Fernando Tatis Jr. has already accrued 2.3 WAR in 2019

Any baseball knows that there is no one all-encompassing metric to define a player’s on-field value. Caveats aside, though, we all understand that WAR is a pretty convenient shorthand in determining how much better a player has been than a hypothetical AAAA player. And for a team that has mostly run out AAAA players at shortstop for the past decade, the value of a Fernando Tatis Jr. to the Padres is obvious without the use of any kind of data.

But my God. After another home run and steal last night, FTJ’s WAR for 2019 is sitting at 2.3—in just 46 games.

For context, FTJ has, by WAR’s estimation, provided roughly equivalent value to Mookie Betts (2.3 WAR), Josh Bell (2.4 WAR), and J.T. Realmuto (2.4 WAR) this year. He has managed to do so while stepping into the batter’s box at least 100 times less often than those above mentioned—and name brand—players.

His BABIP sits at a likely unsustainable .430, and his K% is still hovering near 30%, but it sure is fun to zoom out every once in a while and take stock of what a gem FTJ promises to be in years to come.