The El Paso Chihuahuas as a team have received an influx of talent to their 2025 roster.

From minor league free agency to players rising through the ranks of the Padres’ system, the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate looks to be in a good position this season. 

Here is a projected Opening Day roster for the Chihuahuas. 

While this team did not contend for a Pacific Coast League playoff spot last season, this season’s outlook could be much more positive. 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. Each of the team’s opening series starters sees time at the Major League level.

Perhaps it’s a stretch, but it is certainly possible that each member of the Chihuahuas’ starting five makes appearances at the major league level.

Four of the team’s projected starting five are already on the Padres’ 40-man roster, with only Jared Kollar not on the roster. The Padres are currently rolling with Randy Vasquez and Kyle Hart in the back end of the rotation, with Logan Gillaspie likely to be the team’s long reliever. However, it is almost a certainty that a team will need more than the Opening Day staff to reach October baseball.

The Padres’ rotation projects to be durable, but there are definitely question marks surrounding the back end until Yu Darvish returns to health. Randy Vasquez was hit-or-miss last season at the MLB level and during spring training, and Kyle Hart didn’t get as many innings in spring as the Padres may have wanted. The rotation might be tough to break into, as Michael King, Dylan Cease, and Nick Pivetta have track records of health, but the team could opt to use spot-starters depending on the calendar. 

If any of the five Chihuahuas starters see time at the MLB level, it is more likely than not that they see time in long relief, as was the case for Daniel Camarena in 2021 and Pedro Avila in 2023. The Padres have some notably grueling stretches in the midsummer months (June itself is a great example), and with the Chihuahuas’ starters likely to have logged some innings at that point, any of the five could be options for the Major League team to start or provide relief innings in a stretch like that.

2. The team’s pitching staff finishes with a ground-ball rate north of 50%. 

The Pacific Coast League is notable for being a hitter’s paradise, given the high altitude of most of the league’s ballparks. Naturally, the solution to combat such a setting is to lean heavily on sinkers and sliders, pitches that are more efficient at higher altitudes. The Chihuahuas’ pitching staff as a whole, when looking at individual arsenals and pitch movement data, certainly understands the assignment. The team’s rotation is comprised of either sinkerball pitchers or pitchers whose primary and secondary offerings tunnel in a manner that generates weak contact:

• Stephen Kolek: Sinker-slider heavy pitch mix, which generated 55.9% GB rate in 2024
• Omar Cruz: Fastball-changeup combo with 17.7% SwStr% and 43.6% GB rate in 2024
• Ryan Bergert: Fastball-slider-cutter combo with 58.6% IFFB% + GB% in 2024
• Henry Baez: Sinker-slider pitch mix with 50.1% GB rate in 2024
• Jared Kollar: Cutter-curveball pairing with 54.9% IFFB% + GB% in 2024

The team’s bullpen has a steady array of right-handed sinkerballers with velocity, as each of the projected right-handed relievers has a sinker with a secondary that tunnels in a manner leading to soft contact. 

For the breakdown: Kevin Kopps (fastball-splitter), Francis Pena (fastball-cutter), Harold Chirino (sinker-slider), Jhony Brito (sinker-slider), and Ethan Routzahn (sinker-slider).

3. Oscar Gonzalez and Yonathan Perlaza each finish with over 20 home runs. 

This probably won’t happen if either one of Gonzalez or Perlaza see an extended period of time at the MLB level, but consider their background and previous performances, it is certainly possible. Perlaza, for his size, wields unbelievable power as a switch-hitter and has hit more than 20 home runs in each of his last three professional seasons (2022 at Double-A Tennessee, 2023 at Triple-A Iowa, and 2024 in the KBO). With a regular starting role or as a designated hitter when he does not play the field, Perlaza could accrue the at-bats to reach the 20-homer mark. 

Gonzalez, meanwhile, is not as much of a lock to reach the 20-homer mark, but that doesn’t mean he has not reached it before. Gonzalez hit 31 home runs with Triple-A Columbus in 2021, which served as a platform for his 2022 breakout season at the MLB level. Gonzalez is not the traditional slugger, as he does not carry the bloated strikeout rates of sluggers, but he also doesn’t walk much. For Gonzalez, playing in the Pacific Coast League could be what it takes to reach the 20 home run mark, but he would need to significantly decrease his ground ball rate from a 48.7% rate. He is still someone who can barrel up the baseball, as seen by his 51.3% line drive + fly ball rate, and the PCL’s offensive environment could turn some doubles into homers. While it is not a certainty, it is possible Gonzalez could be another power threat in the team’s lineup. 

4. Brandon Valenzuela becomes the team’s starting catcher by June

An equation of two parts: Brandon Valenzuela has steadily risen up the Padres’ minor league system, finally reaching Triple-A in 2024 and posted steady defensive metrics. On the other hand, Luis Campusano has not performed to the Padres organization’s expectations, with his defensive performance ranking among the league-worst at the catcher position in 2024.

Yes, he caught a no-hitter, but ranking in the 1st percentile in fielding runs, the 2nd percentile in framing runs, and 6th percentile in both blocks and caught stealing above average does not make for a strong defensive catcher. Campusano hasn’t made the offensive strides his 2023 performance appeared to bring forth; as a matter of fact, he regressed significantly. 

Valenzuela doesn’t have the highest offensive ceiling that other Padres’ prospects have. Still, he has a reputation as a solid defensive catcher when it comes to receiving and managing the running game. His blocking has shown improvements over the course of his career, and his one-knee-down stance behind the plate allows him to make the most of his above-average arm strength. To be the starting catcher, Valenzuela would not only need to outperform his counterpart defensively, but offensively as well.

His bat speed is not elite, as his swing can drag at times, leading to issues against breaking balls. However, Valenzuela has a keen eye at the plate, which allows him to draw walks at a higher rate than average. His bat has some power as well, as he posted a 46.6% hard-hit rate at Triple-A in 2024. He won’t be a 20-home run hitter, but his ability to hit the left-center or right-center gaps allows him to be a 15-20 doubles type of hitter who can produce at the bottom of a lineup. Valenzuela had an 85 wRC+ in 2024; the MLB average in 2024 was a 91 wRC+. To take the starting role, Valenzuela would not need to be a generational hitter; he would need to provide consistent & solid production at the plate with above-average defense, as he has done in seasons past. 

The El Paso Chihuahuas begin their season with a three-game home series against the Salt Lake Bees. The first pitch is scheduled at 5:35 pm Pacific on Friday, March 28.

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.