San Diego Padres: First Half NL West Award Winners

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SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 5: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies is tagged out at second base by Freddy Galvis #13 of the San Diego Padres as he tries to steal during the first inning of a baseball game at PETCO Park on April 5, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

With the 2018 All-Star break underway, we’re taking a look at some first-half National League West award winners. Do any San Diego Padres come up on our list?

With the 2018 All-Star festivities behind us and a two-day break before baseball games resume in the National League West, we’re giving out a few first-half awards to highlight some notable performances. These awards focus on the entire NL West division, not just the San Diego Padres.

I brought in some help for this piece, our NL West friends over at Around The Fog Horn (@RoundTheFogHorn on Twitter) and Rox Pile (@RoxPile on Twitter). Make sure you check them out and all of their fantastic work, even if they do cover the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies. Seriously though, give them a follow for some good baseball reading!

To set the stage, here’s a look at the current NL West standings.

The division is open to anyone for the taking, except the Padres, and should come down to an exciting finish over the final week of the season. In fact, all three divisional races in the National League look like they will provide some memorable baseball, come the end of September. Individually speaking, we’ve seen some shockingly good performances and many shockingly bad performances. Let’s go around and give out some awards to highlight these performances.

NL West Most Valuable Player Award

Daniel Sperry (Around The Fog Horn): Colorado Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado

Nolan’s been fantastic this season both at the plate and with the glove. He’s probably been the most consistent star in the West, hasn’t had an injury, and is one of the sole reasons the Rockies are still afloat in the west.

Kevin Henry (Rox Pile): Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt

I’d love to say it’s Nolan Arenado because of his stats, but I also see where the Rockies are in the standings. In my book, I’ll go with Paul Goldschmidt. Arizona’s keeping the Dodgers at bay because of his hot bat. I just watched him smack yet another homer against the Rockies and I certainly wish he was hitting like he was at the start of the season … but he isn’t. Because of that, Arizona has every chance to win the West.

Nick Stevens (Friars On Base)– Colorado Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado

While Arenado still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many Padres fans, other than Goldschmidt, no one is putting up the offensive numbers Arenado is. He’s hitting the ball harder than ever before and is on pace to put up career-highs in batting average, OBP, OPS, wRC+, WAR, and more statistical categories.

NL West Cy Young Award

Around The Fog Horn– Arizona Diamondbacks Patrick Corbin.

While Ross Stripling has been lights out, he only has 14 starts and nine more appearances out of the pen to help that ERA look so nice and low. Corbin has been a consistent starter every time out and has really fooled a lot of hitters in the West.

Rox Pile- Los Angeles Dodgers Ross Stripling

Maybe a little biased but I would go with Kyle Freeland of the Rockies. Look at what he’s doing at Coors Field. Freeland’s strikeout percentage is up nearly four percent, from 15.6% last season to 19.4% this season. His walk percentage has also seen a decrease from 9.2% to 8.2%. Freeland is also allowing a lower batting average against him, as hitters are batting a lowly .232. His BABIP has also seen a decrease, down to an impressive .265.

Friars On Base- Arizona Diamondbacks Patrick Corbin

A few weeks ago, I think a lot of people believed Corbin was going to fetch the Diamondbacks a pretty haul at the trade deadline, now he could lead this team to an NL West crown. He has one of the best sliders in the game, helping him strike out more than 30% of hitters he’s faced. His 3.24 ERA is respectable but his 2.81 FIP is impressive.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 21: Jose Pirela #2 of the San Diego Padres is tagged out at home plate by Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at AT&T Park on June 21, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 3-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Rounding out our awards, we take a look at the biggest surprise and biggest disappointment of the first half of the season, plus make predictions on who wins the division.

Biggest surprise

Around The Fog Horn– San Francisco Giants OF Gorkys Hernandez

Who would’ve thought that Gorkys Hernandez would have more homers than Buster Posey at the all-star break? He’s been an offensive revelation with the Giants this year after being DFA’d by Giants Twitter after two months last season. That 113 wRC+ is really interesting for a guy like Gorkys.

Rox Pile- Los Angeles Dodgers OF Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp of the Dodgers. Who would’ve thought he would see this kind of renaissance?

Friars On Base– Arizona Diamondbacks INF Ketel Marte

He isn’t doing anything flashy but he’s improved in a number of areas this season. His strikeout rate, chase rate, and whiff rate are all down. Marte has already set career-highs in home runs (9), triples (8), and is on pace to set a career-high in doubles (now at 16). His average is down due to a much higher ground ball rate, however, he’s hitting the ball harder than ever. He could potentially have a big second half.

Biggest disappointment

Around The Fog Horn- Los Angeles Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw

When he’s been healthy he’s looked nothing like the Kershaw of old. In fact, it’s been more like postseason Kershaw. The Dodgers have marched on without him, but the fact that their true ace at the moment is Stripling, wasn’t conceivable at the beginning of the year.

Rox Pile– Colorado Rockies RP Bryan Shaw

Bryan Shaw of the Rockies. Brought in from the Indians to be a part of Colorado’s super bullpen experiment and has failed miserably. A 7.57 ERA, including a 12.96 ERA in June, has Rockies fans dreading when he comes in from the bullpen. Colorado fans don’t boo their own often, but Shaw has gotten plenty of boos this season.

Friars On Base-San Diego Padres 1B Eric Hosmer

There’s no denying that the star of the offseason has come out flat as a member of the Padres. He’s capable of quickly turning things around, however, through the first half of the season, his offensive numbers have left a lot to be desired. His strikeout rate (22%) is a career-high and his average/OBP are both well below his normal numbers. I don’t think anyone ever expects Hosmer to be elite but a 95 wRC+ and a -0.5 WAR are disappointing.

General thoughts and predictions

Around The Fog Horn:

The Giants have started to figure things out this summer. While they’re usually akin to June and July swoons, they’ve actually put themselves into the divisional conversation. They’re healthy, and actually, have a decent amount of homegrown talent that’s come into the roster. Coupled with a bench squad that executed every time they get a game, their pitching staff has turned it on once it got healthy. These Giants are the dark horse in the West and have all the talent to pull it off. I can see them doing that with a strong second half.

Rox Pile:

I think the Dodgers get more talented at the trade deadline and grab yet another division title. (Hello, Manny Machado).

Friars On Base:
As far as the San Diego Padres are concerned, the rest of this season is about seeing what guys on the current 25-man have any future role with this team. Expect a number of moves to be made over the next two weeks that really shake things up. As for a division winner, with the addition of Manny Machado, the Los Angeles Dodgers look like an extremely tough team to beat.

Next: The Future Of San Diego Looks Fun

Thanks again to Daniel and Kevin from Around The Fog Horn and Rox Pile for their thoughts. The race for the NL West should be a fun race to keep an eye on. Enjoy the rest of your All-Star break and see you all on Friday night.

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