MLB announced the nominees for the 2023 Silver Slugger Awards in each league.
It’s an impressive collection of offensive talent that combine skill with discipline to offer incredible production at the plate for their respective teams.
The San Diego Padres present a rather odd case.
They barely had a record over .500, at 82-80, and missed the postseason.
Still, they were good enough to score 752 runs, sixth in the National League, and had a positive +104 run differential.
Evidently, their offense was competitive even if it didn’t always feel like it.
The Padres had not one, two, nor three: they had four nominees for the Silver Slugger in the National League.
Good morning to our Silver Slugger Award finalists pic.twitter.com/AuDoXlOPHV
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 2, 2023
Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Ha-Seong Kim are competing for the individual hardware at shortstop, third base, outfield, and the utility spot, respectively.
Bogaerts’ pool includes Francisco Lindor, Dansby Swanson, and Trea Turner.
The $280 million man hit 19 home runs, scored 83 runs, stole 19 bases, and had a .790 OPS in his first year as a Padre.
Machado had a bit of a down season compared to his recent standards (30 homers, 91 RBI, .782 OPS) but was good enough to compete with Nolan Arenado, Max Muncy, and Austin Riley for the award.
Soto hit 35 homers, walked 132 times, scored 97 runs, drove in 109, and had a .930 OPS, putting him in a position to win.
Kim will be competing with Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and Spencer Steer for the award.
That foursome represents the best of the Padres offense in the 2023 campaign.
The chances of at least one of them winning the award are high.
The post Padres Boast A Long List Of Finalists For Top Award appeared first on The Cold Wire.