Can the Padres actually contend?

If I were to ask you what team has recently swept both the Giants and the Dodgers as well as taking four of seven in Chicago and at home against the Diamondbacks, your guess would definitely not be the cellar dweller from the National League West.

That's right, the San Diego Padres have accomplished those goals and are rolling. Yes, the team has a less than glamorous record of 13-18 but they are only six games out first and it is still really early in the season.

The NL West, or Worst by some standards have produced the World Series champion two of the last three years but early this season there is no clear cut favorite.

The Dodgers, who have spent have the Earth's money on their players are at a staggering 13-17 and have been playing terrible with all their "stars." Yo Adrian, when was the last time you made the playoffs?

Moving on, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team that stocks up their pitching and then realizes that the air is almost as thin as in Colorado. Their stockpiling of talent is certainly impressive but has it translated into results, right now its an "eh."

It also does not help that they traded a young superstar in Justin Upton to the Atlanta Braves only for him to be the front runner for the MVP award.

Somehow someway the Colorado Rockies are in contention. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki lead a top offensive attack but then again, they are the Rockies and are destined to fail. Lets just hope they fail before September, we all know what happens in September.

Last but definitely least, the World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants have a good record and are playing good baseball. 2012 NL MVP Buster Posey is having another good season and these Giants are favored to repeat in the division.

So the question is can the Padres actually contend? The answer is yes.

The team is starting to hit it's stride both on the mound and at the plate. There has not been a time when the team has hit this well. Fans have grown accustomed to going to the ballpark, overpaying for beer and watching a 1-0 loss by the home team.

Times are changing with this group of Padres. Outfielder/ 1B Kyle Blanks is having a bounce back season after dealing with injuries the previous three and he is hitting and playing with the potential he showed back in 2009.

Along with Blanks, the entire outfield has produced at a rate unseen recently. Fan favorite, Outfielder Chris Denorfia is playing his best season of the career and is making a case for a starting position.

With the Padres getting off to a slow start in early April, a lot of that can be attributed to collar bones, Cashner's and Chases.

Outfielder Carlos Quentin went on a collar bone breaking rampage and was slapped with an 8 game suspension. Third Baseman Chase Headley as well as hard throwing fire baller Andrew Cashner were recovering from injuries.

This put the Padres in a deep hole.

Since the trio came back, the Padres have been playing as good of baseball as anyone in the whole league. Along with the emergence of Catcher Nick Hundley and rookie 2B Jedd Gyorko to pair with the consistent hitting of 1B Yonder Alonso, the team has an offensive punch that can compete with anyone.

Time will tell to see if this Padres team can stay consistent until September but for now, bring on the Marlins and their 30 million dollar payroll and in mid May, Stephen Strasburg will make his long anticipated return to San Diego. The Friars are on fire.