San Diego Padres’ Clayton Richard Will Have to Step Up

Clayton Richard has been average all season long. He will have to be at his best for the San Diego Padres to have any chance against the hard-hitting Washington Nationals today.

Clayton Richard was the San Diego Padres’ Opening Day pitcher to start the 2018 season. Has he pitched like an ace? Definitely not. Has he been poor? Not exactly.

Richard’s effectiveness has been patchy all season long and the Friars can ill-afford their de facto ace, a thirty-four year old veteran, to be hot and cold.

Clayton Richard is 1-4 on the season. In 37 2/3 innings pitched, he has a 6.21 earned-run average, surrendering 45 hits, 20 walks, 25 runs, and six home runs.

Clayton’s strike percentage for the season is 59.6%, down from his career average of 63.6%. His pitches-per-innings-pitched (P/IP) this season is 16.8, higher than his career average of 15.8. He has managed to register only two quality starts in seven total starts this season.

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His strikeouts-per-nine-innings (K/9) of 7.65 and walks-per-nine-innings (BB/9) of 4.78 are all career lows.

His career K/9 and BB/9 averages are 5.84 and 3.06 respectively. These numbers indicate a significant drop in production.

His paltry ERA+ of 61 is slightly better than Bryan Mitchell‘s 58 and Luis Perdomo‘s 46.

San Diego Padres will have to move beyond Clayton Richard if his struggles persist

Clayton Richard is 34 years old and if he and the Padres continue to struggle, the Friars’ front office will be forced to move him to the bullpen very soon. The Friars could be better served by trying out one of their younger stars.

Mitchell and Perdomo have both lost their spots in San Diego Padres’ rotation and it will be interesting to see how long Andy Green is willing to stick with Clayton Richard, especially if Richard’s struggles continue.

Clayton started the season as Friars’ best pitcher. In two months time, he is already behind Joey Lucchesi and Tyson Ross performance-wise.

Next: Bryan Mitchell Headed to the Bullpen

It’s time for Clayton Richard to bring his A-game to the mound today. If he can’t, there are a few young hurlers lining up to take his spot.