With his continued offensive struggles in 2026, Fernando Tatis Jr. was dropped to an unfamiliar spot in the Padres lineup for Tuesday’s matchup against the Giants in San Francisco.
Tatis was penciled into the five-spot, the lowest he’s hit in a game he’s started since his 2019 rookie season. Tatis has been a constant in recent years at the top of the Padres’ lineup, but with the 27-year-old posting a career-low .625 OPS in 33 games with no home runs, San Diego decided it was time to switch things up.
“He’s working in the cage every day. It’s not for lack of effort,” manager Craig Stammen said on Monday. “He’s trying new things and trying things to unlock himself. I think sometimes he feels really close and then it turns a little bit the other way, facing tough pitching, and he’s not able to stay on that hot streak.
“We’ll keep working. He’s going to keep working every day. I trust that his ability is eventually going to come through and he’ll be just fine.”
Much has been made about the lack of production for Tatis, someone who posted an OPS north of .800 in both 2024 and ‘25, along with 20-plus home runs in each of those seasons. Tatis’ strikeout rate has spiked to 25.2 percent this season entering Tuesday, his highest rate since ‘21, and he’s had a hard time optimizing his contact quality.
Despite a 99th percentile hard-hit rate (60.9 percent of his batted balls have been hit 95-plus mph), Tatis has a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent for the first time in his career, while his pull rate sat at 20.7 percent entering Tuesday, far below his 37.7 percent career rate.
Given Tatis’ struggles, it’s no surprise that the Padres entered Tuesday ranked near the bottom of the National League in several offensive categories, including OPS (.680) and home runs (33).