Jul 12, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates with shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images David Frerker-Imagn Images

Padres' $340 Million All-Star Named Biggest X-Factor for Rest of Season

Originally posted on San Diego Padres on SI
By Aaron Coloma | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Fernando Tatis Jr. walked things off for the San Diego Padres on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

MLB Network's Mark DeRosa recently listed him as one of MLB's biggest 'X-factors' for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Tatis has been the team's most valuable player in terms of bWAR this season, posting the second highest mark of his career with 5.4 — however, it's clear he is capable of doing even more. Tatis has struggled through periods of this season — most notably in May when he batted .184 — but has still put together a solid offensive season.

He has an OPS just under .800 with 20 home runs and 28 stolen bases, the third 20/20 season of his career. He made the third All-Star game of his career in 2025 and is batting above league average, as he has every season since his rookie year.

"It's time for Tatis to get rolling," said DeRosa. "Sixteen homers in the first half, (four) in the second half. He can make everybody relax a little bit more if he gets the power core going. He's got (28) steals and we know what he does defensively out in right field, but I need a little more of that with 20 some odd games left if we're gonna win the NL West."

DeRo has five X-Factors that will make all the difference for these five contenders down the stretch pic.twitter.com/DtUm0UJwiP
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 29, 2025

While Tatis has had some difficulty at the plate this season, the same can be said for most of the Padres offense. The Padres have scored the 10th fewest runs in MLB this season, and have only hit more home runs than the Pittsburgh Pirates, who sit at the bottom of their division and have scored the least runs of any team in 2025.

Despite their offensive woes, the Padres have closed the gap at the top of the division, and are just one game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers after trailing by nine games towards the beginning of July.

The Friars will hope Tatis can turn it up come October and provide a spark to their quiet and inconsistent offense, similar to how he did in 2024. Tatis had a 1.500 OPS during the postseason last year, and nearly carried the Padres past the Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series.