Fernando Tatis Jr. showing who he is again, as well as what he might become

Earlier this spring, new Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts opined that people were sleeping on Fernando Tatis Jr.

“I think people tend to forget how good he is or how good he has been in the past,” Bogaerts said.

Tatis didn’t disagree.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he said last month. “People do forget. I mean, they (have) the right to forget. I wasn’t around for a year. I need to (remind) them how good I am in baseball and what I’m capable of.”

Tatis continued to make significant strides toward doing so Friday night, as he blasted his first home run of the spring to straightaway center field in the first inning of the Padres’ 10-5 loss to the Mariners.

“Still got it,” he joked.

That was after he said he had forgot some things as well.

“My God, I can’t remember the last time I had that feeling,” he said of hitting a homer. “But it feels great.”

He did his usual stutter step as he approached third base, something that had not been seen since Sept. 30, 2021, when he hit the last of his National League-leading 42 homers that season.

“Oh man,” he said. “I almost forgot how to do it.”

As he has throughout the spring, Tatis continued to jest and throw back his head and laugh frequently as he spoke.

He had teased reporters and goodnaturedly poked fun at those who seemed worried about his ability to hit as he began the spring 0-for-16.

He did note a couple times during that start that he hadn’t played in quite some time.

The 24-year-old, in fact, did not play in the major leagues in 2022. He had just 14 plate appearances in Double-A in August, having worked back from a March wrist surgery. Tatis’ rehab assignment was cut short when MLB announced he was being suspended 80 games for a positive PED test. He began serving that suspension on Aug. 12 and has 20 games yet to serve.

He is eligible to participate in spring training, however, and is beginning to look like he will be ready for what is scheduled to be his April 20 debut. Tatis has felt increasingly confident in his surgically repaired shoulder and wrist, and in the past week he has significantly stepped up his batting practice workload.

“I feel like the work we’re putting in is definitely working,” he said. “Just getting more confident. The more at-bats I get, I feel like it’s better every time.”

Tatis is 4-for-9 with two walks in his past four games. On Thursday, he went 1-for-2 but repeatedly struck the ball well. He hit a foul ball at 114 mph down the left field line during a first-inning strikeout, drove in a run with a fly ball to the warning track in center field at 106 mph in the third inning, walked in the fifth and grounded into a double play on a 97 mph grounder to third in the sixth.

“I felt like last game my barrel was alive on every single at-bat,” he said. “I felt very confident, and I feel like the results transferred to this game.”

Friday’s homer, albeit in a spring game, was the first Tatis has hit while playing for Bob Melvin.

Fernando Tatis Jr. runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a Friday’s spring training game.

(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)

Tatis has essentially shifted from the care of the medical staff to the care of his manager. Padres physical therapist Scott Hacker had been devising Tatis’ schedule, but he has been deemed full-go and Melvin will be in charge of when Tatis plays going forward. The manager changed plans Friday night, pulling Tatis after he walked in his second time up. The reason: Melvin plans to bat him leadoff Saturday.

“I’m going to run him out there with the rest of the guys,” Melvin said after Friday’s game, referring to his intention to start most of the team’s regulars on Saturday against the Brewers. “... For the first time, it’ll be fun, right? We’re getting to the end of spring here now. It’s a TV game back to San Diego, too. We’ve got sponsors here, so we’ll try to get them all out there tomorrow.”

For all the apparent hand-wringing in some quarters over his start to spring, there was not ever much real concern about Tatis’ offense. He will bring into 2022 a .965 career OPS and an OPS-plus of 160. From 2019 to ’21, the three years Tatis has played, those number ranked third in the big leagues behind Mike Trout and Juan Soto.

What can continue to be monitored and dissected with acuity is Tatis’ defense in a relatively new position. After playing shortstop in 242 of the 266 games he has been in the field in the major leagues, Tatis will be the Padres’ primary right fielder in 2023. The move to the outfield was likely even before the Padres signed Bogaerts in December and became assured (and more permanent) when that happened.

The improvement might not be occurring with the same rapidity as his swing, but almost every game brings signs Tatis is becoming more natural in tracking the ball and his routes to the ball.

“The more I do, the more reps I get, the more comfortable I get, the more good is gonna come,” he said Friday afternoon. “It’s going to come with time and reps.”

Fernando Tatis Jr. points while running the bases after hitting a solo home run during Friday’s game.

(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)

With his speed and athleticism, he is making plays even when he doesn’t make them in an orthodox manner, such as the catch he made Friday night. Tatis reached back to grab a ball he had overrun.

A sequence in the first inning displayed some of the rare ability that could end up making him an elite outfielder.

First, Tatis ran about 80 feet to his left and to try to get a towering foul ball hit by Ty France. Tatis didn’t make the catch and might have played the wall better, but the fact he got to the ball was impressive enough.

On the next pitch, France smoked a ball to Tatis’ other side, into the gap in right field. On the run, having covered about 100 feet, Tatis chased down the ball on the track for the final out of the second inning.

“Looking forward to that,” he said of making those types of plays in the season. “It’s what I’m capable of.”