The El Paso Chihuahuas are back for the 2024 season: Here are 5 to watch this year

The El Paso Chihauhuas begin their season Friday in Albuquerque with a load of veteran faces familiar to El Paso and San Diego.

The hope and expectation is that will add up to an improvement on last season when El Paso went 62-88 over the two half-season schedules, a rare down season for a team that has contended for division titles in the Pacific Coast League more often than not.

There is a new name at the top in manager Pete Zamora, who is moving up from Single A Lake Elsinore (Calif.) and will be dealing with an older roster. The fans in El Paso will get their first look at the roster Tuesday at home against Round Rock, a game that begins a six-game series at Southwest University Park.

"We have some veteran players, guys who really know how to win baseball games," said Zamora, who whipped out some former Major League names such as catcher Kevin Plawecki, infielder Mason McCoy and outfielder Oscar Mercado. "It's an older crew in the sense of guys who have experienced the big-league level, not a ton of rookies at this level.

"It's guys who know how to play and win the game the right way, guys who the San Diego Padres look to as a sixth-man, second line, coming up to San Diego when needed."

Here is a look at some players and one manager to watch.

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Pete Zamora, manager

The San Diego native and lifelong Padres fan has been with the organization nine years and says he wants to be with them the rest of his life. His baseball goal is to ride on a parade float in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter when the Padres win a World Series.

"I'm excited to be here, the boys are very excited, as of right now healthy and we're looking forward to Friday," he said. "All the thoughts are going in my mind, all the stories, how beautiful (Southwest University Park) is. It didn't disappoint when I walked in here, there was a 'Wow factor.' It's a beautiful place to play baseball, a cool town I'm excited to go explore on our off days."

Randy Vasquez, right handed pitcher

The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic made his Major League debut last season on May 26, for the New York Yankees against the San Diego Padres. He gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings.

In the offseason he was part of the blockbuster trade where he came over from the Yankees with four other players for Juan Soto. He is slated to start the Chihuahuas home opener Tuesday.

Matthew Batten, infielder

Batten has played parts of two years with the Padres but he's going to be a record-setter as a Chihuahua. When he takes the field, presumably Friday in Albuquerque, he'll be the first El Paso player to play here in six different seasons.

That's not exactly his goal, but he likes the city and the organization.

"Obviously (El Paso is) not the end goal, but there are worse places to hang out," said Batten, who hit .235 in 68 games in El Paso last season. "It's a great fan base, a great stadium, I always enjoy my time here.

"Offseason is done, spring training is done which is always a grind. Now the fun starts when all the work you put in privately and in spring training comes to fruition and you go out and do what you do."

Tirso Ornelas, outfielder

The 24-year-old Mexican (from Tijuana) came up to El Paso late last season and was electric, hitting .285 in 55 games with four home runs. His numbers in El Paso were almost identical to the numbers he put up in AA San Antonio before getting moved up.

"We're ready, we worked hard in spring training," Ornelas said. "This is a great group, a great team, we're going to do well and play hard for the fans."

Tim Locastro, oufielder

Locastro has a presence in the Hall of Fame, where his spikes are enshrined after he began his Major League career by stealing 29 consecutive bases, the MLB record to start a career. That career began in 2017 with Los Angeles when he pinch-ran for Corey Seager.

Since then he's also played in the Majors for Arizona, the Yankees and the Mets. He signed with the Padres this offseason.

Nolan Watson, right handed pitcher

A former first-round draft pick in 2015 by the Kansas City Royals, he spent seven years with the Royals where he dealt with many injury problems. He joined the Padres last season and had his best season as a pro in Double-A San Antonio.

"I spent seven years with the Royals, it wasn't the easiest, not the most beautiful stat lines put up every night," Watson said. "But I've been able to turn the page once I got with the Padres organization, the coaches here, the staff here, the players have made it seamless. I've been pitching a lot better since I've been here. I'm excited to continue that.

"I look around the clubhouse and see guys who I know have the ability to play, guys I've played with before. I'm looking forward to spending time with this coaching staff, this support staff here. It's going to be a great season."

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Here are five El Paso Chihuahuas to watch for 2024 season