Fernando Tatis Jr. makes the Padres: Now what should fantasy players do?
Fernando Tatis Jr. is starting the year in San Diego, and I have mixed feelings.
The first reaction is excitement. Tatis, after all, is the second or third-best prospect in all of baseball, and it’s fun to have players like that in the mix. I wasn’t going to binge a lot of minor-league baseball this year, were you? Get Tatis in the majors and let’s scout him nightly.
And it also shows you the Padres mean business for 2019, and there’s something to be said for that. The Manny Machado deal wasn’t an endpoint, it was a starting point. Buzzy pitcher Chris Paddack is starting the year in San Diego, too.
But Tatis, a 20 year old shortstop, is far from a finished product. He hasn’t taken an at-bat above Double-A, and while his .286/.355/.507 line at San Antonio last year gets your attention (with 16 homers and 16 steals), he also struck out 109 times in 394 at-bats. Maybe he’ll be a star down the road; the high end of his 2019 range could be Tim Anderson. (Does anyone do a hat dance when they land Tim Anderson?)
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Tatis didn’t force his way onto the roster with a monster spring, either. He slashed .241/.317/.444 over 54 at-bats, with two homers and two steals (four attempts). He drew six walks, and struck out 15 times, a heavy whiff rate even in today’s world of Three True Outcomes. Nonetheless, the Padres opted for Tatis, and sent Luis Urias to Triple-A.
If I owned Tatis anywhere — and I don’t — today would be a shopping day. Take the temperature of your league, do your diligence. Maybe there’s a rival who will throw you a FOMO-induced trade offer for Tatis; maybe someone will get caught up in the buzziness of the story. I’m not saying you have to trade Tatis, but it never hurts to take a look around.
I still have Tatis outside my Top 20 at shortstop. That’s not a knock on him; it’s a deep position. He’s worth drafting, even if you’re looking at him as a chip to flip.
The real opening day is just about here. We made it. Spring Training seems to get longer and longer every year.
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