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

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.