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The 2025 San Diego Padres finished with a 90-72 record, driven by a pitching staff widely regarded as one of the best in the majors. The offense was another story.
Collectively, the team batting average was .252, as they scored 4.33 runs per game. A sharp decline from the season before, with 4.69 runs per game.
Changes occurred at the managerial position, out went Mike Shildt, and in came Craig Stammen. Shortly after his announcement, Stammen reached out to an old teammate, Steven Souza Jr., to become the Padres’ new hitting coach. He accepted the challenge of resurrecting the offense.
Souza Jr. offers a simple hitting philosophy
Souza Jr. has a simple hitting philosophy of controlling the strike zone. It is an approach that allows hitters to become more aggressive and capitalize on pitchers’ mistakes. Souza Jr. encourages his hitters to visualize their at-bat before stepping into the batter’s box. It helps them identify the holes in the opponent’s defensive alignment.
It removes the threat of the batter overthinking and swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. Now, they can relax at the plate, as their approach only changes with two strikes. All that needs to take place is putting the ball in play.
Often, the result is that the pitch travels to the gap for an extra-base hit or possibly a home run. The Friars had trouble putting the ball over the fence. They hit 152 home runs, which ranked 28th in the majors last season.
Souza Jr. believes his hitting philosophy will limit batting slumps throughout the season. To reach this goal, his focus is raising the lineup’s confidence in the batter’s box.
2025 Padres offense: A big disappointment
The Padres’ offense was too inconsistent last season, especially with runners in scoring position. They left an average of 3.55 runners in scoring position per game, which ranked near the bottom of the majors.
The highs and lows were too far apart between an optimal offense and a dreaded run-scoring drought. Yes, lineup stability was a challenge due to injuries sustained by key offensive contributors last season. Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts all missed significant time, and the run production suffered. Still, the Friars ranked 18th in team scoring with 702 runs, despite being seventh in team batting average.
They essentially have the same lineup that concluded the 2025 season. To boost production, Souza Jr. must improve their mindset when batting with runners in scoring position. He must take down their stress level that should generate more productive swings.
Improved offensive production must occur in 2026. While the process may have a slow start, this lineup is too talented not to turn things around.
Hopefully, the bats will come into their own this season.