WASHINGTON -- Fernando Tatis Jr. at short, Luis Urias at second. That's the way the San Diego Padres hope to line 'em up one day at Petco Park, and that's the alignment the World Team utilized up the middle for the start of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday at Nationals Park.
The results were mixed, but the experience for both young players was special. Tatis played the entirety of the 10-6 loss to the U.S. squad, contributing a pair of hits, a stolen base and a run scored. Urias, meanwhile, went 0-for-2 and had the misfortune of being hit between the left elbow and forearm by a 100.4 mph fastball from Hunter Greene in the fourth inning, but he came out unscathed.
• Box score
"It wasn't fun, seeing that fastball coming at me," Urias said. "I got scared a little bit. I was glad to be wearing an elbow pad."
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More than anything, both players were glad to share this experience together. These are two of the more highly regarded prospects not just in the loaded San Diego system but in the game at large. Urias is listed by MLB Pipeline as the No. 29 overall prospect in the game, while Tatis is listed at No. 3, making him the highest-rated prospect to take place in this year's Futures Game.
"I would say it's motivation to us to keep working and hopefully one day be at Petco Park turning double plays with Tatis," Urias said.
Urias could be knocking on the door to the big leagues as soon as this season, as he's spent the entirety of 2018 at Triple-A El Paso (.278/.391/.411 slash). Tatis is a little further off, plying his trade at Double-A San Antonio (.289/.359/.509), but his performance on this stage against fellow young, elite talents was a window into what makes him such a tantalizing talent. Facing Greene, the No. 2 overall pick by the Reds from the 2017 Draft, Tatis ripped a sharp line-drive single on a fastball measured by Statcast™ at 102.3 mph.
"That guy's not human," Tatis joked of Greene. "He's on another level. Maybe I got lucky or something, but he should be in The Show soon."

Tatis' line in the box score would have looked even better had he not been robbed of an extra-base hit by none other than fellow Friars prospect and San Antonio teammate Buddy Reed on a nice running catch.
"When he stopped between first and second," said Reed, "I just started laughing."
Added Tatis: "I don't know, maybe he forgot we're teammates. But I'm going to let him remember he's the new guy in Double-A. So he's going to pay for it!"

Tatis will head back to Double-A and Urias to Triple-A, but it might not be long before they're paired in the middle infield of a big league diamond again.
"This has been amazing," Tatis said of the Futures Game experience. "We have a great bond. If we get to play together, it's going to be awesome."