The Arizona Fall League kicked off on Monday, with six Padres minor leaguers seeing their first game action of the AFL season.

Here is a summary of their performances. 

Carson Montgomery – 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (46 pitches – 31 strikes)

Tanner Smith – 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (10 pitches – 6 strikes)

Tucker Musgrove – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (14 pitches – 9 strikes)

Johan Moreno – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (21 pitches – 12 strikes)

Padres pitchers were strong as a collective in the Javelinas’ season opener. Carson Montgomery, in his first official game action since the 2024 campaign, pitched three innings of one-run baseball for the Javelinas. Montgomery struck out three batters, displaying both his sinker and four-seamer. Montgomery’s four-seam fastball topped out at 97.1 mph, consistently sitting between 93-95 mph. His secondaries showed sharpness, with his slider looking sharp in the 82-85 mph range. Tanner Smith threw a scoreless inning, pounding the zone with 94-97 mph sinkers and sliders in the mid-80s. Smith also erased a baserunner on a pickoff, keeping his frame orderly. Tucker Musgrove and his impressive stuff made their presence known in the fifth inning. Musgrove reached 99.2 mph on his fastball, striking out top prospect Kevin McGonigle as part of a scoreless inning. Johan Moreno was the last of four Padres pitchers to appear in the game. Moreno delivered one scoreless inning with a strikeout. As Moreno spent most of the season in the lower levels of the minors, his pitch speeds and data were not as publicly available, but this relief appearance changed that. His fastball sat between 94.4 and 96.4 mph, with a cutter/slider in the 84-87 mph range. As a unit, Padres pitchers finished the evening having tossed six innings of one-run baseball, striking out seven batters. 

#Padres prospect Carson Montgomery so far on @MLBazFallLeague Opening Night:

3 IP
4 H
1 R
1 BB
3 K

FB sitting 93-94 consistently, has shown SL & CH too. pic.twitter.com/7TNjgodh4S

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) October 7, 2025

Opening Night in the Fall League is the Tucker Musgrove coming out party. Upper 90s gas up to 100. Here he is against McGonigle. pic.twitter.com/qtFYie6C9G

— Josh Norris ? (@jnorris427) October 7, 2025

Lamar King Jr – 0-for-3, Walk

Braedon Karpathios – 1-for-3, Single, Run Scored

Lamar King Jr and Braedon Karpathios made their AFL debuts in the win. Karpathios had a base hit and scored a run for the Javelinas, also notching one barrel and three batted balls over 90 mph. Karpathios did not see time in the field, playing as the Javelinas’ designated hitter. King, meanwhile, started behind the plate and caught all nine innings.

The right-handed hitting King went 0-for-3 with a walk, registering one barrel on a sharp groundout in the game.  Defensively, King dealt with baserunners to mixed results, as three Scorpions successfully stole against King and the Javelinas’ pitchers. King was also hit with a catcher’s interference call. King’s defense behind the plate remains a work in progress, and it is likely he will continue to receive reps behind the dish as the AFL season roars on. 

Padres players and the Javelinas return to play on Wednesday, October 8. Kannon Kemp and Maikel Miralles are among the Padre pitchers set to debut this week in the AFL, along with infielder Ryan Jackson.

Diego Garcia

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.