The San Diego Padres have had a weird first-half -- going from first place in the NL West late in April to being a game under .500 near the All-Star break.
The San Diego Padres still have plenty of time to turn it around, but the team has been disappointing this season as we near the end of the first half.
The Padres lost four of its first five games to begin the season, but once April rolled around, San Diego hit its stride and finished the month with an 18-7 record. An eight-game winning streak propelled the Friars into sole possession of first place over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
However, not long after the winning streak, the Dodgers recaptured first place and the Padres haven’t taken it back. Fast forward two months and Los Angeles has a 14-game lead over San Diego, which is a game below .500 and in third place after losing eight of the last 10 games.
This first-half has exposed how thin the Padres’ starting rotation is as well as lack of depth behind the star position players. Right fielder/second baseman Fernando Tatis Jr., third baseman Manny Machado, center fielder Jackson Merrill and shortstop Xander Bogaerts have severely underperformed while the offense has statistically become the worst in baseball.
Not every facet of the team is bad, as the bullpen remains a top unit in the sport and features the best closer in the world. Right-hander Mason Miller headlines a talented group that has three high-leverage relievers that could be closers for other teams and he has been spectacular.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle broke down each team’s midseason Most Valuable Player and which players have had All-Star-caliber performances; Miller earned the nod for both.
Using the AXE rating system, which accounts for bWAR, fWAR, win probability added and championship probability added, the highest AXE rated player earned the MVP honor and any player with a rating of 120 or higher earned the All-Star-caliber performance honor – Miller was the only Padre with a rating over 120 (122).
“Even though the amazing season put up by Toronto's Louis Varland means Miller ranks only second among relievers in AXE, there is no one you'd rather have on the hill to close out a game,” Doolittle wrote Wednesday. “He has a chance to strike out at least 100 more batters than he walks, which, for a reliever, is rare.”
Miller is 23-for-23 in save opportunities, carries a 0.96 ERA and 0.80 WHIP while owning a 16.5 K/9 in 37.2 innings of work. As amazing as he’s been, Doolittle reiterated that Miller being the highest rated and the stars mentioned above being nowhere near his level was not the plan.
“The Padres can't win without their stars starring, and we've been seeing the consequences of that lately.”
San Diego isn’t out of the playoff hunt, sitting 4.5 games back from the third NL wild card spot, but the team needs to pick it up in the second half.
