Behind David Peralta's offensive surge in Tatis Jr.'s absence

The 2024 San Diego Padres continue to be a story of pleasant surprises.

Photo byUSA Today Sports

Jurickson Profar, on a $1 million contract, started the All-Star Game for the National League. Donovan Solano, on a minor league deal, currently posts a batting average over .300 through 64 games played.

More recently, former Padre killer David Peralta has gotten the job done for the brown and gold in the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr.

In May, San Diego selected Peralta’s contract from Triple-A El Paso. With a healthy Tatis Jr. at the time, Peralta saw little of the field and struggled early on, notching a .642 OPS and connecting on just one home run in 40 games in the first half of the 2024 campaign.

On June 24, the Padres placed Tatis Jr. on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right leg. All of a sudden, Peralta became San Diego’s starting right fielder when facing right-handed starters.

To say the least, Peralta has taken the opportunity and ran with it.

In the 20 games since the All-Star break, the Freight Train is batting .313 with five long balls, contributing to a .981 OPS.

San Diego has the best record in baseball at 19-5 since the Mid-Summer Classic, and in addition to the pitching staff’s second-half ERA below 3.00, the offense has fired on all cylinders with a team .806 OPS.

Specifically, Peralta has ignited, accelerated, and contributed to the majority of San Diego’s rallies, which birthed crooked innings.

Four of Peralta’s six home runs on the season have come with zero outs, where the southpaw is hitting .385 with a 1.063 OPS. Furthermore, those four home runs have all occurred with men on base. Unsurprisingly, Peralta posts an OPS north of .900 with RISP.

Despite Peralta's crucial production, San Diego hopes to see Tatis Jr. back this season. Padres skipper Mike Shildt discussed his status with the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“He’s improving,” Shildt said. “I mean, we don’t have any clear timetable, but he definitely is taking those next steps, just in general about how he feels. He’s … not feeling it; feels like more of himself, which is clearly good. Had conversations with all the medical people, including him, and you know he’s definitely getting there. Just still want some healing to take place before we ramp up. Once he ramps up, he’ll be getting ready pretty quickly, I would imagine, but we’re still determining when that is.”

Nevertheless, the 2024 San Diego Padres have weapons at their disposal, even in the absence of one of the game’s brightest stars.