New power rankings from The Athletic show Padres finally getting respect they deserve

MLB power rankings by "experts" are very often popularity contests that don't benefit teams like the San Diego Padres. If you are leading your division and/or play in a big market, you are at the top of the list regardless of obvious flaws or trends. If you are a wild card contender (even if you are playing really well), your flaws are parsed into oblivion. It stinks, but it also isn't something that is going to change anytime soon.

For a team like the Padres that just doesn't get the national exposure others get, they have to really stand out to get love in these articles or segments.

Finally, though, San Diego's deep roster and consistent ability to keep pace with anyone is getting noticed as The Athletic's MLB power rankings have been giving them a good bit of love the last couple of weeks.

Experts are finally getting on board the Padres' bandwagon ahead of the postseason

While The Athletic's most recent update to their power rankings focused primarily on whether or not Jurickson Profar's rebound season has him in line for some end-of-season hardware (if somehow Profar doesn't win Comeback Player of the Year, just throw the award out), the important part is that they had the Padres as the sixth-best team in baseball ahead of the Orioles, Astros, Royals, and others.

For those that have actually watched the Padres this year, this shouldn't be surprising. The rotation is humming along with Dylan Cease absolutely shoving and Yu Darvish back looking like himself again. San Diego also has a deep and very dangerous lineup now that Fernando Tatis Jr. has returned, and the roster possesses arguably the best and deepest bullpen in baseball.

While it has taken a while, more and more national outlets finally consider the Padres real contenders this upcoming postseason. Nothing is a given and it isn't like the Padres have even locked up a playoff spot yet (knocks on wood), but all signs point to San Diego being poised to make a lot of noise this postseason whether everyone is on board with the idea or not.

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