The expectations in San Diego aren’t high, as the rebuilding Padres open up the new season against one of their National League West rivals—the Dodgers.
The Padres, who finished last in their division in 2016, carries a bevy of unripe talent in its roster, including a pair of capable rookies in Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot. Both rank inside the Top 50 in MLBPipeline.com’s prospect list.
Of course, the centerpiece of the offense is Wil Myers who was the team’s lone All-Star last season, during which he led the Padres in several departments: batting (.259), homers (28), RBIs (94), OBP (.336) and hits (155).
Meanwhile, taking the mound will be Jhoulys Cacin. The Venezuelan veteran signed a one-year deal with San Diego during the offseason, and is making his second Opening Day appearance of his career. He also capped off last season with a 0.75 ERA in four final starts for the Angels.
San Diego is 4-6 SU in its last 10 meetings with Los Angeles.
The Dodgers have owned the National League West for the the past four seasons, and that streak could continue with last year’s core mostly still intact.
Headlining a potent offense for LA is Corey Seager, the reigning Rookie of the Year. He finished with a .308 batting average, a.365 OBP and 193 hits last season—all of which were team-highs. Seager, however, struggled against the Padres in that same season with a triple-slash line of .200/.256/.253.
Clayton Kershaw is getting the nod, marking his seventh-consecutive Opening Day start. Hence, things should turn out fine for the Dodgers who are 7-3 SU during regular-season openers against San Diego. Kershaw is 14-6 with a 2.05 ERA in 29 career starts in this matchup.
Los Angeles is priced at -250 to win the NL West again.
