Buoyed by an elite bullpen and grit, San Diego holds a narrow lead over the Dodgers. If their star-studded lineup awakens, this resilient squad could become October’s most dangerous contender.
The 2026 season has been largely positive for the San Diego Padres. Despite there certainly being some rough parts and a lot of room for improvement, the Friars have found themselves in first place in the National League West as of Tuesday, even ahead of the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now that we are a quarter into the MLB season, there is legitimacy in the Padres as a team that can make a run during the postseason, even after a fairly underwhelming offseason.
Sitting at a 29-18 record as of Tuesday morning, the Padres hold a 0.5 game lead over the Dodgers after winning Monday night’s game against their rival to a score of 1-0. With two more games in the series to go, the Padres will be fighting with everything they have to grow their lead over the Dodgers, who have dominated the division for years.
Weirdly enough, the Padres have found themselves at the top of the division despite not playing amazing baseball through the first quarter of the year.
The offense has put up a .663 OPS, which is only enough to rank 29th in all of baseball, with disappointing seasons at the plate from players like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado, and others. With the worst batting average and second-worst on-base percentage in the league, it’s a miracle the Padres are in the position they are currently in.
It’s not even as if the pitching staff has been amazing to make up for it, though they do consistently rank in the top half of baseball in most pitching statistics as a group. Injury issues have held back right-hander Joe Musgrove from making his season debut and have also kept out ace Nick Pivetta.
Despite it all, the Padres have managed to get it done on the mound. They have some of the best bullpen arms in the league in Mason Miller, Jason Adam, and Bradgley Rodriguez, who have come in and finished off close game after close game, making do with what the offense has given them.
A quarter into the season, the Padres’ success is a story of resilience and determination. Despite many things not going their way, they just don’t care. Instead, each game remains winnable to them, and it’s resulted in a first-place split in the NL West.
Expect San Diego to be a buyer at the trade deadline after their impressive start, especially with general manager A.J. Preller at the helm. If they can go out and snag impactful players at the deadline while their own stars find their rhythm at the plate once again, the Padres can be a very dangerous team come October.
