Padres soaring in NL behind prodigious power hitting
See where grand-slamming San Diego is in latest USA TODAY MLB power rankings.
Jesse Yomtov
Seven wins, five grand slams and one incredibly pointless controversy. What a week it was for the Padres. Building off the momentum from Fernando Tatis Jr.’s opinion-inducing grand slam last Monday, the Padres slugged their way to a perfect week and became the first team in baseball history to have a grand slam in four consecutive games.
San Diego hasn’t reached the postseason since 2006 – baseball’s thirdlongest drought – but with an expanded field in 2020 and an offense that won’t let up, the Padres are poised to get back to the playoffs.
The Padres’ 163 runs through Sunday were second best in the majors, trailing only their National League West rival, the Dodgers.
The 21-year-old Tatis, limited to 84 games as a rookie in 2019 (still batting .317 with 22 home runs and 16 stolen bases), leads the majors with 12 home runs and 29 RBI and has established himself as one of the most electrifying players in the game.
Elsewhere, rookie second baseman Jake Cronenworth is hitting .347 through 75 at-bats and the Padres are getting nice bounce-back campaigns from Manny Machado and Wil Myers.
San Diego might not be up for the task of ending the Dodgers’ reign, but they’re a good bet to make the postseason in this shortened season.
Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week:
Rank (movement from last week)
1. Dodgers (–): Walker Buehler gets back on track with 10-strikeout game versus Rockies.
2. Athletics (–): Bullpen’s 2.10 ERA through Sunday was best in the American League.
3. Rays (+3): Brandon Lowe for AL MVP?
4. Twins (+1): Nelson Cruz’s 1.122 OPS was tops in the AL through Sunday.
5. Yankees (-2): Zack Britton, James Paxton, Gleyber Torres join the list of injured Yankees.
6. Padres (+7): Slam Diego: Padres slug five grand slams during their seven-game winning streak.
7. Cubs (-3): Since 2019 All-Star Break, Yu Darvish has 162 strikeouts and 13 walks in 118 IP.
8. Indians (-1): AL Cy Young Award might be Shane Bieber’s to lose.
9. Braves (–): Still waiting on Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies to return from injury.
10. White Sox (+9): Seven-game winning streak ends with loss in series finale versus Cubs.
11. Astros (-1): Yordan Alvarez’s season comes to an end with knee injury.
12. Cardinals (+2): Kwang Hyun Kim picks up first MLB win with six scoreless innings versus Reds.
13. Blue Jays (+11): Hyun-jin Ryu has a 3.19 ERA through six starts with Toronto.
14. Rockies (-6): Lefty Kyle Freeland has a 2.87 ERA through six starts.
15. Marlins (-4): Elieser Hernández’s first four starts: 2.29 ERA, 25 K, 3 BB in 19 2⁄3 innings.
16. Orioles (-4): Anthony Santander’s first 22 games in August: eight homers, 20 RBI, 1.000 OPS.
17. Diamondbacks (-1): Ketel Marte was hitting .336 through Sunday – with one homer.
18. Mets (+4): Dom Smith has 21 RBI in 20 games.
19. Nationals (+2): Stephen Strasburg to have season-ending surgery for carpal tunnel.
20. Brewers (-3): Lost five of six last week including a sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh.
21. Reds (-1): Sonny Gray has 51 strikeouts in 36 2⁄3 innings.
22. Rangers (-7): Rough week ahead with four versus Athletics, three versus
Dodgers.
23. Tigers (–): Casey Mize struck out seven with no walks in his 4 1⁄3-inning debut.
24. Giants (+1): Top prospect Joey Bart went 4-for-12 to start his big-league career.
25. Phillies (-7): Brandon Workman blew a save on his first pitch as a Phillie.
26. Royals (–): Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi tied for AL lead with six steals through Sunday.
27. Mariners (+2): Halfway through season, Kyle Lewis is the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.
28. Angels (-1): Dylan Bundy, enjoying a renaissance with Angels, is just 27 years old.
29. Red Sox (-1): Having traded closer Brandon Workman, who’s next out the door?
30. Pirates (–): Josh Bell’s struggles continue: .205, two home runs in 23 games.