Padres Bullets: Kolek vs. Seattle, Brito Done, and Darvish Close

[Randy Holt]

The San Diego Padres resume their homestand on Friday night, welcoming in the Seattle Mariners. Unlike their last pair of matchups, which saw them take on two last-place teams, the weekend tilt vs. the M's represents a series between two legitimate contenders. Seattle sits atop the American League West at present, courtesy of a 23-19 start. 

Here are the headlines heading into the weekend: 

Kolek vs. His Former Organization

• Stephen Kolek only has two big league starts under his belt, but he's been nothing short of terrific. He has yet to allow a run through 14.1 innings of work and is getting the ball on the ground almost 60 percent of the time. Friday's start will be his first at Petco Park, but it'll be marked by other significance. The Padres selected Kolek from the Mariners in the Rule-5 draft back in December of 2023. At that point, Kolek had been moved out of a starting role and into a bullpen given the crowded starting group in Seattle. With that, Friday offers Kolek an opportunity to make a couple of different statements. One is in the obvious shoving against his former club that brings a sense of satisfaction. The other is staking his claim to a rotation spot in the longer-term in San Diego. 

Brito Out Into 2026

• The Padres have received no shortage of contributions from those that they received as part of the Juan Soto trade with the New York Yankees. Michael King has been excellent atop the rotation. Randy Vásquez has worked around backwards strikeout-to-walk splits. Even Drew Thorpe was used as part of a package to acquire Dylan Cease. But the team will have to wait a bit longer for Jhony Brito to showcase his value. With a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm, Brito underwent UCL & tendon surgery that will cost him the remainder of 2025 and some of 2026. 

Darvish Nearing Return Off Short Rehab

• We've known for a while that Yu Darvish was nearing a rehab assignment given the ramping up of his bullpen sessions. The veteran threw four innings with El Paso on Wednesday night, allowing two runs on two hits. He threw 51 pitches. It's possible that Darvish heads out on one more rehab start, but the team may opt for a simulated game instead. Either way, it looks like one more outing is in the cards before Darvish makes his return. We'll talk more about the rotation implications, but it seems the Padres could merely add him to the starting group without ousting another arm; the team is set to play 26 games in 27 days starting on May 30th.

De Vries' Timeline

• Considering the top-heavy nature of the Padres' lineup, we're likely going to hear a lot about Leo De Vries joining the roster at some point in 2025. The 18-year-old has mashed in High-A and moved up to the no. 3 spot on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects. The Athletic's Dennis Lin discussed as much in his mailbag this week. For his money, though, Lin doesn't see De Vries arriving at Petco this year as a realistic scenario. Using Ethan Salas' struggles (and injury) after a hot start as part of the basis, it's ultimately important to consider that the leap from High-A to the big leagues is absolutely massive. It's likely not a timeline the Padres are willing to push too much at this point.

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