San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. went the whole month without a home run, making him an early bust of the 2026 MLB season.
The San Diego Padres have jumped out to a 20-13 record entering May 4, and they are neck and neck with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
It's been an impressive start for San Diego and first-year manager Craig Stammen, especially with pitchers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove dealing with worrisome injuries and the immediate future murky for both veterans.
On the other hand, the offense has been off and on, and Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have gotten off to sluggish starts.
On Monday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named 10 of the biggest busts this season, and Tatis was at No. 3 on this list, behind San Francisco Giants infielder (and former Padre) Luis Arraez and Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet.
Tatis, the ever-exciting spark plug for San Diego, has not looked like himself at all this season. As of May 4, Tatis is hitting just .261 with 13 RBI, 12 runs scored and zero home runs, with that last stat the most stunning of them all.
"Here's the really weird part of this perceived power outage, though: Tatis' hard-hit percentage (63.6) is both the highest of his career and the second-highest among qualified hitters. The other three players north of 60 percent—James Wood, Munetaka Murakami and Oneil Cruz—have hit a combined total of 32 home runs. But Tatis' launch angle (3.5 degrees) is all out of whack, resulting in a lot of hard-hit ground balls and low liners," Miller wrote.
So, Tatis is hitting the ball hard, but he just hasn't been able to get one over the fence.
Tatis had 20 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons, including a career-high 42 in 2021.
Tatis' home run struggles are so surprising that every night the question will be asked: Is tonight the night when Tatis hits one over the fence?
Tatis hasn't hit one since the World Baseball Classic.
Stammen is trying whatever he can to try and flip the switch for Tatis.
The Padres star even has not hit leadoff much this season in what became the norm for him in recent years.
Tatis has played second base as well as of late, and maybe Stammen is trying to get his mind off of the offensive struggles and just get him back to enjoying the game once again.
Whatever it is, it is a stunning turn of events for Tatis, and maybe he will figure things out soon for San Diego.