2 weeks Ago By Raghav Mehta
Despite all the hype surrounding their bitter rivlas, the Los Angeles Dodgers , to start the season, an argument can be made about the San Diego Padres, having been the hottest team in all of the major leagues so far this season. Currently, the Friars sit top of a fiercely contested NL West with a 16-6 record. When talking about the team's success, it is due to the outstanding hitters in the lineup and the quality pitching aresenal.
However, commitment showed in the field also goes a long way, and the Padres definitely have outstanding athletes on their roster to keep things tight defensively. On Sunday, insider Russell Dorsey claimed that in Fernando Tatis Jr. , the Padres had the 'best athlete in baseball' on their roster, via a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In order to support his argument, Dorsey also shared a clip of an outstanding defensive play from the outfielder, as he slid to catch a ball, while accurately throwing it back to first base in a single, seamless motion. Along with making superb plays on the field, Fernando Tatis Jr. has been his usual, destructive self at the plate .
So far, the Dominican is batting .358, with 8 home runs and 16 RBIs. After enjoying an outstanding rookie season, young Jackson Merrill was rewarded by his team in the form of a bumper contract extension.
Per various reports, the 22-year-old finally settled on a nine-year, $135 million guaranteed offer. Shortly after signing the outfielder to his new deal, San Diego Padres General Manager A.J.
Preller talked shed some light on his long-term vision for the team. With so much quality all over the diamond, and all of their stars in good touch at the moment, it is perhaps not surprising to see the exceptional performances the Friars are putting in day in, day out. As the team look to finally win their first ever championship this season, fans will be hoping all the stars that Preller mentioned earlier can continue to lead from the front.
Raghav Mehta Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge. One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs.
Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema. Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.
Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college. Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.
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