Padres Predicted to Plummet in NL West Standings This Month

After getting off to a very slow start to the season, the San Diego Padres quickly rebounded, getting themselves back into the National League West division race. San Diego came into the year without high expectations, but this team still has the same goal in the clubhouse, which is to win the World Series.

Even with all the injuries to the starting rotation and the questions surrounding the pitchers, this group remains toward the top of the standings. San Diego has also seen its offense be very inconsistent through the first month-plus of the season, but this hasn't stopped them from winning games.

However, one MLB analyst believes that the Padres' string of luck to open the year will finally run out this month. Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report expects the Padres to plummet down the standings in the coming weeks.

"Bad luck is already starting to catch up with them," Rymer said. "And it doesn't get easier any time soon. They have four series due up against winning clubs, plus two more against ostensible contenders in the Mariners and Phillies."

The Padres have taken advantage of an easier schedule to open the season, with the team having multiple series against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. But in May, San Diego will be facing off against the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.

Each of these teams could give the Padres some problems, especially if San Diego's offense continues to sputter. The Padres finally got their run differential for the season into the green, which shows how fortunate they were getting to be so many games above .500.

But the stars on this team continue to struggle, and eventually this could come back to hurt them. Both Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have opened the year on cold streaks, leading to the offensive issues of the organization.

Tatis has still not hit a home run on the season, which is now the longest drought of his MLB career. The Padres have tried to work with him on the lack of power, and even Tatis has been confused as to what is going on with him at the plate.

For the year, Tatis is hitting .242 with 13 runs batted in and 14 walks drawn, while posting an OPS of .606. His decline to open the year is concerning, and the Padres are hoping that it isn't a sign of things to come for the franchise player.

With the schedule getting tougher and the offense still struggling to put together any form of consistency, it makes sense that the Padres could fall down the standings. But this team has also won games in spite of a poor offense, and maybe they can keep things going strong.

If anything, the month of May will be a nice test for San Diego to see how they stack up against some of the better teams in the league. And if the Padres can survive these next few weeks, maybe this time is just better than people want to give them credit for.

Add us as a preferred source on Google