The Padres are expected to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline. They do have some pitchers that could net them some decent prospects. I expect Tyson Ross to garner the most attention from teams this season. A bidding war could bump up the price.
How will San Diego’s new bullpen work out this season?
Here is the 2016 MLB season preview for the San Diego Padres.
2015 Win/Loss Record: 74-88
Key Additions: SS Alexei Ramirez, SP Drew Pomeranz, RP Fernando Rodney, OF Jon Jay, C Christian Bethancourt, RP Carlos Villanueva, SS Adam Rosales, RP Matt Thornton & 2B Jemile Weeks
Key Losses: OF Justin Upton, 2B Jedd Gyorko, RP Craig Kimbrel, SP Ian Kennedy, 1B Yonder Alonso, RP Joaquin Benoit, RP Shawn Kelley, 2B Clint Barmes, RP Dale Thayer, RP Marc Rzepcyznski, SP Odrisamer Despaigne, SP Bud Norris & RP Nick Vincent
Interleague Schedule: AL East
Projected Starters: Derek Norris, Wil Myers, Cory Spangenberg, Yangervis Solarte, Alexei Ramirez, Melvin Upton Jr., Jon Jay & Matt Kemp
Projected Starting Rotation: James Shields, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Robbie Erlin & Drew Pomeranz
Closer: Fernando Rodney
Fantasy Sleeper: SP Drew Pomeranz – The Padres may not win a lot of games this year, but Pomeranz could still be a decent fantasy pitcher. He has spent the last two seasons being an under-the-radar starter worthy of having on your team. He strikes out batters and his ERA won’t kill you. Also, pitching at Petco Park won’t hurt either.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: OF Hunter Renfroe – Renfroe split his time last season between Double and Triple-A. He hit 20 homers in 511 at-bats and actually hit better once he was promoted to Triple-A. He’ll probably only bat around .255 in the Majors, but he has some pop. I have a feeling he will see time in the Majors this season.
Team Analysis: The Padres tried to swing for the fences before last season and they fell flat on their faces. Adding Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel didn’t fix the other issues they had across their roster. They should have flipped them both at the trade deadline last season, but kept them for the draft picks.
San Diego should be an awesome destination for a player, but it hasn’t been for awhile. A.J. Preller is the team’s third general manager since the 2011 season. Preller definitely made some mistakes last year and he spent this offseason making smaller moves. I hope he is content on building slowly and not trying to blow their prospect load on some big names. They had some nice pitching prospects until they shipped them to Atlanta for Kimbrel last offseason.
An NL West division title is out of the question for San Diego this year. I just don’t like their lineup. Having both Alexei Ramirez and Melvin Upton on your lineup card, makes it pretty darn ugly. I actually think they will try to unload James Shields and Tyson Ross this year. They desperately need bats, but they need everything right now.
2016 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 73.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2016 Projected Win/Loss Record: 69-93 (4th in NL West)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.