San Diego Padres: 3 questions about the return of Fernando Tatis Jr.
By Kevin Henry
San Diego Padres fans now have a timeline of when Fernando Tatis Jr. might bring his All-Star skills back to the San Diego lineup. However, there are still some questions looming about the 23-year-old shortstop/outfielder leading up to, and likely after, his return.
Here are 3 questions we have about the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. to the San Diego Padres lineup
It has been reported that Tatis Jr. could return to the San Diego lineup by late June. Working through his recovery from a broken wrist suffered in the offseason and the subsequent surgery, Tatis Jr. will come back to a Padres team that enters Tuesday’s play with a 28-14 mark and just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
The Padres have used heavy doses of Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado to drive the offense in the early stages of the season. However, plenty of Padres have struggled in the early going, including shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who is slashing .218/.309/.395 in 136 plate appearances.
The first question: Will Fernando Tatis Jr. replace Ha-Seong Kim as the everyday shortstop?
On the surface, the answer seems to be an easy “yes.” However, Tatis Jr. will likely need some time to ramp up on both offense and defense so it’s very possible he could slot in as the team’s designated hitter to get his timing back and work his way back into the lineup upon his return.
The Padres can certainly upgrade at shortstop on offense with the return of Tatis Jr. However, Tatis Jr. also has 42 errors in 242 career games, including 21 games in 101 games at shortstop last season. Kim, meanwhile, has two errors in 31 games at shortstop this season.
Despite the miscues, you can expect Tatis Jr. to slot in primarily at shortstop, but don’t be surprised to see him at designated hitter or even the outfield as well. And that brings us to the second question.