San Diego Padres news: Former prospects on the rise, Gary Sanchez, Rougned Odor

As the San Diego Padres prepare to welcome the Seattle Mariners into Petco Park for a quick two-game series, let's take a look at some of the latest news and notes surrounding the Friars.

San Diego Padres news: Rougned Odor ready to see Mariners

After suffering a groin strain on Friday, Odor made his return to the starting lineup for the Padres on Monday night, going 0-for-4 in the leadoff spot. While the results may not be what he or the San Diego faithful wanted to see, there is some hope for a bounceback heading into Tuesday's opener against Seattle.

In his career, Odor has feasted on the Mariners more than any other team as his 83 RBI are by far the most he's put up against any other squad (Houston is next at 68). It might be the perfect time for Odor to once again find his swing as he has slashed just .167/.259/.333 over his last 24 at-bats.

San Diego Padres: Can Gary Sanchez keep this up?

We talked about the need for Sanchez to hit, not only to stay on the San Diego roster but also to keep his MLB career going. So far, so good ... but is it sustainable?

In the seven games since he was picked up off waivers from the New York Yankees, Sanchez is slashing .286/.348/.714 with three homers and six RBI. That's a marked improvement from what San Diego's catchers were providing before Sanchez arrived, so the move is paying off so far. Now the question becomes, "Has Sanchez found his groove in San Diego?" With a career .225 batting average, expect Sanchez to cool off some with the average, but hopefully keep the power going.

San Diego Padres: Another reminder (or two) of the Juan Soto trade

The Padres saw both MacKenzie Gore and C.J. Abrams recently in Washington, a reminder of the cost of the trade that landed Juan Soto and Josh Bell in southern California at last year's MLB trade deadline. However, more reminders of the trade are likely on their way to D.C. as well.

Also included in that trade were Padres outfield prospects James Wood and Robert Hassell III, both of which now reside at the top of the Nationals prospect list (per MLB.com) and have an ETA of arriving in the Majors sometime during the 2024 campaign.

If you want to catch up on Wood (listed as Washington's top prospect) and why the Nationals are so high on him, Yahoo! posted an excellent article on him that you can read here.

Soto has been under scrutiny since he arrived in San Diego because of the high cost of the trade. Expect the microscope to be focused on the trade even more as Wood and Hassell keep climbing the organizational ladder for Washington.