In a battle for the NL West, a lack of production from Fernando Tatis Jr. has left San Diego Padres fans worried. The team is tied with the San Francisco Giants for an eight-game deficit behind the reigning World Series Champions. With the Los Angeles Dodgers continuing to play their best ball, the Padres’ recent stint with five losses in their last eight games certainly isn’t helping their case.
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Mike Schildt Defends Tatis Jr. During Slump
The 2024 All-Star has enjoyed a .258 batting average this season, with only his OBP up from years past. All of his other numbers have taken a dip, with his .789 slugging down significantly from his 2019-21 seasons. Even compared to last year, Tatis Jr. has seen a dip in his power.
“Numbers can lie… the numbers are going to be skewed either way a little bit,” Schildt said. “Fernando Tatis is a wonderful guy and an exceptional talent. Sometimes you got to prove you’re human. Let’s not forget who we are and who he is.”
At the end of the day, sometimes MLB fans do need to take a step back to realize that these athletes are human. While they possess superhuman strength and skills that are out of this world, Tatis Jr. is allowed to see his numbers dip. Ultimately, he still had a six-game hitting streak from June 28 to July 4.
Back on June 16, Tatis Jr. had a batting average of .280. His OPS was .831, as there are clear indicators that his numbers have been trending in the wrong direction. The 26-year-old has not hit a home run since June 23, as he’s only driven in one run since then.
Ever since the Padres outfielder picked up 10 hits in a four-game span from June 13-16, he’s gone cold. The two-time All-Star didn’t let his average fall below .300 until May 21. Since then, he hasn’t been able to get back to that mark. After a scorching hot start to the season, it’s clear that Tatis Jr. likely won’t see his OPS above 1.00 like it was through May 3.
Clearly, that pace was never sustainable. The highest he’s finished a season in OPS is the .975 he had in 2021, his first season as an All-Star. Tatis Jr. has only finished one season with a batting average above .300, that being in his rookie year. His 334 at-bats that season were lower than he had in every season other than 2020.
He may not be hitting as dominantly as he was, but Tatis Jr. already has 11 more walks than he did a season ago. Those 11 walks come in 68 fewer at-bats, an impressive number that puts him at an 11.4 BB%.