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Basic Stats:
Final Record: 71-91
Runs: 30th
Home Runs: 22nd
Stolen Bases: 14th
ERA: 22nd
Saves: 8th
Strikeouts: 14th
The Padres are an interesting team in that, I truly don’t understand the direction their front office is taking them. I feel like they are destined to be a losing team next year and probably the year after that and maybe even the year after those as well. The positives for San Diego coming out of 2017 is that we finally have a few players that tickle fantasy owners’ fancy.
Let’s take a look towards 2018.
The Superstar: Wil Myers
Wil Myers led the offensive charge for the Padres for the 2nd straight season. He put up great numbers in several key roto stats (30 HR 20 SB) but was only average in the other stats. This 30/20 effort comes one season removed from a near 30/30 campaign in 2016. Myers would finish with 28 HR and 28 SB that year. He put up very similar numbers expect for runs and RBI. I feel like 2016 might be his ceiling and 2017 might be his floor. His 2018 should fall somewhere in the middle.
The Sleeper: Manuel Margot
Margot entered 2017 as a trendy sleeper and did pretty well. The Padres OF hit .263 with 13 HR and 17 SB over 126 games. The power was a welcomed surprise. Over 5 seasons in the minors, Margot averaged around 6 HR a year. The real value for Margot is the speed. Margot has 162 SB over that same 5 year minor league span. All this coming without playing more than 124 games in a given season. Margot easily has 40+ SB upside. If he can add 15 or so HR to that mix, we are looking at a fantasy star.
I also really like Dinelson Lamet in 2018.
The Guy to Avoid: Wil Myers
I suppose this has to be Myers but that’s only because he is the only Padres player going inside the top 100. The case against Myers is his batting average and his cold streaks. Myers finished 2017 #13 at 1B and as the #100 overall player. His 1st 30 games of 2017 resulted in a .320/.338/.592 slash line with 7 HR 22 RBI and 3 SB. His final 20 games: .292/.364/.557 with 6 HR 14 RBI 4 SB. The 95 games in between? Myers hit just .199 and slugged .387. The end numbers will probably be there but if you hate hot/cold streaks, Myers is one to avoid.
The Prospect To Watch: Luis Urias
This is another team with not much in terms of prospects who can make fantasy impact in 2018. MacKenzie Gore, who was just drafted this season, has elite upside as a SP. Gore probably won’t make the bigs until 2020 or later. Luis Urias is a great hitter. The problem is the power is almost non existent. Urias is hitting .315 over the past 2 seasons in the minors with just 9 HR. He also has 154 runs and 15 SB over that span. Perhaps most impressive is last season in AA, Urias had more walks (68) than strikeouts (65). I feel he’s not roster worthy in most formats in 2018 but he could be a safe batting average middle infielder in deeper leagues and NL only.