Samad Taylor is giving the Padres offense the jolt their stars still haven’t found

We’re not going to go as far as saying Samad Taylor is about to become the new face of the offense. But it is fair to say that the Padres stars and veterans can learn a lot by watching him right now. Taylor has been here for about five minutes and already looks like one of the only Padres playing with the urgency this lineup needs.

Through his first four games with San Diego, Taylor is hitting .364 with a .500 on-base percentage, four RBI, three walks, a double and two stolen bases. Clearly he’s been busy. He already had a three-RBI game, then came right back the next night against the Reds with a game-tying RBI single in extras.

And the Padres still lost.

So Taylor helped drag them back into it, but the lineup still went 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base in an 11-inning loss.

That is not on Taylor. And that’s why this is a team game.

Samad Taylor has become the Padres’ spark plug, but the stars still need to wake up

Taylor has done exactly what the Padres called him up to do. He’s brought motion along with a little chaos. He’s finding ways to turn ordinary moments into something that has a pulse. 

Old-school baseball is a line that could get cringey if you don’t use it the right way. Old-school baseball, small ball. Playing the game the right way. Whatever you want to call it. Taylor fits it because the team has needed someone to make the game less stale.

His addition has changed the texture of the lineup. They didn’t need him to turn into Ramon Laureano. They needed more spark and athleticism. But the danger here is letting a fun Samad Taylor story distract from the bigger Padres problem.

Manny Machado is hitting .152 so far this month and is still spiraling. Jackson Merrill? .156. 

If Taylor is the guy making the Padres offense look alive, great. If he’s the one of the only guys, and not named one of those two guys above? The Padres still have a huge problem.

The extra-inning loss to the Reds was the perfect example. Taylor delivered the game-tying single in the 10th. He did his part. But San Diego had already left the go-ahead run at third in the eighth, left the bases loaded in the ninth and later left the winning run at second in the 10th. That’s turning 12 hits into frustration. And exactly how you wash out your spark. 

The Padres have reached a point where their energy matters almost as much as production. This is what happens when a lineup slumps for so long. It becomes about body language, inning quality, pressure and whether anyone looks interested in changing the mood.

Taylor seems to be interested. Wonder if the stars will follow.

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