Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. Named Biggest Disappointment Early in 2026

Will the real Fernando Tatis Jr. please stand up?

Through the first month of the 2026 season, the San Diego Padres superstar is nowhere to be found.

Tatis is yet to hit a home run this season, leading the league for the most plate appearances (131) without a long ball.

The longest home run drought of Tatis' career is 132 plate appearances, which occurred last year. He appears set to break that record to kick off the 2026 campaign.

While Tatis is hitting the ball as hard as anyone in the league, he has nothing to show for it. Thus, he was named the biggest disappointment among right fielders in MLB by ESPN's David Schoenfield.

"No home runs? At least this one is easy to explain. Tatis is hitting everything on the ground. He has the best hard-hit rate in the majors at 66.7%, just ahead of [Ben] Rice and [James] Wood, but his average launch angle ranks 176th out of 180 qualified players," Schoenfield wrote.

To add insult to injury for the Padres, the All-Star in right field that Schoenfield picked was none other than former Padres top prospect James Wood, who was sent to the Washington Nationals in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade.

Wood has 10 home runs, which is tied for second in the National League.

As for Tatis, he's doing everything he can to break out of his slump. Unfortunately, he just hasn't been able to connect yet.

He's as confused as anyone.

“I don’t know what the f— is going on,” Tatis said recently. “But, man, just keep going out there and keep grinding.”

“I’m doing everything,” he added. “Hitting early, doing batting practice, after [games]. It still doesn’t turn around. I don’t know. Trying to figure it out.”

Through 30 games this season, Tatis is slashing .250/.323/.286 with 13 RBIs and just four extra-base hits, all doubles. He has 32 strikeouts to 13 walks and a .609 OPS, which would be by far the lowest of his career. His OPS+ of 71 is 29% below league average. Tatis has never finished a season with an OPS+ below 110.

Tatis and the Padres will hope a new month brings better luck for the superstar outfielder/second baseman. While the Padres were able to withstand Tatis' struggles in April, they need him to start hitting to maintain their record over the course of a long season.

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