Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Transforming into a “regular” in his sixth season with the Padres, Jake Cronenworth made good strides in 2025. He’s now made notable improvements on both sides of the ball in back-to-back years.
In 2022, Jake Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80 million extension to keep him under control through 2030. He made the NL All-Star team for the second straight year. He also delivered one of the most memorable playoff moments in the Padres’ recent history. Few could have asked for a better season in terms of accomplishments.
However, Cronenworth’s fun came to a screeching halt in the 2023 season. Batting lower in the order due to new additions, Cronenworth hit just .229 with an OPS below .700. He was an average fielder, and stole just six bases. All of the sudden, Cronenworth didn’t even accumulate a full point of WAR.
His consistency and availability
Where Jake Cronenworth lacks in talent, physique, or athleticism, he quietly makes up for it with his ability to stay on the field. Cronenworth has now played more than 125 games in five straight seasons, despite getting occasional nights off due to positional competition. He’s been a rock in the Padres lineup, and one of those names that general baseball fans start to naturally associate with the club.
Another positive that Cronenworth brings is a sense of consistency with what you’re getting. Cronenworth’s ability to find his way on is a testament to not only his competitiveness but also his humility as a player. Instead of chasing lost production, he draws walks, always takes the hit by pitch, and impacts the game as a baserunner. Although he stole just three bases in 2025, he still ranked above league average in Baserunning Run Value, per Baseball Savant.
Jake Cronenworth Home Run pic.twitter.com/4wanZ5XK2T
— Highlight Vault (@HighlightVault) March 29, 2025
Elite on-base ability
Put simply, Jake Cronenworth’s tendency to get on base by all means is his best trait. Cronenworth plays every day because of his on-base percentage. The Padres paid him real money because of his on-base percentage. While other players trademark themselves as power hitters, elite fielders, or even bat-to-ball wizards like Luis Arraez, Cronenworth is unique.
Cronenworth owns a career walk rate of 9.9%. He also owns a career strikeout rate of 17.8%. Factor in his odd 12.6 hit-by-pitches per year, Cronenworth owns a career OBP of .335. In 2025, he set a career-high with a .367 OBP, which ranked just outside the top-10 in the league. What’s intriguing about that is the fact that all of the players ranked above him are premier hitters in the sport, and own slugging percentages well above the .400 threshold. Meanwhile, Cronenworth slugged just .377 in comparison. Therefore, Cronenworth is arguably the most talented at drawing walks because he doesn’t have the benefit of the “fear factor.”
How his skillset translates to value
In terms of his ability to actually use the bat, Cronenworth hit just under .250 with 11 home runs. Although it’s not flashy, Cronenworth hitting double-digit home runs in five straight seasons shouldn’t be taken for granted. As mentioned beforehand, he plays consistently and puts up counting stats each year. As much fun as it is to dig into percentages of all sorts, Cronenworth’s 638 hits since 2021 is valuable to the franchise.
Thanks to his on-base ability and availability, Cronenwroth accumulated 2.9 WAR in 2025. Although he fell short of the 3-WAR threshold that he reached in 2021 and 2022, he finished third among qualified Padres in wRC+. Although trade acquisitions Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn topped Cronenworth in wRC+ as well, Cronenworth produced for the Padres across the full sixth months.
Jake Cronenworth with a LONG home run to keep the @Padres rolling ? pic.twitter.com/cDqtZjpdcw
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2025
Conclusion
All things considered, Jake Cronenworth is a key piece to the Padres puzzle. While he’s not the player who’ll “push a team over the top,” he’s a steady, reliable player on both sides of the ball. Under team control through 2030, Cronenworth will continue to play a role in the Padres system for years to come. Monitoring the marginal improvements from Cronenworth will be key, as he theoretically qualifies as a “franchise cornerstone.”
A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a public baseball media account covering around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X. Willy is set to attend the Cronkite School of Journalism in the fall of 2026 at Arizona State University, where he’ll pursue a major in sports journalism.
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