Is Ian Kennedy The Key To The Padres Season?

The Padres have some fancy new toys among their position players. As far as the rotation goes, they kept Josh Johnson and signed Brandon Morrow, but haven’t really done anything else with the rotation. Tyson Ross emerged as an All-Star, but can he do it again?  Andrew Cashner has loads of ability, but is never healthy.

We’ve heard the Cole Hamels rumors, but right now he isn’t a part of the team. We know that James Shields and Max Scherzer are available as free agents, but probably aren’t realistic targets. This is Ian Kennedy‘s staff to lead, and in a contract year, looking for a big contract, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to. 

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Kennedy went 13-13 with a 3.63 ERA. With a better Padres offense, Kennedy should be able to get a few more wins. They only averaged 3.33 runs per start which was seventh fewest among starting pitchers.

Secondly, he had a FIP of 3.21 and an XFIP of 3.44 meaning he pitched better than his ERA indicated. Kennedy only had a .245 average against, however, opponents against him had a BABIP of .315.  That’s some serious bad luck and 20 points higher than he was in 2013.

Kennedy improved his release point, and his average fastball is now up to over 91 MPH, something you don’t see much of in pitchers over 30.

2015 is Kennedy’s time to shine. Whether or not they add Hamels, Kennedy will still be counted on as a focal point of the pitching staff. If he has a big year, it could mean big bucks for him. If he doesn’t, the Padres may not have much of a chance.