Neither Colorado nor San Diego entered the season as teams expected to contend for playoff berths, but both the Rockies and Padres have been among the National League’s best teams a week-plus into what will go down as a strange 2020 campaign. The NL West rivals met over the weekend, and the Rockies took two of three to vault them into first place in the division – yes, even ahead of the mighty Dodgers – with a 6-2 record. The Padres, who are trying to snap a 13-year playoff drought, are now a game back at 6-4.
When the dust settles at year’s end (if a full season actually happens), there’s little doubt that the Dodgers will be the top team standing in the NL West. Frankly, they’re too loaded to expect otherwise. But it would still be a major accomplishment for the Rockies or Padres to earn wild-card berths. Colorado’s not far removed from back-to-back playoff spots, having played meaningful October ball in 2017-18, though the team fell on hard times during a 71-win effort last season and did little to nothing to improve during the offseason. San Diego was pretty aggressive, meanwhile, though it entered the winter as a 70-win team with a similarly high hill to climb.
The fact that the league added three extra playoff teams in each league for 2020 obviously helps the causes of every club, especially those that have started well this year. The Rockies have charged to first in their division on the strength of some of the usual suspects (Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, German Marquez and Jon Gray), and they’ve done so despite struggles from team MVP Nolan Arenado. Surprisingly, though, veterans Daniel Murphy, Matt Kemp and Daniel Bard – whose best days seemed long gone when the season started – have picked up some of the slack.
The Padres are playing .600 ball in the early going thanks in no small part to continued marvelous performances from second-year stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, but they’ve also gotten excellent production from other sources. Outfielder and offseason acquisition Trent Grisham has been fantastic; so have currently injured first baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder Wil Myers, both disappointments in recent years, as well as righty Dinelson Lamet. To the surprise of no one who has paid attention to his career, newcomer and outfielder Tommy Pham has also thrived. The Padres also sport an impressive bullpen on paper, though the unit’s off to a surprisingly poor start. Regardless, in order to upgrade their cast of pitchers, the Padres could pick from a deep well of prospects (MacKenzie Gore? Luis Patino?) if they need to bolster their roster in the next couple months.
It’s going to be interesting to see if either of these rival clubs will emerge as playoff teams in 2020. They’ve certainly begun well, but which one is more likely to keep up its current pace? (Poll link for app users)
“Neither Colorado nor San Diego entered the season as teams expected to contend for playoff berths…”
That’s what you think, Connor. All the best minds had the Rockies penciled in for 94 wins before the pandemic shortened the season X-D
All snark aside, I’m pretty sure it was actually expected that San Diego was contending for a wild card spot even before the playoffs were expanded.
There were a good amount of pundits who projected them as a wild card team before the pandemic and they were making win now moves like trading prospects for Pham and Profar, so it seems like they were in a way different position than Colorado before things got crazy.
id bet Rox. their pitching is much improved
it all depends how the rockies play at home and padres are a unknown
the rockies offense may be better tbh. but i do not believe they have the pitching
whereas the padres are a little more thoroughly built with a deep pen AND guys they could pull up from the minors if need be
When Rockies front 3 pitchers are on all year with Rox offense .. they will win 5-7 more than padres
That was easy, the Padres. The Rockies don’t have the pitching, a flaw that will become more apparent when they play more games at home.
I knoe people say Coors is a disadvantage but it’s no more a disadvantage to the Rockies than it is to their opponent.
It’s not just Coors. Colorado has a nice top three in the rotation with Marquez, Freeland, and Gray. Senzatela may have turned a corner, but their fifth option is a mess. The bullpen likely lost Oberg for the season and Wade Davis has completely fallen apart. Bard looks promising thus far, but I’m not so sure it’s sustainable.
Conversely, the Padres have a stable rotation with Paddack, Lamet, Richards, Lucchesi, and Davies. No one too exciting, but certainly no obvious weaknesses either. The bullpen is vastly superior, with talents such as Yates, Pomeranz, Pagan, and Pierce Johnson. Sure, they’re off to a dubious start, but I trust that staff more than the likes of Almonte, Diaz, and Estevez.
The Rockies have more firepower on offense with Story, Arenado, Blackmon, Dahl, and possibly Murphy. However, bear in mind they have little in the way of bench depth in the event of an injury. Matt Kemp must also continue to rake in order for the lineup to click. The Padres have some nice pieces, such as Machado, Tatis, Grisham, and Pham. That said, I’m not a Profar fan and the team similarly lacks valuable contributors off the bench. Furthermore, Hosmer and Myers will probably regress.
Overall, I’d say the Padres have a more sustainable and overall deeper roster. Injuries are bound to occur and they seem more well-prepared. The Rockies have a higher ceiling, but it seems everything needs to go right for them to meet such lofty expectations.
That’s my interpretation. Thoughts?
Is this a personal attack or something?
One thing I learned from watching the KBO in early morning rock dove blinds is that there is really no substitute for MLB, man.
Saturday I was in Nebraska (looked for Steve: no luck) for their small game opener. As it turns out I caught a bunch of this game around the fire that night.
There are a lot of good players on each team!
I voted Padres…but just barely. The NL West looks like a pretty deep division.
Obviously, the Dodgers are hella good.
Arizona, CO, & SD all seem like teams that could put a nifty 60 game run together. (sorry Giants fellas. I don’t see much hope for your squad. I do think you guys’ll do really well at the trade deadline…so there’s that?)
Uh?
I can definitely see that division landing 3 teams in the playoffs.
Right on, buddy guy man dude!
I could see both of them making it.
Neither as they and the 28 other teams will be sitting in October. Of course I hope I’m wrong and this is not being negative but just clicking heels will not contain the virus. Reality is it doesn’t look good. Does Vegas’ odds include a “none of the 30 teams” choice when betting on a championship winner?
Neither. Giants pull it off and make the playoffs at 36-24.
Neither
This is basically the same Colorado team that made the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 except they have the benefit of subtracting Ian Desmond, Bryan Shaw, and Jake McGee. If they finally figure out Wade Davis is done and cut him loose, the Rox will be unstoppable. The Rox were terrible last year, but their entire rotation was on the injured list after the All Star Break. They overcame a horrible start to be one of the best teams in the league in May and June before the injuries just decimated any chance they had.
I am still not convinced that the Padres have anything. Without a Davis blowup, they would have been swept in 3 at Coors. They were supposed to be up and coming last year, but couldn’t even get to 70 wins. SD may eventually be a good team, but it’s rare that a team will jump from 69 wins to serious contender in 1 season. Although with this season, who knows?
Without a Davis blowup Colorado would have gone 3-0. Then again, without the Padre’s bullpen blowups they would be undefeated this year. See how that works?
No, no I don’t see how that works. But thanks for asking.
I see how that works. It isn’t difficult. Maybe you should try again without the sunglasses.
I guess that’s why they play the games. That’s like saying “If Colorado would have outcomes their opponents they’d be undefeated”.
If they hadn’t lost games, they would be undefeated!
In that case, it’s the Pirates.
Padres. Pitching, defense, and new key additions, plus their young talent
Rox. Improved pitching and solid hitting.
Does anyone know if the Connor Byrne who wrote this article is on Twitter & what his Twitter Handle is? If Anyone does, could you comment & let me know please? Thanks in advance.
Padres bullpen sucks if they improve maybe we can talk playoffs.