The 2023 San Diego Padres were supposed to be an unstoppable offensive machine.
However, they are now 8-10 on the season after being shut out by Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.
The lineup hasn’t performed as expected.
Prior to the season, the Padres managed to put together an impressive offense with stars such as Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Juan Soto, not to mention reliable contributors like Nelson Cruz, Jake Cronenworth, Austin Nola, and Trent Grisham.
Just a few hitters in that group have played above expectations, and Tatis is joining the team on Thursday after finishing serving his 80-game suspension.
Soto, in particular, has fans worried about his performance.
He is hitting .164 and is watched in a deep slump.
“Juan Soto has now gone 5 straight games without a hit, tying the 2nd-longest hitless streak of his career. He’s now batting .164 on the season, which is his lowest average for him at any point beyond the 1st 2 games of a season in his career (he went 0-3 in 2019 season opener), ”ESPN Stats & Info tweeted.
Juan Soto has now gone 5 straight games without a hit, tying the 2nd-longest hitless streak of his career.
He’s now batting .164 on the season, which is his lowest average at any point beyond the 1st 2 games of a season in his career (went 0-3 in 2019 season opener). pic.twitter.com/K8xSc6eHDE
—ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 18, 2023
For most major leaguers, going five games without a hit wouldn’t be the end of the world.
For Soto, however, it’s considered a notorious slump because he has set the bar very, very high.
He does have three home runs and a .346 OBP thanks to his elite 21.8 percent walk rate, but hitting for average has been a shocking problem for him.
A .283 lifetime hitter, Soto should be able to rebound eventually.
Still, to say he is slumping at the moment would be an understatement.
The Padres need him to get going if they are going to start winning games.
NEXT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. Is A Walking Cheat Code In The Minors
