Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 14th HR Places Him in Elite Territory

Despite starting his season in late April, the Padres star is making a charge towards the home run leaderboard.

Fresh off a series win against the Cleveland Guardians, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. is quietly having one of the best hitting performances this season.

Tatís Jr. was sidelined with injuries until April 20, when he made his 2023 debut. Since then, Tatís Jr. has hit 14 home runs. Only Shohei Ohtani, Jorge Soler and Mookie Betts have his more in the same timespan.

Tatís Jr. is having a monster June, hitting at a .400/.500/.860 clip, and along with his surge in stats has come a surge in victories for the Friars. San Diego has won 8 of 13 games in June.

The Padres will need all the wins they can get as they seek to climb above a .500 record for the first time since May 10. San Diego currently sits at 4th in the NL West and 3 games out of play in the Wild Card.

With a team loaded with All-Star talent, the 2023 season has been a bit of a disappointment for some Padres fans. The recent uptick in wins also comes with an increase in expectation.

"Coming into the season, there has been a lot of expectation, especially with the talent that we have," Tatís Jr. said. "And people just expect us to do this every single day. It's like, 'No, this is baseball.'"

(Via ClutchPoints)

Tatís Jr. and the rest of the Padres have a tall task ahead of them as they look to host Tampa Bay, which holds the best record in baseball, for a three-game series beginning Friday.