Apologies on this being late. My wifi was down for a majority of the weekend.
Major Additions: Jhoulys Chacin, Trevor Cahill, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar
Major Losses: Tyson Ross, Derek Norris, Jon Jay, Brandon Morrow, Alexi Amarista
Strengths: Wil Myers is pretty good
Weaknesses: Rotation, Offense
Potential Breakout Stars: Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, Austin Hedges, Luis Perdomo, Phil Maton
Unfortunately, Padres fans don't have much to look forward to in terms of winning ballgames. Overall, this is probably the worst team in baseball. However, that doesn't mean there won't be anything to watch. Wil Myers had a big breakout season last year (.259/.336/.461, 115 wRC+), bashing 28 home runs and stealing 28 bases when his career highs in those categories were previously 13 and 6, respectively. Yangervis Solarte is also a pretty decent player (.286/.341/.467, 118 wRC+), and after that, it's all young guys. Ryan Schimpf broke out as a 28 year old rookie last season slashed .217/.336/.533, 129 wRC+), showing the makings of a real true-outcome hitter. Last season, 50.6% of his 330 plate appearances ended in one of the three true outcomes (20 home runs, 42 walks, 105 strikeouts), showing big time power, big time plate discipline, and big time swing-and-miss. Travis Jankowski was pretty successful as a rookie, stealing 30 bases if doing nothing else, and Luis Sardinas was pretty good in a limited role. Two rookie hitters you should keep an eye on: Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot. Renfroe has showcased big time power in the minor leagues, blasting 71 home runs over the last three seasons, including 30 in 2016. Reaching the majors at 24 in 2016, he hit everything in site in his short eleven game stint, batting .371 with four home runs and three doubles while striking out just five times in 36 plate appearances (13.9%). He obviously won't put up a 213 wRC+ over a full season, but he could hit 20 home runs with a decent on-base percentage. If he can get even a little more plate discipline (he walked just once – intentionally – in those 36 plate appearances), he could be a dark horse candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. Margot, meanwhile, is known for his speed and ability to put the ball in play, having stolen 162 bases in his five year minor league career while getting on base at a .350 clip. Behind the plate, Austin Hedges will be another interesting player to watch. He has already mastered AAA, slashing .326/.363/583 over 103 career games there, but that has not translated to major league success (.161/.206/.236, 19 wRC+ over 64 games). The 24 year old will get the chance to be the starting catcher this season, and hopefully he can fulfill his big time potential. Unfortunately, the starting rotation is a bit of a train wreck. Jhoulys Chacin will be the ace, coming off a season in which he put up a 4.81 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP over 34 games (22 starts). Then, there's Clayton Richard and Trevor Cahill, who have combined to start 16 games over the last two seasons (four starts per pitcher per year). Jered Weaver may have made three straight All Star teams from 2010-2012, but his fastball velocity has dipped into the low 80's and his ERA and WHIP have gone up every year since 2011 (2.41 and 1.01 in 2011, 5.06 and 1.46 in 2016). Luis Perdomo rounds out that rotation, coming off a decent-enough rookie season (5.71 ERA, 1.59 WHIP). If things get desperate (which they will), we could see Jarred Cosart or Dinelson Lamet make some starts, or if things get real desperate, 2016 first round pick Eric Lauer could move up through the minor leagues quickly. The bullpen isn't horrible, which is the best thing you can say about this Padres team, with Brandon Maurer (4.52 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), Brad Hand (2.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), and Ryan Buchter (2.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) in the back end. They'll also eagerly await the return of Carter Capps, who missed all of 2015 with Tommy John surgery but was absolutely un-hittable in 30 appearances in 2015 (1.16 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 58 K's in 31 innings). Craig Stammen hasn't been healthy for the past couple of seasons, but he could make an impact if he returns to his 2012-2014 form. Top prospects Jose Torres, Miguel Diaz, and Phil Maton will also look to make their marks. Lastly, we have the most interesting player on the team, if not the most interesting in baseball: super-super utility man Christian Bethancourt. Bethancourt has already played 153 games in the majors, mostly at catcher, but he's also seen time in the outfield, played one inning at second base (2016), and made a pair of relief appearances in blowout games in 2016. This season, he will split time between catcher and pitcher. You've heard of two way college guys (heck, Brendan McKay has a 1.18 ERA and a .417/.532/.679 slash line for the University of Louisville right now), but two way major leaguers? Yeah, we had Rick Ankiel, Micah Owings, Jason Lane, and Brooks Kieschnick do both, but not in a long time have we seen a player do both at once. Best of luck to the 25 year old two-way hopeful.
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