Padres’ Dinelson Lamet- Positives, Negatives, Outlook
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Taking a look at San Diego Padres’ right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet.
In 2020, only two National League pitchers finished the season with a better ERA than Dinelson Lamet’s 2.04. Lamet’s new teammate Yu Darvish happened to be one of them as he finished second last season with a 2.01 ERA.
Last year was Lamet’s coming out party. He finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting as he piled up some impressive stats along the way. To go along with his impressive ERA, Lamet finished with a 0.85 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, and 0.65 HR/9. Unfortunately for Lamet and the rest of the San Diego Padres, he could not pitch for the Friars in the postseason, which was the club’s first appearance in 14 years.
In the last week of the season, Lamet was removed during the fourth inning of his start against the San Francisco Giants due to right bicep tightness. His injury was a huge blow for the Friars as they struggled with starting pitching during their playoff run and had to turn to the bullpen to start a couple of games. Even though 2020 did not end the way Lamet or the Padres wanted, you can expect them to build upon last year’s success.
Positives
Lamet is only 28 years old. He is in the middle of his prime. He has tremendous upside and has a 35 percent strikeout rate. He has shown over the years that he is getting better every year, so we can expect him to have the same success that he had last year. He has great stuff, which is headlined by his slider; arguably the best in baseball. He relies on three pitches, his slider, fastball, and sinker. He uses his slider the most, at about 53 percent. Given that he is in such a completive rotation, Lamet has a chance to take his game to the next level.
Negatives
Lamet has had some injury issues in his career. He is three years removed from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the entire 2018 season. Last season, we saw an injury to his right bicep/elbow resulting in him missing the playoffs. He also had some trouble going deep into games. Last year Lamet pitched 69 innings in 12 starts. There could be some concern whether Lamet can be a starter who can throw 200-plus innings a year and stay healthy doing it.
Outlook
Lamet will probably be the number three starter for the Padres when healthy. He will be joining perhaps the best rotation in baseball, led by Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. I would expect him to possibly be on an innings limit, given his recent history. If Lamet is ready to go for the 2021 season, expect the Padres to be at the top of the National League in pitching.
Lamet has shown that he can be a top pitcher in this league for years to come. You can expect him to have great success with his stuff and his poise, especially pitching in a pitcher-friendly ballpark like Petco. If Lamet can stay healthy for a full season, there is no doubt we will see him in late October.
My name is Joey Serrano. I am currently in my last year at at Arizona State University. I am majoring in sports journalism and I am a huge fan of the San Diego Padres. I can’t wait to give my readers some great baseball material.
I think AJ loaded up on starting pitching because he doesn’t believe Lamet will last long into the season. While I hope myself and AJ are both wrong, I don’t see Lamet making it past 60 innings again before he goes under the knife.
Because of this… Paddack has got to step up his game and become dominant again. I think the league figured him out and he struggled adjusting. I think he lost confidence and control while trying to adjust. If we want to be in the same conversation as the Dodgers, we need both Lamet and Paddack to get past the summer break and contribute in big ways.
Unfortunately, I see Gore becoming an in season necessity. AJ may have to obtain another starting pitcher at the deadline if one of the two goes down. The other hopeful scenario has either Weathers or another show they’re capable of stepping in. Let’s not forget the reason we didn’t see Gore last year. He struggled mightily with his mechanics. If they cannot fix that we have an issue. Plus, pitching with his newly formed mechanics issue increases the probability of him blowing out an elbow or shoulder.