76-86, 4^th in the NL West

You might not believe this, but the Padres had a pretty respectable season in 2012. 76 wins isn’t something to pop bubbly over, but the team was far from the pushover farce that they have been in years past and were quite formidable down the stretch.

Chase Headley led the way with an MVP caliber season (7.5 WAR) and he had help from his friends, Cameron Maybin (2.7), Will Venable (2.7), Yasmani Grandal (2.6), Carlos Quentin (2.0), and Yonder Alonso (2.0). A couple other players posted near 2.0 win seasons, so when you look at the Padres offense as a whole; it’s actually not that bad. If you don’t like homeruns (which no one can hit at PETCO), the Padres were a downright…good offense.

The bullpen was pretty good, but the starters struggled to stay on the field. Only two made a full season of starts. Lots of the typical rate statistics put the Padres in the middle of the pack as a pitching staff, but WAR hates them because they get such a boost from their home ballpark.

Your view of their staff depends on how much you want to remove context from the equation, but you can’t call them good by any standard.

The farm is deep in San Diego and with new ownership and TV money, the franchise should be on the way up. They have a nice core of young players to build around and a few impact upgrades could put them right in the thick of contention.

I doubt 2013 will be a playoff year for the Padres, but they could push .500 and take a step toward being a legitimate contender in the near future.

2012 Grade: D

Early 2013 Projection: 77-85