SteelPro wrote:
Steelshoes wrote:
I never understood the love/hype for Jose Tabata. His ceiling is average ballplayer. He's a below the line hitter, with no power. He's also very poor defensively. Tabata is just another one of those guys adorned by "Bucco fan-itis". That is believing a JAG is a budding star.
Prior to last season there were people on this board that touted Tabata as a better defensive OF than McCutchen and should have been moved to CF. I didn't buy it for a second. However I disagree with you about him being a poor defender. I'd say he is a slightly above average glove. He is a guy that many project to add power but it just never seems to materialize. That would be ok if it didn't appear he was losing his legs. That is the real problem with Tabata. Constant lower body injuries. He just seems really tight. I suspect he'll always be dealing with a tweaked hammy or calf.
Tabata doesn't seem to read the ball well off the bat. He gets a poor jump and constantly takes bad angles. How many times do we see him go in to the gap and need to change trajectory on his path to the baseball. It seems like there are balls he can't get to that he should, and balls he barely gets to that he should get to comfortably. He also turns most balls hit off the wall in to an adventure, but that could be from Hurdle constantly flopping him back and forth from left to right!
Its interesting that you mention his legs SP, because I've thought that he doesn't seem to be running as well as he has in the past. I thought it just was my imaginazation, but maybe there is something to it.
