One Pitcher Is Out of the Running For Padres' Fifth Starter Spot

Mar 28, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres manager Mike Schildt (8) takes the ball from relief pitcher Jhony Brito (76) during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are facing many decisions this spring.

One of the most pressing matters is who the fifth pitcher will be in the rotation. The top four starters are set going into 2025, but there has been a race of a few key arms competing for the final slot.

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Dylan Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, and newly acquired Nick Pivetta are the locks for the starting jobs so far. A cast of talented pitchers are teetering on either winning the fifth and final starting job, or perhaps being better used as a long reliever to start the season.

That is the case with right-hander Jhony Brito, as manager Mike Shildt announced that he will not be going down the "starter path" at this point of the season, per 97.3 The Fan's Sammy Levitt.

Brito will be in more of a long reliever type role, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Bryan Hoeing and his recovery process.

This leaves Matt Waldron, Randy Vasquez, newly acquired southpaw and KBO Cy Young award-equivalent winner Kyle Hart, and Stephen Kolek as potential pitchers for the final spot.

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Hart is an interesting case as he went 13-2 with a 2.69 ERA in KBO play. An impressive 182 strikeouts to only 38 walks across his 26 starts were enough to earn the Choi Dong-won Award, given to the league's best pitcher.

Kolek appeared in 42 games last season with a slightly higher ERA of 5.21 before elbow tendinitis shut him down for the year in late July. He, along with Hart, are seen as the favorites for the final spot.

Waldron logged 27 starts last season, going 7-11 with an ERA of 4.91. His 133 strikeouts to only 40 walks, and all the experience in the rotation makes him a familiar name to plug into the No. 5 role.

In Vasquez's first season with the Padres by way of the New York Yankees, he started 20 games, totaling 98 innings. His 4.87 ERA and 1.51 WHIP are two major reasons why he is also a threat to take the final rotational spot.

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