[Sundance]

Recap

Overall Record: 96-65
Position: 2nd (Wildcard)
Games Back: 13 (+5 in Wildcard)

It’s incredible to see how far this team has come. I was definitely in panic mode those first few months on the job. Hitters who got off to slow starts. A team that was getting mediocre results. For the first three months of the season it looked like this year might slip away from us. I might have gone a little overboard with the transactions, but sometimes being a madman in the front office pays off.

What can I say about a season that will go down as one of the club’s best? Let’s start with some of the big bats.

SS Fernando Tatis Jr. - .274/.345/.502, 33 HR, 95 RBI, 26 SB, 8.1 WAR

With the eyes of the baseball world watching his every move, El Nino did not disappoint. Whether it’s with his bat, his legs, or his glove, Tatis Jr. always entertains. He finished the season 3rd among NL hitters in WAR. The best part? He’s still improving.

3B Manny Machado - .286/.347/.495, 28 HR, 101 RBI, 17 SB, 5.4 WAR

This is the $30 million player we expected. In a season in which a lot of our hitters bounced back and forth between hot and cold, Machado was, for the most part, a consistent threat at the plate. The 17 stolen bases are especially surprising. Who knew he was still so crafty on the bases?

Now let’s take a look at our three big offensive acquisitions.

1B Jose Abreu

2021 Totals - .297/.352/.502, 46 doubles, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 4.7 WAR
2021 Padres - .286/.337/.481, 19 doubles, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 1.5 WAR

Abreu saw a slight dip in performance after moving to San Diego, but still put together a very solid season. His full season projection would have put him at 59 doubles, 23 HR, 93 RBI, 4.2 WAR.

LF Cory Dickerson

2021 Totals - .289/.328/.485, 24 doubles, 24 HR, 81 RBI, 2.9 WAR
2021 Padres - .327/.344/.558, 13 doubles, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 1.6 WAR

The move to the west coast definitely did Dickerson some good. If we project his stats with the club over a full season we would expect 36 Doubles, 31 HR, 124 RBI, 4.5 WAR. If we compare this to his yearly averages, the power numbers are actually pretty reasonable, although he likely would have seen some regression in his batting average and WAR total, as both would have either set or matched career highs.

CF Alex Verdugo

2021 Totals - .310/.383/.481, 51 Doubles, 13 HR, 75 RBI, 4.9 WAR
2021 Padres - .298/.376/.432, 29 Doubles, 6 HR, 45 RBI, 2.3 WAR

Verdugo performed just about as expected, although there was a minor dip in performance. At first glance you can see that his slash line was less impressive after the move to San Diego. Over a full season this would account -1 difference in WAR if we compare it to his full season projection. However, a lot of the numbers line up pretty closely with his projections coming in at 49 Doubles, 10 HR, and 76 RBI.

Now let’s take a look at some of the standout pitching performances.

SP Chris Paddack - 15-9, 199.2 IP, 205 K, 3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP. 4.4 WAR

The 25 year old took some big strides forward in his third season in the pros. He set career highs in wins (And ironically, losses as well), innings pitched, strikeouts, and WAR. He was rewarded for his fine play with his first All-Star selection

SP Blake Snell - 13-10, 206.0 IP, 204 K, 2.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 4.5 WAR

It was honestly a toss up between Snell and Paddack for who was the best pitcher on the staff this season. 2021 will go down as the second best season of Snell’s six year career. Snell ranked 2nd in the NL in ERA, 2nd in IP, 5th in Ks, and 1st in rWAR. Snell was rewarded with his second All-Star selection this season.

CL Drew Pomeranz - 35 SV, 72 K, 2.67 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 2.8 WAR

2021 was Pomeranz’s best year as a reliever. He went 25 straight games without giving up a run, which was tops in the NL. If there’s a fault to be found in his season, it was that he blew 5 saves, the majority of which can be attributed to some early season struggles.

And just like the batters, we have to take a look at our big acquisition on the mound.

SP James Paxton

2021 Totals - 18-7, 213.0 IP, 217 K, 2.70 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 5.0 WAR
2021 Padres - 3-0, 75.0 IP, 74 K, 2.88 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 1.5 WAR

Paxton was obviously successful in his 12 starts with the club. However, if we project his stats over a full season, we see that the move south caused a slight dip in performance - 200.0 IP, 197 K, 4 WAR. Still, even with that slight dip, those numbers are nothing to scoff at.