FriarNotes: Padres hopes get big boost as “Core Four” bats get hot; Notes on Rengifo, Cronenworth, France and Relievers Miller, Estrada; Minor Leaguers of the Week

By Bill Center

Photo of Mason Miller

Manager Craig Stammen commented recently that if the Padres “Core Four” — Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts — finished the regular season with numbers close to their career averages, the “Padres wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

The logic is simple.

In at least one metric, all four of the players the Padres count upon for offense have fallen short this season. Were they to rally over the final 55 games to match their previous averages, it would mean that all four would have finished the season on a major surge that likely would propel the ballclub into the playoffs.

While matching those numbers might be difficult, at least three of the four are showing signs of a strong finish.

Some examples:

Machado — His career batting average as a Padre is .270. He has also averaged 28 ¼ home runs and 90.6 RBIs a season. He already has 23 home runs and 64 RBIs this season. But he went into July this season with a .189 average. In 22 games thus far this month, Machado is hitting .316 with 7 home runs and 18 RBIs. His slash line for July is .389/.595/.993. His batting average has climbed 27 points to .216 and his OPS is up 70 points to .743.

Tatis — Fernando had the first 5-hit game of his career Tuesday night against the Rockies at Petco Park. His .285 batting average is running higher than his career average of .278. What has been off are his production numbers. Through 106 games, he has just 8 home runs and 49 RBIs. He had averaged 25 home runs a season with a league-leading high of 42 in 2021.

Merrill — After a brilliant rookie season (.292–24–90) injuries adversely impacted the center fielder (.264–16–67) in 2025 and he was hitting only .219 up to the All-Star break. But he has gone 8-for-13 with 2 doubles and a home run in his past three games and is 16-for-44 (.364) with 5 home runs and nine RBIs since the break with a .370/.750/1.020 slash line while raising his batting average 16 points to .235 and huis OPS 53 points to .681.

Bogaerts — The shortstop is the only member of the “Core Four” who has not caught fire. He has hit .177 (6-for-34) since the All-Star break with 2 RBIs in 10 games. Bogaerts did deliver the walk-off sacrifice fly Tuesday night against the Rockies.

PAD BITS:

— Before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Rockies at Petco Park, the Padres activated right-handed reliever Jeremiah Estrada from the injured list and designated right-handed starter-reliever Matt Waldron for assignment.

— Luis Rengifo is the 15th player in Padres history to have 13 or more hits in his first nine games with the franchise. After 10 games as a Padre, Rengifo is hitting .394 (13-for-33) with a double, 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, 4 walks, a stolen base and 7 runs scored for a .459/.606/1.068 slash line.

— Jake Cronenworth has a .304/.375/.418/.793 slash line in July, going 24-for-79 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, nine RBIs, 8 walks and 12 runs scored — raising his batting average from .139 to .211.

— Ty France is hitting .321 (26-for-81) with 6 doubles, 6 home runs and 17 RBIs in July for a .352/.617/.970 slash line.

— RHP Mason Miller picked up the win with a ninth straight, scoreless one-inning outing Tuesday night. He now has a 3–1 record with 27 saves. His earned run average has dropped to 0.81 and his WHIP is 0.806.

PADRES HISTORY:

July 29, 1983 — First baseman Steve Garvey dislocates his left thumb in a home plate collision during the first game of a doubleheader against Atlanta at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The injury ends Garvey’s streak of 1,027 straight games played, then the third-longest streak in Major League history.

PADRES ON DECK: MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Corner outfielder, first baseman, designated hitter Nick Solak (Triple-A El Paso) — The 31-year-old former second-round draft pick of the New York Yankees was 11-for-25 last week with 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, 8 RBIs and 6 runs for a .440/.440/.760/1.200 slash line. On the season, the versatile, 5-foot-9, 185-pounder has a .321/.384/.517/.901 slash line with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 12 home runs, 55 RBIs, 6 stolen bases and 65 runs in 73 games.

Right-handed relief pitcher Josh Mallitz (Double-A San Antonio) — The 6-foot-3, 210-pound 24-year-old allowed 1 hit and no walks with 5 strikeouts over 5 scoreless innings over two appearances last week against Frisco. On the season, Mallitz, who signed with the Padres in 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Mississippi, is 3–0 with 4 saves, a 4.50 earned run average and a 1.125 WHIP — giving up 21 runs (20 earned) on 30 hits and 15 walks with 42 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Center fielder Ryan Wideman (High Single-A Fort Wayne) — The Padres’ №6 prospect, went 13-for-22 with 5 RBIs, 7 stolen bases and 8 runs scored in 5 games last week. The 6-foot-4, 204-pound, 22-year-old Wideman had 3 3-hit games and 2 2-hit games and led the Midwest League in batting average, hits and stolen bases for the week. The Padres’ third-round pick in the 2025 draft out of Western Kentucky University is hitting a combined .316 in 88 games between Fort Wayne (.320) and Lake Elsinore (.314) with 22 doubles, six triples, 6 home runs, 56 RBIs, 57 stolen bases and 68 runs for a .381/.459/.840 slash line.

Shortstop Jorge Quintana (Single-A Lake Elsinore) — The 19-year-old, 6-foot-2, 183-pound switch-hitter from Venezuela recently slipped from №5 to №18 among Padres’ prospects due to a rough first half. He was only 4-for-18 last week. But all 4 hits went for extra bases, 2 doubles, a triple and a home run for 2 RBIs, 8 walks and 6 runs for a .222/.462/.611/1.073 slash line. On the season, Quintana has a .235/.334/.338/.673 slash line with 13 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 34 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and 38 runs in 77 games.

C Ty Harvey (Arizona Complex League) — The Padres’ №5 prospect finished his rehab in the ACL as the Padres completed the season with a 34–26 record and a second-place finish in the West. The Padres’ fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft went 14-for-33 in 11 ACL games with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 4 walks and 9 runs for a .424/.474/.697/1.171 slash line.

First baseman Dayquer Alfonzo (Dominican Summer League) — The 6-foot-1, 19-year-old Venezuelan was 12-for-31 last week for the division-leading (29–12) Padres Gold with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, 8 walks, a stolen base and 9 runs scored for a .387/.513/.677/1.190 slash line. On the season, he has a .354/.476/.591/1.066 slash line with 18 doubles, 4 home runs, 38 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, 30 walks and 29 runs in 38 games.