1 San Diego Padres player worthy of starting the All-Star Game according to MLB.com

After finishing off the first full month of the 2023 MLB season, the San Diego Padres aren't where many fans thought they would be, both in terms of their record and individual play as well.

With that in mind, perhaps it is not much of a surprise that only one member of the San Diego Padres finished as what MLB.com is projecting as its All-Star pick for the first month of the campaign in this article. It's also probably not a surprise to Padres fans who that All-Star pick is after the team's first 29 games of the season.

Xander Bogaerts earns an honor for the San Diego Padres, according to MLB.com

Bogaerts was named as the top shortstop in the National League by MLB.com based on his play in April where he has slashed .308/.400/.514 so far this season with six homers and 13 RBI. As it says in the article, "A team that’s surprisingly struggling at the plate needs every hit Xander can give them."

That has certainly been the case early this season as Bogaerts is living up to his 11-year, $280 million deal he signed before the season began. While there were some that were surprised about the addition of Bogaerts with other more-than-capable shortstops already on the Padres roster (including Fernando Tatis Jr., who made his debut on April 20 after finishing up his PED suspension), the move is proving to be one of the best of the offseason for any MLB team.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons to believe that other members of the Padres will turn their seasons around soon (we're looking at you, Manny Machado) and plenty of hope that others will follow (we're looking at you, Juan Soto), but Bogaerts has absolutely been one of the best stories of the young season for the Padres.