Fernando Tatis Jr. is turning to a higher baseball power for the reason behind his struggles to start the Padres’ season.
Before San Diego’s win against the Rockies on Friday, he joked to reporters that the “baseball gods are really mad at me right now,” and his numbers would only continue to dip following an 0-for-4 night — with his average now .189 and his OPS just a .519 — hours later.
“Obviously, we want better numbers or whatever,” Tatis told reporters, “but I’ve been playing some good baseball. Playing defense. Offense, been hitting the ball hard in every part of the field. Looks like the baseball gods are really mad at me right now.
“It’s alright. I’ll take it. We’ve got five more months of baseball, and I’m ready for it. I’m really prepared. And I have all the confidence in the world that it’s gonna turn around.”
Tatis, who entered the 2026 season after consecutive All-Star Game appearances and as a key piece of a Padres team still trying to put together that deep postseason run since 2022, hit .268 with 25 homers, 71 RBIs and an .814 OPS last year.
And while he’s in the 100th percentile for hard-hit percentage (70 percent), the 93rd percentile for average exit velocity (94.1) and the 90th percentile for barrel percentage (17.5), those numbers haven’t translated to the start of his latest campaign in San Diego.
Tatis’ batting average on balls in play — a metric often used for determining whether a player has been lucky or unlucky at the plate — entered Saturday’s game at .265, according to Fangraphs, and he hasn’t homered this season while already striking out 16 times in 14 games, too.
Still, the Padres have managed to overcome their star’s struggles and still jump out to an 8-6 record, with their last two victories secured via walk-off hits.
Xander Bogaerts launched a grand slam in the 12th inning to propel San Diego past Colorado on Thursday, while Gavin Sheets connected on a three-run homer — his second of the game — in the ninth one day later.
The Rockies and Padres will continue their series Saturday night.