Today: PIT Prospect Jose Tabata
Jose Tabata is a top-tier outfield prospect signed as a 16 year-old Latin free agent in 2005 and developed in the New York Yankees system. He was acquired by Pittsburgh in a 2008 trade. While a Yankee, Tabata was consistently ranked among the top 10 outfield prospects in all of baseball on the strength of his powerful bat and plus speed. In Pittsburgh, he immediately jumps to the uppermost tier of the team's prospect chart.
Though he lost large chunks of his 2006 and 2007 season to a hand injury that eventually required surgery, Tabata dominated at high-A Tampa despite the impairment, ranking among the league's top hitters with a .307 average, five home runs and 15 stolen bases in 103 games.
| Yr | Tm | Age | Lvl | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2005 | GCL Yankees | 16 | R | 44 | 156 | 30 | 49 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 14 | .314 | .382 | .417 | .799 |
| 2006 | Charleston | 17 | A | 86 | 319 | 50 | 95 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 15 | 5 | 30 | 66 | .298 | .377 | .420 | .797 |
| 2007 | Tampa | 18 | A+ | 103 | 411 | 56 | 126 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 54 | 15 | 7 | 33 | 70 | .307 | .371 | .392 | .763 |
Tabata has a quick, smooth swing and he shows a strong ability to make good contact on any pitch in the strike zone. Even when working through wrist problems he showed the potential for significant power, and as he heals and grows he should blossom, with his existing contact skills getting a serious power boost.
Defensively, he's got an average or slightly above-average arm and good range, making him a viable corner outfielder, with center a slight possibility depending on how his body develops. In the outfield and on the basepaths, Tabata has plus speed but raw skills, and he'll need to need to learn more about the basestealing are before becoming a top-end threat. Some Abreu-esque 30-steal, 30-homer seasons seem within easy reach, however.
In Pittsburgh, he'll slot in right behind Andrew McCutchen as the team's top outfield prospect for 2009. He should spend the whole year at AA Altoona. His average is likely to decline a bit at first, as he adjusts to the best pitching he's seen yet, but his superior eye will help him climb back up soon enough.
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