San Diego Padres: First Month Player Report Card

The San Diego Padres have been led by a dominant bullpen this season.

The San Diego Padres have had arguably the best bullpen in Major League Baseball this year, earning “Bullpen of the Week” on April 16th.

Phil Maton, a second-year man out of Louisiana Tech, has appeared in seven games for the Friars. He’s posted an incredible 0.00 ERA over 7.1 innings, giving up a combined five hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Grade: A

The 27-year-old rookie sidearmer, Adam Cimber had a rough opening day outing, but has since pitched well for the Padres. With a 2.40 ERA in 11 games and a K/BB ratio of 17/3, Cimber and his unorthodox delivery should be watched closely in 2018.

Grade: A

After coming off of Tommy-John surgery, Robbie Erlin has had an up and down season. Used as a spot starter and a long reliever, Erlin has pitched a total of 15 innings and has an ERA of 4.20 in six appearances. During his lone start of the year, he was roughed up by the Dodgers, giving up six runs over six innings. If he wants another shot at a start this year he will need to continue to be efficient out of the bullpen and prove that he deserves to start.

Grade B-

Jordan Lyles, another long relief pitcher, has pitched in nine games for the Padres this year, with a 2.35 ERA over 14 1/3 innings. Lyles has only had one bad outing, coming on April 9th where he gave up two runs on two hits during one inning of work. Other than that, his conversion from starter to long relief has gone about as well as the Padres could have hoped.

Grade B+

Kazuhisa Makita, the 33-year-old submarine pitcher from Japan has had an up and down start to his Padres career. His funky delivery fooled hitters early on but his command has prevented him from being more effective. His inability to hit his spots has contributed to his rise in ERA  to 5.40. Below is an example of his unique delivery and release point.

https://twitter.com/Padres/status/949823237873065985

Grade: C+

After coming off of a solid 2017 campaign, Craig Stammen has continued to dominate hitters. His 2.03 ERA over 10 games this season has been stellar, save for one bad outing against the Dodgers, where he gave up three runs on four hits during one inning of work. Over the course of his nine other appearances, Stammen has pitched lights out, working an ERA of 0.00 over those games, baffling hitters by mixing up his pitches.

Grade: A

Kirby Yates, the Padres setup man, had a great start to the year posting a 0.00 ERA and appearing in six games before going on the DL with right ankle tendonitis. He has continued to build on his impressive 2017 season. Let’s hope he continues his dominance once he comes off the DL.

Grade: A-

The Padres 2017 All-Star and closer, Brad Hand had a rough start to the season against the Milwaukee Brewers, blowing the save while giving up five runs on four hits. Since then, however, Hand has lowered his ERA to 1.59 and his slider is just as devastating as it was last year.

Grade: B+

Colten Brewer, Kyle McGrath, Tyler Webb, and Buddy Baumann have all been through the revolving door that is the eighth man in the bullpen this year. They have each showed promise in different outings, giving Andy Green confidence in his extremely deep bullpen options down in El Paso.

Combined grade: C