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San Diego Padres: 3 players who need to be better in May

By Zachary Rotman |
San Diego Padres v Chicago Cubs
San Diego Padres v Chicago Cubs / Michael Reaves/GettyImages
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The San Diego Padres wrapped up the month of April with a record of 15-14. Yes, the San Diego Padres who were three wins away from a World Series appearance last season and added Xander Bogaerts to the fold this offseason sat just one game above .500 at the end of April.

Being without players like Joe Musgrove, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Robert Suarez for either most or the entire month certainly didn't help, but this team had the talent to start the season off better than they have.

San Diego has had some players get off to good starts which helped them tread water, but I expect this team to really take off in the month of May. In order for them to do that, these players in particular must be better.

San Diego Padres player who needs to be better in May: Juan Soto

The Padres simply haven't gotten the player they expected when they traded virtually their entire farm to get Juan Soto at last season's trade deadline. The move was a no-brainer considering Soto's age, years of control, and performance as a National, but it hasn't panned out the way A.J. Preller envisioned it so far.

Last season Soto had a .778 OPS as a Padre. He got on base a lot, but his average took a big dip and his power did as well. This season has been more of the same for the star outfielder.

Through the month of April, Soto was slashing .202/.373/.384 with five home runs and 11 RBI. He was drawing a ridiculous amount of walks and currently leads the league in free passes, but Soto wasn't hitting at all in April.

Through the first three games in May, Soto has had five hits including four doubles with six RBI and four walks. Now that will absolutely play. Soto won't have a 1.418 OPS throughout the entire month as he has in the three games he's played, but he should be better. The Padres need him to be, that's for sure.

Manny Machado of San Diego Padres
Manny Machado of San Diego Padres / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages

San Diego Padres player who needs to be better in May: Manny Machado

Juan Soto getting off to as slow of a start as he has this season is definitely frustrating, but isn't the most shocking thing ever considering how mediocre he was as a Padre last season. Manny Machado struggling on the other hand, is not what I expected whatsoever.

After inking a long extension to remain a Padre for likely the rest of his career, Machado endured one of his worst months as a Padre.

Machado slashed .236/.280/.391 with four home runs and 11 RBI through April. Simply put, with the rest of the team injured and struggling, that's unacceptable from the guy who's supposed to be one of the leaders.

Machado's .671 OPS through the month of April was his third-worst mark of any month as a Padre, trailing only August of 2021 and August of 2019.

The Padres offense has been bad this season and the struggles of Machado and Soto have been the main causes. The Padres need their star third baseman to be the superstar he's always been since putting on the brown and gold.

San Diego Padres v New York Mets
San Diego Padres v New York Mets / Sarah Stier/GettyImages

San Diego Padres player who needs to be better in May: Blake Snell

With Joe Musgrove out and Yu Darvish getting a late start to his season, Blake Snell wound up being the Padres Opening Day starter. He responded by lasting only 4.1 innings at home against the lowly Rockies, allowing three runs on six hits and taking a loss. He threw 93 pitches and couldn't even get through the fifth inning.

An absurd amount of pitches early in games has been a constant theme for this left-hander since joining San Diego, and he's struggled to provide length early on this season as well.

Through the first month of the 2023 campaign, Snell went 0-4 with a 5.48 ERA in five starts and 23 innings pitched. He did have to face the Braves twice, Mets once, and Cubs once, but Snell still did not pitch well.

He did not record a single out in the sixth inning in the month of April and did not allow fewer than two runs. Snell had a 6.72 FIP in the month of April to go along with a 1.870 WHIP. The high WHIP was mainly due to walking 18 batters in 23 innings of work. Most importantly, the Padres lost all five of Snell's starts.

Fortunately for this southpaw, Snell turned in his best start of the season on the first of May, allowing three runs in six innings with no walks and seven strikeouts in a win against the Reds. I get that it's the Reds, but it was encouraged to see Snell in command for once this season. Hopefully he takes this momentum and has a better month of May. San Diego certainly could use it.

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