San Diego Padres' ace impresses in first spring training outing

The Padres are starting to roll out their best guys on the mound. Yesterday, Nick Pivetta pieced together an impressive debut in his new threads, and today, the torch was passed on to right-hander Michael King.

On the heels of placing seventh in the National League Cy Young Award race in 2024, Friars fans have been eager to see King get back on the hill. King, 29, signed a deal this offseason to avoid arbitration, and he had not pitched in a spring game until Wednesday.

The wait was worthwhile for the fans, as King's pitch movement, particularly from his changeups and sinkers, were in midseason form in his first start of the spring. Facing the Rockies, King's command was not as good as his stuff, but he still twirled two scoreless innings, striking out three batters alongside two walks and no hits allowed.

Padres' Michael King pitches well in first spring training appearance

After setting Brenton Doyle down on strikes to begin the day, King quickly got into trouble. He walked two guys and hit one to load the bases in the first inning, but navigated out of trouble to avoid any runs on the board. With one out and the bases filled, King was able to get newly-signed Thairo Estrada out on a popout on two pitches. Then, in just one pitch, he ended the inning on a Nolan Jones fly out to center field.

King's second inning went much smoother, giving the Padres a 1-2-3 frame, including two strikeouts. At Peoria Stadium, King threw 35 pitches, including 16 for strikes. Last season was King's first as a full-time starter, which included some early hiccups, similar to Wednesday's start. After a rocky April, he figured out how to be an effective starter, which saw him rack up 201 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA.

He is hopeful of replicating that high level of production, all while throwing more innings. King is targeting 200 innings in 2025 after logging 173 2/3 last season. If he can keep his pitch count down and continue to work out of jams, King's goals don't appear too lofty. If all goes according to plan, King can potentially rise through the ranks and make himself the clear-cut ace of a very good starting rotation.