Opening Day
We have finally made it to Opening Day of the 2019 MLB season. The Padres have a completely changed team and are ready to take on their division rivals at home.
This is a solid offense with a number of all-stars throughout the lineup. Manny Machado and Christian Yelich are the obvious marquee names – but the added power of Josh Bell in the five spot can’t be ignored.
The bats were quiet through the first few innings of action on Opening Day. After cruising through the Giants lineup while only allowing one hit, Noah Syndergaard made his first mistake of the game.
With a full count against Madison Bumgarner, Syndergaard hung a pitch over the plate, and Bumgarner drove it 391ft off the Western Metal Supply building.
In the bottom of the seventh the Padres were finally able to get things even. With two outs in the inning, Hunter Renfroe stepped up and drove a cutter over the center field fence for a solo shot.
With two outs in the 8th – after allowing a hit and walk – Noah Syndergaard’s day was done. Kirby Yates came in to pitch, along with Matt Duffy at first in the double switch (Josh Bell was the last out of the inning).
After beaning Kevin Pillar with his first pitch, Yates was able to strike out Steven Duggar to end the inning.
The Giants brought Derek Holland in to pitch the 8th. Ender Inciarte and Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the 8th with back to back singles.
After an Austin Hedges strikeout – Matt Duffy was up. He came up clutch in his first AB for the Padres – he drove the ball down the left field line for a double – scoring both runners.
Jose Alvarado came in for the Padres in the 9th and tossed a flawless inning – striking out all three batters he faced.
March 29th
With two outs in the bottom of the 9th – the Padres were tied with the Giants 2-2. Franchy Cordero was on third and Stephen Vogt came up to pinch hit with the game on the line. With an 0-1 count, Vogt drove the ball down the line to drive in the game winning run.
*Joc Pederson tore his achilles tendon and will be out for 6 months. He was placed on the 60 day IL.
Losing Pederson this early on really puts a wrench into my plan for platooning in LF. I know it is early – but I want to make sure I can replace the power that Pederson provides from the left side of the box.
Target: Kyle Schwarber
This guy is the definition of power from the left side of the box. I know fielding will be an issue – but this plan is just to get me through the year. I have Pederson locked down for the near future.
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot. |
| Eric Laurer | 23 | 70 | B | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber | LF | 26 | 82 | B |
| Tyler White | 28 | 68 | B | ||||||
| Esteury Ruiz | 20 | 65 | C |
I lose a good arm in Eric Lauer – but I also have five minor league arms ahead of him. Tyler White was nice to have on the bench, but I can replace him pretty easily.
Free Agent Signing
I decided to fill the void in the roster that was left by Tyler White with a pitcher rather than a position player. There was a good lefty arm on the market, so I went out and grabbed him rather than give up more prospects.
| Name | Age | Pos | Ovr. | Pot. | Yrs. | Sal. | Contract |
| Adam Liberatore | 31 | RP | 79 | B | 1 | $1.8M | $1.8M |
April 13th
*Greg Garcia (AAA) tore his ACL – will be out 6 months. Placed on 60 day IL.
April 16th
The score was tied against the Rockies 2-2. With runners on first and second and one out – Austin Hedges came in to pinch hit in the pitcher’s spot. He drove the ball to the left center field gap to score Fernando Tatis Jr. from second base to end the ballgame.
April 27th
The Blue Jays traded Bo Bichette to the Tigers for Casey Mize.
April Results
- The Padres are 18-12 through the month and sit in second in the N.L. West. We are 4 games back of the first place Dodgers, and currently hold the top position in the N.L. Wild Card standing.
- SP Ryan Weathers (AAA) 2.86 ERA, 20 K, 28.1 IP.
- RP Chris Rowley (AA) 0.00 ERA, 12 K, 15.2 IP.
- 1B Jose Pirela (AAA) .363 AVG, 17 RBI, 91 AB.
- 1B Kyle Overstreet (AA) .307 AVG, 9 RBI, 88 AB.
- *SP Mackenzie Gore (AAA) 8.44 ERA, 12 BB, 21.1 IP.
- *RP Tyler Higgins (AA) 4.76 ERA, 5.2 IP.
- *SS Ruddy Giron (AAA) .114 AVG, 35 AB.
May 2nd
The Red Sox acquired Jose Urena from Miami for prospects
May 3rd
With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped up to face Kenley Jensen with the Padres down 5-4. There was a runner on second. Tatis Jr. lined the ball to left field – just under the glove of a diving Chris Taylor. The ball rolled to the wall – scoring one and putting Tatis Jr. on 3rd.
In the bottom of the 10th the game was still tied. Josh Bell stepped up with one out and the bases loaded. He lined the ball to left field – deep enough for Jeff McNeil to score and end the game.
May 12th
Down 2-1 against the Pirates in the bottom of the 9th, Manny Machado stepped up to the plate. With a runner on second and a 1-2 count, Machado drove the ball through the 6 hole to tie the game. In the bottom of the 10th with one out, Franchy Cordero did his part, driving the ball into the right center gap to score the winning run from second.
May 14th
The Rays acquired Matthew Boyd from the Tigers for Gabriel Arias.
May 16th
The Angels acquired Jedd Gyorko from the Cardinals for Tommy La Stella.
May 18th
The Red Sox acquired Joey Gallo from the Rangers for Michael Chavis.
May 20th
The Astros acquired Matt Harvey from the Angels for Joe Smith.
May Results
- The Padres were 13-13 in May and are third in the N.L West, 7.5 games back of the Dodgers. We are tied with the Rockies and Nationals for a Wild Card spot.
- SP Ryan Weathers (AAA) 1.41 ERA, 37 K, 38.1 IP.
- RP Bryan Mitchell (AA) 2.49 ERA, 17 K, 21.2 IP.
- 3B Ivan Castillo (AA) .320 AVG, 23 RBI, 100 AB.
- *SP Jesse Scholtens (AA) 5.68 ERA, 31.2 IP.
Player Performance Through The First Few Months
| Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG. | OBP. | SLG. |
| Jeff McNeil | 53 | 193 | 23 | 55 | 7 | 22 | .285 | .346 | .451 |
| Manny Machado | 53 | 209 | 23 | 49 | 6 | 22 | .234 | .314 | .373 |
| Christian Yelich | 57 | 196 | 40 | 60 | 11 | 39 | .306 | .414 | .571 |
| Josh Bell | 54 | 184 | 25 | 50 | 9 | 28 | .272 | .390 | .457 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 44 | 152 | 19 | 26 | 10 | 24 | .171 | .300 | .388 |
| Ender Inciarte | 55 | 211 | 17 | 53 | 0 | 16 | .251 | .312 | .327 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 52 | 186 | 18 | 39 | 3 | 14 | .210 | .258 | .349 |
| Austin Hedges | 45 | 158 | 16 | 24 | 7 | 19 | .152 | .216 | .304 |
| Hunter Renfroe | 39 | 119 | 14 | 23 | 10 | 23 | .193 | .262 | .487 |
| Franchy Cordero | 23 | 26 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 8 | .308 | .455 | .538 |
| Matt Duffy | 48 | 109 | 19 | 40 | 0 | 10 | .367 | .469 | .495 |
| Stephen Vogt | 18 | 40 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | .125 | .308 | .225 |
| Tim Beckham | 27 | 48 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 2 | .271 | .340 | .354 |
- Jeff McNeil, Christian Yelich, and Josh Bell are doing exactly what I brought them to San Diego for.
- Manny Machado has struggled in his first two full months as a Padre – but I know he will come around.
- The Kyle Schwarber plan has failed greatly – I may move on from him if I can get a solid return of prospects. Franchy Cordero is putting up better numbers as a left-handed hitter.
- Fernando Tatis Jr. struggled early on – he is starting to heat up.
- There is a hole in my lineup coming from the Catcher’s spot. If I can find some offense there we will be unstoppable.
- Matt Duffy is producing from the bench and has proven to be a solid utility player.
| Player | G | W | L | SV | IP | ERA | WHIP |
| Noah Sydergaard | 12 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 75.2 | 4.04 | 1.23 |
| Marcus Stroman | 12 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 75 | 3.24 | 1.21 |
| Chris Paddack | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 61.1 | 4.40 | 1.47 |
| Mike Clevenger | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 71.1 | 2.40 | 1.05 |
| Zach Wheeler | 11 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 63.1 | 4.97 | 1.48 |
| Robert Stock | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 4.12 | 1.63 |
| Hector Rondon | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38.2 | 2.56 | 1.06 |
| Adam Liberatore | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16.0 | 4.50 | 1.56 |
| Jose Castillo | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4.33 | 1.59 |
| Kirby Yates | 21 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 10.93 | 2.00 |
| Diego Castillo | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 34.1 | 2.62 | 1.11 |
| Jose Alvarado | 21 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 18.2 | 2.89 | 1.02 |
- Mike Clevenger stands out as the lone starter that is having a great season so far. Marcus Stroman is doing what I was hoping he would do this season. I honestly expected more from Noah Syndergaard and Zach Wheeler.
- Hector Rondon, Deigo Castillo, and Jose Alvarado are studs out of the pen through two months.
- Kirby Yates was initially in the set up role – and that has failed miserably. Even though he has thrown just 14 innings he has given up 17 runs this year. I am going to move him if I can before I try to send him down to AAA.
Trades
June 1st
Target: Gary Sanchez
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot |
| Kirby Yates | 32 | 85 | B | Yankees | Gary Sanchez | C | 26 | 84 | B |
| Kyle Schwarber | 26 | 82 | B | Jonathan Holder | RP | 25 | 74 | B | |
| Dietrich Enns | 27 | 48 | B |
I trade away two players that are struggling with my franchise for a better offensive catcher. The Yankees used this move to build their bullpen, and add Kyle Schwarber’s power to their lineup. They are a righty heavy team – they can use Schwarber’s bat to attack that short porch in right field. He is also better suited for the A.L. with the DH position. I save about $6M with this deal on the 2019 season.
Target: Fast Left Handed Outfielder
I need to add another outfielder to my squad – and I am looking for speed. I currently have three catchers on my major league roster so one of them will be moving down to AAA.
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot |
| Adam Liberatore | 31 | 82 | B | Dodgers | Andrew Toles | LF | 26 | 71 | B |
| Buddy Reed | 23 | 61 | B | ||||||
| Webster Rivas | 28 | 66 | C |
Andrew Toles is a good fit for my roster. I was able to make this trade with my division rival because they have an abundance of outfielders – Toles was sitting in AAA. I give up Adam Liberatore, a RP that has not impressed me since we singed him a few months ago.
Target: Relief Pitcher
| Player | Age | Ovr. | Pot. | To | Received | Pos. | Age | Ovr. | Pot |
| Luis Torrens | 22 | 62 | C | Marlins | Adam Conley | RP | 28 | 76 | C |
The Marlins placed Adam Conley on the block – and he is dominating this season. Through 37 IP he has a 0.96 ERA. Seems like a great fit for my pen.
Updated Roster
*Stats reflect games played through June 6th.
The Pitching staff remains pretty much the same as it was to start the season. Adam Conley and Jonathan Holder are new additions to the bullpen.
*Stats reflect games played through June 6th.
This lineup is even better than it was to start the season. We now have the big bat of Gary Sanchez in the middle of the order. Franchy Cordero is now the platoon partner with Hunter Renfroe in left field.
Prospects
We continue to have one of the best – if not the best – farm systems in baseball. The Padres have five of the top 25 prospects in the game.
| Team Rank | Previous MLB Rank | Current MLB Rank | Name | Age | Pos. | Ovr. | Level | Pot. |
| 1 | 19 | 12 | Adley Rutschman | 21 | C | 69 | AAA | A |
| 2 | 22 | 18 | Mackenzie Gore | 20 | SP | 66 | AAA | A |
| 3 | 32 | 24 | Brendan McKay | 23 | SP | 69 | AAA | A |
| 4 | 45 | 25 | Ryan Weathers | 19 | SP | 67 | AAA | A |
| 5 | NR | 26 | Alexander Palma | 22 | RF | 66 | AAA | A |
| 6 | 47 | 50 | Luis Patino | 19 | SP | 65 | AA | A |
| 7 | NR | NR | Jasson Dominguez | 18 | CF | 61 | AA | A |
| 8 | NR | NR | Robert Puason | 18 | SS | 61 | AA | A |
| 9 | NR | NR | Joey Lucchesi | 25 | SP | 75 | AAA | B |
| 10 | NR | NR | Matt Wisler | 26 | RP | 66 | AAA | B |
- Luis Urias was traded to the Mets. He is their everyday second baseman. He is batting .242/.315/.357 with 5 HR and 20 RBI through 227 AB.
- Xavier Edwards, who was traded to the Orioles, is the #42 prospect in baseball.
- Michael Baez, who was traded to the Rays, is the #47 prospect in baseball.
Coming Up
We will head into the 2019 First Year Player Draft. The Padres have the 6th overall pick. What position should we focus on as we look to build upon the best farm system in baseball?
– Buzz
Hefty Headlines 