San Diego Padres: 2017 MLB season preview

The San Diego Padres have a plan to be one of the most competitive teams in the NL West, but it’s going to take some time for the plan to come to fruition.

The San Diego Padres are in the middle of rebuilding the team to make it into a championship caliber team. The ownership group has invested a lot of money in their young talent, especially in their international pipeline. Give them three to four years to get out of their teenage years, and there’s a very good chance these young guys will be what the Padres need to return to the World Series.

For now, though, we have a team with a handful of veterans and a lot of guys who have been part of the team’s revolving door of players over the past few seasons. Unlike the Yankees, who plan to stay competitive through their rebuilding, the Padres know that they aren’t there with their current team, but you never know how things will shake out.

There had been talk over the offseason that the team was possibly looking to trade some of the bigger name players like 2016 All-Star Wil Myers and fan favorite Yangervis Solarte, but both guys signed deals to keep them here for 2017. While the Padres say that these deals had been in the works, there’s another camp that says that with the departure of the Chargers, the Padres knew they needed some familiarity on their roster for the fans to be excited about. The past few seasons have been rough for fans, with big names like James Shields and Matt Kemp coming in only to depart quickly after less than stellar performances.

There is hope on the horizon, but it looks like it will be status quo for 2017.

Sep 24, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Clayton Richard (27) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitching

Once again, the Padres are getting hit with injuries all over the roster, but unlike 2016’s plague of hamstring injuries early in the season, these injuries are coming during Spring Training and that means there’s time to fill the gaps.

Christian Friedrich is out for Opening Day due to a lat strain, and he’s day to day at this point with no date set for a return. That means there’s a fight right now for the last spots in the rotation between Trevor Cahill, Jarred Cosart, and Luis Perdomo. There is an option for these guys to make it into the bullpen, but it’s an if-then situation.

Manager Andy Green had this to say: “Right now, we have Perdomo, Cahill and Cosart battling it out for those last couple spots in the rotation. If it’s Cahill and Cosart, Perdomo would not go to the ‘pen. He would go to Triple-A. The other guys would fall to the ‘pen.” (That’s a good thing, too, because Carter Capps is questionable after Tommy John surgery, though he is close to a full return) There’s hope that Robbie Erlin will return at some point this season after his Tommy John surgery as well.

Lefty Clayton Richard will be back in the starting rotation. Richard (2016: 3-4, 3.33 ERA, 67.2 IP, 41 SO, 1.66 WHIP) has thrown 12.1 innings in Spring Training so far and has shown a lot of promise. RHP Jhoulys Chacin (2016: 6-8, 4.81 ERA, 144.0 IP, 119 SO, 1.44 WHIP) had a great showing during the World Baseball Classic where he played for Team Venezuela, and his performance will likely earn him a spot in the rotation. Jered Weaver, an acquisition from the Angels, has been working out the kinks this spring but is expected to be ready for the start of the season.

Mar 21, 2017; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers (4) watches the flight of his ball during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Lineup

The Padres don’t have a lot of change in their lineup this season. Outfielder Alex Dickerson will be out until mid-April with a bulging disc. That gives the Padres some options for left and centerfield. Right field belongs to Padres rookie Hunter Renfroe, who made his big league debut at the end of the 2016 season. In Dickerson’s absence we’ll likely see a combination of Christian Bethancourt, Travis Jankowski and Manuel Margot, depending on whether or not Jankowski lands in centerfield on a regular basis.

Wil Myers has first base locked in, and Yangervis Solarte is pretty much locked in at third base but the versatile infielder can take jump into any role around the diamond if need be, which is good because Cory Spangenberg has been making some noise at Spring Training (Spring Training stats: .349 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, .926 OPS) after coming back from an injury that kept him sidelined for a good chunk of 2016. Spangenberg might be a good fit at third, which would put Solarte at second.

Here’s what the projected lineup looks like right now for the 2017 Padres:

Catcher: Austin Hedges (2016: .125 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, .321 OPS)

1B: Wil Myers (2016: .259 AVG, 28 HR, 94 RBI, 28 SB, .797 OPS)

2B: Ryan Schimpf (2016: .217 AVG, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 1 SB, .869 OPS)

3B: Yangervis Solarte (2016: .286 AVG, 15 HR, 71 RBI, 1 SB, .808 OPS)

SS: Luis Sardinas (2016: .244 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 4 SB, .651 OPS)

LF: Christian Bethancourt (2016: .228 AVG, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 1 SB, .633 OPS)

CF: Travis Jankowski (2016: .245 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 30 SB, .646 OPS)

RF: Hunter Renfroe (2016: .371 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 0 SB, 1.189 OPS)

The Padres lineup is very consistent across the board, which means these guys need strength in the starting pitching rotation, but also in the bullpen, in order to preserve games they’re winning.

Sep 24, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Brad Hand (52) and catcher Austin Hedges (18) celebrate a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Bullpen

With so much pressure on pitching, the Padres need to get their bullpen stacked. No one has been designated as the closer yet, but lefties Brad Hand and Ryan Buchter are competing for the role along with Carter Capps, who will hopefully come back to the rotation soon after his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Hand (2016: 4-4, 2.92 ERA, 89.1 IP, 111 SO, 1.11 WHIP) saw a lot of playing time in the relief role last year and is projected to continue with that trend while Buchter (2016: 2-1, 3.47 ERA, 36.1 IP, 51 SO, 1.10 WHIP) will likely come in for a single inning when needed. RHP Brandon Maurer (2016: 0-5, 4.52 ERA, 69.2 IP, 72 SO, 1.26 WHIP) will be one of the RHPs available in the bullpen along with Kevin Quackenbush (2016: 7-7, 3.92 ERA, 59.2 IP, 42 SO, 1.29 WHIP).

The Padres don’t have a ton of strength in their bullpen, and this could make or break the season. Any gains the lineup makes need to be defended late in the game, and they need a strong bullpen to make sure they maintain those leads. This has been a perennial problem for San Diego over the years, but is something that they are working on with all of their young arms in development. In other words, they may not be strong now, but they will be in a few years.

Mar 21, 2017; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres manager Andy Green (14) looks on from the dugout during the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Manager

Andy Green is in his second year as the manager of the San Diego Padres. He replaced Bud Black (who begins his first year managing the Rockies this year) to lead the Padres on to victory, but Green’s debut got off to a bumpy start with a 68-94 record.

Green’s record, however, isn’t indicative of anything other than the Padres having yet another rough year. Green is perhaps the best person (short of luring Bruce Bochy back from the Giants) for this era of Padres baseball. Not only is his omnipresent optimism is helpful for a young team looking to get better, but he’s young enough in Major League coaching to be willing to try new things.

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That willingness to try new things is what will help the Padres in the long run. Green has been willing to experiment with utility guys like Christian Bethancourt, who has been spending time behind the plate, on the mound, and in the outfield throughout Spring Training. Being open to playing with the lineup is a good thing at this point, because between the injuries and the youthfulness, there are no sure things with the Padres.

With Green at the helm early in this rebuilding process, he’s going to grow with his team. And teams that share that kind of bond through rebuilding tend to do well later on.

Sep 28, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe (C) is congratulated by catcher Austin Hedges (18) after driving in left fielder Alex Dickerson (R) on a two run during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

X-Factor

The Padres will have two of their top draft picks debuting full time in their 2017 lineup. Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges haven’t seen a lot of time in the big league but they have been making a lot of noise at Triple-A El Paso in 2016.

While the team is growing talent in the minor league, perhaps this combination of MiLB phenoms can make an impact for the Padres now. And with Solarte and Myers providing veteran support, Hedges and Renfroe might be able to rally the team together to make a run in the National League West.

Sep 27, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe (71) stands still as catcher Austin Hedges (18) pours Powerade over his head after dodging Hedges’ first attempt at dousing him following a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction

The NL West has been a battleground the past few years between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The other battle is the battle of the basement, which usually involves the Padres and either the Rockies or the Diamondbacks.

With the Rockies and Diamondbacks both getting used to new managers, it could be that with a solid run, the Padres might not end up in the basement this season. Given that the Rockies inherited the Padres’ former manager Bud Black, the Padres have a fairly decent shot at landing in fourth place in the NL West ahead of the Rockies.