The final San Diego Padres rankings for 2022

The San Diego Padres made it all the way to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1998, They also recorded their best record (89-73) since 2010 (90-72).

On the way to the NLCS, the Padres took two of three games against the New York Mets and three of four against the Los Angeles Dodgers (and their 111-51 record). But the 87-75 Philadelphia Phillies ended their streak.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, Padres players have tasted success and will benefit from the experience in the future. However, team president and general manager A.J. Preller will need to take stock of the Padres’ weaknesses and strengths when considering acquisitions for next season.

All season the Achilles’ heel for the Padres was the offense.

Pitching and defense carried the major burden, and Teamrankins.com tells the story.

Offense

Batting average 15^th .240

Slugging percentage 21^st .380

On base percentage 9^th .316

On base/slugging 17^th .696

Runs per game 13^th 4.34

Hits per game 15^th 8.08

Homeruns per game 19^th 0.97

RBIs per game 12^th 4.20

Walks per game 6^th 3.49

Strikeouts per game 11^th 8.34

Stolen bases per game 27^th 0.30

Caught stealing 9^th 0.14

Sacrifice hits per game 10^th 0.11

Grounded into Double Plays 3^rd 0.56

Runners left on base per game 25^th 14.78

Runners left in scoring position 23^rd 3.43

Run differential 18^th .288

Batting Average Balls in Play 18^th .288

Home run % 20^th 2.5 %

Strikeout % 10^th 22 %

Walk % 6^th 9.2 %

Extra base hits 21^st 7.2 %

These offensive measurements will come as no surprise to anyone who watched Padres games this season. The offensive deficiencies include slugging, hitting with runners on base and runners in scoring position, and on-base/slugging. Every game, it seemed the Padres left veritable legions of players on base.

Although the Padres ranked 11^th in run differential with +50, the gap between the top six teams makes that +50 look minuscule. The Dodgers led with +331, followed by the New York Yankees +237, Houston Astros +239, +Atlanta Braves 169, +New York Mets 158, and St. Louis Cardinals +130.

Unfortunately, batting stats far outnumber those devoted to pitching and defense. Obviously, the Padres need to improve on the stolen base percentage and well as double plays per game.

Pitching

 Outs per game 12th 26.66

Earned runs against per game 11^th 3.76

Earned run average 11^th 3.81

Walks plus hits/innings pitched 9^th 1.197

Strikeouts per game 6^th 9.09

Hits per nine innings 7.84

Stolen base % 27^th 68.4 %

Shutouts 7^th 16

Defense

Double plays per game 25^th .71

Errors per game 7^th .45

Now that the season has ended with the Houston Astros winning the World Series for the second time in five years, the attention will turn to next season. Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar, Robert Suarez, Mike Clevinger, Josh Bell, Sean Manaea, Brandon Drury, Pierce Johnson, and Craig Stammen have all become free agents.

At the All-Star break, the Padres gave up pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana, outfielders Robert Hassell and James Wood, and first baseman/DH Luke Voit to acquire Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals, Brandon Drury from the Cincinnati Reds, and Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers.

[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]

Since the various trades, the Padres’ prospect ranking has fallen to 98 (namely pitcher Dylan Lesko). Preller and company will need to reload the prospect supply while also resigning or replacing free agents.

However, the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. early in the season should improve the offense substantially. In a total of 273 games, he’s batted .292/.369/.496/.965. His presence could have vastly changed the season outcome. Preller and company will undoubtedly factor in Tatis’ presence while also building on the success of last season and working to improve the areas of obvious deficiency.

Diane Calkins

Baseball has been a part of Diane’s life since her father played professionally (mostly at the minor league level). She has written for a number of publications and concentrated on companion animal welfare. She welcomes the opportunity to write about the sport she loves. Diane shares her home with her husband and a house full of rescued animals.