PEORIA, Ariz. – Last April 23, Garrett Hawkins was summoned out of the bullpen for High-A Fort Wayne. He initially worked out of a jam but eventually yielded four hits and a pair of runs across his outing and was saddled with the loss. He had allowed seven earned runs across his first six appearances. His ERA sat at 6.30.
Hawkins wouldn’t allow a run for nearly the next four months.
What came next was a 38-inning scoreless streak that spanned 29 appearances across two levels and saw the Saskatoon native allow just 19 baserunners while compiling 51 strikeouts. Hawkins went from a 25-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery struggling to find a foothold in High-A to the organization’s Pitcher of the Year, having seamlessly transitioned to the bullpen and delivered the Minors’ longest run of going unscored upon in a decade.
“There were definitely outings where it was like, ‘I don't have it today and we're just gonna try and scrap through and we're gonna see what happens,’” Hawkins said. “That happened a few times and I kind of just got lucky that no one scored. But I just got into a rhythm and the biggest thing was just not thinking about it.”
So, what suddenly clicked? In Hawkins’ case, it was a subtle mechanical change here, a tweak there. After not really knowing his role but promising to be ready when the phone rang, he headed to the bullpen for the first time since Rookie ball in 2021. What came next was a year in which he led Padres Minor Leaguers (min. 30 inn.) in ERA (1.50), WHIP (0.85), BAA (.138) and FIP (2.22).
Relievers get familiar with one another, cordoned off in their own section of the ballpark. With Fort Wayne, Hawkins got to know Tyson Neighbors, the Padres’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 Draft, a veritable human energy drink can when stepping onto the mound. (Neighbors was dealt to Baltimore in the Ryan O’Hearn/Ramon Laureano deal at last year’s Trade Deadline.)
“We were kind of opposites,” the more even-keeled Hawkins said. “We're doing similar things [though], so it's kind of nice to see the end of the spectrum of how you can go about it and still get the job done. He was a good guy to learn from, especially routine-wise.”
Now Hawkins’ peers are big league relievers. His second Cactus League outing Monday vs. Milwaukee was followed by Mason Miller, Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan, among others, arms that will all play a key part in San Diego’s relief corps in 2026. In Major League camp for the first time, Hawkins, who was added to the 40-man roster over the winter, is in the mix for an Opening Day roster shot, although the sheer depth of that unit might leave him on the wrong side of a numbers crunch.
“We know what he brings to the table,” said manager Craig Stammen, who got to see Hawkins up-close last summer during his time as a special assistant in player development. “Now it’s proving it in a big league setting against different players.”
Hawkins’ bread and butter has long been his fastball. Even at 6-foot-5, he has a reputation of being able to command it for strikes. Whereas he once sat 92-94 mph as a starter, he’s been able to let it eat in shorter stints, ramping his heater up into the 95-96 range this spring.
The move from Minor League to Major League camp may be a short jaunt across the club’s complex, but it’s an enormous one when it comes to who’s watching. Hawkins has cited Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla as a huge influence early on as he continues to hone his arsenal, finding the right offspeed stuff to play off his heater.
Establishing a tight bond with a pitching coach is familiar terrain. When Hawkins was named San Diego’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year last October, he found out via Fort Wayne pitching coach Thomas Eshelman, who also informed him he would be the recipient of a brand new watch. Eshelman was at a wedding in California, but the news of the achievement couldn’t wait.
Hawkins, who ended the 2025 season at Double-A and slotted in as the Padres’ No. 19 prospect, is expected to rise up that list when MLB Pipeline unveils its updated club rankings during the first week of March. It seems a matter of when, not if, he’ll be able to look down at his new watch and know it’s time to impact San Diego’s bullpen in 2026.