San Diego Padres: Predicting statistical leaders for 2020 season

San Diego Padres baseball will officially get underway in two weeks. Let’s look at some bold predictions for statistical leaders on the team.

I think most people are just ready for the regular season to begin. At 10-2, the San Diego Padres are off to a good start in spring training, and while the games and statistics mean little in terms of the regular season success, imagine if the team was 2-10 right now. Would you still be feeling as optimistic?

The 2020 roster is loaded with talent, one that is another year older and saw a couple of players make their way over via trade. Both Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham were solid acquisitions during the offseason, and both will be playing next to one another in the outfield.

After a who’s who of players vying for five rotation spots last year, this year is a complete 180-degree difference. The Padres rotation is mostly set, outside of the fifth starter, and they should have the capability to be a competitive force in the NL West Division.

Several media outlets have the Padres pegged for a second-place finish in the division, making the playoffs as the second wild card team. For the team to achieve that, they are going to need productive years from their offensive players. The same offense that ranked third-worst and dead-last in runs scored and strikeouts in the NL, respectively.

The Padres also finished with the sixth-fewest walks in the National League, so it will be essential for them to develop an ability to get guys on base and around to score. In doing so, the statistics are going to pile up and let’s have some fun with this one.

Here are your major statistical leaders for 2020.

Fernando Tatis Jr. will smack the most home runs

Manny Machado would have been the easy choice for this category. After all, the 27-year-old has averaged 34.8 home runs per year over the last five seasons, including 32 of them in 2019 in what was considered to be a down year offensively for him.

However, I am tabbing Fernando Tatis Jr. taking the home run crown for the Padres this year. The team’s rookie sensation was limited by injuries last season, including a season-ending stress reaction in his back in mid-August.

Health will be the primary concern in 2020 for Tatis, but he posted 22 home runs in 84 games in 2019. Over a 162-game span, that equates to approximately 42 home runs. I don’t expect him to play every game, but assuming he’s healthy, he should have no problem logging 150+ games this year.

Tatis was a primary contributor to the team’s overall strikeout tally, but that should ideally reduce as his experience increases. Look for him to post a monster season for the Friars.

Manny Machado will lead the team in RBI

If not home runs, Machado is going to lead the team in some other category. Perhaps, best sideburns? No? Then he’ll have to settle for runs batted in.  Last year, Eric Hosmer led the team with 99 RBI, and Machado finishing behind him with 85 RBI.

Tatis could make a compelling case for this as well, but if he remains in the leadoff spot, it’s going to be difficult to match the same production as someone who bats in the middle of the order. As noted, 2019 was a down year for Machado, but he posted a career-high 107 RBI in 2018 – split between the Orioles and Dodgers – and hadn’t finished with less than 90 since 2015 before last year.

I suspect that Machado’s contract expectations got the best of him last year, but in year two, his numbers should normalize. In a recent interview, he indicated that he had been working on squaring up the barrel to the ball this offseason.

This was coming on the heels of his worst barrel percentage (8.0), which was the lowest since 2015. Fangraphs pegs him for 33 home runs and an even 100 RBI, which should lead the team. Hosmer is another guy that could sneak his way up there, but the arrow may be trending downward on him now.

Dinelson Lamet will lead the pitching staff in wins

The most meaningless statistic for pitchers, yet still gets mentioned when introducing a player, Dinelson Lamet, will lead the team in wins. He was recently tabbed by Baseball America writer, Kyle Glaser, as his breakout pitcher for the upcoming season.

The author spoke highly of Lamet’s pitching arsenal and improving command, which should lead to him racking up a ton of strikeouts in 2020. A review of his pitch usage last year reveals that his curveball produced a .105 batting average and 48.3 percent whiff rate. His slider was also devastating, producing a .147 average and 51.3 percent whiff rate.

He returned from Tommy John surgery in early July and made 14 starts to close out his year. In those starts, Lamet struck out 105 batters over 73.0 innings but also allowed 30 walks.

Now entering his first full season since 2017, he’s projected to strikeout 138 batters in 110.0 innings or 23 starts. Fangraphs isn’t as high on him to reduce his walks, increasing from 3.70 BB/9 last year to a projected 4.34 BB/9.

Health is going to be critical for Lamet as well, and so far, so good in spring training. He’s made two starts and struck out seven batters in 5.0 innings while allowing no runs and just two hits.