Sometimes it’s difficult to gauge “the most improved team” from one season to the next, especially when it comes to offseason trades and free agent signings, but in 2015, it has to be, without question, the San Diego Padres.
First year GM AJ Preller went banana sandwich this winter basically giving the Padres a complete facelift.
Bringing in stars Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, and James Shields, the Padres certainly should do more than just contend in the west this year.
The Padres certainly bring a lot of interesting personalities and dynamics to the table in 2015, and while I have my questions about whether all the money spent and trades made will pay off, I think there’s some guys that fans may not be talking about they’ll want to keep their eyes on this year.
To me, eyeballs should direct straight Will Middlebrooks.
Once a top prospect in Boston, Middlebrooks floated from Triple-A to the big leagues and back and forth. To me, he never really got a fair shot at third base. In 2014, he started at the big leagues and had tremendous expectations on him from day one after he broke into the big leagues with a bang in 2012.
Now in San Diego, he gets a fresh start, and again, I’m not big on spring training stats, but so far this spring, he seems to be more than appreciative of the opportunity.
Coming from a park like Boston, to a park like PetCo, it is hard to say what Middlebrooks will do, but I do believe 15-20 home runs is a good ballpark and hitting for a decent average I don’t think is out of the question either.
After a promising rookie campaign, Jedd Gyorko’s followup 2013 was incredibly disappointing. Hitting just .210 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in 111 games, I believe we may see Gyorko break out in 2015.
Gyorko was regarded as one of the Padres elite prospects and perhaps expectations brought him down last year (along with injuries).
Statistical evidence is hard to find to say Gyorko will be better this year, but here’s a couple factors to consider.
Gyroko was one of the premier hitters in this putrid lineup last year. In his first full year, he didn’t answer the bell. This year, he’s got superstars surrounding. The eyes of fans are no longer going to be all on him. I expect the amount of pressure eased from him to pay dividends.
Additionally, this will the third year for Gyorko, his second full season. I think having gone through now a couple times will help him immensely.
Gyorko was a high average hitter with good power in the minor leagues, I expect him to hit .260-.275 with 15 to 20 home runs.
The major additions the Padres made this offseason are certainly exciting but leave me wondering if they can turn San Diego into a winner.
On paper, yes they can, but here’s my question, can they translate to wins?
I have my doubts. Justin Upton has become extremely strikeout prone and is a very productive first half hitter with inconsistencies in the second half.
Matt Kemp has proven he can play at a high level for a half season. Whether injuries rear their head on him in San Diego is going to hamper him until the end of the year.
That question will not leave until he plays an entire year healthy and play at the level he is getting paid for, whether that be from the Padres or the Dodgers.
The Padres have no real leadoff hitter. Wil Myers has been talked about as the leadoff hitter, but he’s never done it regularly and in my opinion doesn’t have the OBP to be a leadoff hitter.
I also question the depth of the Padres rotation to compete in the NL West. After Tyson Ross, there’s a lot of questions.
Ian Kennedy finally came through for a 200 inning season after a couple years battling injuries. Kennedy seems to be living off 2011 when he won 21 games for Arizona with a stellar 2.88 ERA. I’m not sure Kennedy will ever get back to that level, but if he can repeat 200 innings as a four starter in this rotation, the Padres could be very well off to compete atop the West.
Without question, the Padres have improved their lineup more than any other team in baseball this winter.
And while all the investments are worth getting excited over however, that doesn’t always translate to wins.
I think the Padres win a lot of games, this year, and they will be competing for the Wild Card but I think they fall just short.
I think the expectations of what this team should do will not match what they are able to produce on the field and it will be a successful year that finishes in a winning record, but San Diego won’t be returning to the postseason.
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