The San Diego Padres will be represented in the National League starting lineup of the 2024 MLB All-Star game by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar. Both corner outfielders have been great this season and will be a part of a stacked NL roster.
Along with Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, the Padres teammates will start in the outfield when the Mid-Summer Classic begins in Arlington. They beat out Teoscar Hernandez and Brandon Marsh for starting nods alongside the likes of Yelich, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, Ketel Marte, Trea Turner, William Conteras and Alec Bohm.
Tatis and Profar are each setting feats that the Padres haven’t seen since the 1990s. Not since 1999 Tony Gwynn have one of their outfielders started in the All-Star Game. Not since 1997 have two Padres (Gwynn as the designated hitter and Ken Caminti at third base) been starters in the same season. San Diego has sent numerous players to the All-Star game over the years but is seeing two players in the starting lineup for the first time in almost 20 years.
Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar selected to All-Star starting lineup
Tatis' career went into a tailspin after starting the 2021 All-Star game at shortstop. He missed the 2022 season because of a wrist injury and tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, seemingly falling out of favor in San Diego. The addition of All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts necessitated a position change. Tatis was moved to right field and was instantly great there, winning the NL's Platinum Glove for his defensive excellence. His bat has bounced back this season, earning him his second All-Star nod, though he may not play due to injury.
Profar, meanwhile, makes the first All-Star game of his career at age 31 after first debuting in MLB at the age of 19. He was seen as one of the best prospects in all of baseball because of his stellar production as a teenager but he couldn’t tap into his potential in his first handful of seasons. He has been a decent player for five teams now and, in the first full season of his second stint with the Padres, is hitting the ball harder than ever, posting the highest batting average on balls in play of his career (.347) and an NL-leading .407 on-base percentage.
The Padres, at 47-43, are fighting to earn a Wild Card spot after missing the postseason in 2023. They’ve already made some big moves for Dylan Cease and Luis Arraez but may still be searching for upgrades before the trade deadline.