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

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. continued his power surge during Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The right-handed slugger blasted a solo home run in the opening frame to give his team the lead. Tatis struck out the rest of his plate appearances, but would help his team get the 2-0 win. Tatis has hit three home runs over his last four games and has nine RBI on the season. It doesn't seem like the surgically repaired shoulder is holding him back at all this season.

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (shoulder) is back in right field and batting leadoff for the Friars in Friday's series opener at Petco Park against the division-rival Colorado Rockies and right-hander German Marquez. Tatis tweaked his surgically-repaired left shoulder on a swing in Tuesday's loss to the Athletics and was held out of the series finale on Wednesday as a precaution. It's something to watch with the 26-year-old superstar, but the fact that he's back in the lineup a few days later is encouraging. San Diego's lineup isn't nearly as strong with both Jackson Merrill (hamstring) and Jake Cronenworth (ribs) on the injured list, but Tatis remains a must-start in all fantasy formats now that he's back in action. The Dominican superstar has been on fire at the plate (.364, two homers, seven RBI, 10 runs, five steals). He's hitting .154 with a homer and three RBI in 13 career at-bats against Marquez.

The San Diego Padres are optimistic that both outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (shoulder) and infielder Jake Cronenworth (ribs) will return on Friday for the series opener against the division-rival Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. "We're optimistic for Friday," manager Mike Shildt said on Wednesday when asked the status of both players. Tatis and Cronenworth were both pulled early in Tuesday's loss to the Athletics with injuries that are considered to be minor. Tatis tweaked his left shoulder on a swing and initially stayed in the game before being pulled, while Cronenworth dealt with some rib cramping related to a hit-by-pitch in Chicago on Sunday. Both players sat out of Wednesday's win against the A's, but they could be back on Friday after an off day Thursday. That would be great news for a 10-win Padres team that just placed star outfielder Jackson Merrill (hamstring) on the injured list on Wednesday. Check back on Friday.