What does All-Star Game voting say about San Diego Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr.?

With the San Diego Padres bringing a 36-39 record into this weekend's home series against the Washington Nationals, on the surface at least, maybe it shouldn't be a huge surprise that the Padres were shut out on the list of finalists to start for the National League in the upcoming All-Star Game.

When the finalists to start were unveiled on Thursday afternoon, there were no Padres to be found. Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. both finished just on the outside of the window to make it in the final vote for outfielders while three other players from the NL West (Mookie Betts, Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.) were among the final four.

What All-Star voting says about San Diego Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr.

As always, when the MLB All-Star Game vote is left to fans and it boils down to a popularity contest, there were some head-scratchers among the finalists, including Nolan Arenado and his numbers that reflect the St. Louis Cardinals and their slow start to the season (Arenado hit just .239/.281/.319 through his first 28 games but has picked up the pace since). Also, there is the case of Gurriel, who is posting the same exact batting average of Tatis (.281) but falls behind in OBP (.331 to .350) and SLG (.548 to .500). Tatis has more home runs (15 to 11), stolen bases (12 to 1) and a higher OPS+ (149 to 126). Oh, and he is doing all of that through fewer games as well (55 for Tatis and 64 for Gurriel).

There is also what the 24-year-old superstar has been doing on defense as well all season for the Padres. With 6 Outs Above Average this season, Tatis enters in a tie for sixth among all MLB players.

So what does all of this mean? Could there be a hangover effect from all of the negative news surrounding Tatis from last season? He has been greeted with chants reminding him of his PED suspension everywhere from Yankee Stadium to Wrigley Field, so it's possible that fans chose to use their votes in another way.

Could it be a reflection of the way the Padres have been one of MLB's most disappointing teams through this part of the season? It's certainly possible as well.

Should nothing dramatic occur, there is little doubt that Tatis will make the All-Star Game roster as a reserve, giving him his second All-Star Game appearance. But this round of All-Star voting is a reminder that MLB fans don't always get it right ... and perhaps they don't always forgive and forget either.