Tommy Pham Has Become the Hottest Hitter For San Diego

At the beginning of the 2021 season, us Padre fans would lose all of our excitement the moment Tommy Pham came up to bat. Usual double-play scenarios or easy, routine outs would put Pham's stat line into the abyss. But Pham has slowly worked his way up each and every month.

So let's go back to the beginning of the 2021 season. After many offensive outbursts from the 2020 Padres, it was expected that these same Padre players would keep those bats on fire. The offense in this new, back to full season has not lived up to expectations. Many Padres besides Pham have been struggling with swinging the twig. That includes 1B Eric Hosmer and 3B Manny Machado as few. But Pham who struggled has been a quietly dominant lead-off batter for the Friars.

Personally, I think it is best to split Pham and his stats by each month to show the improvements. Dating back to April, it was not fun one bit. Pham batted .179 in that month but did issue 11 walks in 81 plate appearances. In the month of May, Pham posted a .253 BA which has improved. His OPS jumped big time from .503 to .797 in one month. June has been the best month so far as Pham is not looking back so far. A little over halfway through, Pham already has 11 walks, 14 hits, a .292 BA, .424 OBP and a .882 OPS. WIth each month, I have gotten more confident with Pham in that lead-off spot and you should too!

Getting walks is what Pham is known for and has helped the Padres bring plate discipline ever since being traded here which was a must and sometimes it is a good thing when you get those walks despite the low percentages everywhere else. You work your patience every at-bat and climb your way back into the leader boards. So, Tommy Pham, keep swinging the twig!