It's been a long time since anyone could take the San Diego Padres seriously. At least in terms of being a contender to win the World Series. The last time the Padres even made it to the Fall Classic was way back in 1998. They were swept by the New York Yankees that year, a team they could see this year if they get there again.

Unlike so many years in recent memory, the Padres went all in during the season. They made a number of trades prior to the deadline, each of them seemingly bigger than the last. They traded for power-hitting infielder Brandon Drury. In a shocking move, they landed Josh Hader in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Finally, they pulled off the biggest trade in recent memory. San Diego traded for Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals.

There was already reason for optimism surrounding this Padres team. But after these moves, it's clear. San Diego wants a title and is willing to lay it all on the line for it.

The early returns on the trades did not look so good. Drury is barely hitting above the Mendoza Line since arriving. Soto and Bell have each disappointed and Hader went from elite closer to worst pitcher in baseball seemingly overnight. However, in recent weeks, the team is beginning to gel. They have pulled into the second National League wild card spot. The Philadelphia Phillies currently hold the last spot, with the Brewers a few games back.

With all of the talk surrounding the Yankees, Mets and Dodgers, the Padres might just be able to surprise some people. Here are the three reasons the San Diego Padres will win the 2022 World Series.

3. Padres Bullpen 

The first two months of the season, San Diego had one of the best bullpens in baseball. Taylor Rogers led the majors in saves and had only allowed a single run while racking up over 20 saves. Then, he completely fell apart. Out of nowhere, Rogers couldn't even get an out, never mind a save.

That prompted the trade with Milwaukee for Hader. The hard-throwing lefty has been among the league's premier closers for a few years now. He was having an excellent season with the Brewers prior to the trade. But the move appeared to blow up in the Padres face.

Hader, like Rogers before him, couldn't even get an out at one point. From August 9th through August 28th, Hader allowed 12 earned runs spanning five appearances. He gathered a total of eight outs during those five appearances. That forced Padres manager Bob Melvin to remove him from the closer role. It was the best thing he could have done.

For the next couple weeks, starter-turned-reliever Nick Martinez took over the ninth. He did a great job until Hader found his groove again. Well, it finally happened. Hader has since thrown seven innings, allowing one run and striking out eight batters. He appears to have his swagger back.

That has allowed Luis Garcia to settle back into his set up role where he excels. Martinez now is highly valuable as a middle-reliever or long man. That's something that is crucial in the playoffs.

2. Padres lineup gets on base

San Diego already had a solid lineup, but there were certainly easier outs than others. But after some of the aforementioned moves at the deadline, the Padres lineup on paper is as good as any in the majors. But also like I mentioned, Soto, Drury and Bell have struggled to hit.

But in the playoffs more so than in the regular season, it is more about getting on base and applying pressure to the opposing pitcher. That's something that the Padres do as well as anyone.

Soto, Bell, Jake Cronenworth and Jurickson Profar are all hitting in the mid-.200's. But they each are some of the best at taking walks in all of baseball. Soto leads the majors by a country mile over Aaron Judge. He's been walked 126 times.

Bell is 12th in the majors with 71 walks. Profar is just one behind with 70 and Cronenworth has 64.

Each hitter has an on-base percentage between 90 and 160 points higher than their actual batting average. With Manny Machado and Drury sitting there in the middle of the lineup, that's a recipe for great run-scoring opportunities.

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1. Padres depth of rotation

One thing that is always crucial to any playoff run is starting pitching. If your rotation stinks, you might as well just buy your plane tickets home. During the month of August, that appeared to be the case for the Padres.

Joe Musgrove had fallen on hard times. Mike Clevinger seemed to hit a wall and Blake Snell appeared to be a shell of his former self. But similar to the bullpen, things have really come together as the playoffs near.

Yu Darvish has become the team's true ace. He's been the Padres most consistent starter all season and is pitching extremely well right now. After his rough patch, Musgrove finally had a great effort last time out tossing six shutout innings with eight K's. But it's the back of the rotation that has really turned a corner.

Clevinger just shut down a high-powered Cardinals offense. Not to be outdone, Snell tossed his best game of the year Wednesday night. He threw seven shutout innings and struck out 13 batters. The Padres lefty is beginning to look like his old self. He's been excellent in four of his last five starts and is striking guys out like he used to.

San Diego's rotation can match up with just about anyone. Their bullpen has come on and been lights out as of late. Finally, their lineup is stacked with guys that know how to get on base. No one is talking about them as a threat, but they better start.