This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell's Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SAN DIEGO -- By the time Luis Arraez joined the Padres last May, Fernando Tatis Jr. was already hobbled. He was playing through a right leg injury that would later be revealed to be a stress reaction, bordering on a stress fracture.
Tatis kept playing right up until the All-Star break. He missed two months, before returning for the stretch run. But when he was on the field last season, he was without one of the most important -- and exciting -- parts of his game: His wheels. As such, the Padres inserted Arraez into the leadoff spot and didn't really think twice about it.
Until this year, that is. In a minor surprise, a now-healthy Tatis has taken hold of that leadoff spot (despite the fact that Arraez batted there for most of Spring Training).
"I like it," Tatis said. "I feel like I can start the game with an infield hit or a home run. [If I] hit a bloop, I can steal a bag. I'm just creating a situation out of the gate."
On Opening Weekend, Tatis did precisely that. During Thursday's opener, Tatis recorded three hits and stole two bases. In the entirety of his 2024 campaign Tatis didn't record a multi-steal game. By Day 1 in '25, he had already done so.
"I mean, last year I was standing on one leg," Tatis said. "You can really see how healthy I'm at right now. ... I'm really happy. It's a huge part of my game, one of my favorite parts of the game. I really missed it."
Tatis' insertion into the leadoff spot was less of a surprise on Opening Day, when the Padres faced left-hander Chris Sale. Manager Mike Shildt hinted that might be possible, and he'd used Tatis at the top against a lefty late in Spring Training.
The bigger surprise came on Day 2 when Tatis remained in the leadoff spot against Braves righty Reynaldo L¨®pez.
"It's something we were playing with," Shildt said. "He looked really comfortable. Luis is comfortable hitting second. [Tatis] looked good, and we'll see what it looks like continuing. I think it's a good spot for him."
A few hours later, Tatis took the first pitch he saw from L¨®pez and launched it deep into the left-field seats, 111 mph off the bat. He might be in the leadoff spot to stay.
Just before the season, Tatis, Arraez and Shildt sat down to discuss the top of the lineup. Shildt broached the possibility of Tatis moving into the top spot.
¡°We talked about it, me, him and Arraez, just to see how we could put the best version of ourselves out there,¡± said Tatis, who reached base at a .529 clip during the Padres¡¯ sweep. ¡°Good conversations all around. We decided to go that way. Man, it¡¯s paying off.¡±