Fernando Tatis Jr.’s New Stance Opens New Pull-Side Possibilities

Baseball Savant's new batting stance data gives us insight into more mechanics for hitters than ever before. So now, instead of simply noticing that the San Diego Padres right fielder dropped his hands, added more of a crouch, and opened up his stance,  we can put concrete numbers to what our eyes are telling us. And concrete terms are important when you're off to the kind of start both Tatis and the Padres currently are.

Heading into Sunday, only three players ranked higher in FanGraphs fWAR than Tatis's 1.1 through his first 14 games. Since assuming the leadoff spot, all he's done is posted a .365/.433/.615/1.049 line with a .250 isolated slugging, six steals, and seven walks against only eight strikeouts. Factor in the defense (already 1 FRV), and there isn't a single component of his game that isn't firing at an upper-tier level right now. And that's with a midweek scare after he tweaked his shoulder in Sacramento. 

One of the more noteworthy components of his hot start has been in the swing. Such a statement applies both to the setup and what manifests on contact. The following is Tatis Jr's stance from 2024: 

And here's 2025: 

There are a handful of things to note here. First, obviously, is the front foot. The stance angle has opened up dramatically, from 29 degrees in 2024 to 49 degrees this year. He's also backed up from the plate in general, standing nearly a full inch more off the plate this year against last year. The intercept point is notable, too, as he's catching the ball just a tick later.

What does Tatis get out of this? Well, for one, he's opening himself up to more pull-side contact. His pull rate as of Sunday was 44.4%. His 2024 setup had him just slightly closed by the time the swing was over, leading to more middle-of-the-field contact than we've seen this year. Especially given his 86th percentile bat speed (74.7 MPH).

This year's, however, allows him to remain balanced through the swing. When done in conjunction with a swing that is slightly slower (73.5 MPH) — and, thus, likely why he's catching the ball just a little bit later — he's opening up the left side of the field to a higher rate of balls in play off his bat. The bat speed becomes somewhat less important given the setup. You could even make the argument that slower is better given the open position of his feet (slower being used relatively here, as even a slower swing from Tatis Jr is still considered a "fast" swing, on average).

Ultimately, though, it really leaves us with no surprise that this year's heatmap on extra base contact looks like this: 

There's obviously plenty of middle-middle contact. That isn't a new component for Tatis, or any hitter hoping to generate any extra-base contact. But in years prior, we've seen plenty of extra-base contact spread more horizontally throughout the zone. Obviously, there's a sample size consideration there and why the above visual is more concentrated. But those inner areas of the zone were nary to be found in previous years for Tatis.

But the increase to the pull side is actually stellar news for Tatis given this: 

Those represent Tatis' overall balls in play to the pull side throughout his career. Those numbers, down the line, are either really similar to his work up the middle or outright better than, depending on the year. He's able to achieve a level of consistency on the left side of the field despite a higher rate of quality contact. He's just found more success from a cumulative standpoint there than any other area of the field. 

That's not to say that Fernando Tatis Jr is abandoning the other parts of the field. Nor should he. The nature of being an elite hitter is that you can make an impact in all areas of the field. But there's something to be said about making yourself a threat on the inner portion of the zone. Tatis has done that thus far, given the new setup. 

And when pitchers can't throw inside they have to go outside. And when they go outside, it's very likely that the still-above-average bat speed won't have a problem making an adjustment in getting the barrel to the baseball.