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The San Diego Padres had sky high expectations in 2021 but a late season collapse did them in. But the Padres have high expectations once again in 2022 and have enjoyed a nice start to the season. However, they will need to prove that they can continue playing well over a 162 game slate. They will also need to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West.
Padres fans are excited for the team this year without question. They believe a bounce back is in order.
Here are two Padres overreactions after 2 weeks of the 2022 MLB season.
Padres Early Season Overreactions
MacKenzie Gore is the Ace!
Is MacKenzie Gore emerging as the ace of the Padres? Through 2 starts, the left-hander has a 1.74 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. It is a very small sample size, but Gore is displaying why he was such a highly-touted prospect.
Sean Manaea and Joe Musgrove have also enjoyed strong starts to the year. Yu Darvish has labored but is still considered the ace of the staff by many.
But has 23-year old MacKenzie Gore already surpassed Darvish as the ace of this rotation?
Final verdict: This is an overreaction… for now. However, Gore has the highest ceiling in this rotation. He could very well emerge as the ace by season's end. Between his high velocity fastball and filthy secondary pitches, the sky's the limit for Gore. Padres fans, and baseball fans for that matter, have the right to be extremely excited for him.
Jurickson Profar is the Padres' Savior and Manny Machado's New Co-Star!
Jurickson Profar is off to a hot start in 2022 with his .238/.377/.571 slash line and 4 home runs. He also sports a .948 OPS and has 11 RBI's to his credit. When Fernando Tatis Jr. went down with his controversial motorcycle-related injury, it was clear that someone else had to step up in the Padres lineup alongside Manny Machado. Many believed it would be Jake Cronenworth or Will Myers. However, they are both hitting under .200 with no home runs.
Eric Hosmer has played well. The first baseman is slashing .388/.412/.510. But Hosmer has just two walks compared to 10 strikeouts so it will be interesting to see if he can maintain a strong OBP. Additionally, Hosmer has yet to club his first 2022 home run.
So that leaves Profar, who leads the Padres with his 4 home runs. Machado has 3.
The 29-year old has spent parts of 9 seasons in the MLB. He has never been considered a superstar, but hit 20 home runs in back-to-back years from 2018-2019. But he has labored over the past couple of years. So is he finally breaking out in 2022? Or is this just a nice hot stretch?
Profar is walking at a career high rate. He is getting on base and making things happen for San Diego. He is also striking out more than he has in recent seasons, but his strikeout rate is still just at 17 percent. And that may be a product of attempting to hit for more power. A few more strikeouts is okay if Profar adds more doubles and home runs.
Profar's hard hit percentage is currently the highest of his career as well. He is squaring the ball up over 42 percent of the time which is far better than his previous career high of 34.6 percent. Maintaining a 42 percent hard hit rate seems unlikely for Profar, but it is possible that he stays over 35 percent.
Final verdict: This is an overreaction. Jurickson Profar hasn't shown much in the way of stardom before and it is hard to see that changing now. With that being said, he can be a valuable piece for the Padres lineup this year. Profar might even be able to eclipse his career high single season home run total of 20.
