San Diego Padres: 3 bold predictions around second-half trades, statistics and more

San Diego Padres first bold prediction: Friars will make the playoffs

Through the first half of the season, the one thing that hurt San Diego has been their inconsistent play. That changed right before the break and they hope it will continue after.

San Diego swept the Los Angeles Angels in a three-game series, before taking two out of three from the equally underachieving New York Mets. San Diego's offense finally broke out with contributions from up and down the lineup, while their pitching was good.

In the overall big picture of things, San Diego on paper is one of, if not the best, teams in the majors. Their offensive struggles have been head-scratching and their pitching believe it not has not bad as bad as their record indicates.

It will be interesting to see what Preller adds at the deadline, but the gut feeling here is that they put it together and find a way to get in as a wild card team. If they don't, changes could be coming. Getting Michael Wacha back at some point will only strengthen their rotation.