Padres Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Xander Bogaerts and More
Discussing the top fantasy players from the San Diego Padres as the 2024 season approaches.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles relating to 2024 fantasy baseball draft prep and will continue to do so through the start of the MLB season.
Recently, we’ve been looking at things on a team-by-team basis. We’ve covered several teams already, and those articles can be found at the links below:
American League - Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers), Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros (hitters and pitchers), Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays (hitters and pitchers), Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers), Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks (hitters and pitchers)
Now, we’ll take a look at the San Diego Padres.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Hitters
The first San Diego hitter off fantasy draft boards, according to the FantasySP Average Draft Position list, is Fernando Tatis Jr. He ranks 21st overall with a mark of 21.78.
Tatis had a bit of a down season in 2023 after missing all of 2022 with an injury/PED suspension. He hit .257 and got on base at a .322 clip. Tatis had 148 total hits, including 59 extra-base hits (25 homers), 78 RBIs, 29 stolen bases and 91 runs scored.
Those numbers aren’t terrible by any means, and he was still one of the better fantasy options in points leagues, but his average and OBP were easily career lows. A 15-20 point increase could help Tatis be one of the top fantasy hitters in the game. He’s the 10th OF off fantasy boards, which feels about right, but there’s also a chance he finishes as a top-five OF by the end of the season if everything comes together. I like him best as my second outfielder, but if you draft well otherwise, he can definitely function as an OF1.
Manny Machado is next up, ranking 46th with a mark of 52.84.
Machado played in 138 games in 2023, finishing with a .258 average and .319 on-base percentage. He also had 140 total hits, 91 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Machado homered 30 times among his 51 extra-base hits.
He’s the sixth 3B off draft boards even though he finished quite a bit lower last season. I prefer Machado at least a round after this, and preferably two or three. He’s got bounceback potential too, but is now on the wrong side of 30, so I’m not as sold on him bouncing back as I am Tatis. If you draft Machado, make sure you are confident with several of your other hitters.
Xander Bogaerts is the next hitter on the ADP list, ranking 84th with a mark of 88.12.
Across 155 games, he hit .285, with a .350 on-base percentage in 2023. He had 170 total hits, including 52 extra-base hits (19 homers), 58 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and 83 runs scored.
That was actually a bit of a down season for Bogaerts, but he was still a top-five finisher at SS anyways. Bogaerts is expected to play second base this season, which should give him a little position versatility fairly early in the season. Looking at the numbers for Machado and Bogaerts and then their ADPs, these two guys look like they should be flipped. I expect Bogaerts to see his ADP rise as the season gets closer, and even then, I still think he’ll be a pretty big steal for his ADP. I love waiting in drafts and landing a top-end fantasy hitter in Bogaerts in the middle rounds - doing so simply results in better fantasy teams.
Ha-Seong Kim is the reason Bogaerts is moving to second. Kim is ranked 98th overall with a mark of 103.84 and will be the team’s shortstop.
Kim played in 152 games in 2023, tallying a .260 average, .351 on-base percentage, 140 total hits, 60 RBIs, 38 stolen bases and 84 runs scored. He homered 17 times among his 40 extra-base hits.
Kim likely has eligibility at SS, 2B and 3B going into 2024, which is extremely valuable for fantasy purposes - Kim was a top-10 fantasy hitter at each position last season. If you miss out on one of the top players at one of those positions, Kim is a fantastic choice around round 10 or 11, and gives you a great option in case your top guy at a different position goes down. Because of his position versatility and overall numbers, I’m fine taking Kim a round or two ahead of his current ADP.
Jake Cronenworth is next up, ranking 190th with a mark of 169.33.
Across 127 games in 2023, Cronenworth had a .229 average, .312 on-base percentage, 105 total hits, 48 RBIs, six stolen bases and 54 runs scored. He homered 10 times among his 41 extra-base hits.
Cronenworth likely has 1B and 2B eligibility, which boosts his fantasy value a touch. His average has plummeted the past two seasons, and his RBI numbers have also fallen a good amount. Cronenworth is a bounceback candidate, and isn’t too much of a risk at this point of a draft, even though I’d prefer him a round or so later.
Luis Campusano is the next Padres’ hitter on the ADP list, ranking 320th with a mark of 248.5.
He played in just 49 games a season ago, but tallied a .319 average and .356 on-base percentage. Campusano had 52 total hits, including 14 extra-base hits (seven homers), 30 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
His 162-game averages are really strong, but he hasn’t played over 50 games in a season yet, so he falls later in drafts. Campusano is a good backup option, with the potential to be a massive draft steal if he plays in 130 or so games - just make sure your top catcher is a great option if you want to gamble on Campusano.
Graham Pauley, Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill are the team’s other projected starting hitters. Pauley is projected to platoon with Eguy Rosario. Kyle Higashioka is the backup catcher, while Tyler Wade and Jose Azocar are the projected bench guys.
Merrill is the No. 12 prospect in baseball, so I actually like the idea of using a late draft pick on him. Pauley and Rosario are both young too, so they are others to keep a closer eye on.
Top Fantasy Pitchers
The first San Diego pitcher taken is Joe Musgrove, ranking 83rd with a mark of 86.
He went 10-3 with a 3.05 earned run average across 17 starts last season. Musgrove struck out 97 batters over 97 1/3 innings.
Musgrove has dropped on draft boards because of durability issues, but that was his first time under 30 starts in the past three seasons. He’s a great option near his ADP and could be one of your top-performing fantasy SP by the end of the season.
Yu Darvish is next up, ranking 148th with a mark of 143.64.
Darvish struggled last season, going 8-10 with a 4.56 ERA across 24 starts. He had 141 strikeouts over 136 1/3 innings.
Darvish is another bounceback candidate for San Diego, which makes him a strong pick for that ADP. He’s a guy to take a chance on if you feel confidently about the top end of your SP.
Michael King is next, ranking 169th with a mark of 156.53. He’s going to start this season after mostly being a reliever in his five-year career with the New York Yankees.
King went 4-8 a season ago with a 2.75 ERA across 49 appearances (nine starts). He struck out 127 over just 104 2/3 innings.
It’s always a bit of a gamble picking a pitcher who is transitioning to being a starter. There’s bound to be some ups and downs over the course of the season, but this is also a guy who has a sub-3 ERA the past two seasons, so there’s plenty of upside and hype surrounding King. He’s another guy to target if you feel really good about the top end talent you have at SP.
Robert Suarez is next up, ranking 319th with a mark of 248.5. He’s expected to be the team’s closer, although the final San Diego pitcher on the ADP list could change those plans.
Suarez went 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA across 26 games last season, striking out 24 over 27 2/3 innings. He had a 2.27 ERA across 47 2/3 innings in 2022.
Those numbers indicate another bounceback candidate, although the leash could be a bit shorter this season because of what transpired in 2023. This late in a fantasy draft though, there’s not a ton of risk taking a gamble on a guy who could earn a bunch of saves, so there’s really no reason not to take him (unless news breaks that he’s no longer the closer).
The final San Diego pitcher on the ADP list is Yuki Matsui, ranked 339th with a mark of 273.83.
He had a career 2.43 ERA across 10 seasons for Nippon Professional Baseball teams. Matsui could steal the closer job away from Suarez with a strong start to the season.
Again, drafting a guy like Matsui late isn’t much of a risk to fantasy teams. He’ll be in line for a lot of holds as the seventh- or eighth-inning guy, and if he pitches well, he could eventually get some saves.
Jhony Brito and Matt Waldron are the final two projected starters for San Diego. Glenn Otto is another option, as is prospect Drew Thorpe, who is a top-100 prospect. All of these guys are streaming options that could get hot for a few weeks.
The FantasySP team will help identify the best matchups and waiver wire guys throughout the season, so be sure to check in early and often!
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