Following the 2019 First Year Player Draft – we are now ready to see how the Padres perform through the rest of the season. Will any more trades be necessary for this squad as they make a playoff push?
As of June 6th, we are 7.5 games out of the lead in the N.L. West with a 36-26 record. At this point we are tied with the Rockies for a Wild Card spot.
June 2nd
- The Marlins acquired Gavin Lux from the Dodgers for Anfernee Seymour.
June 6th
Target: Kenta Maeda
I took a look at the trade block – and for some reason the Dodgers had Kenta Maeda there. He is 30 years old – and has five years left on his deal. I am not too concerned with that because it is only $3.1M per season. This will give me an opportunity to build my pitching depth and add a veteran as I continue to seek a playoff spot.
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot. |
| Luis Gil | 20 | 61 | B | Dodgers | Kenta Maeda | SP | 30 | 84 | C |
| Peter Van Gansen | 25 | 66 | C | ||||||
| Ivan Castillo | 23 | 61 | C |
Of the prospects I moved in this deal – Luis Gil has the most potential. I have plenty of minor league pitching depth. This move also allows me to move Chris Paddack to AAA – he needs some more time to develop and has a 4+ ERA at the moment.
June 25th
Texas League All Star Game
- Tim Tebow – DH – 0/4 K
- Jasson Dominguez – CF – 1/3
- Kyle Overstreet – 1B – 0/1
- Aderlin Rodriguez – 1B – DNP
June 28th
- The Angels acquired Hunter Dozier from the Royals for Jo Adell.
June Results
- The Padres were 16-10 through the month and sit in third in the N.L. West. We are 7.5 games back of the first place Dodgers, and currently hold the second position in the N.L. Wild Card standings behind the Rockies.
- SP Mackenzie Gore (AAA) 3.19 ERA, 29 K, 31 IP.
- SP Jesse Scholtens (AA) 3.23 ERA, 29 K, 30.2 IP.
- 1B Jose Pirela (AAA) .354 AVG, 14 RBI, 82 AB.
- LF Tim Tebow (AA) .341 AVG, 19 RBI, 82 AB.
- *SP Ryan Weathers (AAA) 5.24 ERA, 13 BB, 22.1 IP.
- *SP Freicer Perez (AA) 4.71 ERA, 10 BB, 28.2 IP.
July 2nd
- The Giants acquired D.J. LeMahieu from the Yankees for Reyes Moronta and Brandon Belt.
July 4th
- The Brewers acquired Craig Stammen from the Mets for Braden Webb and Brice Turang.
July 7th
Futures Game
- Brenden McKay – SP – 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1 ER, 2BB, 2K
- Adley Rutschman – C – 0/4
- Robert Puason – SS – DNP
July 9th
All Star Game
- Jose Alvarado – CP – DNP
- Christian Yelich – RF – 0/3 BB
- Gary Sanchez – C – 1/3 2RBI, HR, BB
- Hector Rondon – RP – DNP
July 10th
AAA All Star Game
- Jose Pirela – 1B – 0/4
- Alexander Palma – RF – 1/3 2B, BB
July 14th
With the Padres down a run in the bottom of the 9th – Gary Sanchez stepped up with one on and one out. He turned on a hanging cutter and drove it over the left field wall for his third homerun of the game and the 8-7 win.
July 15th
Our organization took the opportunity to reward some of our players for the seasons they were having. We also saw this as a great time to extend some of our young talent.
| Name | Age | Pos. | Ovr. | Pot. | Yrs. | Sal. | Contract |
| Gary Sanchez | 26 | C | 89 | B | 3 | $5.7M | $17M |
| Marcus Stroman | 27 | SP | 87 | B | 3 | $8.3M | $25M |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 20 | SS | 80 | A | 5 | $7M | $35M |
| Chris Paddack | 23 | SP | 77 | A | 3 | $1.7M | $5M |
July 21st
- The Angels acquired James Paxton from the Yankees for Hunter Dozier and Trevor Cahill.
- The Rockies acquired Billy Hamilton from the Royals for Ryan Rolison and Dom Nunez.
July 21st
Target: Josh Hader
Jose Alvarado has been struggling as our closer lately – even though he was an All-Star. He has a 5.00 ERA with 5 BS this season. He just is not ready for the 9th inning. The Brewers are 5 games out of the wild card race and have decided to sell. Josh Hader has a 2.57 ERA and is just the guy I need for our playoff push.
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot |
| Jasson Dominguez | 18 | 62 | B | Brewers | Josh Hader | CP | 24 | 90 | A |
| Jose Castillo | 23 | 80 | B | ||||||
| Austin Hedges | 26 | 76 | C |
Jose Castillo has not been performing well this year – he has a 6.99 ERA and 1.94 WHIP. The same can be said for Austin Hedges – who has a .144 AVG and .216 OBP. Jasson Dominguez is a young prospect – but I am OK including him to get this deal done.
- Stephen Vogt is called up from AAA to backup Gary Sanchez.
Contract Extensions
| Name | Age | Pos. | Ovr. | Pot. | Yrs. | Sal. | Contract |
| Josh Hader | 24 | CP | 88 | A | 4 | $5M | $20M |
| Zach Wheeler | 28 | SP | 81 | B | 2 | $9.3M | $18.6M |
Josh Hader is an exciting young talent with high upside. I locked him down for four more season. Zach Wheeler is an impending free agent and I do not want to lose him for nothing. While the salary is high I maintain control of him for two more years.
July 29th
We had another walk off opportunity – and this time Josh Bell was at the plate. The game was tied 7-7 and Will Smith was in to pitch for the Giants. Josh Bell stepped up and drove the ball over the fence to give the Padres a 9-7 victory. This extended the Padres winning streak to six games.
Target: Dump Zach Wheeler
Wheeler is really pissing me off. I negotiated an extension with him – that he accepted. Somehow he still has a bad attitude around the clubhouse and his morale is low. Rather than carry that salary I am going to call up Chris Paddack to take his spot in the rotation. I am going to move Wheeler for a prospect.
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot |
| Zach Wheeler | 28 | 83 | B | Rays | Wander Franco | SS | 18 | 68 | A |
| Robert Puason | 18 | 63 | A |
This is huge! The move does not really impact my starting rotation at all, I shed a huge chunk of future salary, and snag Wander Samuel Franco. Wow.
July 29th
- The Athletics acquired Whit Merrifield from the Royals for Franklin Barreto and Grant Holmes.
July 30th
- The Cubs acquired Starlin Castro from the Marlins for Brennen Davis.
- The Braves acquired Chris Archer from the Pirates for A.J. Minter and Allen Cordoba.
- The Astros acquired Edwin Diaz from the Mets for Lance McCullers Jr. and Juan Pineda.
- The Rangers acquired Martin Maldonado from the Royals for Christopher Seise.
- The Mariners acquired Adalberto Mondesi from the Royals for Jarred Kelenic and David McKay.
- The Royals have made a ton of moves this year. They traded away Hunter Dozier, Billy Hamilton, Whit Merrifield, and Adalberto Mondesi. In return they have received Jo Adell (#4/#1), Franklin Barreto, Grant Holmes (NR/#14), Ryan Rolison (#89/#2), Dom Nunez (NR/NR), Jarred Kelenic (#24/#1) and David McKay (NR/#28).
- Real world prospect rankings in parenthesis (MLB Rank/Organization Rank)
July Results
- The Padres were 16-9 in July and are third in the N.L West, 9.5 games back of the Dodgers. We are currently holding the second Wild Card spot behind the Rockies.
- SP Mason Englert (AA) 2.40 ERA, 42 K, 30 IP.
- 3B Jason Vosler (AAA) .306 AVG, 7 RBI, 72 AB.
- *RP Aaron Loup (AAA) 4.15 ERA, 13 IP.
August 25th
- Ender Inciarte sprained his MCL – out 2 weeks.
August Results
- This was a terrible month for the ball club. The Padres were 11-17 in August. We ended the month with an 8 game losing streak. We are third in the N.L West, 11.5 games back of the Dodgers. We are currently out of the second Wild Card spot by 2 games behind the Rockies and Nationals.
Prospects
*As of September 1st 2019
| Team Rank | Previous MLB Rank | Current MLB Rank | Name | Age | Pos. | Ovr. | Level | Pot. |
| 1 | 12 | 8 | Adley Rutschman | 21 | C | 71 | AAA | A |
| 2 | NR | 14 | Wander Samuel Franco | 18 | SS | 69 | AAA | A |
| 3 | 32 | 21 | Brendan McKay | 23 | SP | 72 | AAA | A |
| 4 | 22 | 25 | Mackenzie Gore | 20 | SP | 68 | AAA | A |
| 5 | 47 | 30 | Luis Patino | 19 | SP | 67 | AAA | A |
| 6 | 45 | 31 | Ryan Weathers | 19 | SP | 69 | AAA | A |
| 7 | 26 | 33 | Alexander Palma | 22 | RF | 69 | AAA | A |
| 8 | NR | NR | Freicer Perez | 23 | SP | 63 | AA | B |
| 9 | NR | NR | Joey Lucchesi | 25 | SP | 77 | AAA | B |
| 10 | NR | NR | Mason Englert | 19 | SP | 61 | AA | B |
We continue to have one of the best – if not the best – farm systems in baseball. The Padres have seven of the top 35 prospects in the game.
- Luis Urias was traded to the Mets. He is their everyday second baseman. He is batting .250/.318/.372 with 11 HR and 47 RBI through 524 AB.
- Xavier Edwards, who was traded to the Orioles, is the #26 prospect in baseball.
- Michael Baez, who was traded to the Rays, is currently not ranked.
September Results
- What a month for the Friars. With an 18-9 record in September – including a 7 game winnings streak to end the season – the Padres clinched the top Wild Card spot and will host the Nationals for the right to play the Dodgers in the NLDS.
Awards
Our organization did not come away with any of the notable regular season awards this year. Mike Clevenger (P) was our lone Gold Glove recipient and we came away with two Silver Sluggers – Gary Sanchez (C) and Christian Yelich (OF).
| Award | Player | Team | Stats |
| N.L. MVP | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | .310 AVG, 40 HR, 116 RBI |
| N.L. Cy Young | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 17-5, 2.83 ERA, 204 K |
| N.L. Rookie of the Year | Austin Riley | Braves | .279 AVG, 23 HR, 92 RBI |
| A.L. MVP | Mike Trout | Angels | .330 AVG, 34 HR, 106 RBI |
| A.L. Cy Young | Chris Sale | Red Sox | 19-9, 3.00 ERA, 249 K |
| A.L. Rookie of the Year | Yusei Kikuchi | Mariners | 19-5, 2.51 ERA, 183 K |
Player Performance Through The Regular Season
| Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG. | OBP. | SLG. |
| Jeff McNeil | 156 | 560 | 82 | 174 | 19 | 77 | .311 | .376 | .475 |
| Manny Machado | 155 | 607 | 77 | 152 | 18 | 65 | .250 | .331 | .399 |
| Christian Yelich | 160 | 567 | 108 | 175 | 32 | 101 | .309 | .407 | .557 |
| Josh Bell | 148 | 534 | 77 | 157 | 31 | 102 | .294 | .391 | .522 |
| Gary Sanchez | 126 | 493 | 76 | 135 | 34 | 97 | .274 | .360 | .523 |
| Ender Inciarte | 146 | 560 | 55 | 154 | 6 | 45 | .275 | .339 | .363 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 140 | 487 | 58 | 105 | 12 | 44 | .216 | .302 | .355 |
| Hunter Renfroe | 91 | 297 | 32 | 67 | 16 | 45 | .226 | .279 | .438 |
| Franchy Cordero | 98 | 277 | 50 | 74 | 14 | 41 | .267 | .349 | .484 |
| Matt Duffy | 138 | 320 | 43 | 104 | 5 | 40 | .325 | .392 | .462 |
| Stephen Vogt | 30 | 78 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 12 | .167 | .292 | .397 |
| Andrew Toles | 63 | 152 | 17 | 29 | 4 | 17 | .191 | .241 | .342 |
| Tim Beckham | 54 | 108 | 10 | 27 | 2 | 6 | .250 | .325 | .333 |
- Christian Yelich was the heart and soul of this offense all year. He put up great numbers and proved to be an awesome acquisition. Josh Bell and Gary Sanchez were not too far behind him – establishing a murderers row in the middle of our lineup.
- Manny Machado had a disappointing season. Especially when you compare him and his $30M salary to someone like Matt Duffy, who led the team in batting average off the bench.
| Player | G | W | L | SV | IP | ERA | WHIP |
| Noah Sydergaard | 33 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 196 | 3.58 | 1.25 |
| Marcus Stroman | 33 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 198.2 | 3.44 | 1.21 |
| Chris Paddack | 23 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 130.1 | 3.94 | 1.30 |
| Mike Clevenger | 32 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 192.2 | 3.36 | 1.28 |
| Kenta Maeda | 31 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 165.1 | 3.27 | 1.23 |
| Robert Stock | 57 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 60.1 | 2.39 | 1.28 |
| Hector Rondon | 93 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 97.1 | 2.68 | 1.15 |
| Diego Castillo | 71 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 74.1 | 3.75 | 1.39 |
| Jose Alvarado | 67 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 64 | 2.81 | 1.25 |
| Adam Conley | 64 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 92 | 2.54 | 1.16 |
| Jonathan Holder | 73 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 74 | 4.01 | 1.38 |
| Josh Hader | 63 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 57 | 2.84 | 1.33 |
- It is awesome to see that all of our starting pitchers ended the season with ERAs under 4.00.
- The bullpen was incredibly reliable all season. Robert Stock was a nice surprise in middle relief for us this year.
- Jose Alvarado was much more successful after making the move away from the Closer’s spot.
Playoff Picture
| Matchup | |
| N.L. Wild Card | Nationals @ Padres |
| NLDS | Cubs vs Braves |
| NLDS | Wild Card vs Dodgers |
| A.L. Wild Card | Astros @ Yankees |
| ALDS | Indians vs Mariners |
| ALDS | Wild Card vs Red Sox |
Coming Up
It is time for playoff baseball! Can our beloved San Diego Padres take down Max Scherzer in the Wild Card game? How would the Padres fare against their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers in a best of five series?
– Buzz
