Padres 2024 first-rounder Mayfield leads High-A circuit in ERA, WHIP, more
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The Padres have several interesting arms in their system off to strong starts in 2026, but none have been more impressive than Kash Mayfield.
The dominant season for San Diego’s No. 4 prospect rolled along Friday night, with Mayfield putting together five shutout innings where he allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out eight in Fort Wayne’s 3-2 win over Dayton at Parkview Field. The outing lowers Mayfield’s ERA this season to just 1.30 and his WHIP to 0.72, both of which lead the High-A Midwest League.
“We worked on a lot of stuff this offseason," Mayfield said, "and I’ve been feeling really good so far."
Entering his start against Dayton, Mayfield had put up gaudy swing-and-miss numbers all year. That trend continued Friday with the left-hander totaling 14 whiffs on 34 swings (a 41.1 percent whiff rate).
His eight punchouts raises his season total to 43, which ranks second in the Padres' system and marks the fourth time this year in which Mayfield has gone five scoreless and fanned eight or more batters in an outing. Of the eight K’s he amassed, three of them came courtesy of his changeup. Already a 60-grade offering, Mayfield feels it's a pitch that’s taken another step forward this season.
“I think the big key this season is keeping the changeup in zone," said Mayfield. "Last year in [Single-A] Lake Elsinore, I had a lot of chases on it, but I couldn’t get ahead with it. It was always a two-strike pitch. But now, I’m showing it early and letting everything else play off of it.”
The other five punchies came via Mayfield’s fastball. While’s he’s sat 91-93 mph on the four seamer for a bulk of the season, the velocity has ticked up in recent weeks. The 21-year-old touched 95 mph a handful of times during his start vs. Cedar Rapids last week and topped out at 95.7 mph on May 8 against Beloit, per ballpark radar guns.
“The fastball always plays well up in the zone,” said Mayfield. “I’ve been trying to go inside with it and play it off the changeup below the zone. I’ve added some body weight -- a lot of it in my lower half -- made some mechanical corrections and have started to see my velo jump up a little bit too.”
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Along with Mayfield’s elite strikeout and swing-and-miss numbers, Midwest League batters have seldom hit the Edmond, Okla., native. In 34 2/3 innings, Mayfield has held opposing batters to a slim .103 batting average, another best on the circuit. When they have notched hits against him, hardly any of it has been impactful, with the southpaw yielding only one home run and an opponent OPS of just .360.
Winner of the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year Award in both 2023 and '24, Mayfield was selected 25th overall by the Padres in the 2024 MLB Draft. In 95 1/3 total professional innings, he boasts a 2.36 ERA.
Just five pitchers have taken the mound in the Double-A Texas League this season in their age-21 or younger campaign. On his current trajectory, it's fair to wonder when Mayfield could make it six.