San Diego Padres: Three Bold Predictions For 2018

San Diego Padres Bold Prediction No. 1 – Austin Hedges will have a breakout season

We’ve all heard of San Diego Padres projected starting catcher Austin Hedges’ defensive exploits. After only a year in baseball, Hedges is already considered one of the best backstops in all of MLB. This season, I say he’s going to break out on the offensive side of his game.

Last season Hedges was not quite the offensive powerhouse he was in Tripe-A El Paso the previous season (.326/.353/.597, 21 HR, 82 RBI, 20 doubles) but he performed as well as a rookie catcher can be expected to in his first full season in the majors.

Hedges’ paltry .214 batting average and even-wimpier .262 on-base percentage are certainly areas where we can expect to see an improvement. Although his power numbers were a great sign last year (18 HR, 55 RBI, 20 doubles), he’s going to need to get back to basics and find a way to get on base more, bottom line.

If Austin Hedges can make the type of improvements in his second major league season that he was able to make during his developmental years in the San Diego Padres farm system, we could see an absolute beast emerge from behind the plate for the Friars.

San Diego Padres Bold Prediction No. 2 – Brad Hand will get forty saves in 2018

Brad Hand, the Friars’ 27-year-old closer has made the most of his time with the San Diego Padres. Since being selected off waivers by the Friars just after Opening Day in 2016, Hand has brought his lifetime ERA down from 4.71 over his time with Miami, to 3.92. This, of course, is the result of pitching to a sparkling 2.56 ERA during his two seasons with the Padres.

Brad Hand led the National League in appearances in 2016, his first full season as a reliever, with 82. He was used mostly out the setup role that year, moving into the closer spot in July of last season, after the Padres traded Brandon Maurer to the Kansas City Royals.

After taking over as closer, Brad Hand thrived. He finished out the season with a gorgeous 2.16 ERA, 21 saves (from July on!), and an 11.8 K/BB ratio, improving on his previous career-high of 11.2 K/BB, set the previous season.

With the added talent on this year’s edition of the San Diego Padres (with more to possibly come), Hand is in a fantastic situation, both personally and professionally. After signing a three-year, $19.75 million contract extension last month, he can simply go out there and pitch.

With nothing to worry about except for getting batters out and continuing to dominate the NL, it’s completely conceivable that Brad Hand could amass forty saves over the course of 162 games for the San Diego Padres.

Heck, if they add Eric Hosmer and another potent bat to come off of the bench, he’s got an outside chance at fifty saves. That may be wishful thinking, though.

San Diego Padres Bold Prediction No. 3 – Dinelson Lamet will win 15 games this year

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The San Diego Padres weren’t quite sure what they had in their young flamethrower Dinelson Lamet. Lamet, 25, is an imposing figure standing at 6’4″ and weighing nearly 200 lbs.

In most scout-circles, Lamet was nowhere to be found on any nearly any top-prospects lists.

Then he made his major league debut versus the New York Mets and everyone from Queens to Vallejo saw this young man’s potential appear as if it was a grand piano had just smashed down on a sidewalk from six stories above.

As some of you may know, I also follow (and write about) the Mets, and live in New York. I was lucky enough to see Dinelson Lamet’s debut first hand. And with first-start nerves and all, I saw him literally leave jaws hanging around the stadium.

Next: Padres Expecting A Big Year From Renfroe

I’m not sure if it was his funky-but-also-smooth delivery, his electric fastball, or his ridiculous off-speed pitches, but anyone who was there that day or has seen Lamet pitch knows, this guy is for real.

If he can continue to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together, we could see Lamet reach some amazing heights this season. I understand that fifteen wins on what projects to be a mediocre team is probably setting the bar a little high. But I don’t think that’s the case at all. Fifteen wins. Write it down in Sharpie.

Bonus prediction: 3.50 ERA or lower…boom