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“PADRES CLOSE SPRING TRAINING”
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The Padres are headed home to start the 2026 season on Thursday against the Tigers.
The ledger says they went (15-15-1) which seems okay, considering the Cactus League was split up because a number of stars went to play for the flag in the World Baseball Classic.
But there are issues that I am not going to ignore, and Padres fans should pay attention too.
PITCHING: You have their ace Nick Pivetta to lead the staff and the fast developing Randy Vasquez moving into the second slot in the rotation.
Michael King has pushed to get back to what he was before last season’s two injuries, but at this juncture, he has not proven he can dominate beyond 3-innings a start. You will need patience and hope, but you cannot have his starts become bullpen days.
There are now official problems with the 4th and 5th starters. Walker Buehler’s courageous battle to bounce back from his second elbow surgery has brought mixed results. He is not the power pitcher he was once upon a time, and he has been banged around in the spring, lacking velocity.
The 5th starter has the same issues, ex Rockies German Marquez, who has had a couple of decent starts in spring but alot of rocky starts too.
All of a sudden you wonder what you can get get out of the 3rd-4th-5th slots in the rotation the first month of the season.
There will be no Joe Musgrove sighting for at least a month and you have to be concerned about what appears to be a longer-longer road back.
Dylan Cease is in Toronto. Robert Suarez is in Atlanta.
The rest of the imports GM-AJ Preller wanted to look at have washed out. Marco Gonzalez has been sent to AAA, Tristen McKenzie cannot find the strike zone.
Is there another potential starter to plug in? JP Sears is already in El Paso. Kyle Hart, who struggled last year, could be stretched out. But beyond that, very doubtful.
Love the bullpen depth, we all do, but those guys are not starters.
BATTING ORDER:Love the everyday lineup, and the collection of guys on the bench, who have hit in the past, but there is something that needs to be addressed at this hour.
Look at the spring training batting averages of so many of the big bats. Aside from Jake Cronenworth-Xander Bogaerts-Gavin Sheets-Ramon Laureano, nobody hit in the Cactus League.
And it was not as if they were facing aces over there in the other dugout.
You can say, I can say, Craig Stammen can say, it was only spring training…but:
..Machado (.111)
..Tatis (.222)
..Merrill (.220)
..Andujar (.220)
..Song (.235)
..Castellanos (.200)
..Campusano (.165)
Small sample size, it’s early, those games don’t count.
Okay, but those are the stats the Padres sent me as the Cactus League closes.
I am ready for ‘Play Ball’…I don’t know if the Padres have enough arms in the rotation, and I am waiting for them to hit when the real games start Thursday.
Just saying ‘I told you so’.
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