Padres: Wil Myers is lost at the plate after a hot start

For much of April, Wil Myers almost singlehandedly kept the San Diego Padres offense afloat. As hot as he was early, though, he’s just as cold now, going just 2-for-17 over the last seven days – leaving a gaping hole in the order.

Thankfully, NL Player of the Week Fernando Tatis Jr. has stepped up and gotten hot almost as soon as Myers went cold. Still, lineup depth is a critical piece of the puzzle if San Diego wants to make a legitimate run at the Dodgers in the NL West – so these slow stretches can prove costly.

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One of Myers’ two hits was a home run – and he’s also drawn just one walk during this stretch, which works out to a .118/.167/.294 line on the year. It’s hard to draw lines between this year and last summer’s 60-game sprint, so I decided to look at some larger trends in Myers’ career to see if there were any parallels in regards to his struggles.

During his nine years in the league, the Padres slugger has usually started strong in April, only to tail off in the month of May. With the start of May just days away, it seems like that trend could be in effect again this year.

• March / April Slash Line: .279/.321/.480
• May Slash Line: .224/.316/.382

Jayce Tingler gave Myers the day off in Sunday’s finale against Los Angeles after the outfielder swiped a trio of bags on Saturday. His home run off Kershaw Saturday snapped an 0-for-12 run at the dish, so one can hope he’ll pick it up again on Tuesday when the Padres open a set against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Padres need Wil Myers causing damage at the dish to contend

We haven’t seen it regularly this year, but when San Diego has everyone in sync offensively, they’re near-unbeatable. Tatis Jr. has clearly found his stroke, but Myers, Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado have all joined Myers in recent slumps.

On Tuesday, Arizona’s Merrill Kelly gets the ball – and depending how you look at it, that could either prolong or snap Myers’ run of recent struggles. On one hand, he’s 1-for-11 in his career against the right-hander which isn’t exactly ideal. On the other, one might say he’s due for a big showing against Kelly. Myers carries an .801 OPS against righties this season.

For the year, Myers still carries a more than respectable .268/.358/.493. If he can start driving the ball again, it won’t be long until he rediscovers the rhythm that made him so lethal in the first few weeks of the campaign.