Summer-slumping Padres have left the building, taking all the power with them

The calendar flipped to June, and while much of the league has started heating up with the summer sun, the San Diego Padres offense has done the opposite — they’ve gone completely cold. In a stretch that’s featured a playoff atmosphere and razor-thin margins, the Padres’ lineup has disappeared, taking any semblance of power production with it.

Despite a grueling schedule to start the month — one that’s seen them face the San Francisco Giants, a feisty Milwaukee Brewers club, and the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers — the Padres have held their own in the standings with a 6–6 record. That alone might seem encouraging, especially as they now square off with an Arizona Diamondbacks team that just obliterated the Seattle Mariners in a three-game sweep. But the story underneath tells a more urgent tale.

San Diego’s pitching staff has been pretty elite on paper during this stretch, posting a stellar 2.78 ERA since the start of June — fourth-best in all of baseball. The arms are doing their job. The problem lies with the lineup failing to back them up.

League-worst power numbers raise a major red flag

The numbers are as ugly as they are alarming. Since June began:

• The Padres rank 24th in WAR (0.5)
• Last in home runs (5 total)
• Last in isolated power (.089 ISO)
• 27th in wRC+ (84)

This isn’t just a slump. It’s a red flag waving wildly in front of a front office that is already aware that offensive inconsistency was a potential Achilles' heel.

For all the depth and versatility on this Padres roster, power has been conspicuously absent — and it’s clearly costing them games. In an NL West that’s suddenly up for grabs, San Diego can’t afford to rely solely on pitching to carry them through the dog days of summer and into October. Not with the Dodgers offensive power, the Giants surging, and Arizona scratching and clawing their way back into the race.

If the Padres are serious about making a deep postseason run — and not just squeaking into a Wild Card slot — then this slump should be a wake-up call. The offense needs help. A difference-maker. A thumper who can inject life into the middle of the order and turn one-run losses into wins.

The pitching is doing its part. The standings haven’t collapsed. But this current version of the Padres’ offense won’t survive October.