FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – At six-foot-three, 230-pounds Joshua Mears has prodigious power – and that power will be on display at Parkview Field for a second summer.

The 22-year old outfielder is back in the Summit City after hitting 14 home runs in just 52 games for the TinCaps last season.

Ranked as the no. 14 prospect in the Padres farm system, Mears also spent time in rookie ball and Double-A San Antonio last season, trying to cut down on his strikeout numbers. In 184 at bats with the TinCaps Mears struck out 90 times. He struck out 45 times in 83 at bats in Double-A.

A second round pick out of high school in Kirkland, Washington by the Padres back in 2019, Mears and the TinCaps open the 2023 season on the road at West Michigan on Thursday night.