3 San Diego Padres predictions we wish we'd have made before the season began

3) Padres prediction we wish we made: Xander Bogaerts league MVP candidate

Xander Bogaerts has been the one constant in what's been a frustrating season thus far for the Padres. Musgrove and Tatis have missed most of the season, while Machado and Soto look like shells of themselves. Outside of a hot start from Nelson Cruz and decent output from Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts has been the offense.

San Diego ranks 24th in the league in runs scored and third-to-last in the National League. Bogaerts is doing the best job he can to help them out by having arguably the best start to a season in his career.

He's slashing .330/.421/.538 with five home runs and 12 RBI through the team's first 25 games. He's one of two Padres to appear in every game, and is the team leader in virtually every offensive category. Bogaerts has 10 more hits than the player with the second-most on the team (Machado), and his five home runs lead the club as well.

Not only is Bogaerts blowing his teammates out of the water, but he's also been one of the best players in the National League. His 1.5 fWAR is tied for third among MLB players. His 166 WRC+ is eighth in the NL. He'd absolutely be in the discussion for NL MVP if the season ended today.

I was someone who was expecting there to be a bit of an adjustment period for Bogaerts. I expected him to be great, no doubt about that, but after being a lifelong member of the Red Sox I thought it'd take him some time to adjust to a new organization on the other side of the country. I'm very glad to be wrong because this team might have something like five wins if Bogaerts wasn't hitting.