THE BASICS
Home stadium: Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria, AZ 85382
Directions: From I-17 north: Exit at Bell Road; proceed west to intersection of Bell Road and 83rd Avenue; left to stadium and complex.
Home stadium: Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria, AZ 85382
Directions: From I-17 north: Exit at
Bell Road; proceed west to intersection of Bell Road and 83rd Avenue; left to stadium and complex.
Information: 623-773-8700; Padres.com
Prospect to watch: MacKenzie Gore, LHP. Gore, 20, profiles as a top-ofthe-rotation linchpin who has four plus pitches and advanced command.
CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP
Is the rotation good enough?
This team is not capable of competing with the Dodgers in the National League West over 162 games, but the rest of the NL is wide open. That said, the Padres may not have the rotation to make a push.
After handing $444 million to Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado the past two winters, the Padres sat on the sidelines.
Yes, Chris Paddack looks like an future ace, Zach Davies was a fine addition and Joey Lucchesi is a strong back-end starter, but the rest of the rotation is murky. The Padres seem to putting a lot of faith in Garrett Richards, who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and had totaled just 1471⁄3 innings since 2016. (He has a 3.36 ERA and 9.7 strikeouts/nine innings in that span.)
Top prospect MacKenzie Gore, 20, is on the horizon, but it would be a surprise to see him reach the majors this season. He only reached Class AA last season.
Can Fernando Tatis Jr. stay healthy?
Everyone loves the 21-year-old shortstop, who may be the most electrifying player in baseball right now – when he’s on the field. Tatis Jr. played just 84 games as a rookie, hampered by two separate injuries.
His style of play draws some criticism as being reckless, but scaling back his aggressive approach would be a disservice to his game. The Padres need him healthy if they have any hopes of chasing a wild-card spot and may need to do some “load management” with their budding superstar.
– Jesse Yomtov