continues to fare very well against left-handed batters, he could see MLB time as a left-handed weapon out of the bullpen.
Lastly, we have Jackson Wolf. Wolf has quietly gone two and a half years since his first and only MLB outing so far. In that span, the southpaw has seen time in two organizations and four affiliates, bouncing back in 2025. The left-hander got every opportunity to star and posted a 5.04 ERA and 4.56 FIP, which were 8% and 15% better than average, respectively. Wolf rediscovered his strikeout stuff, striking out 23.4% of batters against an 8.2% walk rate. Wolf also pitched scoreless ball in six of seven Cactus League outings, lasting in major league camp through the last week. The southpaw is very well on the Padres’ MLB radar, and should one of their depth starting options flounder, Wolf could be an option to fill a rotation spot. He also has a minor league option remaining, which would allow him to come up and down as needed.
4. Rodolfo Duran hits over .300 with an OPS over 1.000 this season
Rodolfo Duran’s second half in 2025 was legendary, as he slashed .330/.373/.612 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI. Duran’s batted-ball data was also rather strong despite a lack of sweet-spot contact. The Santo Domingo-born Duran made quite an impression during that stretch, even hitting for the cycle back on September 14. He also made quite the statement in Major League camp, as he posted a 170 wRC+ in 31 plate appearances. Duran hit three home runs, drove in eight runs, and all this came with a .200 BABIP.
Duran had the best spring of any Padres catcher, as his 170 wRC+ was ahead of Freddy Fermin (163 wRC+) by a slim margin, and ahead of Luis Campusano (47 wRC+) by a wide margin. The right-handed hitter also showed strong defensive instincts behind the plate in his playing time, making tough plays look easy. Duran is arguably the second-most qualified catcher when it comes to MLB readiness, and had the team hosted an open competition for the backup spot, he would have beaten out Campusano, his former teammate. Duran’s power output in El Paso’s second-half run has plenty of evidence for carrying over, and if he gets consistent playing time, he has a chance to repeat his performance.
5. At least two Chihuahuas pitchers make the end of year Pacific Coast League All-Star Team
The Padres’ newfound pitching development formula could very well allow them to have success down on the farm. Should neither of Bradgley Rodriguez or Garrett Hawkins spend much time at the MLB level in 2026, both should be considered locks to make the PCL All-Star Team. Rodriguez’s turbo sinker and changeup combo will allow him to induce ground balls to mitigate contact. His four-seam fastball and cutter should allow him to generate whiffs as well, even if the fastball loses some of its rise thanks to the environment of the PCL.
The right-hander showed solid form at the MLB level and should be able to carry over his successes from 2025 and 2026 Spring Training. Hawkins, on the other hand, was a breakout sensation in 2025, returning from Tommy John surgery to post one of the most dominant campaigns in all of baseball last season. The right-hander may seem like a mismatch for the PCL, given the high-iVB nature of his arsenal, but if he is able to survive the thin air in El Paso and elsewhere, he will have very little left to prove other than at the Major League level. If Hawkins can continue to showcase the strong to elite command he showed in his time at High-A Fort Wayne, look for him to be one of the better relievers in the PCL this season.
The Chihuahuas open their season on March 27 against the Sacramento River Cats on the road. The first pitch for the 2026 Chihuahuas is scheduled for 6:45 pm Pacific time.
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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