Padres' Starting Rotation in Wild Card Round Predicted By Insider

Sep 17, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (27) reacts after allowing a solo home run to New York Mets designated hitter Starling Marte (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres insider AJ Cassavell predicted the San Diego Padres' starting pitchers for their best-of-three Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs.

Last season, the Padres fielded Michael King and Joe Musgrove for their Wild Card series sweep over the Atlanta Braves. This season, however, King has struggled with injury for most of the season and Musgrove won't be available to start as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Despite King's injury, Cassavell thinks the Friars have seen enough to justify his involvement.

"I think the Padres have seen enough out of Michael King to be reasonably confident in giving him a Wild Card Series start, most likely in Game 2, behind Nick Pivetta in Game 1," wrote Cassavell. "King has only made three starts since returning from the IL, and he’s only won one of them. But he’s proven it on the October stage and started to look like himself against the White Sox last week."

Pivetta is a given for Game 1 of the series, as he has been the Padres' best starter all season long. His 2.87 ERA is the best in the rotation, and he has thrown the most innings on the team with 181.2.

King, despite being three starts removed from his return to the MLB roster after spending most of the last four months on the injured list, is still probably the Padres' second best option. After a disastrous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 16, King posted five scoreless innings five days later against the White Sox.

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In addition to the improvement's he's made since his return, King has been there before. He threw seven scoreless innings in last season's Wild Card series opener, which the Padres won, 4-0.

The only question remaining for the Padres: What if the series goes to three games?

"The bigger question is Game 3 — a potential winner-take-all Wild Card Series finale" wrote Cassavell. "The current candidates — Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and Randy Vásquez — all come with question marks. Darvish and Cease have been entirely inconsistent.

"...In a winner-take-all Game 3, it’s a matter of trust. It was only last year that Darvish shined in a winner-take-all Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. He’s done it before, whereas Vásquez has not and Cease has struggled on that kind of stage. Plus, since lowering his arm slot a couple months ago, Darvish has been much better. Not great, mind you. But better. And how many innings do the Padres really need from him, with this bullpen?"

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While Darvish hasn't quite been as good as he usually is this season, he has been better during September. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his starts this month, and is just a few starts removed from some solid showings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.

The Padres still have starting pitching talent despite their recent struggles, and their current staff has more than enough to take them past the Cubs in the Wild Card round and into the NLDS.

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