Fernando Tatis Jr. Is on an Absolute Tear Right Now

Fernando Tatis Jr. is on another planet right now. The 22-year-old shortstop has hit his stride and is absolutely annihilating baseballs. He's the hottest hitter in baseball right now and is making history along the way. Tatis is currently living up to every bit of the hype that surrounded him entering the 2021 season.

Tatis came off the COVID-related injured list last Wednesday and in the four games since he's gone 11-for-14 with four doubles, four home runs. That's a batting average of .786, and an OPS of 2.752. He's added 12 RBIs, three stolen bases and three walks against one strikeout.

As if that wasn't enough, on Friday he hit his 50th career home run in his 171st game, becoming the fifth-fastest player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

On Sunday, he notched his 200th hit in his 173rd career game, becoming the fastest member of the San Diego Padres to do so. He got that hit in style, as it came in the form of a 441-foot home run.

He punctuated his performance on Sunday with a 447-foot grand slam and a Hall of Fame-level bat flip.

And here's a better view of the bat flip:

Over the course of his last six games, Tatis has raised his batting average from .218 to .309, and his OPS has jumped from .832 to 1.111. He now leads all MLB shortstops in home runs (13) despite having two stints in the injured list that have cost him 17 games. The first came due to a shoulder injury, the second due to that positive COVID test. Clearly he hasn't needed time to acclimate when coming off the IL.

Despite some bumps in the road to start the season, Tatis is right where we all expected him to be. He's hitting .309 with 13 home runs, 26 RBIs, a 1.111 OPS and has 10 stolen bases, putting him nearly on pace for a 40/40 season.

Right now, Tatis is sixth in the National League in batting average, second in home runs and first in stolen bases. He currently leads all of baseball in OPS and slugging percentage.