Can the San Diego Padres repeat their 2010 season and win 90 games in the 2011 season? The 2010 Padres were all about pitching. Their team ERA ranked 2nd in the National League. Clayton Richard, Jon Garland, and Mat Latos all had 14 wins. Their bullpen was among the best in the National League. The Padres will have to replace Garland this season, and look to do so in bringing up a former reliever, Tim Stauffer, to the rotation. He actually started 7 games at the end of the 2010 season and was great, posting a 1.87 ERA. If Stauffer can be a quality third starter and the Padres can get decent performances from their 4th and 5th starters, they will be just fine. The bullpen features Heath Bell, who had 47 saves in 2010. Bell, Luke Gregerson, and Joe Thatcher all had over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched in 2010. Mike Adams posted a SO/9 rate of 9.9. These guys will be solid again in 2011.
The Padres were next to last in team batting average last season in the National League. There are plenty of new faces offensively for the Padres in 2011. Replacing Adrian Gonzalez at first base is Brad Hawpe. Orlando Hudson (2B), Jason Bartlett (SS), and Cameron Maybin (CF) join the 2011 Padres and will look to add life to the offense. Losing Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox will really hurt this team's power. Ryan Ludwick had 17 homeruns last season, but only hit 6 as a member of the Padres. Will Venable only had 13. Petco Park is a huge field and the Padres will have to rely on speed and timely hitting to score runs. I don't see the Padres scoring enough runs this season to get to 90 wins again.
Projected starters:
C Nick Hundley
1B Brad Hawpe
2B Orlando Hudson
3B Chase Headley
SS Jason Bartlett
LF Ryan Ludwick
CF Cameron Maybin
RF Will Venable
P Mat Latos
P Clayton Richard
P Tim Stauffer
P Dustin Moseley
P Cory Luebke
(stats from baseball-reference.com)
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