The San Diego Padres have performed 100 video games right into a 162-game season and have a 50-50 file. They’re getting ready to bid farewell to a different prime season for Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, to not point out an outlier season for Jurickson Profar’s profession.
They swept Arizona 5-0 on Saturday evening in Phoenix, bettering their file to 43-18 since falling to .500 on a July evening in Cleveland. They did it with half the beginning lineup having an off evening and beginning instead of Triple-A El Paso’s Randy Vasquez, permitting only one hit to the victory-hungry Diamondbacks.
“There isn’t any query, regardless of who we placed on the sector, this membership goes to compete,” first-year head coach Mike Shildt stated.
It is a 180 from final 12 months when San Diego collapsed on the first signal of adversity and was by no means capable of win shut video games. Bob Melvin managed some of the star-studded groups within the league, going 82-80 and lacking the playoffs in maybe probably the most disappointing season in a franchise’s historical past. Disappointing seasons, and this workforce is aware of all about disappointing seasons.
This is not a kind of seasons, which is why in the event you’re in search of an inexpensive worth choose within the Nationwide League, you would possibly need to spend a couple of pennies on the Padres.
Lots of “sensible” cash shall be betting on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. However Los Angeles’ pitching workers is thinner than a runway mannequin, and Philadelphia has been under .500 over the previous 65 video games.
Which brings us again to why San Diego is your NFC sleeper. Not solely is it the best-playing workforce of any contender since mid-July, however it could have the fewest weaknesses of any playoff workforce.
Their beginning pitching is probably not pretty much as good because the Phillies’, however Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Seth and Michael King are a stable rotation piece. Seth has struck out greater than anybody aside from Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale , whereas Darvish and Musgrove are lastly wholesome after lacking a lot of the season . King was a revelation, posting a 2.95 ERA in 31 begins in his first full season within the MLB rotation.
The Padres can match up the bullpen with anybody. Though Roberto Suarez struggled in September, he nonetheless made 36 saves and recorded 9 wins. Tanner Scott and Jason Adam are wonderful playmakers, whereas Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon will seemingly present closers for a lot of MLB groups.
Offensively, San Diego is in some way higher after buying and selling for Juan Soto, an act of magic that might enable basic supervisor AJ Preller to maintain his job after final 12 months’s failure.
As may be seen from the 17 residence runs hit by No. 9 hitter Kyle Higashioka, its lineup is deeper from high to backside. It leads the MLB in batting common and ranks within the high 10 in on-base proportion, slugging proportion and runs proportion. It additionally had fewer swings and misses and the fewest strikeouts of any large man lineup.
Assume this does not make any sense? Wish to know one of many hidden explanation why Houston has been so good this decade? It additionally would not pack a lot of a punch. Though baseball followers insist that strikeouts imply nothing, strikeouts give a workforce much less of an opportunity to present the opponent the ball.
Do not forget that 1986 Mookie Wilson grounder that went across the legs of Invoice Buckner? It would not have occurred if Wilson hadn’t made contact. It is at all times higher to place the ball in play than swing out of your hip and miss by a foot.
That is 2023 for the Padres.
It will not describe their 2024 playoff run.
