In this early season, the Padres find themselves in first place despite some of the "key players" going through troubling starts. Tony Gwynn Jr., Kyle Blanks, and Everth Cabrera, to name a few, are "key" younger players that need to break out for the Padres to continue to compete.

Kyle Blanks: 49 Ab's- 10 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR/7RBI/ .217 AVG/ .345 OBP/ .457 SLG/ .802 in 13 games.

Tony Gwynn Jr: 30 Ab's-4 hits, 2 doubles, 3 RBI/2 SB/ 6 K's/ .133 AVG/ .278 OBP/ .200 SLG/ .478 OPS in 11 games.

Everth Cabrera:56 Ab's-12 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 9 RBI/ 16K's/ 3 SB/ .214 AVG/ .279 OBP/ .304 SLG/ .582 OPS in 14 games.

The key thus far has been collectively playing fundamental baseball, key hits and great TEAM pitching! Pitching wins ball games- Padres are #1 in Baseball, leading in team ERA - 2.82. I will make it simple: the Padres continue to pitch well because of DEPTH.

The Padres, with the help of former GM Kevin Towers, have a plethora of pitchers that are flat out dominating! This is a "good problem" to have when Chris Young is back and healthy. You have guys like Wade LeBlanc and Tim Stauffer; the latter who emerges from of the pen, is out of options, and is just nails. Stauffer looks like he is healthy and regained his form from his stand out collegiate years. LeBlanc has dominated in Spring Training and if it were not for Stauffer, Gallagher and Mujica out of options, he would have easily made the team. Being re-called for the disabled CY, LeBlanc came up on Sunday and pitched brilliantly.

One thing is very apparent - the Padres have great depth and some serious filthy arms in the pen: Adams, Gregerson, Bell to close out games, to even guys who are not pitching full time yet, like Adam Russell who looks like he could be a future closer, possibly even surpassing Adams or Gregerson, ONE DAY. In the starting pitching department, Latos, "nuff said", is a kid who has swagger and cockiness, but is humble enough to pitch, not JUST throw. The future is very bright as the Padres lead all of baseball in TEAM ERA this young season. It is a nice accomplishment so far and just goes to show how valuable KT's moves where at the time, no matter how unpopular they may have been. As a result, the players received contribute to the vastly improved farm system. Again, DEPTH!!

If any of the pitchers go down, the Padres have MANY viable options to turn to, such as the "work horse" (Garland) or CY, despite his continuous battle to stay healthy . Pretty darn impressive if you ask me!

Adjusting leads to bright spots:

One of the other bright spots is the incredible and exciting start to Chase Headley. Returning to his natural position, he's feeling comfortable and showing some serious clutch hits, hence the walk off home run against the division rival Diamondbacks. This was one of the more exciting games I have personally witnessed since Cabrera's walk off grand-slam last year. Not only does Chase look legit, but he has been clutch behind Adrian and a player that has adjusted well. Headley had difficulty with the fastball in under his hands and the slider that would run in towards his back foot down and in. Chase is adjusting very well, as evidenced by the walk off home run he hit. It was a 95MPH fast-ball in that he crushed down the line, and Petco in right field is no joke, no matter who your are.

Another key to this year will be the younger players adjusting to the way they are pitched, i.e. their "out pitch". Last year, Will Venable went on a tear, going nuts. However, at the end of the year, the pitchers adjusted to him by finding a "weak area" in his game - the breaking ball in the dirt and the high fastball. If Will can continue his tutelage under Randy Ready, the newest hitting coach brought on last year when ironically the Padres seemed to be playing on all cylinders, he could become a very surprising player and possibly even a star!

Kyle Blanks came up last year and started off slow. His out pitch seems to be fastballs up and away along with breaking balls down and away or in. The rookie adjusted, he started hitting and for power and also showing his surprising speed. "Blanksie" showed off his massive power with his compact stroke that provided incredible "shots" and even an inside the park home run for the 6'6" 280lbs left fielder. This year has also demonstrated much of what we as fans saw from him last year: power and speed, the latter evidenced by coming just a triple away from the cycle in the Padres home opener. However, Blanks will need to step up and it seems that since being lifted from batting clean up, he has done much better. The difference I see in Blanks, Venable, and Headley, in contrast with former Padres such as Kahlil Greene and Kevin Kouzmonoff, is the ability to be patient and ADJUST!. The mental "grind" of this game we love so much is such a vital part of taking your game to the next level. I believe Blanks and Headley especially have this rare ability, as well as possibly Venable.

Cabrera had some tough luck last year when he came up with injuries but settled in and played in every remaining game of the season after coming off the DL. Jumping from low A-ball is quite impressive alone, then to add the stolen base threat along with his flashy glove, the young shortstop is very exciting. He is not the future shortstop, he is the shortstop now and for many years to come. It would not be far-fetched to call him a Rafael Furcal in the making. In fact, Furcal was Cabrera's idol growing up in Nicaragua. Cabrera, like the other young talented Padres, has at times a flailing bat, and needs to be more consistent at the plate to get on base to utilize his tremendous speed. Everth's future is very bright and when he can adjust to the breaking pitch in the dirt, he will become an elite threat.