After being one of the Yankees brightest stars in the minor leagues, Jose Tabata has become somewhat of a forgotten man in the Yankees farm system. This is due mostly to Tabata’s wrist injuries and the subsequent wrist surgery that cut his 2007 season short and caused him to miss time during his season in single A Tampa. The #6 ranked outfield prospect by scout.com in 2006, Jose Tabata is a 5-11, 160 lb outfielder from Venezuela. Tabata is still only 19 years old so there is certainly plenty of time for him to put his wrist problems behind him. Tabata was signed as an international free agent by the Yankees in 2005.
After hitting .314 as a sixteen year old in the Yankees GCL rookie league, the buzz around Tabata began to grow exponentially. Tabata’s legend only grew after hittng .298 with the low single A Charleston River Dogs and by the time spring training of 2007 rolled around Tabata even hit .429 with the Yankees during spring training. However, his following 2007 season with the high single A Tampa Yankees was derailed by his wrist injuries and eventually cut short by the surgery. Still, Tabata proved he could handle the next level while not even being 100% healthy, hitting .307 with 5 home runs while in the line up. Overall, Tabata has hit .305 in his minor league career. Some scouts have compared Tabata’s offense to that of a young Manny Ramirez, but the fact that he only hit 13 minor league home runs in his three seasons makes you wonder if he really will ever develop that type of power. Tabata is regarded as a far superior defender then Ramirez, but he’ll likely land in one of the corner outfield spots in the majors, especially considering Melky Cabrera’s emergence as the Yankees centerfielder of the future. It’s tricky to try to predict Jose Tabata’s time of arrival since it also depends on the Yankees plans with their other outfielders. Tabata has the talent to potentially be with the Yankees at some point next season, but New York’s crowded outfield likely will not make room for him until Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, or Hideki Matsui are gone. Damon and Matsui have two years each left on their contracts and Abreu has a one year option for next season that is almost certain to be picked up, so if his success continues Tabata could have a starting spot in right field ready for him in 2009.
After hitting .314 as a sixteen year old in the Yankees GCL rookie league, the buzz around Tabata began to grow exponentially. Tabata’s legend only grew after hittng .298 with the low single A Charleston River Dogs and by the time spring training of 2007 rolled around Tabata even hit .429 with the Yankees during spring training. However, his following 2007 season with the high single A Tampa Yankees was derailed by his wrist injuries and eventually cut short by the surgery. Still, Tabata proved he could handle the next level while not even being 100% healthy, hitting .307 with 5 home runs while in the line up. Overall, Tabata has hit .305 in his minor league career. Some scouts have compared Tabata’s offense to that of a young Manny Ramirez, but the fact that he only hit 13 minor league home runs in his three seasons makes you wonder if he really will ever develop that type of power. Tabata is regarded as a far superior defender then Ramirez, but he’ll likely land in one of the corner outfield spots in the majors, especially considering Melky Cabrera’s emergence as the Yankees centerfielder of the future. It’s tricky to try to predict Jose Tabata’s time of arrival since it also depends on the Yankees plans with their other outfielders. Tabata has the talent to potentially be with the Yankees at some point next season, but New York’s crowded outfield likely will not make room for him until Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, or Hideki Matsui are gone. Damon and Matsui have two years each left on their contracts and Abreu has a one year option for next season that is almost certain to be picked up, so if his success continues Tabata could have a starting spot in right field ready for him in 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment