Story by
Ex-player breaks down Ramon Laureano’s hot start with Padres
- Story by
- Ex-player breaks down Ramon Laureano’s hot start with Padres
Credit: Bob Kupbens
The post Ex-player breaks down Ramon Laureano's hot start with Padres appeared first on ClutchPoints .
San Diego Padres left fielder Ramon Laureano has been one of the best trade-deadline acquisitions this season after the Baltimore Orioles traded him alongside Ryan O'Hearn to the Friars for a handful of prospects.
Advertisement
Laureano picked up where he left off in Baltimore by continuing to smash extra-base hits and providing a valuable glove in the outfield. He has been a major upgrade to the left field position for San Diego .
MLB Network's Mark DeRosa broke down Laureano's play with the Padres since he was traded a few weeks back.
"I want to dive in on Ramon Laureano because he has gotten off to a hot start with the Pads since he has come over," DeRosa said. "50 plate appearances, he is hitting .333, his OPS is 1.000, and he has been good for a while now — like a year and a half."
It is no secret that what Laureano is doing with the Padres is paying off. "He's been fantastic for them," DeRosa said.
Advertisement
In a lineup full of elite hitters, Laureano is batting sixth or seventh. He is providing a strong presence toward the end of the batting order when he could easily be in the top four. However, if it isn't broken, you might as well not fix it. The Padres are playing well, and there is no need to change the order around unless you start to see a lack of production somewhere.
You don't normally see a top ten WRC+ hitter bat toward the end of a lineup, but the Padres have two other right-handed hitters who are being paid a ton of money, hitting well at the moment. Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are the three and five hitters. Machado is batting .296 on the year and has a chance at the batting title. He won't leave the 3-spot. The X-man is one of the hottest hitters of the summer alongside Laureano. Over his last 15 games, Bogaerts has a .532 slug and .846 OPS. There is also no moving Luis Arraez or Fernando Tatis Jr. back, either. So, Laureano will continue to provide his pop from the 6-7 spot in the order for a majority of the games for now.
The lineup is deep and is ready to make a serious run to the World Series.
For the first time since 2010, the Padres are in sole possession of first place in the NL West this late in the season. The Friars take on the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight for the first of a 3-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Related: 3 prospects Padres must promote as rosters expand for 2025 stretch run
Related: Padres make Michael King injury move right before Dodgers series
