San Diego Padres Have to Be Pleased with Tyson Ross So Far

The San Diego Padres have to be pleased with what they’ve gotten out of Ross to start the season.

While it’s most definitely a bit early to start jumping to conclusions, the initial returns that the San Diego Padres have received on right-hander Tyson Ross have been good-to-great.

No one really knew what to expect from Ross, now 30 and coming off of surgery to attempt to rectify the upper-back condition he suffered from, thoracic outlet syndrome.

After being released by the Texas Rangers after the 2017 season, Ross signed a free-agent deal with the Padres, with hopes on both sides that he would regain his form and duplicate his past success in San Diego.

Ross wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the Friars’ rotation heading into Spring Training, but manager Andy Green certainly had plans for him if he showed he could perform at a similar level to where he was before the injury.

Ross passed Padres’ spring test

In Cactus League innings this spring, Ross pitched to a 3.00 earned-run average with eleven strikeouts, six walks, and a 1.07 WHIP.

Needless to say, especially with the inconsistency the rest of the Padres’ potential starting rotation showed in Spring Training, Tyson Ross earned himself a spot in the Friars’ starting five.

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After three starts (hardly enough to make a complete judgment but enough to get a feel for the situation, no doubt), Ross has exceeded this writer’s expectations already.

We all got a sense after his time in Peoria that Ross was healthy again. The question that remained was would he be effective?

Ross exceeds expectations

In eighteen innings so far this year, he’s been just that. Ross has allowed seven earned runs on eighteen hits, striking out fourteen batters and walking just four.

Over his career, Tyson Ross has an ERA+ of 95, a 1.352 WHIP, and 3.8 walks per nine innings.

So far this season, his 109 ERA+. 1.222 WHIP, and 2.0 walks per nine all best his career marks by pretty large percentages, meaning that things will most likely even out over time.

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But even in a small sample size, these initial results are undoubtedly positive. Hopefully, Tyson Ross will continue to perform at this level. The San Diego Padres would benefit from it tremendously.