Padres Series Preview: Padres Head to Desert to Wrap Up 2016 Season
The 2016 MLB season is now in it’s final days. We pretty much have a clear picture of the teams who will continue their journey ans the teams who will be looking forward to 2017.
The Padres of course have been looking forward to 2017 for quite some time now. The 2016 season was not what many hoped for, but it was what was realistically expected from the team. The Padres will wrap up their season in Phoenix to face the Diamondbacks. The Padres could have actually had a worse 2016 season…they could of been the Diamondbacks.
The D-backs had high hopes after swooping up the two of the best pitchers from the 2015 season. That would of course be Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller. Miller turned out to be an absolute bust. The guy was pitching down in Reno during some of this season. The trade for him could potentially be one of the worst trades ever, depending on how former #1 overall pick Dansby Swanson performs.
Then we have Zack Greinke. He had one of his worst seasons ever as a major league pitcher. He would post an unusually high ERA of 4.37 throughout the 2016 season. This series does have some importance, as it will decide who will finish last in the N.L. West. Regardless if the Padres do end up in that last place spot, the D-backs are definitely the big losers of this 2016 season.
The Padres have had an edge over the Snakes going 9-7 against them throughout the season. I feel like the Padres will end this season on a very good note. We could perhaps even see a nice sweep to finish off our 2016 season. Make sure to tune in as this will be the last glimpse of Padres baseball you will see until 2017.
Pitching Matchups
Fortunately the Padres will not face their nemesis Zack Greinke in this series. The pitching matchups actually do favor the Padres quite a bit. But then again, this series can just come down to which team can out slug the other one. Historically, Chase Field is a great batter ballpark. That mixed in with the shaky pitchers we’ll see in this series could translate into a lot of runs. I definitely feel that the first game of the series will turn out to be a slug fest. Edwin Jackson will be on the mound for the Friars. Jackson has been heavily hit with the plague of inconsistency this season. His road numbers are absolutely atrocious having posted an ERA of over nine on the road. The German-born pitcher has also struggled severely at Chase Field throughout his career having posted an ERA of 5.33 in 18 games. He has also given up 12 home runs in those 18 games. The D-backs pitcher will be no better than Jackson as Braden Shipley will take the mound for the Snakes. Shipley has gone 4-5 on the season with a very high ERA of 5.26. He also did not do to well against the Padres the last time he faced them. The rookie would only last four innings and allow three runs. Shipley would look extremely shaky in that start and I cannot see him doing much better this time around. This first game of the series could really go either way, should be an interesting one to look at.
The second game of the series bring a matchup that does favor the Padres. The best pitcher for the Padres, Clayton Richard will throw his last game of 2016. Richard has been an absolute revelation for the Friars. Going into this game Richard is 3-2 with an ERA of 2.01 in eight starts as a member of the Padres this season. I fully expect the lefty to handle Archie Bradley in this game. Bradley is another Dbacks pitcher who has struggled this season. Bradley has posted an ERA of 5.15 along with a 7-9 record this season. Despite this he would actually look solid against the Padres in his last start against them. Bradley would only give up two runs through five innings. I actually expect to see quite a decent pitching matchup in this one. With the Padres of course taking the game with Richard at the helm.
The final game of the series and the season will bring forth a very interesting matchup. Paul Clemens will be on the hill for the San Diego Padres. Clemens has been a very inconsistent pitcher throughout this season. His biggest problem has been endurance as he has not even lasted six innings yet this season. Clemens has absolutely shocked Padres fans in his last few starts. Clemens has gone 2-0 with a very impressive ERA of 0.57 in his last three starts. Hopefully Clemens can stay consistent and end this 2016 season with a bang,. He will actually have a pretty decent opponent in Matt Koch. Koch has looked impressive in his first few MLB games. So far the rookie is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA this season. Koch would be amazing in his first MLB start. He would only allow a hit in five innings against the Washington Nationals. It really is hard to say how this game will go. We have two inexperienced and inconsistent pitchers. We could end up with a total slug fest or a decent pitching matchup. Whatever we might see I can definitely see the Padres taking the final game of the season. Especially if Paul Clemens can stay consistent.
Players To Watch
Paul Goldschmidt is simply put one of the best players in the game of baseball today. We could very well one day see this first baseman get an MVP award. Yes that’s how could he can be. 2016 Hasn’t been the best for Goldy due to injuries. But he’s still on his way to another spectacular season. Goldschmidt is currently batting .299 with 23 bombs and 93 RBI. The four-time all-star has also racked up a very impressive OPS of .900 in this season. Goldschmidt will surely get that BA past .300 to cap off this season. Paul Goldschmidt should always be a player to watch, especially when he faces the Friars.
Unless D.J. Lemahieu or Corey Seager can have absolutely monstrous series, we are looking at the first ever Tony Gwynn Award recipient. Jean Segura has had a fantastic 2016 season. At 201 hits Segura is on his way to the National League Batting Title or the now Tony Gwynn Award. Who would have really expected that before this season started? Segura is killing it this season with a .320 BA, 20 home runs and 64 RBI. If that’s not enough, another reason to watch out for Segura is because he has destroyed the Padres this season. Segura has gotten 18 hits in 14 games against the Friars this season. That would include two doubles, a triple and a home run. Jean has also managed to get seven RBI and five Stolen Bases against the Padres. Definitely keep your eye on one of the best hitters in baseball in this one.
The man of the hour. Hunter Renfroe just had a monster series against the Dodgers and now the spotlight is on him. Realistically we should be looking out for Margot and Asuaje as well. But at the moment Renfroe is the one who has stolen the show. Renfroe would go 5-13 in the series with three home runs and 11 RBI. Yes you read that correctly 11 RBIs. Yes this was a three game series and yes this was the Los Angeles Dodgers that he faced. All the attention is now on the Mississippi native to see what he will do next. The ballpark mixed in with the bad pitchers could make way for a big series for Hunter Renfroe. We may end the season not wanting it to end. We will surely want more of Renfroe by the time this series concludes.
Wait this isn’t a home series. Well no it’s not but Wil Myers is still a very important player to watch in this one. The season is windling down and Myers is still at 28 dingers and 28 stolen bases. That series against the Dodgers did not help him one bit to get closer to the 30/30 club. We all know the offensive juggernaut that Myers has been at Petco Park. We also know about his struggles away from home. Not too much surprise Myers has actually not been to bat at Chase Field. The all-star has managed to get nine hits in six games there this season. He has also managed to nab himself a stolen base as well. Surprisingly enough Myers has not had success with the long ball in the hitter friendly confines of Chase Field. Myers is yet to get himself a dinger in Phoenix this season. Hopefully Myers can have a spectacular series and get himself into that 30/30 club. Unfortunately it will certainly come as a challenge as we are not at Petco Park. Normally that would be a good thing for a hitter. Well not for Myers and his .954 home OPS. We should be in for a great series to finish off this 2016 season. Hopefully the Friars can end it off on a good note. We will have to wait and see what unfolds. Until the final recap of the season Friar Faithful. Viva Los Padres!
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.