FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The San Diego Padres have announced the coaching staff for the 2025 Fort Wayne TinCaps season. Lukas Ray will manage the High-A ’Caps after leading San Diego’s Single-A affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm, to the California League Championship Series last year.
The team released the following:
Ray will be joined by pitching coach Thomas Eshelman, the former big leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles who led Fort Wayne’s pitching staff in 2024. Yunir Garcia is the team’s new hitting coach after he worked in that role with the Double-A San Antonio Missions a year ago. Luis Mendez is the bench coach following a season as manager of the rookie-level Arizona Complex League (ACL) Padres. Micah Gerhart is the athletic trainer, with Tomoki Hyodo as the athletic training intern, and Connor Shadroo is the strength coach. James McCormick comes on board as the performance analyst, while Dante Ludlow is the video coordinator. Award-winning clubhouse managers Sam Lewis and Hunter Sosenheimer join Eshelman as the only returners on the staff.
“It’s an absolute honor to have the opportunity to manage a first-class organization like the TinCaps,” Ray said. “Our dynamite staff is passionate about developing players and winning games. We aspire to display a product on the field that the exceptional Fort Wayne fanbase is proud to support.”
Ray, 28, joined the Padres Player Development staff as a coach in 2021. He managed the ACL Padres in ’22 and ’23. A former catcher, he played collegiately at the University of South Carolina Lancaster and graduated from the University of South Carolina. Prior to joining San Diego’s organization, he coached at Florence-Darlington Tech in South Carolina, USC Lancaster, and at the Division I level with Charleston Southern and Middle Tennessee State. Last year the Storm had the best record in the Cal League South Division and won a postseason series to advance to the Cal League Championship.
Under Eshelman in 2024, the TinCaps had 13 pitchers earn a promotion to Double-A San Antonio, including right-handed starter Henry Baez, who was the Padres’ Minor League Baseball Pitcher of the Year.
The Padres will announce Fort Wayne’s roster in late March. The team is projected to be led by 18-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Leo De Vries, who Baseball America ranks as the No. 1 Padres prospect after he was the top-ranked international free agent in 2024. The TinCaps are scheduled to begin their 2025 Midwest League season at Parkview Field on Friday, April 4 against the Lansing Lugnuts (A’s affiliate). Tickets are already on sale at TinCaps.com/Tickets.
2025 Fort Wayne TinCaps Coaching Staff
Manager: Lukas Ray
Pitching Coach: Thomas Eshelman
Hitting Coach: Yunir Garcia
Bench Coach: Luis Mendez
Athletic Trainer: Micah Gerhart
Athletic Training Intern: Tomoki Hyodo
Strength Coach: Connor Shadroo
Performance Analyst: James McCormick
Video: Dante Ludlow
Clubhouse Managers: Sam Lewis and Hunter Sosenheimer
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