San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. giveth and taketh away

Fernando Tatis Jr. had himself quite the weekend. The San Diego Padres shortstop victimized Dodgers’ pitching belting five homers during the three game set. He became just the fifth player in Padres’ history to have that type of a run, a truly impressive feat considering his youth and relative inexperience.

Tatis was not done making history with that performance. He was the first shortstop ever, regardless of team, to hit five homers over a three game span at Dodger Stadium. His back to back two homer games, coming against Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer, marked the first time in MLB history that anyone had ever hit multiple homers against Cy Young winners in consecutive days.

San Diego Padres get both sides of Fernando Tatis Jr.

But the weekend was not all positive for Tatis. He also made his ninth error of the season, becoming the first player since Scott Fletcher in 1983 to make that many errors in their first 15 games of the year. Tatis has reached that mark in just 14 contests.

This has become an ongoing concern with Tatis. He has been brilliant offensively this season, particularly since returning from the Injured List. Over the course of his 65 plate appearances, he has produced a .246/.338/.632 batting line, hitting seven homers and stealing four bases. He has been one of the more dynamic players in the game with the bat in his hand.

However, his defense has been an issue. Those nine errors will garner attention, but Tatis has already cost the Padres four runs at short in just 124 innings. His .830 fielding percentage hearkens back to the days when the game was played without gloves. It has been a complete disaster.

However, Tatis’ defensive struggles can be fixed. He made just three errors last season, making it possible that his ongoing shoulder woes are contributing to those struggles. Even if he will never be a Gold Glove caliber infielder, Tatis is much better defensively than he has been this season. But until his shoulder is fixed, this may be something that the Padres have to live with.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has been on a roll with the bat and a horrid slump with the glove. The San Diego Padres shortstop giveth and taketh away.