5 PADRES
OVERALL RANK 15
ENEMY LINES
A RIVAL SCOUT SIZES UP SAN DIEGO
Whoo-eeeee. Well. There's going to be a lot of growing pains. They have a chance to lose 100 games, absolutely.... They're gonna build around four core players. Manuel Margot, he's a special player, both defensively and offensively, with occasional power. He can be a table setter.... Hunter Renfroe's probably got some of the best raw power of any kid coming into the game. People are going to enjoy watching him play rightfield.... Wil Myers is coming into his own, learning how to play first. When you can swing the bat, they'll find a place for you.... Austin Hedges is one of the better catch-and-throw guys in the league. This kid is capable of hitting 25 to 30 homers, and I expect him to have a big year.... Clayton Richard is their best starter, but he fits in the middle of the rotation for any other team. He's not going to blow anybody away.... Jered Weaver? He was pitching at 84 and 85 mph last year, and he's the No. 2. And Jhoulys Chacin? Basically they've got some retreads.... I don't like to say this about other teams, but this is probably the worst rotation in baseball. I'd like to put some whipped cream and cherries on it if I could, but I just cannot do it.... Look at the bullpen. They've got Brandon Maurer as their closer. He may be able to do a decent job, but I don't know how many opportunities he'll get.... They've got Carter Capps off the scrap heap—a guy who had Tommy John—and they don't know if he's going to be ready. All the others are no-name guys other than Kevin Quackenbush.... They're even training their backup catcher—Christian Bethancourt—to be a pitcher.
MANAGER ANDY GREEN
2ND SEASON WITH SAN DIEGO
B-T BA OBP SLG WAR
LF TRAVIS JANKOWSKI [DEFENSIVE STAR]
L-R .245 .332 .313 1.1
CF MANUEL MARGOT [ROOKIE] [DEFENSIVE STAR] [BARGAIN] [RISING]
R-R .292 .337 .401 - [MINOR LEAGUE STATS]
1B WIL MYERS [TEAM MVP] [DEFENSIVE STAR]
R-R .259 .336 .461 3.2
3B YANGERVIS SOLARTE
S-R .286 .341 .467 2.2
RF HUNTER RENFROE [ROOKIE] [DEFENSIVE STAR] [BARGAIN] [RISING]
R-R .306 .336 .557 - [MINOR LEAGUE STATS]
2B RYAN SCHIMPF
L-R .217 .336 .533 1.8
C AUSTIN HEDGES [DEFENSIVE STAR] [RISING]
R-R .326 .353 .597 - [MINOR LEAGUE STATS]
SS LUIS SARDINAS
S-R .244 .295 .356 -0.1
BENCH
B-T BA OBP SLG WAR
UT CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT
R-R .228 .265 .368 -0.3
IF CORY SPANGENBERG [INJURY RISK]
L-R .271 .333 .399 2.1 [2015 STATS]
OF ALEX DICKERSON
L-L .257 .333 .455 1.1
W--L ERA K/9 WAR
LH CLAYTON RICHARD
3--4 3.33 4.1 0.4
RH JERED WEAVER [NEW ACQUISITION] [DECLINING]
12--12 5.06 5.2 -0.7
RH JHOULYS CHACIN [NEW ACQUISITION] [DECLINING]
6--8 4.81 7.4 0.2
LH CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH
5--12 4.80 7.0 0.5
RH TREVOR CAHILL [NEW ACQUISITION]
4--4 2.74 9.0 0.9
SV ERA K/9 WAR
RH BRANDON MAURER
13 4.52 9.3 -0.1
RH KEVIN QUACKENBUSH
2 3.92 6.3 0.6
NEW ACQUISITION
2016 STATS
*MINOR LEAGUE STATS
†2015 STATS
(R) ROOKIE
TEAM MVP
DEFENSIVE STAR
INJURY RISK
BARGAIN
RISING
DECLINING
MODEST PROPOSAL
They have assembled their starting rotation with chewing gum and tongue depressors, bringing in Jered Weaver and Jhoulys Chacin to fill out an expansion-team-quality group. The weak rotation makes the Padres a perfect test case for a very modern idea: Most starting pitchers should go through a lineup only twice, because they're likely to get hit hard the third time through. With a deep bullpen, including former starters Paul Clemens and Jarred Cosart, Andy Green can hook his starter after 18 batters and still have enough pitching to finish a game. With no chance to contend, why not use the season to experiment and learn something?
BOTTOM LINE
Yikes. Some potential stars, but it will get worse before it gets better.