SEATTLE _ The Padres believe they can win this year and for a long time and that Fernando Tatis Jr. being their shortstop is the best way to achieve both.
With a spring in which he showed steady improvement and flashed a rare ability to change games with his defense, power and speed, the 20-year-old did what they told him to do at the outset.
He forced his way onto the roster.
Two sources said Tuesday that Tatis will start the season with the Padres and on Opening Day will line up next to mentor Manny Machado on the left side of the infield.
The Padres did not envision their top prospect busting down the door just yet, and this seems to prove they were being forthright when they said they would field the best possible team.
Andy Green, A.J. Preller and others had cited Tatis' age, lack of experience and history of slow starts as possible reasons he might need to begin the season in Triple-A. It was always believed to be a certainty he would join the team early in 2019.
Tatis hit .250/.328/.462 in 58 plate appearances this spring. He made a handful of sensational plays, and one home run he hit on a line to left field seemed to defy the laws of physics.
But it seems he essentially ran his way onto the team _ or at least past the final barrier _ in an exhibition game Friday night against the Diamondbacks.
In that game, he scored twice after legging out two infield singles.
For the first run, he stole second base and then third before jogging home on a single. For the second, he scored from first base on a routine single when he sprinted home and reached back to touch the plate around a tag after catching the center fielder and cut-off man off-guard.
Personnel meetings over the weekend turned in favor of keeping Tatis despite the risks. Luis Urias will begin the season in Triple-A.
One danger is that this flies in the face of Preller's preference of making sure a top prospect is ready and will largely succeed in the majors when he arrives. The Padres believe Tatis' ceiling is astronomical, but there is concern about a steep learning curve despite his immense talent.
Conversely, the other liability the Padres are possibly assuming is that if Tatis is as he is projected to be, the Padres are starting his service time clock and march toward free agency. The accepted move by teams now is to keep a player down for at least 15 days to keep them from earning a full year of service time and effectively controlling them an extra season.
The upside of both risks is they believe his occasional _ and increasing _ brilliance will help them win games.
