San Diego defied offseason skepticism to seize the NL West lead, overcoming a bottom-tier offense and pitching hurdles to cement their status as baseball's most resilient contenders.
The San Diego Padres have surprised many with their success early in the season as we head into May. It wasn’t that people thought the Padres would be a poor team by any means, but their lack of moves in the offseason led to questions about this team’s ceiling.
Now in first place in the National League West, San Diego has proven that its ceiling is up there with anybody else's. At 24-16, only two NL teams boast a better record, making a postseason spot the Padres’ to lose.
In MLB.com’s most recent power rankings, the Friars move to the seventh spot in baseball. Although it’s a fall from their previous No. 5 ranking, it’s still a respectable spot for the Padres to be in.
Perhaps the most surprising storyline of the season thus far for San Diego has been their success despite the lack of production on the offensive end. With a team .667 OPS, only enough for 27th in the league, the Padres have still mustered up ways to win.
They have logged the least amount of hits in all of baseball, the third-lowest on-base percentage, and the ninth-lowest amount of runs scored as of Tuesday morning. Despite it all, the Padres have leaped over the Los Angeles Dodgers for that first-place position in the division.
It’s not even the case that the pitching staff has been dominant to make up for the lack of offense. The pitching has been a positive for sure, but not quite up there with the absolute best of the best in the league.
San Diego’s 4.07 ERA is only enough to rank 16th in baseball, and their 3.50 ERA out of relief is only enough for eighth in the league. Pitchers Michael King and Mason Miller have been stars for the Padres this year, but injuries and underwhelming seasons for multiple players have hindered their true potential.
I guess that brings it down to one factor for the Padres: resilience. Despite it all – injuries, struggles, and lack of offseason moves – San Diego is one of the best teams in baseball. They sit atop an NL West that has been ruled by the Dodgers for 12 of the last 13 seasons, despite not even being at their best.
A No. 7 ranking is already impressive, but this Padres team can climb much higher at its full potential. Fans will be hoping they’ll actually get to see that potential transpire this season and into the postseason.