Over his seven-year big league career, Fernando Tatis Jr. is averaging 35 home runs over 162 games.
This season, though, the San Diego Padres superstar has none. In fact, he only has four extra-base hits in 112 at-bats.
The slow start to his season is starting to weigh on the 27-year-old Tatis.
“I’m doing everything,” Tatis told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin. “Hitting early, doing batting practice, after [games]. It still doesn’t turn around. I don’t know. Trying to figure it out.”
Tatis is being backed by his team to come good.
“I do think that he’s, like, super close,” Padres hitting coach and former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Steven Souza Jr. said. “I feel like I’ve been saying that for three weeks, but I do think it’s a matter of a couple clicks and ironing some stuff out, and then it’s just going to go.”
A three-time All-Star, Tatis has a career OPS of .857, which is significantly higher than the .609 mark he currently has, reflecting his lack of power.
“Just not happy,” Tatis said of the drought. “I’m going through it, and I’m just trying to figure it out.”
A native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, Tatis is batting .258 with 28 hits and 13 runs batted in over 30 games.
The Padres (19-11) sit second in the National League West, a half-game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers (20-11). Idle on Thursday, the team opens a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox (14-17) at Petco Park on Friday.
