Padres' Tatis Jr. Has Turned His Season Around In Major Way

The San Diego Padres had the worst offense in Major League Baseball throughout much of the first half, which took them out of a playoff spot and nearly led to the team selling at the trade deadline earlier this month. However, the Padres' big three of third baseman Manny Machado, center fielder Jackson Merrill and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. have started hitting like themselves over the last several weeks. Machado has big numbers in the power department despite not hitting for average, Merrill has been the hottest player in the sport since the All-Star break and Tatis is hitting over .300 with an OPS north of 1.000 over his last 15 games. Tatis went a long time without hitting his first home run and was one of the last qualified players to hit one, but since he has, he’s been on a tear. Overall, Tatis is slashing .281/.353/.420 (.773 OPS), but he has raised his OPS over 100 points since midseason. He’s stealing bases (28) and playing solid defense in right field as well as second base when manager Craig Stammen puts him over there. San Diego has needed his bat to heat up as well as Machado’s and Merrill’s, and it’s happening at the best time possible. His monster second half has him ranked No. 47 on ESPN’s updated in-season top 50 players list. “[Tatis’ first homer] arrived on the second-to-last day of May,” Alden Gonzalez wrote Thursday. “Up to that point, he was getting on base at a .345 clip, but he was slugging only .307. Since then, he has been the Tatis we've all come to know, slashing .292/.357/.496 after June 1. “Manny Machado got hot in July, Jackson Merrill has been unstoppable in August, and Tatis is back to looking like a superstar. He'll be at the center of whatever happens moving forward.” Tatis has been one of the most fun players to watch in MLB since making his debut in 2019, and although it took a while for him to start playing like himself, the Padres have taken full advantage of his great play in recent weeks. Just three weeks ago, the Padres were 50-53 and a few games back from the final NL wild card spot. Since then, the Padres have won 15 of their last 19 games entering play on Friday and own sole possession of the second wild card spot. If Tatis can stay hot and continue setting the table for Machado, Merrill and Ty France, the Padres will be a tough team to play down the stretch and into October.