Ryan Hernandez

Baseball is such a popular sport that even those who play in Little League get a chance to participate in their own “World Series,” known as the Little League World Series (LLWS). There were several Little Leaguers who would go on to become professional baseball players, and some played for the Padres. The first such player to have played in the LLWS and then played for the Padres was Rick Wise, who played for San Diego from 1980 to 1982. Wise also played for Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston and Cleveland in his career. Hector Torres is another player who transitioned from the LLWS to the MLB, and he played for the Padres from 1975 to 1976. A third player who went from LLWS stardom to the MLB and the Padres was Ed Vosberg. Gary Sheffield played for the Padres from 1992 to 1993; he is another baseball player who participated in the LLWS. Derek Bell made the significant league jump from the LLWS and played in San Diego from 1993 to 1994. Another former LLWS star to make it to the majors was Ed Vosberg, who was a Padre in 1999. There are plenty of other players I could list who had a stint with the Padres, but the main point is that achieving professional success is not easy. These are just a few names of individuals who participated at the top level in Little League and were talented enough to eventually make it to Major League Baseball. While watching the LLWS between Nevada and Chinese Taipei, the Taipei pitcher, Lin Chin-Tse, was throwing MLB-equivalent fastballs, and the highest I saw him throw was 82 MPH. Tse has the talent and ability to make it to the majors; he’s only 12 years old, but he was dominant and very locked down throughout the LLWS. Less than one percent of Little Leaguers make it to the majors; however, the odds increase when it comes to those who play in the LLWS. A total of 64 players have made it to MLB from the LLWS since 1947, the first year of the LLWS. The LLWS is a chance for kids to showcase their talent and improve their skills, while also having fun and gaining a glimpse of what MLB players do, including traveling, preparing, and playing many games consecutively. It gives the kids a chance to step into the spotlight and gain a firsthand experience of what it is like to be an MLB player in some capacity, offering a unique experience for them to participate in the biggest game of the Little League season. View full article

After his first major league start back from injury, Michael King has once again been placed on the injured list with knee inflammation. At the moment, it’s only the 15-day IL, but we don’t know the severity of it yet, and it may be longer than that. Who can step up in the interim for the Padres while King is out? The Padres currently have Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, and Nestor Cortes leading their rotation, and these four could see more innings while King is out. Randy Vásquez is the most immediate depth option. In 2025, he’s logged 111 1/3 innings across 23 games (22 starts) with a 3.96 ERA, and he just worked 4 2/3 innings of relief on August 15 at Dodger Stadium. Left-hander Kyle Hart is another internal choice. He opened the year on the 26-man roster and has handled bulk work; his last appearance for the Padres was on July 24th. He is currently pitching out of the bullpen in Triple-A El Paso. The Padres are now back in second place in the NL West; they are still only two games back of the Dodgers, but they need their bullpen and starting rotation to step up and play at their best to regain the NL West lead. If King is out the rest of the season, the Padres' postseason rotation could consist of Darvish, Cease, Pievetta, and Cortes as their postseason starters. The Padres are still on pace for the playoffs, and as of this moment, they hold the second Wild Card spot in the National League, 2.5 games ahead of the Mets, who hold the third and final Wild Card spot. View full rumor

In his first game back from injury, Michael King pitched two innings and recorded a strikeout, allowed two walks, and allowed two earned runs on four hits against the Red Sox. King only threw 57 pitches before being pulled in the third inning. King, now 30 years old, made only a single Triple-A rehab start before returning to the Padres’ rotation. It is expected that he will need several more turns in the major league rotation to work himself back to a full starter’s workload. Addressing his return, King said: “The release point was off on some pitches, but I had to make those adjustments.” He added that “when I’m really rolling I can make those one-pitch adjustments. It took me a couple pitches to adjust, but I’ll definitely be faster with those adjustments in my next outings.” Despite the short outing and poor performance, the Padres found a way to win. They walked off in the bottom of the 10th to defeat Boston 5-4 thanks to Ramon Laureano’s walk-off single. King is optimistic that his performance will improve over his next few starts as he continues to get back into form and help the Padres in their playoff push. King’s next projected start will be against the Dodgers on the road, where he has the potential to help the Padres keep their NL West division lead over the Dodgers. King has 11 starts this season with a 2.81 ERA, 57 ⅔ innings picked, 65 strikeouts, and a 1.09 WHIP. King is set to be a free agent this offseason. View full rumor

The San Diego Padres have a strong connection and influence in the Dominican Republic and are a very popular team in the country. Like all MLB teams, the Padres have a baseball academy located on the island; it is considered top-tier and has excellent training and living conditions. Some of the biggest stars in MLB are Dominican-born or have Dominican parentage, and several are under contract with San Diego, notably Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. The Dominican Republic produces the second-most MLB players, behind only the United States. There were 100 players from the DR on Opening Day rosters, including four on the Padres. These players include: Tatis Jr., Machado, Wandy Peralta, and Eguy Rosario. Some of the past Dominican Padres include: Miguel Tejada, Winston Abreu, Juan Abreu, Tony Abreu, and Fernando Abad, as well as several players on their Dominican Summer League team, an additional 22 on the summer league roster. The first Dominican player to ever hit for the Padres was Rafael Robles. In a quote from his son, Orlando Robles, had this to say on his father’s career: “I am very proud of my father’s accomplishments as a professional baseball player.” The Dominican Republic is known for having a strong baseball culture and academies that help provide the proper training needed for potential prospects, and San Diego has several Dominican prospects signed in their minor league system. A number of these players are part of the Dominican Summer League Padres, where they get to showcase their talents and start their professional path toward the majors. The Padres' academy opened in Boca Chica in 1997. The original Padres Dominican team debuted in 1990 as part of a shared affiliation with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. In the 1991 season, they shared an affiliation with the Angels and Dodgers. Then, for the 92-93 seasons, they shared affiliation with the New York Yankees, and the following 3 seasons shared the affiliation with the Chicago Cubs. In the 1997 season, Boca Chica became the independent affiliate of the Padres and has been since. Of the top 50 international prospects scouted by MLB teams, San Diego has signed three: shortstops Jhoan De La Cruz, Deivid Coronil, as well as left-handed pitcher Carlos Alvarez. De La Cruz is the 21st-ranked international prospect, Coronil is 35th, while Alvarez is ranked 39th. These prospects are among the top players on the international level, and the Padres' signing of all three is an accomplishment. The DR’s influence on Major League Baseball is spectacular, and it is continuing to grow as more and more Dominican-born players populate MLB rosters. Kids are playing baseball and going to camps to get out, and most of them are aspiring to be MLB players. What was once an American-dominated league is now becoming a multi-national league that features talent from all over the world, and it will continue to grow and evolve. Fernando Tatis Jr. has said how much joy he has in being able to represent the DR and how much he misses the culture when he’s away. He stated, “The Dominican Republic is where I truly became a really good baseball player, and it brought me back to my roots.” Despite Machado being American-born, his Dominican heritage makes him feel strongly about the culture and feel accepted by the Dominican people as one of their own. When describing playing for the DR, he said it was “bittersweet” because his grandfather passed before getting the opportunity to see him play in the majors. Machado and Tatis are both expected to represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. This will be Machado's third time representing the DR in the WBC and his first since 2023. Machado has described the WBC as one of the “coolest stages.” 2026 will be the first time Tatis will represent his native Dominican Republic roots, and his father, Fernando Tatis Sr., will serve as the hitting coach. Dominican legend Albert Pujols will manage the Dominican Republic squad. Tatis stated, “It has been a dream since childhood for me to represent my country in the tournament.” The World Baseball Classic will be played in March, and the championship game will take place at Loan Depot Park in Miami. View full article

A trend over the past few seasons for the Padres has been their tendency to start hot, then cool off, and ultimately emerge as one of the hottest teams in baseball after the All-Star break. In the 2022 season, the Padres had a record of 50-49 at the All-Star Break and needed a strong second half to make the postseason. The Padres would then go on to finish with a 41-16 record in the second half, giving them an 89-73 record and a postseason berth. The team would go on to clinch the final playoff spot and beat the New York Mets in the Wild Card series, two games to one. They would then go on to defeat their division rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, three games to one, and advance to their first championship series since 1998. The Padres would fall to the Philadelphia Phillies 4- 1, but the Padres ended the regular season as MLB’s hottest team. In 2023, the Padres had high expectations and were looking to get off to a hot start. Unfortunately, the squad hovered around the .500 mark for the entire season. The Padres had a strong September in the 2023 season, with an MLB-best 19-7 record; however, despite a very strong month, the Padres would miss the playoffs with an 82-80 record. After the All-Star break, they did manage to finish with a winning record of 39-33, but it wasn’t enough to counter the slow start. This was a season where the Padres struggled for most of the year but found their momentum when it mattered most. However, it was too late, and their strong late playoff push ultimately came up short, leaving the 2023 season to fall short of the very high and lofty expectations. In 2024, San Diego bounced back and made a playoff run. However, this was another instance of the Padres being inconsistent throughout the season, alternating between hot and cold streaks. Coming into the All-Star break, the Padres had a 50-49 record and would need to have a strong second half of the season to legitimize their team and make a push. The Padres would then finish with an MLB-best 43-20 record post-All-Star break and would finish with an overall record of 93-69 and would once again face their division rivals, the Dodgers, in the National League Division series, but would lose three games to two after holding a 2-1 series lead. So far this season, the Padres are following the same hot and cold trend. The Padres started with a franchise-best 19-game start and had the best record in MLB with a 15-4 record. However, since then, the Padres have cooled and are currently sitting with a record of 42-35. They have a record of 27-31 in their last 58 games, and while they’re still on pace to make the playoffs, the Padres need to find their stride again if they want to make a push for October. Over their last 10 games, the Padres carry a record of 4-6 and have fallen from second to third in the division, behind the Dodgers and Giants. The Padres will need to reignite their hot start and make a postseason run as they try to win the franchise’s first-ever World Series title. Can the rest of the offense follow the same success as Machado, who is batting over .300 in June? Is the Padres' championship window closing? It’ll be interesting to see how the Padres and President of Baseball Operations, AJ Preller, manage the second half of their season and how the team will improve. The Padres just came off a series win over the Kansas City Royals and start are playing a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals, where the Padres hope to gain momentum as the All-Star Game draws closer. View full article