Padres' Ramón Laureano has been fantastic in the leadoff spot

Padres' Ramón Laureano has been fantastic in the leadoff spot originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The San Diego Padres have become an underdog team in the National League, and it is hard to ignore them. They are excelling with players dominating in all areas of the game.

One of those players has been right fielder Ramón Laureano, who is doing a great job of being a solid lead-off hitter. He has a gauntlet of heavy hitters behind him in Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Manny Machado.

Laureano currently has a batting average of .273, with four home runs and 15 RBIs from that number one hole. With those all-star sluggers behind him, his OPS of .835 is a crucial part of the Padres early success this season. He has proven to be able to get one base, and display some power in front of those guys.

When pitchers get ready to start against this Padres team, there is no chance to settle in with the leadoff batter before hitting the 2-3-4 batters. Laureano has made opposing pitchers' lives difficult right from the jump.

Bleacher Report's recent article on early-season successes listed Laureano as the Padres representative, and how could you not? Last season was a success in itself for the 31-year-old, as his split-season between playing for the Baltimore Orioles and Padres saw him hit 24 home runs in 132 games.