In speaking with the media Monday morning, Padres manager A.J. Preller revealed that Fernando Tatis Jr. has broken his wrist. The superstar shortstop is expected to miss three months of the season.
Tatis was the consensus No. 1 overall pick in early fantasy drafts this season. He led the NL with 42 homers in 2021 while batting .282 and swiping 25 bases – despite missing 22 games with a nagging shoulder injury. Tatis has yet to play a complete season in the majors and many consider him an injury risk, but the power and speed he offers in a dominant San Diego lineup is elite.
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With the status of Trevor Story and Carlos Correa still up in the air, Trea Turner and Bo Bichette become the top options at the shortstop position. Marcus Semien, Xander Bogaerts and Tim Anderson fill out the top 5. Luckily for fantasy managers who already drafted Tatis, shortstop is a deep position this year. In Tatis’s absence, Ha-Seong Kim is expected to slide into Tatis’s role for the Padres, while fantasy managers can also look to pick up players such as Willy Adames, Jake Cronenworth, Brandon Crawford, Gavin Lux or Andres Giminez while waiting for Tatis to return.
Tatis is the second early pick that we have gotten bad news about since spring training started. Sunday it was announced that Zack Wheeler was behind on his throwing program after experiencing shoulder discomfort in December. He is not expected to be the Opening Day starter for the Phillies. Fantasy managers who drafted Wheeler for his volume are hoping this is just a bump in the road and doesn’t forebode long-term health and durability issues.
