Padres’ historic 5-0 start could signal magical season ahead for Gavin Sheets & San Diego

If you blinked, you may have missed it. The Padres are scorching hot out the gates of the 2025 season with a franchise-best 5-0 start, largely in part due to the emergence of designated hitter Gavin Sheets. Gavin who? That's right, a spring training non-roster invite has been a key catalyst that's ushered the Padres to this fast start.

In recent years, Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller has made finding the 'diamond in the rough' one of his calling cards, and Sheets' addition is no different. A career .233 average and .687 OPS, he was a long shot to even make the roster but forced the front office's hand by batting .315 with 6 home runs and a 1.077 OPS this spring.

Gavin Sheets' streak could be key to magical 2025 season for Padres

The affinity hardly stopped in the spring for Sheets, as his first at-bat as a Padre was on Opening Day as a pinch-hitter. The Padres faced a 4-3 deficit to the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the seventh inning when he stepped to the plate. With a heroic swing of the bat, he powered one over the center field wall 405 feet to tie the game to start the Padres' rally, eventually resulting in a four-run inning and ingratiating himself to the Friar Faithful. The Padres went on to win that game, 7-4.

The numbers that Sheets are putting up speak for itself. With a .500 average and a 1.390 OPS, he's become an undeniable difference-maker for this lineup. This is also a lineup where DH was a massive question mark coming into the year and potentially a vulnerable spot for this Padres team. Sheets has stepped into that role and not only been serviceable, but a main reason why the Padres have yet to lose a game. It's these kinds of storylines that can help elevate a team's camaraderie and clubhouse presence as a team develops their identity in the early stages of the season.

Due to Sheets early success, he is a fan favorite already. A common chant around Petco Park in years previous was for SS Ha-Seong Kim as he stepped into the box, chanting his name relentlessly. Last night, the crowd broke into a "Holy Sheets" chant, which will undoubtedly carry over as long as this hot streak continues and possibly beyond. With a role player like Sheets outperforming expectations and a franchise record 5-0 start, quoting famous head football coach Jim Harbaugh is a must, which then begs the question: "Who's got it better than us? Nobody!"