Padres' Xander Bogaerts looks like a new hitter after returning from injury

Before he landed on the injured list with a fractured shoulder in May, San Diego Padres infielder Xander Bogaerts was struggling mightily at the plate this season. Through when he got hurt on May 20, Bogaerts had a pretty brutal .219/.265/.316 slash line in 200 plate appearances, which isn't exactly what the Padres had in mind when they signed him to an 11-year, $280 million deal before the 2023 season.

Given his struggles, Padres fans just had to hope Bogaerts' track record as a plus-hitter would eventually win out, but his injury cast understandable concern over whether or not that would actually happen. A lengthy bit of downtime often doesn't serve a struggling player well, especially when they will also have to knock the rust off upon their return.

Fortunately, Bogaerts hasn't shown any signs of that rust since returning to the Padres' lineup. In fact, he has looked better at the plate than he has all season long.

Xander Bogaerts' hot streak since return from IL is exactly what the Padres needed

Since returning from the injured list on July 12, Bogaerts is 8-for-21 with just one strikeout. While Bogaerts had remained pretty good at limiting his swing-and-miss even when he was struggling, only striking out once right out of the gate is a great sign that he's seeing the ball well after a long layoff.

While Bogaerts' power hasn't shown up yet since his return (all eight of his hits have been singles), the Padres don't really need him to be a huge power threat. The Padres have guys that are good at getting big knocks in Jackson Merrill, Jurickson Profar, and Manny Machado (and that doesn't include the injured Fernando Tatis Jr.). What San Diego has lacked is offensive consistency, and Bogaerts getting right could be the missing part of that puzzle.

If Bogaerts is reading the ball well out of pitchers' hands right now, imagine what he will look like once he builds his strength completely back up. He is still one of the better shortstop bats in all of baseball as a consistent 20-homer threat when healthy. If trends hold, the best for Bogaerts and the Padres is yet to come.

More Padres News from Friars on Base