On Thursday morning, ESPN published an article by FanGraph.com’s Craig Edwards, discussing a handful of teams that he believes could be “surprise contenders” in this year’s 60-game MLB season. Edwards put a spotlight on four teams, two from the American League and two form the National League. The Padres, along with the Colorado Rockies, were named the two surprise NL contenders.
Edwards first points to the team’s best two players, 3B/SS Manny Machado and SS Fernando Tatis Jr. as the first few reasons why San Diego should be considered one of the more high-variant teams in the MLB this season.