Ryan Schimpf

As his eight-year line as a minor league player attests (.249/.349/.481), Schimpf has always possessed raw power, but he was never given an opportunity to see if he could survive against top-level pitching prior to 2016. After an impressive start to the season at Triple-A El Paso (15 homers in 190 plate appearances, 1.161 OPS), he forced the major league team's hand. He proceeded to deliver a 20-homer campaign in just 89 big league games. There were plenty of warts, however, as he hit just .217 thanks to a 31.8 percent strikeout rate. To make matters worse, he hit .171 with a 39.6 strikeout percentage during the final month of the season, raising questions as to whether the league had simply figured him out. Most likely, the Padres will begin the season with Schimpf getting the bulk of the playing time at the keystone, as they do not have a ready platoon partner, but he's hardly guaranteed a long leash if he struggles out of the gate. Cory Spangenberg and Carlos Asuaje (who are both also left-handed) loom as replacement options.