Injury setbacks and inconsistent starts have mired the San Diego Padres rotation in the bottom tier of MLB rankings early on this season.
The San Diego Padres are somehow staying alive with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West through the first six weeks of the season.
Given the injuries to San Diego, including starting pitchers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, it is a massive surprise to see San Diego in that spot.
And, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth have all gotten off to slow starts, and Ramon Laureano has hit a wall after a red-hot beginning to the year.
The rotation has been off and on, and the addition of Lucas Giolito will hopefully help once he makes his Padres debut in the near future.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report had power rankings for all of the starting rotations, and the Padres came in at No. 24. That is third in the NL West, with the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 26 and the Colorado Rockies dead-last at No. 30.
As of now, here is what San Diego's starting rotation looks like:
- Michael King (3-2, 2.76 ERA)
- Randy Vasquez (4-1, 3.05 ERA)
- Griffin Canning (0-1, 6.75 ERA in two starts)
- Walker Buehler (2-2, 5.20 ERA)
- German Marquez (3-2, 5.76 ERA)
- Matt Waldron (1-2, 9.28 ERA)
Pivetta also made a handful of starts before landing on the IL, and Marquez is currently on the IL.
Canning has started just twice and makes his third start on Thursday, and he was roughed up in his second outing.
"Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler, Matt Waldron and Griffin Canning have each made multiple starts with ERAs north of 5.00 to show for it. Given the rotation's limitations, this team's 19-9 start to the year was borderline miraculous," Miller wrote.
The good news is that King and Vasquez have been excellent this season, which is the only reason the rotation ranks even this high at this point in the season.
With Giolito waiting and set to make his debut soon, it could mean the end of the road for Waldron, who allowed six runs on Tuesday night, marking the third time this year he gave up six runs in a game.
Marquez is also on the IL still, and he has been up and down in his time with the Padres.
Buehler has pitched fairly well recently, although he allowed four runs in 5.1 innings against the Giants on May 5 but followed that with a six-inning, two-run outing against the Cardinals.
Yet, despite the rotation ranking near the bottom, the Padres are winning games and staying alive, and hopefully Giolito and Canning can bring a big boost to this group.