The Winds Just Aren't Picking Up

 

Fernando Tatis, in 2021, at age 22, hit 42 home runs in 130 games. Sometime after that he was involved in, depending on who you talk to, one or multiple motorcycle accidents, followed by a quad injury a couple years later. He has not surpassed 25 dingers since. 

So far this season, Tatis has hit...two home runs. It happens so infrequently now that one of them was hit in the ninth inning of a game in San Diego that a colleague of mine attended. Maybe it's cause he can't attend anymore games. But still, we've gone from 42 in a shortened season to 2 in 72 games. That's jarring. It's clear something's changed in his swing, and the power ceiling that was there in the early part of the decade might not be as high as it was.

However, Tatis is still having a positive season. .284 average, 79 hits, 26 RBIs. Not a worldbeater, but he's shifted to doing contact work that can aid the already contact-heavy Padres [Bogaerts, Cronenworth, and Merrill are also good in that department]. He's also still one of the team's best hitters. But...here's the thing. The idea was for Tatis and Machado, and to a lesser extent Gavin Sheets, to represent an ironclad power core for this Padres team going forward, and to this point they'd obliged. But now Tatis isn't hitting for power, Machado's power's gotten a ton more one-dimensional, and Sheets is doing more work than he honestly should be. So if this team doesn't really have a power game...and the solo contact guys are doing most of the work...then what are we even doing here? The depth's been sweated away, and when you're down to guys like Rodolfo Duran, Will Wagner and Samad Taylor needing to jump in, it's clear how much has strayed from the plan.

The Padres are hitting .218 as a team. A lot of that is due to Manny Machado not even pretending to reach .200, and Freddy Fermin, Jake Cronenworth and Nick Castellanos not finding it either. If the pitching wasn't better, especially the bullpen, this team would have no chance. But King, Vasquez, Buehler and Giolito are somehow doing enough to keep games close, and the bullpen can very easily finish it off. So as wild as it seems that THIS Padres team, with Tatis not finding the stands and Machado not finding the grass, is still a 2nd place team [and over .500]...well, they're pitching well. That's the key. It's not enough to lap the Dodgers, especially not now, but it's enough to keep them ahead of the D-Backs, who arguably have better individual starting performances and better hitting but keep getting their clocks cleaned by streaky teams. 

Who knows. Maybe they're gonna start hitting. Maybe Tatis is gonna start raking. But as it stands now, this is no way to hit one's way past the Dodgers.

Coming Tonight: It's an unsteady tightrope, being a marquee guy for a team who can't keep talent around, but this guy might have it figured out.

Together We Once Wore Grey

 

I was thinking about the 2018 Padres the other day. There's the joke that men think about the Roman Empire constantly, but I can bet you nobody thinks about the 2018 Padres. There are names on that team that just shouldn't be spoken. Christian Villanueva. Joey Lucchesi. Carlos Asuaje. They had a guy play in all 162, but he only hit .250 and most of you probably don't remember who even did that. It was dire. Positively dire. 

And yet a youth movement was beginning to brew. The people that don't remember those dreary-ass end of the 2010s Padres teams remember that there were a ton of prospects that popped up around then and looked to take over, and...most of them were dealt before the Seidler runs. People like Nick Margevicius, Cal Quantrill, Chris Paddack, Manuel Margot, Franmil Reyes, Ty France  and Luis Urias. They were even more prominent in 2019, when the biggest prize of the farm system, Fernando Tatis Jr., took to the majors like a fish to water and, despite an injury costing him a chunk of the season, almost singlehandedly revitalizing the team. 

And now you look at the Padres and they're almost unrecognizable from that scrappy, homegrown 2019 squad. First of all they took back the brown and gold, that was a great move heading into 2020, I'm glad Machado and Tatis only had one seeing wearing those unmemorable navy and greys. But, as I alluded to, pretty much every youth piece the Padres had in that 2018-19 era got dealt. It's really just Tatis and Adrian Morejon, a guy who's evaded trades by just not being healthy til now, left. It's rare for a team to sell almost the entirety of the farm system and still make it deep into the playoffs, but the Padres have done this, and are still competitors.

Tatis, though, still feels like an odd figure in the development of this team. This will be his sixth season, and his age 26 season, and while he already has a cumulative 21.7 WAR, the stardom that Tatis was promised still seems slightly distant. It's not that he hasn't performed well, but he's never gone a season without missing at least some time, he was out for the Padres' 2022 NLCS run, and he was never exactly exonerated after testing positive for PEDs. Moving Tatis to the outfield in 2023 did boost his star power, and his power numbers last year were welcome, but he hasn't hit .300 since his rookie season, he's hovering around the .276 zone as a career average, and the injury last season robbed him of finally making an impact. He's still one of the best in the league, yeah, but I don't know if Tatis has delivered anything as powerful as his pre-suspension material. 

I do think Tatis will have a good season, but I get the clearest Juan Gonzalez vibes from him. Talented, capable of high highs, but the drawbacks are also unmistakably there. 

Meanwhile, let's have a look at where some of the other late 2010s Padres prospects have ended up, and if they're in any way comparable to Tatis right now.

A's: Luis Urias had a couple of years as an infield starter with the Brewers, then when that didn't pan out he bounced around as an extra piece. With Sacramento, he has a chance to be a depth infielder, and if his bat shows up the A's would greatly appreciate another power piece.

Blue Jays: Eric Lauer, a couple years removed from an injury, is still kicking around the league. He was decent enough in an appearance for the Jays. No clue if they have room for him though. They definitely don't have any in the rotation. 

Brewers: Manuel Margot's 2024 with Minnesota was not the greatest step forward, especially after years of being a reliable utility bat in Tampa. The Brewers plan to start Margot, but several of the outfield options have more versatility and more recent success. Odds are he wriggles his way through, but is he anything close to where he was?

Cardinals: Phil Maton has bounced around recently, but enjoyed postseason success with Houston and New York. The Cardinals took a flier on him a couple days ago, they could use established bullpen guys. Not sure if he makes the team, but if he does he could be a decent piece still. 

Diamondbacks: Josh Naylor just capped off a run of excellent seasons as an 1B/DH piece in Cleveland, cementing his status not only as a great power hitter but also a dangerous contact bat. The Guardians parting ways with him seems like a dumb move, as is putting him in Phoenix, where he fits right into the vacant 1B position that Christian Walker left. The D-Backs need guys like him, and if they seek to compete again this year I see Naylor factoring highly into things. Very satisfying to see Naylor find his full potential after his early days in San Diego scraping the surface of it.

Giants: Joey Lucchesi's comeback with the Mets was halted by the continued presence of injury luck. The Giants are seeing if he has anything in the tank. If anything he'll be a minor league depth option. Kinda sad to say he peaked with the 2018 Padres.

Guardians: Austin Hedges continues to be one of the most beloved defensive catchers in the game despite not doing a damned thing on defense. He will continue to platoon with Bo Naylor until Bo learns to hit more consistently. 

Mariners: Andres Muñoz was an all-star last season, proved he could work the ninth as well as provide consistent relief, and is very high on the M's relief depth chart going into 2025. Of everyone here, Munoz might have the highest chance for exceptional output, despite probably not getting the credit if he does so.

Marlins: Cal Quantrill had a great start with the Rockies last year but fell off hard. The Marlins could give him a shot if enough of their starting options aren't ready for April, but Alcantara, Weathers and Cabrera rank ahead of him, and Max Meyer and Valente Bellozo factor heavily for rotation spots as well. 

Mets: Luis Torrens was a backup catcher with the Mets last season, and thanks to Francisco Alvarez's injury looks to get playing time again this season. As a matter of fact, he might be the starting catcher going into the opener. As endearing as the Mariners fans were towards him in the early 2020s, the Mets fans could potentially welcome him even more. 

Pirates: David Bednar has been one of the best relief pieces in Pittsburgh this decade. Last year he had a down season. Either he recovers what he had in the early part of the decade or the Bucs dump him and go with Holderman in the ninth. 

Royals: Hunter Renfroe, after being on a different team every year for the past 5 years, has finally settled in Kansas City. He lacks the real pop he had in San Diego, but he's steady, reliable, and gets the job done. He looks to start this season in the outfield, at least until the Royals build up enough that he doesn't have to.

Twins: Chris Paddack is looking like a probable Opening Day rotation pick. The last few years he's gotten injured at some point, but last year was a relatively full picture of his skills, and while he hasn't touched his 2019 peak. Ty France, meanwhile, is coming off a weaker year after being the go-to 1B guy in Seattle for years. He looks to start at 1st in Minnesota, filling in for a gold glove campaign from Carlos Santana. The Twins have Jose Miranda ready to go if things don't work out though.

White Sox: Travis Jankowski won a World Series with the Rangers, and this is the thanks they give him? And the worrying detail is I'm not even sure if Janko will make the team out of camp for the White Sox. 

Division Series' Day 2: Not Gonna Be That Simple

 

Expecting a Mets-Phillies series to be conventional is a lot like expecting a Todd Phillips movie to be conventional. It's just not gonna happen. 

The paint that these two teams traded during Game 2 was the result of an entire season of sniping at each other. The Mets have routinely had the Phillies' number this season, and now they have the momentum as well. Yet the Phillies have the better team, the better rotation, and the better bench. So anything can happen. And in Game 2, just about everything did. Two excellent starts from Cristopher Sanchez and Luis Severino, some amazing long ball moments from Bryce Harper and Pete Alonso, several lead changes [one happening the moment I flipped the channel back], several close calls, and the Phillies' bullpen again letting the team down.

This game came down to two players: Mark Vientos and Nick Castellanos. On one hand, Vientos very much played the part of the hero, hitting two home runs at pivotal points, forcing the game to go to the bottom of the ninth, and cementing his status as a starring player for this Mets team. On the other hand, Vientos did two things that wounded this team. The first was bobbling an easy ground ball that led to the sixth Phillies run scoring in the eighth. Then in the ninth, he didn't communicate going for a fly ball, nearly trampling over Brandon Nimmo, and essentially knocking the wind out of him. These are rookie moves, and he needs to grow out of them.

Nick Castellanos, though, rose to the occasion when he could have made mistakes. He had a welcome knock late, after Harper's. Then in the ninth, after the game was already tied, he had an incredible diving catch that reminded many of the 2022 postseason. And then, as the came came down to him, he took a very tired Tylor Megill to the back wall and brought Turner home for the win. This win happens because Castellanos was THE guy when we needed him.

And so, the series is tied. We shouldn't have had to fight quite as hard for it, but we got there. And now we head to Queens, where the Mets will try to take the leverage back again.

As for the other matchup, uh...Padres-Dodgers is gonna be the Yanks-Sox of the 2020s. Both teams are competitive, both teams have legends playing for them, both teams have had ebbs and flows, and both teams have strived to one-up each other. The Dodgers took down the Padres on the way to a ring in 2020, the Padres retaliated on the way to an NLCS [that they arguably should have taken] in 2022. And now here we are again.

This Padres win should be a wake up call for the Dodgers. Trying the same things with less starting pitching and an emphasis on just throwing Ohtani out there and hoping it'll work is not a winning strategy. Jack Flaherty struggled tonight against a hot lineup, while the much older Yu Darvish thrived in the high-pressure environment. Ohtani, Betts, Freeman and Smith were all hitless, while the only starting Padre without a hit was Jake Cronenworth; Machado, Bogaerts, Merrill, Higgy, even Peralta had huge moments.

And of course it all comes down to Fernando Tatis Jr., who had a 2-homer night, and reestablished himself as the main attraction in San Diego. Some Dodgers fans were throwing trash at him, there is absolutely no place for that. He's a great player, you can boo him, you can wish he wasn't as good, don't go throwing shit. That's not a good look for the fanbase. If you had a team that could hit 6 homers right back you wouldn't be throwing trash. The Dodgers should be able to bounce right back, a lot like the Mets and Phils did, and they just...couldn't tonight. The Padres just kept hammering them down, and the end result was an overwhelming win for SD. After what the Dodgers did last night, that's not a great sign.

And now the action moves to San Diego, where I assume the home crowds will make things difficult for Dodgers fans. The Dodgers were always gonna be here. The Padres had to fight, and many fans thought there wasn't a chance of getting back here. They're gonna be a lot thirstier, and a lot louder, than many Dodgers fans who likely have next year to look forward to anyway. For the Padres, this could be the shot. So they're gonna savor every moment. Game 3 could be a continuation of that. 

Tomorrow, the AL matches continue. We'll see if anyone's able to fashion a lead.

Just Pretend Nothing Happened

 

Every so often you'll hear some guy on Twitter with no life and an American flag in his profile picture going on about how Trevor Bauer shouldn't be pitching in Mexico right now considering that he didn't do anything and that he should be on an MLB roster right now. And...while that's a really dicey issue that I feel like it's unwise to really weigh in on, it got me thinking about what our collective bar is for MLB players with controversial off-the-field antics. Just this year alone we've seen the Mets retire Darryl Strawberry's number, the resurrection of the Pete Rose Hall of Fame campaign after the Ippei Mizuhara incident, the banning of multiple MLB players, including Tucapita Marcano, Michael Kelly and local product Jay Groome, and the rehabilitation of both domestic abuser Marcell Ozuna and HGH abuser Fernando Tatis Jr. 

Tatis, for the record, is in full 'scandal? what scandal?' mode a couple years after the suspension, and is having another strong season in San Diego. He's currently hitting .280 with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs and an .822 OPS. This is the standard of hitting Padres fans expect from him, and with Machado down and Soto gone, he's fulfilling the expectation. So far he's also got a nice amount of All Star Game votes, and could be starting for the NL this year. I think that enough people have accepted that the doping Tatis did wasn't to the extent of others before him, and was an accidental breach of banned substances. Like nowhere near Manny Ramirez disavowing the rules, or people doing intentional steroid abuse or anything. This was a foresight by a young kid, so say the MLB viewing public. I still think it's slightly dubious, and would love to see some proof that he's learned his lesson, but I guess we'll all have to see together.

That's also the tactic Marcell Ozuna's using. He's hitting like hell, having his best season than years [even better than 2023], proving his worth, and Braves fans are mostly going 'well at least SOMEONE'S hitting'. It's very similar to the Nelson Cruz thing, where, yes, there's a mar on the record, but with the extent of production it's impossible for fans to completely dislike him. Yes, he probably did some bad shit at home, but Ozuna is reportedly behind that, and is also nowhere near as detestable as some other recent abuse cases [Domingo German, Aroldis Chapman, etc]. And so I think people are kinda letting him off the hook.

I think for the Padres, because they truly need a central figure like Tatis, it's harder for them to cut off any support for him. He's still in his prime, he's trying to get them back to glory, he's still fun to watch. And even people like Luis Arraez and Jackson Merrill have been bowing to him this year. Without him, there's no strong through line for the lineup. Ozuna is similar, but in that case it's mostly due to the injuries of people who would be more central.

I think Tatis is due for a nice resurgence, even if I'm not even sure he can get to the heights he was headed towards in 2019 and 2020. Hopefully he can still bring the Padres some good luck this year.

Coming Tomorrow- Surprisingly, one of the early favorites for AL Rookie of the Year.

The Return of El Niño

 

How foolish of me, last year when the suspension was placed on Fernando Tatis Jr. for using a prohibited substance to, so says he, treat an unrelated injury, to think that that would be the premature end of the Tatis Jr. legend. And yet here we are.

I'm still not quite sure if I'm allowed to like Tatis again. I've been like this with most players suspended for different types of PEDs that aren't exactly steroids. A lot of the time it is intentional, like Robinson Cano and Richard Rodriguez, and I have to grapple with that. Sometimes the player claims that it's a mistake but you're not exactly sure. This grey area stuff always drives me batty, because I genuinely don't know what I'm supposed to believe, and I just have to forge my own path. When Trevor Bauer's suspension came up, I was trying to hear both sides out and I was just confused as to why suspensions were being given out over what I thought was just a rough sex thing, and then more allegations came out and then...yeah, let him rot in obscurity. Tatis's, yeah there were talks that he was telling the truth and he didn't mean to, but there were also people who went 'yeah, right' and thought he was playing the naive card, a lot like many Mitchell Report attendees did. 

Granted, he didn't pull a Sammy Sosa and play the 'I can't speak English' card, but when you're just given a statement, it's hard to pull intent and genuine emotion out of that.

So, needless to say, Tatis is doing awesome again. He's hitting .285, has 34 RBIs, 14 homers and 59 hits in 50 games, that's pretty insane. Not only is he hitting well and playing like he did before the injury, he's taken to the outfield fairly easily, and isn't a defensive liability there. The fact that you can keep both Ha-Seong Kim and Tatis in the lineup ups the defense by a lot. Hell, the Padres have begun to turn things around in the last week or so because Tatis is doing so well. He's a big part of why this team could sneak up and do something big late in the year.

And...I think I'm alright with him? I think it's okay to like Tatis again? Cause he's still one of the most electrifying players in the game, he's still in his prime, and having him, Machado and Soto in the same lineup is friggin awesome and we may never have the stars align like this again. But...I'm still slightly conflicted. We'll see what happens going forward, or if he actually was telling the truth and just made a mistake. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for now, especially as he performs this well, but I'm open to new information.

Coming Tonight: A heavy Rookie of the Year candidate just beginning to figure things out.

May 2020 in Review [feat. Fernando Tatis Jr.]

 Alright. How about May? Not quite the barn-burner that April was, but some good things happened here. A lot of fun stories, and a lot of evened out pictures of how the rest of the season might go. 

First thing we do here is we cover the five predictions I made in April, and we see if they had any water:

1. A clear frontrunner in the NL East. Either the Mets, Phillies or Braves...just pull ahead and save my suspense. Well...we're not really there yet. Those top 3 are still kinda close together, even if the Mets are ahead by a few. I'm not calling them a runaway yet. 

2. The second the Marlins bring Sixto Sanchez back up he's gonna start throwing fire and pulling them away from Washington. This still hasn't f&I&T$in happened yet...

3. One of the Cardinals, Reds and Pirates to decide to chase the Brewers. Or maybe more. Uh, yeah! I was very wrong in leaving out the Cubs, cause they were crappy at the end of April, but those Cardinals caught fire and took the division like it was theirs to begin with.

4. One of the big cinderella teams [Royals, Red Sox, Mariners] to still be the real deal, while one or more of the other two revert as the month goes on. Yes, this is exactly what happened. The Royals and Mariners meekly went back down to third, and the Red Sox are still in the three-man race for first. 

5. Monumental rookie call-up that shakes the balance of an entire division. Weeelll....Jarred Kelenic was a huge rookie call-up, but he hasn't exactly been the make-or-break figure the Mariners were hoping for. So, no. We're at 2/5

The next part of this is 5 Things from May 2021 That No One Could Predict 

1. The Fall of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was an early-May event that shocked the world, as the Los Angeles Dodgers slid to third after several missed series and injuries bogged them down. On May 9th, they were 18-17, just a hair over .500, limited to four hits against the struggling Los Angeles Angels, and handing a rare loss to Trevor Bauer. While the appearance of other great teams in the NL West is not surprising, and the Giants and Padres had some big moments in May as well, the fact that the Dodgers, once thought unsinkable, sunk to nearly-sub-.500 in this period was a shocker. They have eventually fought their way back and nestled into 2nd behind the Padres, but it was a dark period that the league was blindsided by.

2. Adolis Garcia. Yes, the Rangers' rookie outfielder had a decent April, but by May he was a league-wide standout. His 5 April homers were supplanted by 11 May homers, at one point giving his 16 as the highest total in baseball, in a league that also features Ronald Acuna, Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. While Garcia didn't exactly come out of nowhere [he was a decent prospect for St. Louis for a few years], him going from a nobody to a home run icon in the span of a month was pretty impressive, even for Texas.

3. The Cardinals take the NL central. The Brewers were looking pretty strong at the end of April, with their impressive pitching staff and their decent lineup action, despite injuries. But, of all things, a series with the Philadelphia Phillies sent them on a losing tailspin that lasted the bulk of May, going 9-15 over the course of the month [as opposed to their 16-10 April]. Meanwhile, the Cardinals caught fire this month, powered by the return of Yadier Molina, the impressive seasons from Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carlson, and the majority of the team being on the same page. It's gonna take a really strong force to pull the Cards off of first now, I think.

4. FOUR MORE NO-HITTERS. John Means, Wade Miley, Spencer Turnbull and Corey Kluber all pitched no-nos this month. Turnbull and Kluber did theirs on consecutive days, Means and Miley did theirs a few days apart. Say what you will about ball-deadening and the sport sucking or whatever, but the fact that we got four no-hitters in a month, and they all happened to relatively deserving pitchers, is something. Heck, for John Means it's a gateway to one of the best starts an Orioles pitcher has had in a while, and Means himself would have been in this category had he not also had a great April.

5. The Mets' injuries. Typically, the Yankees are the team that gets entirely too banged up by the end of May, and this year the New York Mets have taken that mantle from them. Going into June, they will be without Michael Conforto, Kevin Pillar and Brandon Nimmo, their entire starting outfield, as well as Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis, 3/4ths of their starting infield, two of their backup bench pieces, Luis Guillorme and Albert Almora, AND THE GUY THEY CALLED UP TO SAVE THE TEAM, JOHNESHWY FARGAS. Something has gone horribly wrong with this team, and yet they are still in first. And the big star that is still healthy, Francisco Lindor, still isn't hitting.

And the antithesis, 5 Things From May 2021 That I Probably Could Have Predicted

1. Mariners fell apart. Yes, they tend to. They're a bit beaten down by injuries right now, and have been very unlucky with the majority of their bullpen, and even Jarred Kelenic hasn't given them much of a boost. With the Astros and A's in good shape, this was bound to happen.

2. The rest of the AL East caught up to Boston. This is not a mark on Boston, I'm glad they're doing well...but I knew that there was no way that the rest of the division would spend the remainder of the season far back enough to not catch the Sox. The Yankees and Rays are battling with them now, and the Rays have lapped them, making June a make-or-break month for all three teams.

3. Shane Bieber leading the league in strikeouts. And he's the first pitcher to break 100 Ks this season. Yeah, I'm not exactly shocked, sorry to say.

4. The most competitive divisions in baseball being the AL East and the NL West. The sportswriters called that one in February.

5. Tony LaRussa and Joe Girardi causing shit-storms. Of course LaRussa is gonna start shit with one of the most progressive rosters in baseball. Of course Girardi is gonna get the Philly fans in a tizzy by allegedly clashing with Jean Segura and lying about Bryce Harper's health. These two are contentious MLB figures and this is how they operate. The surprising factor is that Gabe Kapler has been pretty calm in SF so far. 

Five Most Important Players of May 2021:

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

2. Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians

3. Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves

4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays

5. Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers

And finally, 5 Predictions for June 2021:

1. A Nationals-type team that isn't currently in the conversation comes to power and controls the talking points of the game.

2. A candidate in the AL East and NL West races is either eliminated or has a crappy enough month to leave the race momentarily.

3. Only 2 no-hitters. Restraint!

4. A middling team decides midway through the month to start tanking and selling, and it comes as a shock to lots of people.

5. Sixto. 

Coming Tonight: Took him a bit to get back from the IL, but having him back in the lineup makes things more difficult for the AL East race.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #136-144

 Some very odd ones in this post. Players that haven't factored into the 2021 season, players who've already been injured. Lots of weird variety as we continue to track down players that Topps misplaced in compiling their sets last year.

Here come another 9, starting with a true puzzler:

Card #136- Carlos Gonzalez, Seattle Mariners

Yep, after becoming an all-star hero in Denver for 10 seasons, and splitting 2019 between the Indians and Cubs, Carlos Gonzalez made one final run at a big league job with the Seattle Mariners. After three straight seasons of subpar work for CarGo, the stakes weren't very high, especially considering that the Mariners were looking to give rookies a chance out of camp. After not making the team, Gonzalez retired midway through the 2020 season. Topps made a Heritage High Number release for him, but not a flagship card. Not that he needed one, but I can strive to be a little OCD on these.

Card #137- Edinson Volquez, Texas Rangers

Year three of Edinson Volquez' bookended return to his roots in Arlington was, like the other two, slightly disappointing. The former 17-game winner returned to his bullpen role from 2019 in 7 appearances last year, and left with a 6.35 ERA. Not much to report, but for a season that may be the longtime starter's final one, it's at least a good bookend. 

Card #138- Jonathan Arauz, Boston Red Sox

Jonathan Arauz, fun fact, was the PTBNL piece that went to Houston along with Ken Giles in that big Philly-Houston trade prior to the 2016 season. He was picked up by the Red Sox in a rule 5 deal, and made the team last year as the infield frayed. Taking the majority of his starts at 2nd, Arauz hit .250 with 9 RBIs in 25 games, being a much-needed youth presence during the second half of the season. The Sox have not brought up Arauz yet thanks to the presence of Kiké Hernandez, but there's a chance he could still factor into this season in some capacity.

Card #139- Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota Twins

With Mitch Garver slumping and Alex Avila ailing, the Twins needed to call up another option at catcher. Enter 23-year-old Ryan Jeffers, coming off the taxi squad to make a nice run at the position, with a .273 average in 26 games. Since Garver has seemed to reclaim his former numbers, Jeffers is only a backup right now, but the second Garver goes down again, Jeffers will be there.

Card #140- Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates

One of the biggest rookie debuts of 2020, Ke'Bryan Hayes came into Pittsburgh in mid-August and immediately became the sole good thing about the Pirates. In 24 games, he bat .376 with 11 RBIs, 5 home runs and a TEAM LEADING 1.9 WAR. Literally, Hayes was the deciding factor in several Bucs games in the last half of the season, and is said to be the centerpiece of the next Pirates dynasty. Right now he's injured, but hopefully he'll come back before the Pirates fall apart any further.

Card #141- Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

I've already covered Pablo Sandoval's Braves tenure from 2020, but Topps didn't make a card of him as a Giant either, so let's talk about that. Pablo Sandoval didn't get a ton of playing time in SF last season, considering that the team had a healthy Evan Longoria and was focusing on the misfit youth movement. So only hitting .220 in 36 games didn't help much either. Him and Hunter Pence, two of the goodwill signings from the offseason, were gone by September, and Panda left to become a bench fixture in Atlanta. 

Card #142- Fernando Tatis Jr. ASG, San Diego Padres

Do I even need to say that Fernando Tatis would have been the starting shortstop in a potential 2020 All Star Game situation? It kind of goes without saying. Tatis was the best shortstop in baseball last year, helped the Padres get to the playoffs, and lit up the Rangers with home runs like it was his business. I really hope he gets to ace an ASG this year, especially in a hitter's haven like Colorado. 

Card #143- Chi Chi Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies

SPEAKING OF COLORADO, Chi Chi Gonzalez was once again on hand as a reserve starter for any injuries that might occur, and since some did [as usual], Gonzalez got 4 starts out of the deal. However, he was left with a 6.86 ERA with 15 earned runs, so not a complete win. But, Gonzalez is still with the Rockies, and is currently doing alright in relief. 

Card #144- Jake Noll, Washington Nationals

Jake Noll was a 2019 Nationals call-up that didn't work as well as planned. So the Nats tried him again late in the 2020 season, and he did better filling in for Eric Thames at 1st, with a .353 average and 6 hits in 7 games. Used primarily in contact roles rather than power, Noll was overshadowed by more reasonable choices [read: Ryan Zimmerman] at 1st. He could return to the majors some time this year, but if it doesn't happen in 2021, look for him trying to break into a freer roster.

The next 9 cards come on Monday. A few more ASG cards, and a fairly big rookie at #150.

First Place Padres, And Why It's Not a Hallucination

Last year, when the Padres started the season hot, we all kind of shrugged and waited for them to cool down.

It  is 2020, this is a 60 game season, and the Padres are even hotter than they were last year. I don't think we can wish this one away.

Right now, most of the Padres rotation is hot, and most of the Padres lineup is hitting. It's that simple. Tatis is off to an awesome  start, Hosmer and Myers are having comeback years, Trent Grisham and Jake Cronenworth are fitting right in, and only Austin Hedges is having trouble, though you could have predicted that. I knew last year  that the Machado deal wouldn't lead to instant results because this team needed time to mesh, and now that Tatis, Hosmer and Machado have established a core that Tommy  Pham and Grisham  can add onto, it's a lot more compatible, and it's a lot easier to just coast.

As good of a start as the Padres' rotation had last year, this one is time tested. Here we  have a trusted veteran in Garrett Richards,  who's off to an  impressive start, and looks to earn back some goodwill  after some injury plagued years in LA. But it also helps that  Davies, Lucchesi, Lamet and ESPECIALLY CHRIS PADDACK are doing exemplary jobs in the rotation, and Pierce Johnson and Drew Pomeranz have fit right into the bullpen, which otherwise is one of the weaker parts of this team.

I do think this team has more to it than it's had in years, and the hit-miss quality of a lot of the rest of the NL West might give them a few more wins than  usual. But there is genuine quality here, and if they keep at this pace, we may  have a playoff threat come from this team for the first time in 15 years.

Coming Tonight: A pitcher doing all he  can for the Orioles.

The Return of El Nino

I wrote a post a few months ago about how the Padres were doing really well, and then Fernando Tatis went on the DL, and they weren't as good, and I was essentially saying 'without Tatis, this is what they are'.

Welp. Tatis has been back for a month, and the Padres are still in fourth. So much for that.

To this team's credit, they've accomplished more than any San Diego team in over a decade. They've set some records, with some half-year splits, from Franmil Reyes and his quick journey to 25 home runs, and Reyes, Machado and Hedges all having over 20 before the ASG break. They've also got a genuine Rookie of the Year finalist with Tatis, and another rookie that'll probably get a few ROY votes with Chris Paddack, plus the best closer in baseball with Kirby Yates, and a guy who's already made it to 100 hits before the ASG, Eric Hosmer.

For a fourth place team, that is a LOT of accomplishments.

And yet, a lot of things are letting the team down, like the bullpen, the back half of the rotation, and Ian Kinsler. As powerful as Franmil Reyes is, he's still not close to being a well-rounded player. As solid as Eric Hosmer's been at the plate, his defense is down. And as great as Matt Strahm's start was, he's now in danger of being moved back to the bullpen. A lot of this team is in flux, and a lot could change between now and September, especially if they keep losing.

In theory the Padres could rise back to the top of the NL West race, but it'd have to be for second place, as the Dodgers are so far ahead that nobody else in the division is over .500. So they'd be making a push to...essentially end with a medal. Which works, I guess.

Coming Tomorrow- Because baseball is cruel, this guy repeats as the AL's starting DH in the All-Star Game.

The Padres Without Tatis (and with Machado)

Bit of a different losing outcome than the Padres fans must have been thinking a few months ago.

You ask a Padres fan in March, 'your best player's gonna get injured in May', they'd probably go 'NO, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT WITHOUT MACHADO!'

...Welllllllll....there are three problems with that thinking.

1. It confirms the backwards thinking of AJ Preller that one player would be able to revitalize an entire team just by existing in the organization. Manny Machado in San Diego has been great, but it needs to be a team effort rather than one player lifting the whole team along with him.

2. Manny Machado was not the Padres' best player this year. That distinction would go to Fernando Tatis Jr., who was rocking a 1.5 WAR at shortstop and bringing the energy and spirit to San Diego that Padres fans figured that Machado would bring anyway. Tatis, working with Machado, made the Padres into a 2nd place force in the NL West. Then he got injured, and the team has lost several games without him.

3. Moreover, without Tatis, AND WITH MACHADO, the team is 5-7. Proving that Machado wasn't necessarily the force that could lift this team, as he's been doing fine at third, and batting .250 with 8 home runs. Granted, if you take Machado out the team will probably be even worse, but...with him in the lineup, there's not a ton of difference. Sort of like how things were in Baltimore last year.

So, in terms of 2019...Manny Machado is not the central figure in this lineup. Fernando Tatis is. Manny Machado is just another hard-hitting cog in this Padres machine, along with Eric Hosmer, Wil Myers, Franmil Reyes and the rest. It is not the Machado show, similar to how the Phillies are not the Bryce Harper show this year. This team is enough of a collaborative unit that multiple players can shine, even with Machado playing as he is. And while that's all well and good, it's a better unit when Tatis is healthy, and when he's at an elevated place in terms of ability and star power.

This is very nonsensical, but I feel like I had a point here.

Oh, right: the Padres may not be completely ready for success if they are still reliant on a singular force for most of their wins. It doesn't matter if said singular force is Fernando Tatis or Manny Machado or even Chris Paddack. Everyone needs to be up to that level. And looking at the mediocre quality of a lot of these performers, it may be a while until we get there.

Coming Tonight: [sigh] that impressive rookie that's helping drag the Red Sox back up the standings.