By Josh Jackson

Fernando Tatis Jr. had at least one hit in 12 of his first 14 Double-A games. (Dave Michael/MiLB.com)

When San Diego had Fernando Tatis Jr. — a Padres Organization All-Star — skip the California League, promoting him straight from Class A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio, the perks for the shortstop phenom were easy to see. He’d get to test himself against much more seasoned players for the last couple weeks of the season; even if he struggled, he’d learn a lot and such a brief look couldn’t do much to hurt his confidence. If he played well (which is exactly what happened), what a great boost for an 18-year-old kid.

But the move wasn’t just about Tatis. The Padres also considered the ramifications for his former team.

“It was a multi-leveled benefit,” director of player development Sam Geaney said. “It challenged Fernando at the end of the year as well as challenging Fort Wayne as well as [17-year-old shortstop Gabriel] Arias,” who came up from the Rookie-level Arizona League to take over for Tatis on the TinCaps.

“[Tatis’ departure … also amplified] the second-half turnaround of Hudson Potts,” he added.

At the time of the move, Fort Wayne was vying for a playoff berth.

“We said, ‘Hey, we have confidence in you guys. We’re taking your best player, and we still expect you to compete and perform,’” Geaney explained.

“This was the strongest team in the Midwest League and they made it to the Finals. It would be foolish not to think about taking a player like Fernando and the kind of impact that might have, and we were able to use that in a positive way. In one move, we were able to challenge Fernando and also challenge the group in Fort Wayne.”

The TinCaps rose to the challenge, going 42–28 in the second half and winning two playoff series before falling to Quad Cities in the Finals.

As for Tatis? He had 14 hits , including a homer and a double, in 14 Double-A games and was an impact player for the Missions in the Texas League playoffs.