Fantasy Baseball Year in Review – Padres

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on November 10, 2025 5:21 am by Anthony Kates | Published: November 10, 2025

    The Padres came into the 2025 season looking to build off of their very successful 2024 season – they won the second most games in franchise history (93), had one of the five best offenses in baseball, the sixth best rotation, seventh best bullpen and gave the Dodgers everything they could handle before falling the National League Divisional series. Unfortunately, budding stars Jackson Merrill and Michael King missed plenty of time due to injury, they received virtually zero offensive production from their catcher and second basemen, Yu Darvish threw just 72 innings and Dylan Cease was absolutely dreadful (outside of his strikeouts). So how did they handle all of that adversity? They won 90 games, finishing three games behind the Dodgers for the National League West crown (tied with the Mariners for the 7th best record in baseball), even though they had just the 22nd best rotation and the 13th best offense (but also the best bullpen in the league), ultimately losing to the Cubs in a Wild Card series.

    Catcher

    The Padres catcher group had one of the worst offensive outputs at the position. None of Freddy Fermin, Elias Diaz or Martin Maldonado were worthy of a fantasy roster spot in 2025. As a group, they combined for 60 runs, 15 home runs, 55 RBI and a .214 average, with a .600 OPS. Both Diaz and Maldonado are free agents and will not be retained, leaving the bulk of the starts behind the plate to Fermin in 2026. It will once again be an offensive black hole and he can be ignored in all but the absolute deepest leagues.

    First Base

    Padres first basemen hit the fewest home runs of any team in 2025, but they also had the lowest strikeout rate, thanks to starting the contact machine that is Luis Arraez. Arraez had the lowest strikeout rate in baseball, among qualified hitters, with a career low 3.1%, but he also hit the fewest home runs among first basemen with 500 or more plate appearances, with just eight, which was four more than last year. It was just the second time in his career that he hit lower than .300, even though he had the best contact rate of his career and the lowest swinging strike rate he’s ever produced. He is a free agent and will surely find himself in a new uniform for the 2026 season and can be a fantasy afterthought for most leagues. Ryan O’Hearn was added at the trade deadline, after making the All-Star Game for the Orioles, to add a some more pop to the lineup and improve upon the first base offensive output. Though he was not as impressive as he was in Baltimore, he was a better producer than Arraez, posting a 112 wRC+ in 183 plate appearances, compared to Arraez’s 104 on the season. O’Hearn is also a free agent and will likely find himself in another uniform in 2026, leaving Gavin Sheets as the current favorite to start at first for the Padres in 2026, unless they sign someone in free agency or trade for a starter. He hit 19 home runs, with 57 runs, 71 RBI, two stolen bases and a .252 batting average in 545 plate appearances split between left field, designated hitter and first base. He set full season career highs in nearly every single offensive category, finishing the year as the 60th best outfielder. He will not be first base eligible to start the season, but is worth a late round pick in slightly deeper leagues, just in case he can build on his breakout season in San Diego.

     Second Base

    Jake Cronenworth was the seventh most valuable second baseman in MLB last season, but only generated the 24th most value at the position in fantasy. Among second basemen with 450 or more plate appearances in 2025, he finished tied for 16th in home runs, with 11 (out of 25), 19th in runs, with 61, 14th in RBI, with 59, tied for 20th in steals, with 3, and 16th in batting average, with a .246. It was his best overall offensive output since 2021 and would have been even better if he hadn’t ended the year with just 515 plate appearances. Will Wagner and Jose Iglesias also saw time at second base, but neither was worthy of any fantasy attention. Cronenworth should only be drafted in deeper leagues in 2026, 15 teams or more or in instances where you start a corner and/or middle infielder in addition to the standard infield positions.

    Third Base

    Manny Machado has been a top four fantasy third baseman for 11 years now. The only third baseman better over that time frame is elite producer Jose Ramirez, who is buoyed by his stolen base output. Machado turned 33 in the middle of the season, but has been steady as ever. He has hit 27 or more home runs in every full season since 2015 and has just one season with a wRC+ under 113 since the same year. He had his best barrel and hard hit rates since 2021, maintaining elite swing decisions and elevating the ball more than he did in 2024. He was the fourth drafted third baseman in 2025 and that is where he finished, surpassed by just Ramirez, Junior Caminero and Eugenio Suarez. Machado should once again be one of the first four or five third baseman off the board in 2026 and should be treated as a top fantasy option at the hot corner until he proves he is no longer the same producer.

    Shortstop

    Xander Bogaerts is no longer the elite offensive producer that he once was, finishing the year as the 19th most valuable fantasy shortstop. He finished the year with 63 runs, 11 home runs, 53 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a .263 batting average, good enough for a 104 wRC+. Though the stolen base total was a career high, he matched his home run total from 2024, even though he had 89 more plate appearances in 2025. He hasn’t had a barrel rate over 6.9% or a hard hit rate higher than 39.5% since 2021, though his statcast numbers last year were his best since that season. Even as his bat worsens, his glove should keep him in the lineup, but he isn’t really a viable fantasy option except for in deeper leagues. Expect his draft price to be even lower than it was in 2025, when he was the 14th shortstop off the board around pick 155.


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    November 10, 2025, 5:21 am