San Diego Padres spring standouts for March 2-8
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Here are the top two hitters and pitchers from this week of Spring Training games.
The Padres went 4-3 during the past week of Spring Training games, and several players stood out.
Hitters
Myers continues his white-hot spring with another strong week. It seems as if he is trying to make a statement that his attitude has changed and he is here to play every day in right field.
The former All-Star collected a hit in three of his four games this week, totaling five overall.
Four of his five hits were for extra bases, including a home run, two doubles, and a triple. In Wednesday’s game against the Royals, he was 3-for-3 with two doubles.
Wil with the wheels 🏎#PadresST pic.twitter.com/ZbJjjGc51q
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 7, 2020
This strong week totaled to a sky-high OPS of 1.420. His 1.287 spring OPS is the best on the squad for those still in big league camp. Many will again doubt that Myers can maintain this pace over a 162-game regular season, but this is as good of a start as he could have asked for in a crucial year.
Like Myers, Hosmer enters this year, facing much criticism for having played far below the value of his gaudy contract. The spring numbers for Hosmer are not as eye-popping as they are for Myers, but he put in a solid week at the plate nonetheless.
He collected five hits in 10 at-bats (.500 average), along with a walk and a sacrifice fly, it turned into a 1.000 OPS.
He was 3-for-3 in the Friars’ loss to the White Sox on Sunday. For the spring, Hosmer has a .300 average but is yet to collect an extra-base hit. He has put the ball in play consistently with just one strikeout along with one walk.
Pitchers
Davies got the nod on Friday against the Texas Rangers. He completely silenced the Texas hitters, pitching four flawless innings. He allowed just two hits with zero runs and zero walks along with five strikeouts. It was about as perfect of an outing during Spring Training as a pitcher can have.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
🔥 4 IP 🔥
🔥 2 H 🔥
🔥 0 R 🔥
🔥 0 BB 🔥
🔥 5 K 🔥
🔥🔥🔥🔥#PadresST https://t.co/3GtMsPDNM1— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 7, 2020
If there were any doubts about Davies’ status in the Padres’ starting rotation, those were put to bed during that start.
Owning a 1.13 ERA in spring, Davies has been one of the most reliable starting pitchers in camp. He will not wow anyone with his fastball velocity. Instead, Davies impresses with his location and changing of speeds.
Lamet took the mound Thursday against the Mariners, which marked his second start of spring.
He turned in one of the best starts of the spring by a Friars’ hurler. He went three innings, allowing just one baserunner, with zero walks and zero runs allowed. He punctuated the outing with five strikeouts.
Five Ks. Three shutout innings. @LametRHP = filthy. 🔥#PadresST pic.twitter.com/ScblMw1JXc
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 5, 2020
Lamet is yet to allow a run this spring in five innings of work. The 27-year-old Dominican is looking to have a statement season as this will be his first full season post-Tommy John surgery.
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.
I hope the Myers and Hosmer upticks are their norms for the season. Both are better than they were. I’ve not been a fan of either contract. Neither have played up to the contract values. These two having better seasons this year and forward are important if the Padres hope to be anywhere in contention for a WC game in the playoffs.
Spring record aside, I’m liking what I’ve seen this spring. Overall, a good spring, especially the pitching staff. Shutdown pitching from the bullpen might get up another 5-10 wins. Even if we play .500 ball offensively, our bullpen might get us to 88-90 wins if we are as good as we appear. Some surprises within our lineup… who knows…
Go Pads!