Who’s hot and who’s not for Padres: April 17-23
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Who played well, and who was in a slump this week for the Padres?
The Padres finished an uneven week on a strong note, winning three of four in Arizona. They were 4-3 overall this week.
Let’s see who is hot and who is not for the Padres.
Hot
What else can we say, except Carpenter basically single-handedly won the game for the Padres on Sunday? Even before Sunday’s series finale, he was going to be on this list with a solid week. His performance on Sunday had him approaching “NL Player of the Week” territory.
In San Diego’s 7-5 victory, he went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs. That pushed his weekly RBI total to seven. He now leads the team with 13. He was the only Padre to hit two homers last week. He paced the team with a 1.667 OPS.
If Carpenter played the role of “Batman” on Sunday, Cronenworth was “Robin.” He went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. He finished the week with a .300 average and .918 OPS, including five extra-base hits.
Four times the Padres asked Hader to come in with the game on the line late. Four times, Hader came through for the team, earning four saves this week. He did so without allowing a run. He did not even allow a base runner in three appearances against Arizona. He looks like vintage Hader at the moment.
With the Padres staring down the barrel of a sweep at the hands of the Braves at home, Martinez stepped up to keep his team afloat. The right-hander tossed seven shutout innings, striking out six, allowing just three hits. That buoyed the Friars to a key 1-0 win.
Not
After starting the season hot, Cruz now looks lost at the plate. He struck out in a few key situations. He struck out five times while not collecting a hit during the week, going 0-for-7.
The Padres bullpen has been uneven so far this year. Garcia is a microcosm of that. This week, he allowed five earned runs in two appearances. All five runs were charged to Garcia in his latest appearance during Friday’s 9-0 blowout loss to Arizona. He is yet to find his groove this year, owning a 10.38 ERA in 8 2/3 innings thus far.
To be fair, Kim came up with a huge hit in Saturday’s win. He dribbled a two-run single through the infield to give the Padres a late lead. The problem is, that is the only hit he had in 17 at-bats this week (.059 average). He struck out nine times in six games. He is yet to find his footing in 2023.
The biggest surprise this season has been the sluggish start of the 2022 NL MVP runner-up. Through the first 23 games of last season, Machado was batting .375 with four homers and a 1.031 OPS. Through 23 games to start the 2023 season, he is batting a measly .220 with one homer and .536 OPS to this point. This week was not much better, as the star third baseman went 3-for-20 (.150) with four strikeouts and zero walks.
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before he breaks out. As of now, it’s been tough sledding for Machado.
Down on the Farm highlight
Tyler Robertson, Lake Elsinore Storm: 10-for-19 (.526), 2 RBI, 4 SB, 1.203 OPS
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.