Padres News: Bob Melvin Doesn't Have High Expectations for Fernando Tatis Jr's Return

Padres skipper isn't expecting a lot from their superstar once he returns

Your San Diego Padres are getting back their big slugger Fernando Tatis Jr pretty soon. April 20th, to be exact, and Padre fans can't wait until they see their team at full strength. 

Tatis in the already deadly Friars lineup will almost be unfair to opponents, and he's been looking great ramping up for their triple-A affiliate. Even though Fernando has looked great, Padres manager Bob Melvin doesn't expect the 24-year-old slugger to impact the team immediately. 

Melvin had this to say to Padres beat writer AJ Cassavell. 

“Based on what we saw in Spring Training and who he is, there’s obviously a high expectation level,” Melvin said. “But you do have to temper it, knowing that he basically hasn’t played in a year and a half. He’s getting his games in now.”

The major league game is way more elite than the minor league game, so Melvin has a point. However, it's Fernando Tatis Jr. we're talking about here. The one-time All-Star and two-time silver slugger winner is still young and can adjust quickly. I expect Fernando to start slow in his first game or two but explode into the player Padre fans fell in love with pretty soon. 

Every MLB fan cannot wait to see how he looks alongside his superstar teammates. We have yet to see him and Juan Soto don the same uniform on the same team, so that will be something special. 

Tatis has heard all the noise and will continue to hear the trash talk on the road. He will be ready to silence the haters and show he is the best player in the league. We can't wait to see him back in the brown and gold and showcase his skills to the league once again.