Who’s hot and who’s not for Padres: August 15-21
Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres finished a subpar week at 3-4 against the Marlins and Nationals.
Who performed well and who struggled this week for the Padres?
Hot
Despite his overall lackluster numbers, we would be remiss not to mention Josh Bell. He finally snapped his brutal hitless streak. Not only that, he ended up being a crucial part of the Padres’ last two victories over his old team, the Nationals. He hit his first two home runs as a Padre, both against the Nationals. Both ended up helping the Padres notch two desperately-needed wins.
Josh Bell for the lead! pic.twitter.com/hPTWn58cQz
— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2022
The Padres’ All-Star second baseman is having a season of streaks, both hot and cold. This week, Cronenworth was on the positive side, batting .304 with a .842 OPS. He added one home run, which was a grand slam in Miami. That sparked the Padres to a 10-3 win.
GRAND SLAM DIEGO 💥🙌
Jake Cronenworth is not messing around today.
(via @BallySportsSD) pic.twitter.com/7WWM0NSzOw
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 17, 2022
Kim has really come into his own this season. After losing Fernando Tatis Jr. to injury and then a suspension for the entire season, Kim has stepped up. This week, he hit .292 with a solid 126 wRC+. He added two doubles, four RBIs, and four walks. Plus, he is doing it all on the defensive side as well.
Ha-Seong Kim is turning into a fan favorite in San Diego. Love it.
pic.twitter.com/8m7Iip8Cy9— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) August 21, 2022
Machado is somewhat of a frequent flier on this list. Fresh off of being named NL Player of the Week a week ago, his encore was nearly as stellar. He hit .346Â with a homer and six RBI. His 179 wRC+ and 1.010 OPS over the week were among the NL leaders once again. He has revived his MVP campaign after a sluggish month following his ankle injury. Machado is back to his elite form.
Manny Machado is playing out of his mind right now pic.twitter.com/oGFoudUsfw
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 19, 2022
It’s not very often a middle reliever makes this list. Let’s make an exception for Martinez, who has been a jack-of-all-trades for the Padres pitching staff. He went from starter to piggyback reliever, to shut-down closer. On Sunday, he mowed down the Nationals with just a one-run lead in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season. The Padres have had a brutal time finding a consistent closer, even after the trade for Josh Hader. Martinez’s four scoreless innings, including the 1-2-3, save on Sunday, gave the Padres a big boost.
Not
We all need a reminder that Clevinger has not attempted to pitch through an entire 162-game campaign since 2019. He may be showing some signs of fatigue after 74 innings. He had thrown just 41 2/3 innings over the last two seasons combined, with none coming last year as he recovered from Tommy John. This week, he had one of his worst starts of the season, going just 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs while walking four and striking out just one. Manager Bob Melvin even hinted that he is experiencing some fatigue. The two days off in a three-day span this week should do him good.
After a brief hot streak, Grisham is back to struggling at the plate. He hit a measly .111 with a lowly 32 wRC+.
[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]
Josh Hader
Hader has been a massive disappointment thus far. He entered Friday night’s game against Washington with a tie game. He allowed two hits and had a critical throwing error that gave the Nationals the lead. After surrendering a homer, he was removed. In 2 appearances this week, he owns a whopping 40.50 ERA. If there’s any consolation, Taylor Rogers has a 5.63 ERA in eight games for the Brewers since the trade.
After being a solid leadoff hitter for the majority of the season, Profar is marred in a slump. He hit just .130 with a lowly .416 OPS on the week.
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.