Maybe Tirso Ornelas’ time is finally coming.

The 24-year-old outfielder is up to four home runs in the Mexican Winter League, hitting .309/.429/.531 in 24 games for Jalisco as he prepares to compete for a job this spring with the Padres.

Among 40-man options, only Eguy Rosario has been with the organization longer than Ornelas and left-hander Adrián Morejón. Rosario signed as a 16-year-old in August 2015 and Ornelas and Morejón signed the following July as part of the Padres’ $80 million dip into the international amateur pool.

Morejón led that class with a $11 million signing bonus, while Ornelas cost $1.5 million as the Padres’ top find in the Mexican market.

The climb to the majors has been a lot longer for Ornelas.

He broke a bone in the forearm one year in the Mexican winter league. While he’s always been a patient hitter, he never reached double-digits in home runs — a must for a 6-foot-3 corner outfielder without much foot speed — until 2023.

Ornelas hit minor league free agency last year, quickly re-signed with the Padres and put forth his best season yet, pairing career highs in homers (23) and RBIs (89) with a .297/.367/.497 batting line over 128 games at Triple-A El Paso.

The effort forced the Padres to put Ornelas on the 40-man roster over the summer.

The Padres are surely looking to explore all avenues as left fielder Jurickson Profar enters free agency, but Ornelas figures to get his best opportunity yet to make an impression on the big-league coaching staff in spring training.

Ornelas is ranked No. 17 among the Padres’ top prospects, as ranked by MLB.com.

The other notable Padre in the Mexican winter league, catcher Brandon Valenzuela (No. 12 in top-30), is hitting .256/.418/.385 with one homer in 26 games for Hermosillo.

Around the horn …

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

• C Luis Campusano has joined Licey and is 4-for-16 with a double through his first four games. Campusano, 26, hit .371/.405/.514 with a homer and seven RBIs in eight games after his demotion to Triple-A El Paso. With Kyle Higashioka departing as a free agent, Campusano is looking to reassert himself as the No. 1 catcher for 2025. Campusano hit .227/.281/.361 in 91 games in the majors in 2024. … INF Eguy Rosario is hitting .400/.452/.646 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 19 games for Estellas. Rosario will be looking to win a bench job this spring.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE

• Two of the Padres’ top-30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com, have joined San Juan. RHP Braden Nett (19) has struck out 13 batters against three walks through his first 10 innings (0.90 ERA). Nett spent most of 2024 in high Single-A Fort Wayne’s rotation, but he allowed a run in 4⅔ innings in his lone start at Double-A San Antonio. RHP Cole Paplham (25) has allowed three earned runs in 7⅓ innings so far this inning out of the bullpen. Injuries limited him to 9⅓ innings this season. Nett was struck in the face by a line drive early in the season and shut down with a UCL strain in mid-June. Both Nett and Paplham signed in 2022 as undrafted free agents.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

• INF Nerwilian Cedeño, 22, has joined Zulia and is 0-for-4 with a walk and a steal through two games. Cedeño hit .216/.303/.347 with seven homers and nine steals in 106 games in 2024 at high Single-A Fort Wayne. … LHP Miguel Cienfuegos has a 6.31 ERA in 25 ⅔ innings for Caribes, striking out 19 against eight walks. Cienfuegos threw 124 ⅓ innings in 2024, finishing the season at Triple-A El Paso (7.66 ERA, 22⅓ IP).

Originally Published: November 25, 2024 at 12:47 PM PST