Projected rotation

Jake Peavy, RH
Chris Young, RH
Clay Hensley, RH
Greg Maddux, RH
David Wells, LH  

It is hard to complain when your starting rotation boasts a 1-2 punch of Jake Peavy and Chris Young. Despite the fact that Peavy had an off year by his lofty standards, the two combined to go 22-19 with a 3.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 379/131 K/BB in 381.2 IP. Look for Peavy to bounce back and have a season closer to what we have come to expect from him—something along the lines of a 3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Clay Hensley fared pretty well as a starter last season (11-10, 3.56 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 112K/72BB in 29 starts). Greg Maddux really stepped up his game in 12 starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out the 2006 season (6-3, 3.30 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 36K/14BB in 73.2 IP) and could be in position to have his best season since 2003. He won't help you with strikeouts, but he will be a definite asset in WHIP. David Wells will be the fifth starter as long as he is healthy enough to pitch, but he shouldn't have any fantasy value outside of NL-only leagues.

2007 TEAM PROSPECTIVE

The Padres addressed their problem at third base with the acquisition of Kevin Kouzmanoff from Cleveland, but they paid a fairly hefty price dealing Josh Barfield,who could eventually become a star. Kouzmanoff, 25, is a career .332 hitter in the minor leagues who hit a combined .379-22-75 with 1.093 OPS in 94 games last season between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Buffalo before batting .214-3-11 in 16 major league games for Cleveland. Marcus Giles fills the vacancy at second base, but he has seen his OPS drop rather sharply since 2003 (.917 OPS in 2003, .821 in '04, .826 in '05, and .729 last season) so they will have to hope that playing alongside his brother can help boost his numbers a bit. Greg Maddux should be a nice fit in San Diego's young starting rotation as either the third or fourth starter.

Overall, this is a very solid team. The offense figures to be average at best, but the pitching staff is good enough to once again make that limited offense count. We expect the Padres to have a very good shot at winning their third consecutive NL West title.

BULLPEN

Projected bullpen

Closer: Trevor Hoffman, RH
Setup 1: Scott Linebrink, RH
Setup 2: Cla Meredith, RH

You will be hard-pressed to find many bullpens as talented as this one. Trevor Hoffman (0-2, 46 SV, 2.14 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 50/13 K/BB and .205 BAA in 63 IP) is practically automatic in the ninth inning and is no doubt headed to Cooperstown when his playing days are over. Scott Linebrink (22-8, 3 SV, 2.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 221/71 K/BB in 233.1 IP over the past three years) has been one of the top setup men in the game over the past few years. Cla Meredith will try to recreate the magic he had in 2006 when he was absolutely dominant out of the pen (5-1, 1.07 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and .170 BAA).

SLEEPER

Greg Maddux, RHP.

The future Hall of Famer should find PetcoPark to his liking and could have his best season since 2003.

BUST

Josh Bard, C.

Given his projected spot in the lineup, Bard will probably still wind up producing decent numbers for a fantasy catcher, but anyone expecting him to continue to hit like he did in limited playing time a year ago figures to be disappointed.

TOP PROSPECT

Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B (see Third Base).

FIRST OFF THE BENCH

Jose Cruz Jr., OF.

Cruz Jr. will play left field against lefthanded pitching and be the primary backup to both Mike Cameron and Brian Giles in center field and right field, respectively. He could have a little fantasy value if one of the starting three outfielders were to miss significant playing time, but he is to be avoided in mixed leagues.