At this time last year, the San Diego Padres were hoping Michael King would become a solid starting pitcher.
Now?
King is their Opening Day starter, receiving the opportunity for the first time as the Padres welcome the Atlanta Braves for Thursday’s opener.
“Very proud and happy for the opportunity,” he said. “It’s a huge honor for me and I look forward to it.”
While Yu Darvish, the veteran right-hander who many thought would be the Opening Day starter, is on the shelf with elbow inflammation, King certainly has earned the right to toss the season’s first pitch. In a breakout 2024, King made 30 starts and went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA while fanning 201 batters over 173 2/3 innings.
For good measure, King won twice in the postseason. The first was a seven-inning, 12-strikeout masterpiece in the first game of the wild-card series against the same Atlanta team he’ll face Thursday, which propelled the Padres to a series sweep.
Not a bad rate of return on a guy who was one of five players acquired in the Juan Soto trade.
“We lost a known commodity — a multigenerational talent in Juan,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “But the return is we get an Opening Day starter a year later and a guy that helped contribute to get (us) to and win playoff games.”
King’s emergence helped San Diego challenge the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West title. The Padres finished 93-69, falling to Los Angeles in a five-game NL Division Series that some Dodgers considered their toughest playoff test.
While San Diego tries to build on a good season, Atlanta simply hopes for better health to become the team it thinks it can be. Ravaged by injuries almost from the jump, the Braves scraped into the playoffs the day after the season ended before being eliminated two days later in San Diego.
The highlight of the year for Atlanta, which went 89-73, was the guy who will oppose King on Thursday. Turning back the clock to his glory days with the Chicago White Sox, Chris Sale went 18-3 in 29 starts with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings that made him a shoo-in for the NL Cy Young Award.
The only negative? Back issues prevented Sale from making a playoff appearance. But he’s healthy now and ready to make his sixth Opening Day start.
“It’s like the first day of school,” he said. “It’s like Christmas Day for baseball. Opening Day is always special and I’m appreciative of the moment.”
The opener also serves as a homecoming of sorts for new Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar, who enjoyed a career year for the Padres in 2024 by batting .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs. The 32-year-old cashed in with a three-year, $42 million deal with Atlanta and is likely to lead off on Thursday as 2023 NL Most Valuable Player Ronald Acuna Jr. continues to recover from last year’s torn ACL.
San Diego won four of seven regular-season meetings between the teams last year. Sale logged two of the Braves’ victories.
