Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. appeared in his third game of the 2023 season on Saturday night. He wasn't able to take the field again until Thursday night due to finishing up his suspension from last season for violating the league's Joint Drug Agreement. While he was out, he also had surgeries on his wrist and shoulder, too.
Tatis struggled at the plate in his first two games back, which isn't overly surprising, given that he hadn't played in the majors since 2021. Saturday, though, Tatis homered in his first-inning at-bat:
That one flew 374 feet and while it was a bit of a wall-scraper, it's a legitimate home run. It would have left the yard in 21 of the 30 MLB parks. The trot still includes his signature hop before third base, too, and that'll continue to be polarizing.
Anyway, that was Tatis' first home run since Sept. 30, 2021 when he took Tony Gonsolin deep in Dodger Stadium. It was the fourth career home run for Tatis against Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly.
Before the homer, Tatis was 1 for 9 with three strikeouts on the season. He tore up Triple-A in his rehab stint, going 17 for 33 with two doubles, seven homers and 15 RBI in eight games, but getting reacclimated to the big leagues is a much more difficult task than hitting in the minors. Perhaps this home run sparks a hot streak.
Remember, Tatis was a .293/.369/.596 (160 OPS+) hitter with 81 home runs in 273 career games through his age-22 season, prior to his suspension.
