Manny

Machado

Machado has 13 hits in his last 116 at-bats because of analytics, apparently. The Padres continue to show him respect by refusing to bat him lower than fourth in the lineup, but it seems like that needs to change. He’s at just .169/.254/.342 for the season, and while a decent rebound still seems likely, it’s probably time to start thinking of him as more of a .240-.250 hitter going forward.

Neat. Machado is in such a deep funk that he’s hit a ghastly .126 in his last 30 games -- but he’s somehow still slugging .333 with seven homers over that timespan. We hope you can stomach the average at one of fantasy baseball’s weaker positions. It has not been pretty for Machado this year. Even the underlying Baseball Savant page is full of blue, suggesting he’s only underperforming his .270 wOBA by about 42 points. He’s walking more, but that’s about the only thing going well for Machado this year through two months and change.

It’s hard to blame Machado for the quiet night considering San Diego was up against Cristopher Sánchez in the middle of a consecutive scoreless streak of 50 2/3 innings. Still, it’s been a disappointing campaign to date for Machado, who has career lows across the board. His .177 BABIP gives hope that he’s simply been unlucky, but his fast-swing rate and blasts per swing are also down. This is a track record to bet on, ultimately, but his season isn’t trending in the right direction.

Machado put the Padres on the board with a two-run homer off Aaron Nola in the fourth inning. The home run broke a three-game hitless streak. He now has three hits in his last eight games, with all three leaving the yard. It’s all of the other balls hit in play that he’d had trouble with, recording an unfortunate .177 BABIP. The 33-year-old third baseman is slashing .173/.270/.346 with nine homers, 27 runs scored, and 27 RBI across 216 plate appearances.

Machado evened up the score in the home half of the first inning as he crushed an 0-1 fastball from Jeffrey Springs for a 370-foot (109.6 mph EV) two-run shot. That would be his only hit in the ballgame. On the season, the superstar third baseman is slashing an anemic .179/.271/.347 with eight homers, 24 RBI and just one stolen base across his first 200 plate appearances.

Machado put the Padres on the board early, taking Emmett Sheehan deep for a two-run blast in the first inning. It was a 404-foot shot to center field at 108 mph off the bat. The 33-year-old third baseman has struggled this season, hitting .182/.277/.339 with seven homers, 25 runs scored, and 22 RBI across 192 plate appearances.

The Padres also got a homer from Ty France in a game they won despite being outhit seven to five. Machado’s homer off Matt Svanson was his first hit in his last six games, pushing his average back up to .197.

Machado seemed to have things turned around there for about a week, but now he’s back down to .195/.305/.344 on the season. His EV numbers are down some, and his strikeout rate is up some. He should still bounce back, but maybe not to his usual norms.

After a brief surge late last month took his OPS from .609 to .742, Machado came into this one 1-for-10 in his last three games. Still, he took Anthony Kay deep today to help the Padres salvage one of the three games in a home series against the White Sox. He now has five homers and 18 RBI on the season.

Machado was removed from Monday’s game with a calf injury and sat out on Tuesday, but he’ll be right back out there on Wednesday. Miguel Andujar will play third again, while Nick Castellanos will start in left field and bat eighth, with Ramon Laureano getting a day off.