26-year old lefty reliever/starter Cory Luebke came into this season as the Padres’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. He started the season in the bullpen and he pitched well. But he has been moved into the starting rotation recently and he has been brilliant. Luebke is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.45 WHIP in his first two starts of the 2011 season (his last two games). Luebke only has given up 3 hits and 2 walks in 11 innings in his first two starts of the year and he has 13 whiffs as he has been downright nasty. Luebke has now pitched in 31 games (2 starts) overall for the Padres this year and he is 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. He has only given up 27 hits in his first 50 innings this year and he has 56 whiffs, which shows how nasty he has been this year. The future looks really bright for Cory Luebke.

33-year old righty closer Heath Bell has made the N.L. All-Star team for the Padres. Bell has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Padres so far this year and he is 2-3 with 26 saves (leads majors), a 2.43 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has now pitched in 327 games (0 starts) in his five years with the Padres and he is 26-18 with 117 saves, a 2.53 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Bell is #2 in saves in Padres’ history but he will never catch Trevor Hoffman. Bell has been an outstanding pitcher since the first time he put on a Padres’ jersey.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Stauffer should sue the rest of the team for non-support in his last three starts. In Stauffer’s last three starts, he is 1-1 with a 0.41 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He has given up 15 hits while only walking 4 batters in his last three starts covering 22 innings pitched. Stauffer has started 15 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 2-5 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Stauffer has been a late bloomer for the Padres and they are getting paid off for their patience with him.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Aaron Harang is really enjoying pitching in his new home (Petco Park). Harang has started 8 games at home for the Padres so far this year and he is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has now pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the Padres this year and he is 6-2 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Harang used to be a really solid pitcher for the Reds, and it looks like he’s gotten his groove back.

32-year old righty reliever Chad Qualls signed with the Padres to try to get his career back on the right track. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs and Rays last year and he was 3-4 with 12 saves, a 7.32 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. This May he has been on fire for the Padres. He has pitched in 10 games out of the pen this May and he is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP. Qualls has now pitched in 23 games (0 starts) overall this year for the Padres and he is 2-2 with a 2.13 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Qualls seems to be the latest reliever to revive his career under Bud Black’s watch in San Diego.

Last season the light went on over 29-year old righty starter/reliever Tim Stauffer’s head. He pitched in 32 games (7 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 6-5 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. That came out of nowhere as he never pitched anywhere near that good in the majors. He is proving so far this year, that it wasn’t a mirage. Stauffer has pitched in 7 games (all starts) for the Padres so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has only walked 9 batters while allowing only 31 hits in his first 41 1/3 innings this year which is pretty darn impressive. Stauffer should have a few wins by now, but it’s impossible to win with no run support.

33-year old righty closer looks determined to make his third straight All-Star team for the Padres. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Padres so far this year and he is 1-0 with 5 saves, a 0.90 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Bell only has given up 7 hits and 2 walks in his first 10 innings for the Padres. It’s very important that Bell stays sharp the whole year because the Padres are going to have trouble scoring runs, so most of the wins are going to be close ones.

Righty starting pitchers Aaron Harang and Dustin Moseley are both off to outstanding starts for the Padres this year. Harang has started 4 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits and walked 5 batters in his first 24 innings as he has been very aggessive in the strike zone. Harang also has 21 whiffs as he’s been trusting his stuff, which is still very good. I feel kind of bad for Dustin Moseley as the Padres have only scored 1 run in his first four starts of the year. Moseley has started 4 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 0-3 with a 1.40 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He is a stike thrower as he has only whiffed 8 batters in his first 25 2/3 innings this year. The wins are going to come for Moseley at some point because the Padres can’t keep from scoring runs when he pitches..can they?

Tim Stauffer, Clayton Richard and Dustin Moseley were very solid for the Padres over the weekend. They were a combined 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. The impressive thing about these performances were that they were on the road away from Petco Park. The bullpen also backed up the starters with outstanding work. The Padres’ pitching staff is going to have to carry the load this year because they are likely going to have a problem putting up consistent runs in 2011.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Mat Latos is a big guy at 6′6″, 225 pounds and he brings the heat. Latos has pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Padres this year and he is 14-9 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has only given up 142 hits in 178 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 185 batters which shows just how nasty his stuff is. Latos also has excellent control for a pitcher his size as he has only walked 50 batters this year. Latos has the stuff to win a Cy Young Award some day in the near future as long as he can stay healthy.