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The San Diego Padres (20-11) may be staring up at the Los Angeles Dodgers (22-10) in the standings right now, but there is a belief surrounding the organization and fan base that this team can contend for the National League crown this season.
The uncertainty that hovered above Petco Park in the winter has not carried over into the 2025 MLB campaign whatsoever. Fernando Tatis Jr.'s excellence has much to do with the Friars' strong start, which is why the city was holding its breath on Friday night.
The two-time Silver Slugger and two-time All-Star was hit with a pitch on his forearm during the third inning of the Padres' eventual 9-4 win versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He exited the game. San Diego could exhale, though. Tatis is not heading to the injured list. Actually, he is not even taking the day off.
“Thankfully, he's in the lineup today,” manager Mike Shildt said, per 97.3 The Fan, ahead of Saturday's road matchup versus Pittsburgh. “Clearly sore. All of the imaging was negative, which is positive. Woke up today, said he's ready to play baseball. So it's very encouraging… Very scary, so we're glad he's able to play today.”
Although it could be difficult to maintain his at-bat approach through the pain he is feeling, an active Tatis infuses great confidence into the ballclub and its fans.
Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. is raking so far
Injuries hampered what could have been a truly terrific 2024 season, limiting the Gold Glove right fielder to only 102 games. He was stellar in the playoffs, though, slashing .423/.500/1.000 in seven games. Tatis is staying red-hot in 2025.
The 26-year-old boasts a .345 batting average, eight home runs, 18 RBIs, a .419 on-base percentage, .602 slugging percentage and 1.020 OPS this season. His 2.5 WAR tops the NL and is only behind New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. It is obviously way too early to be handing out awards, but this has the makings of a special season.
The Padres hope the same can be said for the franchise as a whole. Following a remarkable 14-3 start, San Diego dropped eight of their next 11 games.
The club has gotten back on track since, however, winning three straight entering Saturday. Considering that Jackson Merrill has missed the last few weeks with a hamstring strain, this group's ceiling could be quite high when at full strength.
But the Padres do not want to get ahead of themselves. They are just grateful to have Fernando Tatis Jr. in the lineup. San Diego will look to clinch its seventh series victory of the season starting at 4:05 p.m. EDT.
