Pros and Cons to a Potential Promotion of Fernando Tatis Jr.
Credit: Journal Gazette
As you may know, the Lake Elsinore Storm have a spot to fill with the promotion of shortstop Javier Guerra to Double-A San Antonio.
Who is better to fill that void than TinCaps’ shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.?
He is having a great year in Single-A, so he seems more than qualified to get the promotion to Lake Elsinore.
Fernando Tatis Jr. really does deserve a promotion.
He is swinging the bat as well as he ever has and it shows in his production at the plate.
In 90 games this season Tatis is slashing .268/.363/.497 while hitting 16 home runs and swiping 20 bags.
To add to his bat, he has also been much more selective at the plate. His strikeout rate and walk rate have steadily improved over the season.
- April: 29.3 K% , 10.1 BB%
- May: 27.1 K% , 7.6 BB%
- June: 23.4 K% , 14.4 BB%
- July: 21.3 K% , 19.7 BB%
A solid campaign in Fort Wayne definitely warrants a promotion for the 18-year-old.
However there are many pros and cons to promoting such a young player. I can definitely see both sides of the argument.
Let’s look at some pros and cons to a possible promotion of Fernando Tatis Jr.
Pros
With the move to the Lake Elsinore Storm, Tatis will now be hitting in the California League, a league which is considered to be very hitter friendly due to the thin air and hot climates in most California cities. He already has 16 home runs and 52 RBI, so he can only add to that tremendous production.
He will see new and better pitching in California. With the progression up to High Single-A, Tatis Jr. will now face more experienced pitchers who he has never seen before. Down in Fort Wayne he saw the same young pitchers over and over again, and it just got old. In facing new opponents, he will have to create a new game plan and get acclimated to different pitchers. This can only help Tatis by giving him more experience at adjusting.
Tatis is one step closer to the big leagues. Tatis’ path to the big leagues has already been an interesting one, but he still has a long way to go. The ultimate goal for Tatis is to reach the big leagues and produce and contribute at the big league level. He is one step closer to reaching his goal and I’m sure being promoted will do wonders for his confidence.
Cons
This section is one that I thought long and hard about, as in reality, it was tough to come up with any downsides to the promotion of Fernando Tatis Jr.
Some would say that promoting such a young player as Fernando Tatis Jr. is a big risk. That may be right. Tatis might not be ready for High A-Ball quite yet. He is only 18 and is still growing into his body. The smart/safe thing for the Padres’ front office to do might be to hold up on the promotion until next year. However, I see Fernando doing well in Lake Elsinore if he does get the call. You never know though, it is a risk on the Padres’ end. You do not want to damage his confidence.
His plate discipline still needs work, even though he has made progress. Is Lake Elsinore where you want him to make those adjustments? He is comfortable in the Mid-West League. Do you really want to rock the boat on his productive year? He has already surpassed most people’s expectations.
There are many other deserving candidates to fill the role that Guerra left at shortstop. Perhaps Tatis isn’t ready, and moving him is not really a necessity. Peter Van Gansen has been struggling mightily since he joined the Missions earlier this year. He may be demoted, and with that, Chris Baker can man the shortstop role while Van Gansen slides over to second base. Another strong candidate is Felipe Blanco. He is currently playing for the Tri-City Dust Devils, but he has spent time in San Antonio, and even El Paso in the last two years. He isn’t known for his bat, but he is a very solid fielder. Blanco is also much older and more experienced than Tatis, so that might be the right call as well.
Like I said, there are many pros and cons to the promotion of Fernando Tatis Jr.
In the end, the Padres will do what’s right for this young man.
Campbell is a senior in High School. He has been a San Diego sports fan all his life and forever will be. Fan of the Padres, Chargers (undecided), Aztecs, Lightning, Bayern Munich, USMNT, and the future San Diego MLS club. He hopes to spread his knowledge and love for San Diego sports to as many people he can.
Let him finish off the season in FW. No rush. Giron and Baker can fill the void in LE. I have a feeling Guerra is gonna be gone next year, so Giron can move up to SA and Tatis can move to LE, and if continues to develop, move up to SA.
They already have Giron