The San Diego Padres 2024 season is over. It’s time to dish out some grades, going position-by-position with the hitters.

*Minimum 80 games played

Catcher

Luis Campusano: .227 AVG, .642 OPS, 78 OPS+, 8 HR, 40 RBI, -0.7 WAR

Kyle Higashioka: .220 AVG, .739 OPS, 101 OPS+, 17 HR, 45 RBI, 1.4 WAR

Campusano owes Higashioka a steak dinner for this grade as a group. Higshioka did all the work and Campusano just showed up on the day the project was due. The former Yankees backstop was just a throw-in for the Juan Soto trade that also gave the Padres Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito. Time and time again, it seemed like Higashioka came through in big spots. He ended up finishing third on the team with a .476 slugging percentage, which was even better than Manny Machado.

Meanwhile, Campusano faded down the stretch and eventually was demoted to Triple-A. His future in this organization is now very murky.

Grade: C-

First Base

Jake Cronenworth: .241 AVG, .714 OPS, 99 OPS+, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 1.9 WAR

Luis Arraez: .314 AVG, .739 OPS, 106 OPS+, 4 HR, 46 RBI, 1.0 WAR

The trade for Arraez seemed to inject life into this team. When he arrived in San Diego, the Padres were 17-18. They finished 76-51. Meanwhile, Arraez just kept hitting and eventually won himself his third consecutive batting title, with his third team. He hit .318 during his time with the Padres, and his .314 total average led the National League. He also seemed to seamlessly gel with this Padres clubhouse, even as he bounced between first base, second base, and DH.

Cronenworth had an awful 2023, with .229 average and, .689 OPS, and just ten homers. This year, those numbers improved, albeit he still fell short of his All-Star self from 2021 and 2022. However, his 17 homers provided a nice power spark after a punch-less 2023 campaign. Still, for first base, the Padres do not have much thump.

Grade: B

Second Base

Xander Bogaerts: .264 AVG, .688 OPS, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 1.2 WAR

Unfortunately for Bogaerts, he is the only true second baseman to grade here. Give him some credit for being willing to move back to shortstop went Ha-Seong Kim went down. However, he will also be graded on a curve relative to his monstrous 11-year—$ 280 million contract. The Padres simply need better from a $280 million infielder than ranking 156th in slugging and 146th in wRC+. He suffered a shoulder injury midseason as well, which seemed to affect his power. However it happened, this was an extremely underwhelming season, and Bogaerts isn’t going anywhere with that contract.

Grade: D-

Shortstop

Ha-Seong Kim: .233 avg, .700 ops, 96 OPS+, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 2.6 WAR

Kim had plenty of momentum after a solid 2023 season in which he garnered back-ballot MVP votes with a 5.8 WAR. He came crashing down to Earth in 2024. His batting average dropped 30 points, and his OPS dropped nearly 50. Couple that with a career-high 11 errors, and it was simply a rotten season for the Padres’ former fan favorite. Still, he provided some power and good defense at times but was mostly inconsistent. Now, he is a free agent, and it does not look like he is returning to San Diego.

Grade: D+

Third Base

Manny Machado: .275 AVG, .797 OPS, 120 OPS+, 29 HR, 105 RBI, 3.1 WAR

Padres fans were plenty worried when Machado came out ice cold to start the year (.240 average, .660 OPS through June 1). It’s almost like he needed some time to warm up after getting major elbow surgery in the offseason. After June 1, he hit .294 with an All-Star level .874 OPS. Oh, and he also became the Padres’ all-time home run king at the end of the season. After all the handwringing about his cold start, you look up, and there he is once again with nearly 30 homers and 100-plus RBI. Although, he still has not regained his form from 2022, when he finished as the NL MVP runner-up.

Grade: B+

Outfield

Fernando Tatis Jr.: .276 AVG, .833 OPS, 130 OPS+, 21 HR, 49 RBI, 2.6 WAR

Jackson Merrill: .292 AVG, .826 OPS, 127 OPS+, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 4.4

Jurickson Profar: .280 AVG, .839 OPS, 134 OPS+, 24 HR, 85 RBI, 3.6 WAR

It almost seems unfair to grade these three players as a whole. This would be like your teacher putting three kids headed to Ivy League schools on the same school project. Granted, Tatis did not put together his prolific MVP-caliber numbers we saw pre-2022. Still, it was a big rebound from a lackluster 2023 at the plate.

The two biggest stories on the 2024 Padres both resided in the outfield. First, Jackson Merrill should win NL Rookie of the Year. He led all NL rookies in homers, RBI, average, and OPS. If it weren’t for the existence of Paul Skenes, Merrill would be something of a unanimous pick for the award. Plus, he learned a new defensive position on the fly in centerfield. Not only that, he passed with flying colors, ranking in the 97th percentile for Outs Above Average. He also came through over and over in big spots with game-tying or go-ahead home runs. It appeared as if his heart rate never climbed above 50.

Jurickson Profar was one of the feel-good stories around all of baseball. After over a decade of not living up to the hype as a former top-ranked prospect, he looked the part in his age-31 season. For a good portion of the season, he was in dark horse MVP territory. He also earned his first All-Star selection after 11 seasons. Even as he tapered off down the stretch, it was an incredible story for a player who signed for a measly $1 million to fill San Diego’s gaping hole in left field.

Grade: A+

Designated Hitter/Bench

Donovan Solano: .286 AVG, .760 OPS, 112 OPS+, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 1.0 WAR

Tyler Wade: .217 AVG, .524 OPS, 50 OPS+, 0 HR, 8 RBI, -0.7 WAR

As far as reserve/bench options go, the Padres were better off than most teams. Solano had hot stretches as a solid contact hitter. He collected 81 hits in 96 games.

Wade was good as a defensive substitution option or late-game pinch-runner. They basically did what they were asked to do.

Grade: B

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.