Who’s Hot and Who’s Not For Padres: April 7-17
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres have just over a week of games under their belt, with several players standing out.
The Padres sit at 6-5 following their first full week of the regular season. They opened the season, winning three out of four against the Diamondbacks before losing two of three in San Francisco. They opened the home slate against the Atlanta Braves, splitting the four-game set.
Let’s take a look at some Padres players who are off to a hot start and a few who are ice cold out of the gate in the first 11 games.
Hot
Just how everyone drew it up, right? Hosmer is off to a scorching start to his 2022 campaign. He is tied for the team lead with 14 hits along with a .378 average and .924 OPS. He already has five doubles, which is tied for the National League lead. Of course, the crucial part is for Hosmer to sustain this success for a full season, which he has not done yet to this point in his Padres career. Here’s hoping this hot start means this time, it’s different.
One does not simply exclude the man who went a whopping 5-for-6, including a laser beam two-run homer in San Diego’s home-opening win over the Braves on Thursday. He added to that on Friday with three more hits, including an RBI and a double. To this point, he owns a solid .318 average and .852 OPS. He also leads the National League with three stolen bases.
MAN OH MAN OH MANNY 🚀
Machado's 5th hit of the night is a HR!
(via @Padres)pic.twitter.com/C1S514FbdN
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 15, 2022
Manaea came to the club via trade in hopes of providing depth for the starting rotation. All he has done so far is perform like a top-of-the-rotation arm the Padres desperately need. He took a no-hitter through seven innings in his first start against Arizona. He followed that up by tossing six solid innings, allowing just two runs and striking out six against the Giants. Through 13 innings so far, he has allowed just four hits and a 1.38 ERA.
Talk about a dream start to the season. First, Musgrove held the Diamondbacks to two runs over six innings while striking out eight in his season debut. Then he got the honor of starting San Diego’s home opener on Thursday against the Braves. Facing the defending World Series champions, he kept Atlanta hitters off-balance all night. After getting two outs in the seventh inning still without allowing a run, manager Bob Melvin made the slow walk to the mound to take the ball from Musgrove and allow him to soak in a standing ovation from his hometown crowd. It’s the coolest moment thus far in this young season.
Standing-O for no-no Joe as he exits game having fired 6.2 scoreless and leading 7-0. pic.twitter.com/30Ese99gix
— Bob Scanlan (@heyscan) April 15, 2022
We would be remiss not to mention the current Padres’ home run leader. Profar launched a grand slam against Arizona and has three homers so far. Plus, he has a solid .918 OPS and nine RBIs.
Not
Though Grisham homered over the weekend, his bat has been virtually punchless. He owns a .146 average, with a lowly .515 OPS and 48 OPS+. His homer against the Braves is one of just two extra-base hits in 11 games.
Grish got his first of the year 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tQMf4RANrl
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 16, 2022
At times, Myers has looked completely lost at the plate. He owns a .219 average and a staggering 36.4 percent strikeout rate, which is the ninth-highest in Major League Baseball right now. He, too, only has two extra-base bits and a .529 OPS thus far.
Speaking of punchless, Voit has been massively disappointing thus far. He seems to always be swinging out of his shoes and trying to do too much. This has led to a .176 average and just one extra-base hit. Along with a .555 OPS and 62 OPS+, his lone saving grace is his 18.6 percent walk rate.
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.
Nick…the article was spot on…if the pads don’t start getting some production out of Grisham, Myers, and Voit…all teams are simply going to pitch around Manny…Hos has been great, but he’s slowing down a bit, so the rest of the lineup has got to step up….The hope is that it will click all at the same time, and the offense will be solid…right now, it’s anything but….A sweep of the reds would put them in a good position to face the evil-blue….whose lineup is very strong…but, the Pads ,all of them…need to show up….