The Padres still have an Outfield problem

Going into the season, the Padres had a logjam of good-ish outfielders that had trouble separating themselves from the pack. As August draws near, they still have question marks galore regarding the future.

Franmil Reyes: .252 BA 26 HR 45 RBI .313 OBP 91 K’s. His defensive woes largely wipe out his offensive value at this juncture. He’s been hot and cold. When he’s hot? Boy, is he fun to watch.

Hunter Renfroe: .243 BA 28 HR 54 RBI .304 OBP 94 K’s. His power and fielding ability make him the best of the bunch. He still strikes out too much and doesn’t get on base enough.

Wil Myers: .211 BA 12 HR 27 RBI .311 OBP 111 K’s. Poor guy. Really likable but is in a slump for the ages. No good answer here. It would be amazing if they were able to move his contract.

Manuel Margot: .242 BA 6 HR 20 RBI 15 SB’s .316 OBP. Seems to have value as a 4th outfielder type with his speed. Has played better of late, but still not a game changer at this point.

Travis Jankowski: IL to start the year. Optioned to AAA. Career .242 hitter with 60 SB’s. Considered 4th outfielder or defensive replacement.

Franchy Cordero: Sky high potential, oft-injured. Career .240 hitter. 106 K’s in 246 AB’s. Hits the ball a mile, but health a major red flag.

Josh Naylor: .236 BA 3 HR 16 RBI .287 OBP 29 K’s. Hit well in week before demotion, but is a major liability in the field and doesn’t get on base enough.

The 2019 Padres do (or don’t do) 2 very specific things.

1st, they strikeout like crazy. In fact, through 103 games they’ve struck out 999 times. Good for 3rd in the Majors. For math people, yes, that’s nearly 10 per game of the most woeful AB a hitter can have. Every outfielder on the roster is an outlier. Myers, Renfroe and Reyes are the Top 3.

2nd, they don’t get on base enough. The only players worse than the 4 outfielders on the active roster at getting on base are Ian Kinsler and Austin Hedges. Not good company when it comes to hitting. Combined, the team is 6th worst in the majors with a .308 OBP. They’re tied with the Chicago White Sox and just ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. Woof.

Unfortunately, all of our Outfielders have trouble both getting on base AND hitting with runners in scoring position. Lethal combo.

Point is, chicks dig the long ball. It’s fun and exciting to see home runs but folks hesitant to deal for an OF or deal any of these players may not see the full picture. Renfroe is best in clutch situations, but whiffs at an alarming rate. One stat that’s interesting is both Renfroe and Reyes are top 10 in the majors in homers. Renfroe is 6th, but is 2nd to last in RBI amongst the top 20 HR producers. The only player with fewer? Franmil Reyes.

Part of it is others not getting on base in front of them, but it’s also that they’re both well below average in situations where there are runners on.

I’m not implying that I don’t like either of them. Candidly, I love watching them play. The new bash brothers hitting moonshots. Considering either of them untouchable though? Completely disagree.

They certainly have value... we just need better than low average, low contact, low OBP home run hitters that strikeout 30% of the time.

The game will inevitability change again. The days of guys only trying to hit home runs are numbered. Personally, I can’t wait for it to come.

I wouldn’t be upset if we moved a few pieces in search of a mid to late 20’s established star. Easier said than done of course.

Either that or we can keep wondering why we don’t score any runs and post our grievances accordingly.