What’s going on with Fernando Tatis Jr.?

The San Diego Padres are having an excellent 2026 season, boasting a record of 30 wins and 20 losses and sitting just half a game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of the National League West division.

However, the Padres currently rank 23rd in all of Major League Baseball on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 4.08 runs per game.

One reason for this is that Fernando Tatis Jr., who finished in the top 10 in National League MVP voting three times during his first six seasons in the MLB, has yet to hit a home run in 2026.

It's a slump that spans 210 plate appearances during which he has recorded just five doubles and one triple, with a batting average well below his usual production.

All of this comes after a 25-homer campaign in 2025, 21 home runs in 2024 in just 102 games, and another 25 the season before that. Tatis Jr. did not play in 2022 due to injuries and a suspension for using banned substances, but the year before that, he led the National League with 42 home runs.

So this start to the season makes no sense at all. And it's not as if he isn't trying.

In fact, Tatis ranks in the 97th percentile in hard-hit ball percentage and the 86th percentile in exit velocity. His barrel contact percentage also sits in the 71st percentile.

And his 49 strikeouts in 49 games aren't much different from previous years when he displayed far more power.

Fortunately for Tatis Jr. and the Padres, this doesn't seem to be affecting the team's results, and it will give him time to snap out of this slump. Let's hope so.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.