Starter Matt Waldron Coming Into His Own For Padres This Season

Waldron has excelled recently.

Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron has steadily improved over the past month. The 27-year-old right-hander, who made his MLB debut just last year and began this season on the bubble for a starting rotation job, has been the Padres' most consistent pitcher over his last seven outings.

Since a disastrous start to begin May in which Waldron allowed seven earned runs in three innings while striking out just two batters, Waldron has posted a 1.91 ERA with 41 strikeouts across 42.1 innings, as noted by 97.3-FM's Sammy Levitt.

This marks a significant improvement compared to Waldron's ERA in April (4.35) and May (4.15). During this span, he has not allowed more than two earned runs in a start, and made just his second start of the season with zero earned runs allowed against the Miami Marlins on May 28.

Matt Waldron in his last 7 starts:

1.91 ERA
0.87 WHIP
42.1 IP
41 K
10 BB
.181 opponent BA pic.twitter.com/bPm2yupD03

— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) June 15, 2024

Waldron has upped his game in June, pitching at least six innings through three starts, and allowing three hits or less during each of these starts. Waldron has a 1.86 ERA to begin the month. Though the Padres have lost two of his three June starts, a lack of run support has been the culprit.

Waldron's improvement has paid off in the win column. The Padres are 4-3 over his last seven starts, compared to 1-6 through his first seven. This was especially good timing for the Padres, who have been missing their top two starters in Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish as the two were placed on the injured list for the second time this season.

In addition to helping the rotation, Waldron is earning some out-of-town fans along the way with his knuckleball.

I’m trying to learn the knuckleball the Waldron dude from the padres throws 😂😂😂 https://t.co/W7GeJv37yR

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 12, 2024