The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 1992.
To put that in perspective, our nation has welcomed an entirely new generation of voters since the Pirates last finished over .500. Barry Bonds had just 176 home runs after the ’92 season (only 586 to go). Edgar Martinez made his first of seven All-Star games and won his first of five Silver Sluggers during the ’92 season. 1992 was also the first season the average MLB salary broke $1 million. Starlin Castro was just two years old. And now for the obligatory comparison: gas cost just $0.95 per gallon.
Now, thanks to a few exciting young players, the Pirates just might be a fun team to watch. Andrew McCutchen is probably a top-10 outfielder in the National League despite playing just 262 games in the Majors, and Pedro Alvarez was a Baseball America top-10 prospect entering 2010 who saw success in the minors translate into early success at the Big League level.
Seemingly forgotten everywhere outside of Pittsburgh is that other Pirates’ youngster patrolling the PNC outfield: Jose Tabata.
In 104 games in the Major last season, Tabata batted .299 with 61 runs, four home runs, 39 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Those numbers, extrapolated over 155 games work out to .299/91/6/58/28. Not bad for a rookie, huh?
You’d think that kind of success would get Tabata some attention, but you’d be wrong. Despite the impressive numbers, Tabata’s ADP is just 290. He’s being drafted after guys like Johnny Damon, Franklin Gutierrez, Alex Gordon, Tyler Colvin and worthless catchers like A.J. Pierzynski and Ivan Rodriguez. I’d even take Tabata over Austin Jackson.
Sure, Tabata has his weaknesses. He isn’t a very efficient base stealer, succeeding on just 19 of 26 attempts last year (73%) and just 75.7 percent of all attempts in the minors. He displayed only average plate discipline last year, swinging at 31.9 percent of all pitches outside the strike zone and connecting with 82.9 percent of all pitches he swung at (league averages were 29.3 and 80.2 percent, respectively). He doesn’t project to have much power, never hitting more than eight home runs in any full season as a pro.
But Tabata is a well-rounded player who consistently hit for a good average in the minors and proved last season that he can handle Major League pitching.
Last season, Scott Podsednik finished the year with a line of .297/63/6/51/35. I think that’s pretty close to what we can expect from Tabata plus about 25 more runs. Podsednik’s 2010 season was good for 28th best among all outfielders according to ESPN, which means he was about your average third outfielder in 10-team leagues. Considering many people play in 12-team leagues with five outfielders, it’s a mystery to me how Tabata is the 290th overall player off draft boards and the 59th player with outfield eligibility.
He won’t be so cheap in 2012.
2011 Fantasy Projection
90 R | .293 AVG | 6 HR | 53 RBI | 27 SB
Hey Professors, to add to the bullish sentiment…I’ve read that Tabata has bulked up quite a bit this summer. Maybe double-digit homers aren’t out of the question?
I just started following you guys this week (well, you started following me on Twitter, which I’m grateful for) and I have to say, so far, so good. Unique analysis…not the same crap I see time after time with ESPN. No guys labeling themselves as “talented” either. Keep up the great work.
Hey Anthony, thanks for reading. I read that about Tabata and I’m hopeful that will result in a couple extra homers (and pray he doesn’t try to become a power hitter and sacrifice runs and steals a la Willie Mays Hayes).
And we appreciate the kind sentiments. Spread the word! (although we’d understand if you didn’t tell your league mates.)