Jose Tabata

[ramble2]

Anyone have any opinions on Jose Tabata? He looks like he could be a good bench player if you've got a spot, filling in when you have an open slot in your OF or UT, perhaps even playing as a 3rd OF if you can take the HR hit.

Over the last month he's hit .296, with 17 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI and 6 SB. That's not superstar level, but that's good production for a rookie owned in only 9% of Yahoo leagues.

Fangraphs likes the guy, and thinks he can be productive this year (though aren't big on him as a keeper, on which I agree):

Tabata’s numbers have been pretty close to our expectations, and he should only get better. His BABIP may be over the .300 mark, but should actually be 35 points higher thanks to his speed and tendency to keep the ball out of the air. He’s already flashed good speed on the basepaths, stealing 9 bases (13 attempts) in 158 plate appearance. He doesn’t strike out much, and has shown an above-average walk rate. I like him a lot as a steals guy, but I’m not a fan of keeping guys just because they can steal bases.

(I'd post a link to the Fangraphs blurb, but something about the url is confusing the BBCode in phpBB)

[RedHopeful]

(I'd post a link to the Fangraphs blurb, but something about the url is confusing the BBCode in phpBB)

Yeah - keywords like "draft" in a link screw things up thanks to wiki? (anyone know how to change/fix this???)

Anywho, Tabata should be getting more press, but people are down on him because of the age scandal + lack of power. I personally could care less as he seems to adjusted pretty well to the majors (especially if he is 21) as he's hot right now and is in a good spot in an order that is currently hitting.