Three Padres players who haven't had the start we'd hoped for

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(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Coming away from a season-opening seven-game homestand with a 4-3 record probably isn’t what you had in mind for the Padres. But given the shoddy defense, a crippling injury to our beloved Bebo and a fairly pedestrian offensive showing with a few exceptions, that’s where we stand.

A few guys, in particular, haven’t gotten off to hot starts that could have made all the difference over the past week. The three players who come to mind are all position players because, by and large, the pitching staff has been really solid – especially the new-look, star-studded starting rotation.

Let’s cross a big one off the list to get things started.

Padres need Manny Machado carrying the offense right now

With Fernando Tatis Jr. sidelined, at a minimum for the next week-plus, the San Diego Padres need Manny Machado to get it going sooner rather than later.

Tatis Jr. finished fourth in NL MVP voting last year – which tells you how big a loss this is for the offense. But Machado finished third and, with Padres fans looking for a monster year from their Gold Glove third baseman, he’s come up well short of that mark early on.

Machado enters Thursday’s off-day batting just .200/.333/.320 on the year. Of his five hits, just one went for extra bases – and that came via a home run on April 3. Since that game, last year’s Silver Slugger winner for NL third basemen is just 2-for-14 (.143).

Machado will head into this weekend’s series in Texas with a clean slate, taking on Kohei Arihara in Friday’s opener. Given it’s just his second big league start, everyone is starting at zero – let’s hope the Padres slugger can get the extra-bases part of his game going because it’ll go a long way in filling the void in the lineup.

Padres fans all hold their breath and hope Fernando Tatis Jr. is OK

This isn’t how it was supposed to go.

Watching Fernando Tatis Jr. collapse into a heap at home plate after taking a cut this week was enough to make me feel sick. Even if I weren’t a Padres fan, seeing the most exciting young player in the game suffer an injury that looked like the kind that ends seasons was just awful.

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Hopefully, it looked worse than it is. San Diego seems to think that’s the case as the club is reportedly ‘cautiously optimistic’ he’ll be back on the field sooner rather than later. For now, let’s all just hope and pray that’s the case because the Padres without El Niño aren’t the same team – period.

Even prior to the injury, though, Tatis Jr. hadn’t gotten locked in at the dish. Through five games at 18 at-bats, the Padres infielder batted just .167/.286/.333 to open the season. With Machado also struggling, that left a huge hole in the middle of the order. Thankfully, Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers have picked up the slack because otherwise, we could be looking at a team with just a win or two on the year.

Things haven’t gone as planned yet. But the season is literally just one week old. Hopefully by the end of the month, Tatis is back on the field and doing what he does best: bringing an unmatched swagger and energy to the diamond on a daily basis.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Padres: Luis Campusano hasn’t made the most of his opportunity just yet

With Austin Nola still out of the lineup, San Diego has gone with the duo of Luis Campusano and Victor Caratini behind the dish.

Nola is about to begin playing in simulated games at the alternate site, so he’s probably a week or so from returning. When that happens, Campusano seems like the sure-fire odd man out, especially given his struggles early in the year.

Keep in mind, the kid is still just 22 and has never played above High-A ball in the Minors. Campusano made his big league debut last year, appearing in one game late in the year, but it’s pretty clear that he needs more seasoning before he’s ready for an everyday role on this team.

Next. Three bold predictions for the Padres heading into 2021. dark

On the year, he’s batting just .091/.167/.091. That’s not going to get it done, plain and simple. And don’t get me wrong, I think Campusano is the Padres’ catcher of the future, hands down. This is just a case of a less-than-ideal scenario with the Nola injury forcing the front office’s hand.

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Three Padres players who haven’t had the start we’d hoped for

Padres need Manny Machado carrying the offense right now

Padres fans all hold their breath and hope Fernando Tatis Jr. is OK

More from Friars on Base

Padres: Luis Campusano hasn’t made the most of his opportunity just yet

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