MLB Betting – San Diego Padres 2020 Season Preview

• It's been ten years since the Padres had a winning season

• Odds are 50-1 San Diego wins 2020 World Series

• Bullpen could be one of the best in Major League Baseball

• Bookmaker is offering a generous welcome bonus with a maximum of $1000

Every decade or so there is excitement for a possible rebirth of the San Diego Padres. In fact it’s been exactly 10 years since the team’s last winning season. At least the long-suffering fans got their wish of having the club return to its roots. They have budding superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and returned full-time to the brown and gold color scheme. Now if only the games are played and the team can show off the new outfits. There are reasons for San Diegans to be excited, but until the team actually does something it’s hard to go all in on them.

2020 San Diego Padres At A Glance

San Diego Padres World Series Odds +5000
San Diego Padres NL Pennant Odds +2200
San Diego Padres NL West Odds +1400

2020 San Diego Padres Overview

This should be GM A.J. Preller’s last shot at putting together a winner. He’s been on the job for a few years and the results aren’t good. I wish I had that kind of job security. The Padres have a solid shot at being a .500 team with a winning record not out of the question. They just happen to be in the same division as the Dodgers so winning the NL West is out of the question.

The Padres have done a magnificent job replenishing the minor league system. A bunch of those youngsters are poised to make the big league roster or at least challenge for a spot. It creates a lot of excitement but doesn’t always result in wins. One area that needs improvement for the Padres to tickle the break-even point is their offense. Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer haven’t come close to living up to their fat contracts.

In what some would consider a risky move, the club tabbed rookie Jayce Tingler as its new field boss. The Padres went the same route a few years ago with Andy Green. The club never won more than 71 games in Green’s tenure and he was let go with eight games left in the 2019 campaign.

Pitching

This area wasn’t the team’s problem last year, though the staff could improve in a lot of areas. The expected rotation is young, inexperienced and unproven, but there is plenty of promise. Chris Paddack is an ace-in-the-making after going 9-7 with a 3.33 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 26 starts. The training wheels are off after having his innings monitored.

Looking ahead to a situation just like this, the Padres inked Garrett Richards last year even though he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s a veteran presence who had some good years with the Angels before injuries struck. The Padres are hoping for a healthy version that can give them consistently good starts. Zach Davies, acquired from Milwaukee, is another veteran presence who can aid in the development of Joey Lucchesi, Dinelson Lamet, Cal Quantrill and, eventually, MacKenzie Gore.

The bullpen could be one of the best in baseball. It was a strength last season with Kirby Yates leading MLB with 41 saves along with a 1.19 ERA. He built on a strong 2018 to become the best in the business and there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue. Emilio Pagan had 20 saves as the primary closer for the Rays and Craig Stammen was resigned to continue with his setup duties. There is no shortage of arms on the back end allowing the Pads to shorten games.

Hitting

You can’t win games without scoring runs and that proved to be a big problem. The Padres ranked near the bottom in a number of key statistical categories, including 27th in runs scored. Their on-base percentage was a disturbing .308, they hit just 219 homers and struck out a whopping 1,581 times, the second-highest total in MLB. The addition of Tommy Pham should help the contact rate and the OBP. In a career-high 145 games Pham hit .273 with 21 homers for the Rays.

He played only half a season in 2019, but what a mark Tatis Jr. left on the game. Living up to his status as a top prospect, Tatis hit .317 with 22 homers and should continue to develop into one of the top players in the game. The second-half slump in 2019 coincided with Tatis’ absence. Everything looks better on paper, but the Padres need more from their big-money players. Machado had 32 homers but hit just .256. Hosmer was stealing from the team as well batting .265 with 22 homers and 99 RBIs.

2020 San Diego Padres Season Pick

The ceiling is so high for the Padres that they could win a lot of games. Realistically a winning season would be a step in the right direction for a team that hasn’t had one of those in a decade. The staff appears to be solid and they should be better at the dish. I’m not convinced they are improved enough to make a push at the NL West or even a Wild Card berth.

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com