Fernando Tatis Jr. DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (forearm) is in the starting nine for Saturday's contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tatis was removed from Friday's game after being hit by a pitch. Following the game, the superstar outfielder underwent X-rays but was able to escape the incident with just a bruise. As a result, Tatis will return to action this afternoon and is slated to cover right field. He will bat in the leadoff spot. The 26-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign, posting a .345/.419/.602 slash line with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. Under the hood, Tatis has generated an elite .461 xwOBA. He should be viewed as a top play in DFS facing Pittsburgh southpaw Bailey Falter, who enters this game with a high 5.93 ERA.

Updating a previous report, the San Diego Padres announced that initial X-rays came back negative on outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (forearm) after he was hit by a Mitch Keller pitch and exited Friday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Tatis has been diagnosed with a left-forearm contusion and is receiving treatment. It sounds as though he has avoided a serious injury, but he will continue to be evaluated and probably will not play in Game 2 of the series on Saturday. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now and check back on Saturday for more information on his status. The 26-year-old All-Star came into the day leading the National League with a .345 average and didn't record an official at-bat on Friday after walking in his first plate appearance. He was replaced by pinch-runner Oscar Gonzalez.

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (forearm) was forced to exit early during Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 26-year-old was hit in the forearm by a pitch from Mitch Keller in the third inning. Tatis appeared to be obvious pain and was immediately removed from the game. The assumption is that Tatis will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury. For now, Tatis should be considered day-to-day, but fantasy managers should get another update on his status soon. Oscar Gonzalez took over in right field with Tatis exiting early. Gonzalez could see more playing time in the future if Tatis is forced to miss time from this issue.