Padres First Half Review

May 31, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Will Middlebrooks (11) reacts after striking out during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly

Matt Kemp. Who has been a bigger disappointment? He has only a .291 OBP and a .382 slugging. Both are below the league average. May and June were terrible. Enough said. Thankfully, his July has been much better. Plus, Kemp appears to have cleaned up his stance and is staying back on the ball much better than in the first three months.

Ian Kennedy. He has been the worst starter in the rotation. Like Shields, he has actually benefitted from the defense as he has a 5.46 FIP as opposed to a 4.91 ERA. Regardless, a 4.91 ERA is way too high. Also like Shields, Kennedy has given up far too many home runs (20 in just 84.1 innings). It’s almost mind boggling how consistently Kennedy has been a train wreck all year long.

Will Middlebrooks. It is obvious that Middlebrooks is a high strike out, low on-base guy with good slugging. But a .242 OBP is pitiful. In his best month, he had a .282 OBP. To put that into perspective, the league average OBP is .314 meaning that the equivalent batting average for Middlebrooks is basely above .180. As if his offense weren’t bad enough, Middlebrooks’ defensive WAR is -.7.

Dishonorable mention: Alexi Amarista (.276 OBP) – but did you expect much better? Bud Black getting fired, though I agree with the move, hence its exclusion from the list.

Let us only hope that the disappointments of the first half live up to expectations in the second half. More realistically, let us hope for good returns on players at the deadline and a better 2016.