San Diego Padres morning after: MVP, LVP and unsung hero of the first half

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Thursday's thud in Pittsburgh not only signified the San Diego Padres getting swept by the Pirates and losing their eight game in their last 10 outings, but also the official end of the first half of the season.

While next weekend's All-Star Game will be seen by many as the end of the first half of the 2023 MLB campaign, the Padres headed to Cincinnati on Thursday night with a record of 37-44. After 81 games, the exact halfway point of the 162-game schedule, San Diego had earned the title of one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season.

So who is San Diego's Most Valuable Player, Least Valuable Player and Most Overlooked Player of the first 81 games? Following are my thoughts on the subject. Feel free to disagree and chime in by following us on Twitter (@FriarsOnBase).

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San Diego Padres: Most Valuable Player of the first 81 games

We are going with Juan Soto here. It's hard (at least for us) to argue with a guy who is slashing 268/.424/.489 and a team-leading .913 OPS while playing in all 81 games so far.

Considering Soto was getting so much criticism to start the season after slashing just .202/.373/.384 through the end of April, the 24-year-old All-Star outfielder has turned things around in a big way. Now the question becomes what the Padres will do with him moving forward? Will he stay in San Diego (he's not due to be a free agent until 2025) or could the Padres possibly send him packing at the MLB trade deadline?

Also in the running: Michael Wacha, Fernando Tatis Jr., Josh Hader

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres: Least Valuable Player of the first 81 games

Someone had to wear the title, and there were some candidates to take the title from Austin Nola (we're looking at you, Matt Carpenter and Luis Garcia), but the Padres catcher simply has been bad at the plate during the season's first half.

Including Thursday's 0-for-3 performance in Pittsburgh, Nola is now slashing just .138/.254/.187 through his first 123 at-bats. His OPS+ of 30 and minus-0.6 bWAR entering Thursday was the lowest of any Padres position player with more than 100 at-bats. While Gary Sanchez was highly complimentary of the helpfulness of Nola since Sanchez arrived in San Diego, it's hard to overlook the issues that Nola is presenting behind the plate when he's inserted into the batting order.

With Luis Campusano working his way back from a thumb injury and Sanchez seemingly entrenched as part of the lineup moving forward, it's hard to envision exactly how long the Padres will keep the 33-year-old Nola as part of the squad.

San Diego Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres: Most Overlooked Player of the first 81 games

On a team filled with big names and big contracts, Ha-Seong Kim has been the glue that has often held things together in the first half.

Kim ended the first 81 games with a bang, slashing .358/.397/.623 over his last 15 games. That includes a series in Pittsburgh when he went 5-for-13 at the plate and smacked a home run in the smoky series finale on Thursday.

You: That's Kim.
Us: No, that's Him.#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/yd4KShIQ3u
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 29, 2023

After serving as San Diego's leader in the category early in the season, Kim's 3.4 bWAR heading into Thursday was second on the team behind Fernando Tatis Jr. Yet, despite the numbers, Kim is likely not the first (or second ... or third) player mentioned if you were to ask Padres fans to name a member of the team who has made an impact in 2023.

Overlooked? Absolutely. Valuable? You better believe it.

So what did we get right or wrong on this list? Let us know on Twitter.

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