The National League is full of the biggest names and best talent in Major League Baseball, but one league insider insists that the National League’s Most Valuable Player will come from the San Diego Padres in 2025.
Forget about Juan Soto signing his historic deal with the New York Mets or Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound after the first 50/50 season in baseball history. Fernando Tatis Jr. is ready for his moment, according to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince.
“When Tatis returned from his suspension in 2023, he did so in a new position, moving from shortstop to right field, and he’s naturally athletic enough to have accumulated the most outs above average in right field (11) in the two seasons since,” Castrovince wrote. “Meanwhile, at the plate, since debuting at the tender age of 20, he’s learned to make better swing decisions, leading to a substantial decline in strikeout percentage while maintaining one of the top hard-hit percentages in MLB.
“Healthy down the stretch in 2024, he slugged .520 in his last 70 regular-season games, then went 11-for-26 with seven extra-base hits in the postseason. He’ll be 26 this season. And he looks ready.”
Tatis’ ongoing struggles with staying healthy make it hard to trust that his numbers will reach MVP levels. While he had an impressive 2024 season, he missed over two months due to a stress reaction in his femur and also faced issues with quadriceps tightness.
It’s been a series of setbacks. Choosing him as an MVP contender is more a gamble on his raw talent than his durability or consistency.
Tatis Jr.’s rise to fame wasn’t as smooth as many expected, and it took a dramatic fall a few years ago. He didn’t suffer an injury, but instead, his career was derailed by a PED scandal in 2022.
He apologized, saying he was “devastated” and determined to grow, but the damage to his image had already been done.
He served his suspension, and 2024 saw a strong comeback, but things still weren’t the same.
Tatis has an undeniable magnetism, especially with younger audiences. His on-field feats — whether it’s defying gravity with incredible dodges or pulling off daring infield sprints — are nothing short of cinematic. That star power is hard to ignore.
