San Diego Padres: 2020 coronavirus pandemic-shortened season outlook

The San Diego Padres have an exciting team with a lineup consisting of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer. The team will have to turn it around quickly to make up for last year’s dud.

San Diego finished last in the National League West but still managed to improve from 2018 by four wins with a 70-92 record. The team shouldn’t take solace in that. The Padres are good enough to put together a run into the postseason given that they only have 60 games.

Tatis was one of the Padres’ best players last year. He finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting despite only playing in 84 games. He hit .317 with 22 home runs and a .969 OPS. Should he get a chance to play a full 60 games, Tatis could become a name in the conversation for MVP.

Machado will have to build on a 32-home-run season, while Hosmer will be looking to do the same with his 22-homer and 99-RBI season in 2019.

Joey Lucchesi had a team-high 158 strikeouts along with a 4.18 ERA. Chris Paddack came into his own with 153 strikeouts and a 3.33 ERA in his first season. The young rotation will hope to carry the team into the postseason and try to steal a few games from divisional opponents.

San Diego has a young team and keeping pace with its rivals is going to be the toughest thing to do this season.

Through 60 games in 2019, the Padres were 31-29. It’s a record that could be enough to grab one of the wildcard spots come September.

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2019 finish: 5th NL West

2019 record: 70-92

Manager: Jayce Tingler

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Projected Starters

C: Francisco Mejia

1B: Eric Hosmer

2B: Jurickson Profar

3B: Manny Machado

SS: Francisco Tatis Jr.

OF: Tommy Pham

OF: Trent Grisham

OF: Wil Myers

DH: Ty France

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Pitching Rotation/Closer

SP: Chris Paddack

SP: Dinelson Lamet

SP: Garrett Richards

SP: Zach Davies

SP: Joey Lucchesi

CL: Kirby Yates

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2020 Schedule