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Trent Grisham had a tremendous first season with the San Diego Padres in 2020, leading off plenty of San Diego’s games and winning a gold glove in center field as well. 2021 was obviously a longer season though, which provided more opportunity for him to struggle at the plate. With that said, he still played great defense in center, including this home run robbery against the Dodgers:
Grisham’s final offensive numbers were .242/.327/.413 with 15 homers (five more than last year) and 62 runs batted in. He saw more success in the first half of the season, as he hit seven more homers and had a better average, slugging percentage, and OPS compared to the second half of the season. Grisham slid down in the Padres lineup near the end of the season when it felt like the whole lineup was struggling. However, I wouldn’t expect him to have another down year in 2022.
A positive takeaway for Grisham in 2021 was his production in high leverage situations. In what Baseball-Reference labels high leverage situations, Grisham hit .276 with an OPS north of .800 while driving in 24 runs and hitting three home runs.
There’s just something about him where he steps up in those big situations. Fans love his passion and the old-school swagger he brings on a daily basis and I think I speak for all Padres fans when I say I can’t wait to see Grisham have a bounce back season in 2022.
Grisham is under team control for the next four seasons and will be arbitration eligible after the 2022 season.