3 Padres hitters who outperformed expectations in April

Which San Diego Padres hitters carried the lineup in April?

The San Diego Padres were in a rough spot, starting the season without Fernando Tatis Jr., but in his absence, they performed to a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of the NL West standings.

As of May 1, they’re 15-8 with winning records at home and on the road.

So how did they get there without Tatis, who led the NL with 42 home runs last year? The lineup stepped up, hitting 21 homers and scoring 104 runs. The lineup hit .231/.328/.380 with a .707 OPS, which is actually significantly better than the league’s collective .231/.306/.369 line and .675 OPS.

Here are three hitters who carried the crew in Tatis’ absence:

San Diego Padres hitters who carried the team in April: Eric Hosmer

Eric Hosmer entered his fifth season with the Padres in a weird spot, because he knew they’d tried hard to trade him.

His response was to have a monster April that should put him at the top of the list of National League Player of the Month contenders.

Over his first 20 games of the year, Hosmer hit .389/.457/.597 with a 1.054 OPS, and his 28 hits included six doubles and three homers. He scored 10 runs, drove in 14, drew nine walks, and only struck out 12 times. That .389 average leads all MLB hitters, by the way.