07/13: The Hughes & Tabata Show
Posted by: James
Continuing my little run of prospect news, here's a little more on one of the big guns in the Yankees farm system not named Phil Hughes, Mr. Jose Tabata. Now Mike A. over at Baby Bombers has covered some of this already and he's far more knowledgeable about the minors than I am, but I still wanted to point some of this out. It never hurts to know a little more about the stars (knock on wood) of tomorrow.
The following comes from an article at ESPN on the Futures Game, in which both Tababta and Hughes took part:
Baseball America quickly followed up with a lead article on Tabata and on how/where he projects. Unfortunately, I don't have a subscription but as of this writing, even after a couple of "slumps", Tabata's line for the year is .316/.375/.448/.823 with 22 2Bs, 1 3B and 5 HRs in a league where the pitchers are (generally) three to five years older than him. If he keeps that up, he's going to keep getting more and more attention until it reaches the Hughes level.
I mean, look at his splits right so far. His worst month so far was June where he hit .315 and got on base at a .410 clip but only put up a .371 SLG (.780 OPS). Most organizations would take those numbers from pretty much all their prospects in low-A ball. However, getting that kind of production from a kid (he turns 18 in a month) is extraordinary, especially since he's still learning the game (take a look at those walk totals rising each month). In recent interviews, he's talked about how he idolized some Yankees when he was growing up (including Jeter, which shows his age) and how he models his hitting after Manny Ramirez (and if you've seen video of Jose at bat, he does a pretty good impersonation). At this point in his career and I will be the first to say that it is VERY EARLY, but again, it's very hard not to get excited about this kid, especially with many people starting to gush about him.
So, just in case you haven't been really reading to this point (or were summarily distracted by my drool), here's the gist: Around this time next year, the Yankees could have the best pitching prospect (Hughes is already among the top 3) and the best position prospect in the minors. The latter statement is more of a reach but Jim Callis pegged Tabata as the most impressive position player in the Futures Game and one of the 10-20 best prospects in baseball so who knows? A little wishful thinking never hurt anyone.
The following comes from an article at ESPN on the Futures Game, in which both Tababta and Hughes took part:
The clear star of batting practice was 17-year-old Yankees phenom Jose Tabata. With a more developed body than your typical high school-aged player, Tabata doesn't have a teenager's physique. He starts with a high setup and has a strong, furious swing that produces good power to all fields. He also took fly balls in center field, and if he can legitimately play there, he'll be a contender for the title of the top prospect in baseball this winter.
Baseball America quickly followed up with a lead article on Tabata and on how/where he projects. Unfortunately, I don't have a subscription but as of this writing, even after a couple of "slumps", Tabata's line for the year is .316/.375/.448/.823 with 22 2Bs, 1 3B and 5 HRs in a league where the pitchers are (generally) three to five years older than him. If he keeps that up, he's going to keep getting more and more attention until it reaches the Hughes level.
I mean, look at his splits right so far. His worst month so far was June where he hit .315 and got on base at a .410 clip but only put up a .371 SLG (.780 OPS). Most organizations would take those numbers from pretty much all their prospects in low-A ball. However, getting that kind of production from a kid (he turns 18 in a month) is extraordinary, especially since he's still learning the game (take a look at those walk totals rising each month). In recent interviews, he's talked about how he idolized some Yankees when he was growing up (including Jeter, which shows his age) and how he models his hitting after Manny Ramirez (and if you've seen video of Jose at bat, he does a pretty good impersonation). At this point in his career and I will be the first to say that it is VERY EARLY, but again, it's very hard not to get excited about this kid, especially with many people starting to gush about him.
So, just in case you haven't been really reading to this point (or were summarily distracted by my drool), here's the gist: Around this time next year, the Yankees could have the best pitching prospect (Hughes is already among the top 3) and the best position prospect in the minors. The latter statement is more of a reach but Jim Callis pegged Tabata as the most impressive position player in the Futures Game and one of the 10-20 best prospects in baseball so who knows? A little wishful thinking never hurt anyone.
Mike A. wrote: