Colorado Rockies: NL West outlook based off Spring Training

San Diego Padres

Where to begin with a team like this. When I first think of the Padres, I can only think of a few players names. They’re 9-8 this Spring and have not and will not be facing the Rockies this spring so we’ll all have to wait until the regular season to see these two teams clash.

We might as well start with one of the two Scott Boras success stories of this free agent market: Eric Hosmer. He got a monster of a deal so hopefully for the Padres and their fans, they will be getting what they paid for. As of now, Spring Training hasn’t been very nice to Hosmer. He’s 6 for 34 with a batting average of .176 and 10 strikeouts. Of course, he’ll perform better in the regular season. If not, that contract will be a complete bust.

The other name that most people are familiar with is Wil Myers, and he’s having a much better time in Arizona than Hosmer. Posting a .361 BA with 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and 13 hits in his 12 games. He’ll be moving to left field this season to make room at first for Hosmer. The only other guy I know that’s a position player is Austin Hedges. After starting out really well as he had a .316 BA through Tuesday, he has struggled since as he is now hitting .240. He’s a career .199 hitter in the majors so the real question is if he’ll be able give the Padres any offense and if he will finally show his true potential they’ve all been waiting on.

When it comes to pitchers for the Padres, if your name isn’t Brad Hand, then you probably have no clue who you they are. This should say something about the Padres. If they’re farm system does its job properly they’ll have a lot of untapped potential that can get them wins. However, the Padres have a big issue. They so easily can get sucked into oblivion and people would not notice. Even if they did add big name in Hosmer, I don’t see this team as a threat for a long while.