The San Diego Padres, who have been in last place in the NL West for a majority of the season, have recently overtaken the Dodgers for fourth in the division after winning seven of their last eight which includes their first home stand win this season. Though the offense has sparked the recent win streak, the pitching staff has been equally as dominant, allowing only 14 runs in their last seven wins.
This recent span of pitching dominance shouldn't surprise many, as the Padres have ranked in the top five in MLB in several different pitching statistics most of the year; including ERA, SLG%, and OPS%.
Key Pitchers: (% Owned in parentheses for players under 65 percent owned.)
Heath Bell, the often rumored to be leaving San Diego closer, has been able to put trade talk aside so far this season, compiling another All-Star caliber '11 campaign. Bell's 23 saves are tied for second best in MLB, despite the fact that the Padres are eight games below .500 and went a week without getting a save opportunity earlier this month. He followed that up with six straight save conversions over the next two weeks, allowing a mere five hits without allowing a run. Bell has only blown one save this entire season and has only allowed three ER the entire season in save opportunities. Owners or perspective owners of Bell should hope for a trade to St. Louis, probably the best location for Bell if he does end up getting traded.
Tim Stauffer - (54 percent) Stauffer has pitched outstandingly in his last five starts, showing many of critics why the righty was selected fourth overall in the 2003 draft. Going at least seven innings in each of his last five starts, Stauffer is 3-1 with 33K in 36 innings. Stauffer's is on his first win streak this season, not surprisingly.
His manager, Bud Black, analyzed Stauffer's recent success in a North County Times article:
The right-hander allowed a run in the third inning on Eric Hosmer's RBI single, but retired 13 of the last 15 hitters he faced. Stauffer threw strikes on 62 of 107 pitches.
"The efficiency factor has gone way up the last five starts," Black said of Stauffer.
Mike Adams - (34 percent) Adams is gaining fantasy traction among owners in leagues of all size for many reasons. Adams, who has been among the league leaders in holds the past two seasons, including finishing second behind teammate Luke Gregerson with 38 holds in 2010, is the likely air apparent to Heath Bell, if and when Bell is ultimately dealt. In the mean time, Adams is having an amazing season and is helping fantasy owners in three of the main five pitching statistics ( WHIP, ERA, and K). Adams is the best Padres pitcher statistically on Yahoo, compiling an ERA of 1.24, a WHIP of 0.66, and a K/BB ratio of 8.0. The scary thing for batters facing Adams, and a pleasant thought for his owners, Adams has the room for improvement, as evidence by his 0.73 ERA in 2009, which was also the year he had his career high in K/9 (10.9).Dustin Moseley - (five percent) A bit of a stretch, and at five percent owned he's hardly a fantasy commodity, but Moseley is a strong candidate for pitch 'n' ditch duties against favorable match ups. He has an impressive ERA of 3.03, but most of his other statistics leave a lot to be desired. A 2-7 record, a below average WHIP of 1.27, and a very unimpressive K/9 ratio of 4.3 are sure to leave many potential owners skeptical.
The Padres are going on the road for ten games before the All Star break, but they have some very favorable match ups. They travel to Seattle for a weekend series that begins Friday, and pits two of MLB's worst offense against each other. Even though Seattle has played exceptionally well against the Padres and are an AL team, they are dead last in runs (277 and BA (.227). The Padres then begin their return home with a four game series in San Francisco, followed by three at Chavez Ravine, only a short trip on the I5 from San Diego.
With more consistent offensive support, several of the Padres pitchers go from pitch 'n' ditch candidates to potential fantasy assets.
