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The San Diego Padres are surging up the power rankings, according to The Athletic. Last week, they were sitting in seventh, and have now moved on up and there is really only one area to thank for that.
Bullpen pitching.
Mason Miller is taking the league by storm, and he has some backup out there that is really setting the tone for these Friars. Namely, basically a newcomer in Bradgley Rodriguez, who was called up in May last season and seen 7.2 innings of work in 2025.
Rodriguez has seen 12.1 innings of work this season, and has an ERA of 0.73. He has 12 strikeouts on the year, and has mostly used his changeup and sinker to get past batters.
In fact, that changeup is to good, that after 82 pitches, nobody has gotten on base by hitting it. The nasty stuff seems to be working out greatly for him. Not to say that the fastball doesn't have the same kind of effect, as he is averaging out at 98 MPH on it.
The Padres are going to be a contender in the National League, but starting pitching continues to be an issue. Of course, the bullpen is going to be great, but for how much longer will they dominate to this magnitude. Eventually, their luck is going to run out, and opposing teams will figure out a way to get past both the starting pitching and relievers.
Can Rodriguez keep up this hot-streak, and contribute when his team needs him most?
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