The Padres Own A Shocking 2023 Mark

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

After signing Xander Bogaerts and getting Fernando Tatis Jr. back, the San Diego Padres thought they would be a juggernaut on offense.

They also have Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Jake Cronenworth, Ha-Seong Kim and other talented hitters.

The unit, however, hasn’t been as good as hoped.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Padres are the only team in the NL West that hasn’t reached 200 runs scored yet.

They rank 14th out of 15 teams in runs, too, among National League teams.

Those numbers paint a grim picture about the Padres’ offensive ability.

Their lineup has been one of the most disappointing units in baseball when we consider preseason expectations.

A big part of their problems stem from situational hitting.

They have been very, very bad at hitting with runners in scoring position.

Unless you have sluggers all over the lineup, that’s usually what helps start rallies the most: hitting with runners on second and/or third base.

That has been a big problem for San Diego, though.

Batting average with runners in scoring position:
2023 Texas Rangers ——-> .338
2023 San Diego Padres —-> .184

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 24, 2023

Now, the Texas Rangers are first in the AL West partly because they usually drive in the man that reach second or third.

The Padres are at the other end of the spectrum, though.

Their .184 batting average with runners in scoring position is monumentally bad.

These things usually even out somewhat over the course of a long season, so expect the Rangers’ mark to go down and the Padres’ one to increase, at least modestly.

Still, it’s been disappointing to see them score so little in the first two months of the season and it’s not a given that the number goes up to a respectable level.

The post The Padres Own A Shocking 2023 Mark appeared first on The Cold Wire.