by Jason Avant-
In my introductory post, I discussed Padres fandom. It is actually a thing. We exist, despite the increasingly hard-to-argue fact that we have little to cheer for. Last year the team's record was 71 wins, 91 losses. The Padres were not good. But at least they were better than the Giants.
What will the upcoming season bring? There are 162 regular season games...so I'm going to predict an 81 and 81 record.
I have no stats to back this up, no special insight into the players and manager Andy Green, nothing but a guess. As far as guesses go, it's a good one. The Padres will not suck, in the strictest sense of the word. Nor will they be contenders, even if we get earthquakes in LA and San Francisco that open up beneath Dodgers Stadium and whatever it is that the San Francisco ballpark is called this year, swallowing both teams, leaving only the Padres and the Rockies and the D-backs to compete for the NL West. The Pads will merely be OK. Literally. Here are a few reasons why.
1. The Infield
Eric Hosmer seems like a good acquisition. He has won a Gold Glove, played for Kansas City when they won the World Series in 2015, and has a .284 career batting average. He makes no secret of the fact that he wants to be a (or even THE) Team Leader. Also in the infield: Chase "It's" Headly at third base and Freddy Galvis at shortstop, both of whom literally fit the definition of "OK".
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| Hedy Lamarr, not to be confused with Hedly Lamarr or Chase Headly. |
2. The Outfield
Wil Myers is a fan favorite - I like to think of him as the Padres' version of the D-backs' Paul Goldschmidt, in that he's a pretty good player who non-fans have never heard of. If you say the phrase "Myers and Goldschmidt" to anyone outside of San Diego and/or Phoenix they will assume you're talking about a law firm that specializes in injury claims. In a weird coincidence, I have a lawyer friend, Mike, who specializes in Worker's Comp claims and kinda looks like Wil Myers. Here, see for yourselves:
Myers used to play first base, but he's been moved to right field. Joining him in center will be another fan favorite, Manuel Margot. He's a developing player who has power and speed, meaning that once he gets really good the Padres will trade him.
3. The Bullpen
The Padres will never have another Trevor Hoffman. BUT they do have Brad "Mister" Hand. Hand had 21 saves with 104 strikeouts last season. That's pretty good! (They'll probably trade him in a couple of years.) The rest of the pitching staff ranges from Middling to OK; I make no secret of my mancrush on Adam Cimber, and if he stays with the team he'll at least make things interesting.
4. The Rest of The Pitching Staff
It might be too much to hope for great things out of the Padres' starters. But...Tyson Ross might actually be good. He did well against Kansas City on March 12th (allowing one hit and on1 walk in four innings), and did the same against the Dodgers yesterday. Actually, he's had a pretty good spring training: 10 hits and five earned runs over 15 innings pitched. Cautious Optimism - for Ross, anyway - might be in order. Also, he can hit the ball pretty hard.
So, an OK Season. Again, it bears repeating: this is not a team of superstars. Or regular stars, for that matter. Expectations must be level-set. The headline of this piece alludes to a possible bright future for the Padres. In my research to prepare this piece (Google Search: "Will+Padres+suck+2018"), I came across something interesting: apparently the Padres have a pretty good farm system. So even if - and the chances are good! - the Padres suck this year, have faith. 2025 isn't that far away.
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