Padres News: Friars Keep Dropping in Latest MLB Power Rankings

San Diego needs to change things quickly or else!

The struggles of the San Diego Padres this season are apparent. They have been one of the biggest disappointments across the scope of baseball, only rivaled by the New York Mets.

After a run to the NLCS last season and then a strong offseason, many believed that the Padres were ready to take that next step towards being real contenders. However, the opposite has occurred and the Padres are left looking up at a big gap in the standings.  

As the season goes on, the Padres keep falling farther and farther down. In the latest editions of MLB power rankings on both MLB.com and The Athletic, the Friars have dropped once again. On MLB.com, they fell down to number 19, one spot lower than the previous rankings and on The Athletic, the team dropped down to number 20, staying put at the same number. 

The Padres have somewhat free fallen all season long and they haven't been able to put together consistent performances. For a game or two, the offense shows up, but then falls right back into the cycle of inconsistency. The pitching staff has kept them afloat all year while the offense floundered but even that is starting to show cracks in the system. 

They currently are in fourth place within the NL West and are coming off a road trip against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds that saw them go 1-5. Things need to pick up quickly for the Friars otherwise it will be a lost season.

NL playoff chances, per Fangraphs:
Braves 100%
Dodgers 88.3%
Diamondbacks 78.7%
Giants 68.2%
Marlins 64.2%
Brewers 60.2%
Phillies 55.5%
Reds 25.2%
Padres 22.2%
Mets 13.3%
Cubs 10.5%
Cardinals 9.8%
Pirates 4.0%
Nats, Rockies 0.0%

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 3, 2023

San Diego still has time to turn things around, however, as a baseball season is long. We haven't hit the All-Star break just yet but the clock is ticking for them. If they can't turn things around, this 2023 season will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in MLB history.