Padres Coach Reveals How Fernando Tatis Suddenly Turned Season Around

Tatis' turnaround has fueled the Padres' potential playoff run.

Jul 31, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after hitting a double during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. heard all the talk about his early-season struggles this year.

But Tatis never let the noise get to him, instead putting in the work behind the scenes, knowing that he would eventually break out. His hard work has started to pay off, with Tatis turning around his season in quick fashion.

Early on, Tatis dealt with a very long home run drought, with the slugger struggling to figure out what was going on.

But since June 17, Tatis has played up to par, and the Padres' success on the field has correlated with it.

His home run totals are still lower than expected, but the veteran has found ways to impact the game. Overall, Tatis has hit .281 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs, while putting up an OPS of .773.

Padres hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. reflected on how Tatis was able to get his bat going so rapidly.

“He was trying to pull everything and didn’t have the ability to stay inside [the ball] and drive it,” Souza said to the Times of San Diego. “Fernando is actually one of the best pure hitters I’ve been around. If he wanted to hit .350 he could.

“But these guys have expectations of hitting 30, 40 homers. And then you start hearing the noise. That creeps in there. And you’re swinging to hit homers. When he let that go, that’s when the power numbers began to get going.”

Tatis' issues at the plate led to a lot of problems for the Padres on the field. San Diego's offense was one of the worst in baseball, but now that he's gotten going, the Padres have been one of the hottest teams in the sport.

The star is a tone-setter for this organization, with the rest of the guys on the team going as he does. So seeing him break out of the long slump has been exhilarating for the clubhouse, and the Padres are now playing up to their potential.

San Diego has won seven of its last 10 games overall, with the team currently on a five-game winning streak. The Padres have overtaken both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card standings in the National League to grab a playoff spot.

Now, there is still plenty of time left in the regular season, but San Diego seems to be clicking at the right time. Tatis has finally found his rhythm at the plate, and by default, the Padres have started winning games.

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