Quote from MrPadre19 on August 10, 2019, 8:47 am

https://youtu.be/MLCLMEYp9s0

Quote from LynchMob on August 10, 2019, 9:45 am

Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2019, 7:41 am

both Lauer and Lucchesi will be fighting for survival at the beginning of 2020 and may be useful trade chips mid-season.

Rather than "trade chips", I think they'll make good bullpen depth ... the future is more and better bullpen depth!

Quote from LynchMob on August 10, 2019, 10:10 am

Here's an observation from fangraphs.com ...

https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/nl-lineup-analysis-8-9-19/

Nothing seems to stay stable in the Padres’ outfield for long. Not long ago, Manuel Margot had started 16 straight games, but he has been out of the starting lineup for three of the last six games. Josh Naylor filled the void in the lineup for each of those games, plus he got an additional start as the designated hitter on Tuesday in Seattle. Wil Myers, who has played steadily for the last two weeks, has moved up to the second spot in the batting order for five of the last six games.

Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2019, 11:23 am

On one hand I am old school and would like a set line-up on the other hand until the players step up with consistency maybe they need the "rotation" and strategic match-ups to maximize their production. Hard not to overreact to hot and cold spells. In the past 30 days Naylor, Margot, and even Myers are putting up their best stats of the season (good stats) ... is that because they have "developed" or is it because they are only playing when the match-up is to their advantage? Meanwhile Renfroe is ice cold yet still playing more than any of the others ... probably because of his work earlier in the season. For current production (offensively) a Myers - Margot - Naylor OF should be out there every day ... but ready to bury Renfroe?

====

Might see Lucchesi and Lauer relegated to the pen near the end of 2020 ... some insurance that their replacements actually perform (and deal with innings limits on the kids). Have some doubts about either of them as long term RP ... Lucchesi's command and Lauer does get hit around a lot. Maybe the long RP initially unless some of the other internal RP options step up for that role: Diaz, Avila? Good problem to have.

Quote from WindsorUK on August 10, 2019, 6:07 pm

Naylor in the 2 hole, in front of Machado. Kid should get some pitches to hit tonight.

Not sure why Hedges is in the lineup. Being Saturday night, Mejia was in line for a day off tomorrow with a day game following a night game. AG just WAAAAY overthinking things( or does Paddock prefer Austin?) . Fransisco has been tearing it up lately.

Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2019, 6:23 pm

Quote from WindsorUK on August 10, 2019, 6:07 pm

Naylor in the 2 hole, in front of Machado. Kid should get some pitches to hit tonight.

Not sure why Hedges is in the lineup. Being Saturday night, Mejia was in line for a day off tomorrow with a day game following a night game. AG just WAAAAY overthinking things( or does Paddock prefer Austin?) . Fransisco has been tearing it up lately.

Good chance they were playing Hedges in one of the two games and could be as simple as thinking Hedges best match-up is against Gonzalez instead of tomorrow's starter Marquez who is a high velocity guy.

Another element may be the easier communication between Lamet and Mejia v Paddack and Mejia.

Hedges is going to get in every 3rd or 4th game ... so making the best match-ups for both Hedges and Mejia makes sense.

Quote from fenn68 on August 11, 2019, 8:45 am

Reason for optimism ... since how the Padres are playing vs how their competitors are playing is critical ... consider the 2nd half of this season, so far for NL teams:

Offense: 4th in WAR .... 3rd in wRC+

Defense: 3rd in dWAR

Relief Pitching: 1st in WAR .... 1st in xFIP (by a long shot)

Starting Pitching: 9th In WAR ... 11th in xFIP

Considering SP is the near term strong suit of prospects ... closer to contending than the current record suggests. Of course, need continuation of these results over a full season which is alway iffy.

Also, as much as we focus on the negatives we see in the current Padres’ play and players, we are vastly underestimating the faults in other teams .... apparently as bad or worse.

Quote from LynchMob on August 11, 2019, 9:40 am

From yesterday's game report ...

https://www.mlb.com/padres/news/manuel-margot-wil-myers-power-padres-to-win

Here’s how the quartet of Padres outfielders have slashed since the Reyes trade:

Margot: .375/.444/.958
Myers: .303/.324/.455
Renfroe: .294/.351/.529
Naylor: .286/.400/.667

Quote from Brian Connelly on August 11, 2019, 11:22 am

Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2019, 7:41 am

We may be in the midst of a changing of the guard in SP. Over the past 30 days (5-6 starts) using WHIP as a measure of effectiveness:

Quantrill (0.83) and Paddack (0.95) are in top of the rotation form.

Lamet (1.32) is mid-rotation but encouraging returning from TJ

Lucchesi (1.41) is more 4-5 level

Lauer (1.80) is heading toward the first out of the rotation when Richards is back in 2020.

With Gore and Patino poised to arrive in 2020 at some point ... and with top of the rotation potential ... both Lauer and Lucchesi will be fighting for survival at the beginning of 2020 and may be useful trade chips mid-season. Neither have really shown any improvement over 2018 even considering the full season. Clock is ticking and could be sooner than we think if Preller trades for a SP this winter as he keep threatening.

Yes, and the gap is much bigger, because this neglects to mention Lamet's no-hitter into 7th inning last game.

Lucchesi's big struggle is efficiency.  Just rarely seems to get into 6th/7th inning.  Have to do better than 5 on a season long basis as AG just harped on.

Lauer can be really excellent when all of his pitches are working AND his control is dead-on... but his limited velo leaves very little margin for error if he's missing a pitch.  He's not really a "typical" RP profile, but his pickoff move is so good he would be an interesting "guy/s on base" RP candidate.

Quantrill seems like he's pitching above his stuff/peripherals, but hard to argue with the results.