Padres Down on the Farm: EVT Monthly Awards & the All-May Team
Credit: Brandon Pollard
Month number two of Padres minor league action is officially in the books, and with a new month comes a new slate of strong performances. Now, with May in the books, let’s dive into some of the month’s best performers.
As was the case in April, we shall begin with the monthly awards before presenting the Padres Minor League All-May Team.
Player of the Month – Kerrington Cross
May Stats – .368/.510/.684, 1.194 OPS, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 6 SB
When a walk-off home run is arguably a player’s second or third-best moment of the month, it says a ton about the production put up by said player in a month. Kerrington Cross had such a month. Every time one turned on the Storm ballgame, he was either on base or driving in a run. 13 of Cross’s 28 hits in the month went for extra bases, as he tallied five home runs, seven doubles, and even a triple.
The former Cincinnati Bearcat put together a 10-game hitting streak from May 14 to 24, as he brought his batting average up from .197 on May 1 to .307 by month’s end. Cross drew 20 walks in 25 games, and his .510 on-base percentage led his team in May. It’s tough to pick a standout moment for Cross in May, but his walk-off home run against Inland Empire on May 28 is the moment we all remember (and for good reason).
KERRINGTON BOMB. STORM WIN. #EmbraceTheStorm?️ pic.twitter.com/KRfvl2XCoZ
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) May 29, 2026
Pitcher of the Month – Tyler Schmitt
May Stats – 5 GS, 27 IP, 2.33 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 27 K, 10 BB, .211 BAA
Talk about a breakout month. Tyler Schmitt stepped into the Storm rotation at the season’s opening, but the results were mixed for the right-hander out of the gate. A seven-run blowup on April 18 ballooned his ERA to 10.00. However, the month of May was the opposite for the right-hander. Schmitt made five starts in May, and right off the bat he showed stronger performance. The right-hander opened the month with back-to-back scoreless starts against Ontario and Inland Empire, striking out 11 in 11 innings. Schmitt allowed just seven baserunners in that span.
The right-hander finished an out short of a quality start in his next game against Rancho Cucamonga (5.2 IP, 2 R, 5 K). Though his fourth start of the month was not his sharpest (4.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K), Schmitt ended the month with a pristine outing, striking out a career-high nine in a rematch with Inland Empire. The right-hander’s arsenal is a tunneling enthusiast’s dream, as his fastball and changeup have an 8-12 mph difference in their velocity. His fastball has sat at 90-94 mph this season, with a changeup in the low-to-mid-80s. His big breaking ball, with a 12-6 movement profile, has been the perfect pairing with his fastball-changeup combo, as it allows him to get chases below the zone. Schmitt’s magnum opus this month was his final start of the month, a nine-strikeout scoreless gem against Inland Empire at home.
Reliever of the Month – Clay Edmondson
May Stats – 9 G, 11.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 20 K, 4 BB, .103 BAA
A former 14th round pick back in 2025, Clay Edmondson has arguably been the most dominant reliever in the entirety of the Midwest League. The right-hander was pushed rather aggressively last season, seeing time at Single-A and Triple-A after the Draft. Edmondson opened this season at High-A, and it looks more and more as if he won’t finish the season in High-A. The right-hander had a strong April, but May took his performance to another level. Edmondson made nine appearances in May, pitching 11.2 innings and allowing no earned runs.
Edmondson scattered four hits, striking out 20 batters to just four walks. The right-hander went 7-for-8 in save opportunities as well, and his 10 saves are twice as many as the second-place arm in the Midwest League. If looking at it through a numerical lens, Edmondson struck out 44.4% of opposing batters in May, walking just 8.8%. He was more than just a one-inning arm, picking up more than three outs on four occasions. Edmondson’s best outing came on May 29 against South Bend, where his clean eighth inning kept the team within range of a comeback. After the TinCaps rallied for four in the ninth inning, Edmondson returned for the ninth and retired the side to seal the win.
Clay Edmondson’s May:
9 G (11.2 IP)
0.00 ERA
0.96 FIP
44.4% K
8.8% BBEdmondson leads the Midwest League with 10 saves for @TinCaps. No other ML pitcher has more than five!pic.twitter.com/nYuaXCMqqX
— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) June 2, 2026
And now, onto the All-May Team! Below is a breakdown of the team, along with their numbers from the month of May.
Position Players:
C – Ethan Salas (San Antonio) – .313/.349/.500, .849 OPS, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 5 SB
1B – Kerrington Cross (Lake Elsinore) – .368/.510/.684, 1.194 OPS, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 6 SB
2B – Marcos Castanon (El Paso) – .355/.444/.484, .928 OPS, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB
3B – Pablo Reyes (El Paso) – .365/.449/.649, .1.098 OPS, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB
SS – Justin DeCriscio (Lake Elsinore/Fort Wayne) – .261/.365/.455, .820 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB
LF – Jake Cunningham (Fort Wayne) – .284/.422/.567, .989 OPS, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 2 SB
CF – Jase Bowen (El Paso) – .300/.390/.600, .990 OPS, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 6 SB
RF – Qrey Lott (Lake Elsinore) – .328/.400/.493, .893 OPS, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB
DH – Braedon Karpathios – .282/.408/.424, .832 OPS, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB
Pitching Staff
SP1 – Tyler Schmitt (Lake Elsinore) – 5 GS, 27 IP, 2.33 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 27 K, 10 BB, .211 BAA
SP2 – Carson Montgomery (Fort Wayne) – 4 GS, 19.1 IP, 1.86 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 20 K, 11 BB, .152 BAA
SP3 – Jesus A. Castro (Lake Elsinore) – 4 GS, 19.1 IP, 2.33 ERA, 1.33 FIP, 27 K, 3 BB, .284 BAA
SP4 – Victor Lizarraga (San Antonio) – 5 G (3 GS), 23.2 IP, 2.66 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 21 K, 8 BB, .267 BAA
RP1 – Clay Edmondson (Fort Wayne) – 9 G, 11.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 20 K, 4 BB, .103 BAA
RP2 – Will Varmette (Fort Wayne) – 9 G, 11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 10 K, 6 BB, .171 BAA
RP3 – Nick Falter (Lake Elsinore) – 9 G, 20.1 IP, 2.21 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 22 K, 7 BB, .181 BAA
RP4 – Zack Qin (ACL Padres) – 4 G (1 GS), 11.2 IP, 1.54 ERA, 0.36 FIP, 24 K, 1 BB, .306 BAA
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.