Padres manager Mike Shildt had a tremendous opening series
The players on the field did the job but Shildt deserves credit for the moves he made
I’m sure a lot of the talk coming out of this Padres-Braves series will be the dominance of Nick Pivetta, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado looking healthy and the bullpen shoving—and rightfully so.
But someone else who deserves props is the skipper Mike Shildt (and his staff).
Let’s go through the notable moves made—and not made—in these four games that ended up working out great:
That’s a pretty dang good weekend for the skipper. He can’t control if these players perform but he’s done a great job of trusting his guys and realizing that it’s important to give certain guys the confidence early on despite what has happened in the past.
We’re lucky to have Shildt as the manager. I don’t want him to be taken for granted.
Padres All-Star off to fantastic start to 2025 MLB season
San Diego Padres All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr. is off to a noteworthy start to the 2025 MLB season.
Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. looking strong in 2025
Tatis Jr. leads the Padres in hits (7), runs (5), stolen bases (3), and home runs (1) this season. The 26-year-old has been a major reason why San Diego has gone 4-0 so far.
The 2025 MLB season carries major implications for the Padres. San Diego is vying for an elusive World Series after coming up short last year with nearly the same nucleus.
Tatis Jr. will be a major difference-maker for the Friars in their bid to win the Fall Classic this time around. So far, he is work at the plate has been excellent, further exemplified by his .467/.529/.733 slash line with a 1.263 OPS.
Could Tatis Jr. outshine NL superstars this season?
The righty slugger has been heralded as the best player in the big leagues leading up to this season. He also champions that label, with its merit showing in the Padres star’s body of work.
Though it is early in the campaign, Tatis Jr. is a name to watch for the NL MVP. Seeing that he’s also playing well defensively, with an unblemished fielding percentage thus far, the seven-year veteran could come out ahead over the best talents in the league once the campaign concludes.
Every year when spring training comes to a close the words you hear from virtually every team viewing themselves in contention for the playoffs is that it is important to get off to a fast start.
Considering the way the Padres played in the spring—a 12-17 record and leaking runs all over the place—getting that hot start didn’t look too promising (which only goes to prove that we should never pay any attention to what happens in spring camp).
This spring, in particular, could not have been more misleading. The back end of the rotation was a shambles after injuries diminished the ranks. The bullpen arms, with a few exceptions, didn’t look too sturdy either. But the thing with spring training is that a lot of the real work happens away from the public eye. The back fields provide controlled environments for pitchers and hitters to work on things outside the constraints of games. This spring, more than any I recall in recent times, the back field work was utilized extensively by Mike Shildt and his coaches.
Starters Nick Pivetta, Kyle Hart and Randy Vasquez worked a majority of their innings out of sight of spring games. We saw hardly any base stealing in the games and not much situational hitting was executed. But the work being done in practice and in simulated games is a completely different story, seeing many situational drills and extensive base running and base stealing work being done.
Considering the way this team has begun their season, 4-0 over the Atlanta Braves and showing excellent execution in every facet of the game, it is obvious the work done on the practice fields was worth as much or more than the work during games.
The Baseball Gods have also played a hand with the fast start. With Jake Cronenworth getting a double off the leg of the starting pitcher that ricocheted into the Braves dugout and a check swing double down the right field line for Fernando Tatis Jr.
