Fernando Tatís Jr.

Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina (born January 2, 1999) (nicknamed "El Niño") is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally signed by the Chicago White Sox, he was traded to the Padres at age 17 before ever playing a professional game. Generally ranked among the top three prospects in minor league baseball, Tatís made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2019 after making their Opening Day roster. He is the son of former MLB player Fernando Sr.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Tatís and the second or maternal family name is Medina.
Fernando Tatís Jr.
Tatis with the San Diego Padres in 2019
San Diego Padres – No. 23
Shortstop
Born: (1999-01-02) January 2, 1999
San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
March 28, 2019, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.317
Home runs22
Runs batted in53
Teams

Career

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox signed Tatís as an international free agent from the Dominican Prospect League in 2015.[1][2]

San Diego Padres

On June 4, 2016, before he had played a professional game, the White Sox traded the 17-year-old and Erik Johnson to the Padres for James Shields.[3][4] He spent 2016 with the Arizona Padres of the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League,[5] batting a combined .273 with four home runs and 25 runs batted in (RBIs) in 55 games, and on defense he made 15 errors and had a .904 fielding percentage.[6]

In 2017, Tatís played 117 games for the Fort Wayne TinCaps Class A Midwest League and 14 games for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League, posting a combined .278 batting average with 22 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases as he was caught 15 times, and on defense he made 30 errors and had a .936 fielding percentage.[7][8][9] In 2017–18 he played 17 games at shortstop for the Estrellas de Oriente of the Dominican Winter League, batting .246 with one home run and three RBIs.[6]

Tatís entered 2018 as one of the top prospects in the minor leagues.[10] He returned to play shortstop for San Antonio, and in 88 games he batted .286 with 16 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases.[6] On July 23, 2018, Tatís underwent season-ending surgery for a broken left thumb and ligament damage suffered during a head-first slide.[11] He returned to play for the Estrellas for the 2018–19 winter season.[12]

At the beginning of 2019, Tatís was ranked as one of the top three prospects in baseball by MLB Pipeline, ESPN, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus.[13][14][15] On March 26, 2019, the Padres announced that Tatís made their Opening Day roster.[16] In his major league debut, he recorded two hits.[17] On April 1, 2019, Tatís hit his first major league home run.[18]

Personal life

Tatís' father, Fernando Sr., played third base in the major leagues from 1997 to 2010.[19] His younger brother, Elijah, is an infielder in the Chicago White Sox organization, signed in 2019.[4]

References
  1. "White Sox sign Fernando Tatis Jr". Chicago White Sox. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. http://dplbaseball.com/tag/fernando-tatis-jr/
  3. Van Schouwen, Daryl (June 4, 2016). "Padres trade James Shields to the White Sox". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  4. Harrigan, Thomas (April 10, 2019). "White Sox, Elijah Tatis agree to deal (source)". MLB.com. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  5. Miller, Bryce. "Padres prospects Reed, Tatis Jr. bond over beats, baseball". SanDiegoUnionTribune.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  6. "Fernando Tatis Jr. Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. "Fernando Tatis Jr. Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  8. Sanders, Jeff. "Fernando Tatis Jr. already a man among boys at Fort Wayne". SanDiegoUnionTribune.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  9. "TinCaps' Tatis Jr. taking after his father". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  10. "Fernando Tatis shows confidence, defense, also hits – ''The San Diego Union-Tribune''". Sandiegouniontribune.com. February 28, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  11. "Fernando Tatis Jr., minor league for San Diego Padres, has thumb surgery". Espn.com. July 24, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. "Tatis teeing off in Winter League playoffs". MiLB.com. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  13. Gilberto, Gerard (January 26, 2019). "Vlad Jr. tops new prospect rankings". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  14. Sanders, Jeff (January 30, 2019). "Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. is No. 1 on ESPN's top-prospects list". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  15. Sanders, Jeff (January 23, 2019). "Where Padres landed on Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus lists". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  16. "Top prospect Tatis on Padres' Opening Day roster". Espn.com. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  17. Cassavell, AJ (March 28, 2018). "Fernando Tatis Jr. debuts for Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  18. https://www.mlb.com/news/fernando-tatis-jr-hits-first-home-run
  19. "Fernando Tatis Jr. groomed for big future in baseball". The San Diego Union-Tribune. September 28, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
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