San Diego Padres DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Stephen Kolek twirled a gem on Saturday, tossing a complete-game shutout in his second career start in the majors, picking up the win in a 21-0 blowout victory over the Rockies. The 28-year-old scattered five hits and two walks over nine innings while striking out seven. A week ago, the righty tossed five and one-third innings of shutout ball, leaving his ERA at a spotless 0.00 after two starts. The former 11th-round draft pick threw 46 2/3 IP for the Padres in his debut last season, but as a reliever, so this is somewhat uncharted waters for him, although he's worked as a starter in the minors. The 6-foot-3 hurler's next start lines up with a surprisingly stout Mariner lineup, and his recent success should allow the Padres to give Yu Darvish (elbow) as much time as he needs to build up his arm for a return to the mound.

The Tampa Bay Rays transferred infielder Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on Friday, which pushes his potential return to late May at the earliest. The Rays also called up right-hander Connor Seabold from the minors and optioned right-hander Mason Englert to Triple-A Durham. Kim has yet to make his debut with the Rays while recovering from offseason surgery on his shoulder. The 29-year-old middle infielder increased his baseball activities late last month and could be ready for a minor-league rehab assignment soon. If he's able to avoid any setbacks with his shoulder once he begins playing in games, he could be on track to make his season debut in Tampa in late May or early June. When fully healthy, Kim will mainly offer modest speed for fantasy managers in deep-mixed leagues as the Rays' primary shortstop.

The San Diego Padres announced on Friday that they reinstated infielder Jake Cronenworth (rib) from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Oscar Gonzalez to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move. Fantasy managers will want to check back later, but Cronenworth should be back at second base for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Colorado Rockies and right-hander Antonio Senzatela at Coors Field. Cronenworth's return will push veteran Jose Iglesias back to a bench role. The 31-year-old Cronenworth will return after missing a month due to a non-displaced rib fracture that he suffered while being hit by a pitch. He went 3-for-7 with a home run during three minor-league rehab games and should return to being SD's everyday second baseman. Crone was hitting .257 (9-for-35) in the early going with two homers, five RBI and seven runs scored before going on the IL.

San Diego Padres right-hander Stephen Kolek will remain in the team's starting rotation and make another start on Saturday at hitter-friendly Coors Field against the division-rival Colorado Rockies. Kolek will get another starting opportunity for the Friars after he tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings with two walks and four strikeouts for his first win of the season last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 28-year-old will get another amazing matchup against the last-place Rockies, but the venue in the thin air in Denver will also make him a pretty volatile fantasy streamer. Still, Kolek will be a pretty interesting streamer coming off a strong first outing against a Colorado offense that ranks second-to-last in team OPS at .623. If Kolek continues to pitch well in a starting role, he could remain in SD's rotation until the Padres get right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) back.

San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) has been throwing bullpen sessions and recently traveled to the team's spring training complex in Arizona, where he's expected to face live hitters for the first time on Thursday. Darvish is working his way back from right-elbow inflammation that has kept him out all season so far, but barring a setback as he builds up his arm, he could return to the Padres' starting rotation at some point this month. Since the 38-year-old Japanese veteran hasn't started a minor-league rehab assignment, his return probably won't come until late May, at the earliest. The five-time All-Star is no longer in his prime and also dealt with injuries that limited him to 16 starts in 2024, but when healthy, he still has fantasy value. Darvish went 7-3 for the Friars last year with a solid 3.31 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, but also with a career-low 23.6% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate.