2012 Roster Possibilities: Right Field

The opening day right fielder for the Pirates in 2012 will almost certainly be Jose Tabata.  He spent a great deal of time on the disabled list during the 2011 season, and didn’t produce up to expectations when he was on the field.  In his rookie season, he hit .299 with a .746 OPS, and finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting.  However, he seemed to take a step backwards in 2011 hitting only .266 with a .711 OPS.  Tabata’s defense also suffered a little, with his fielding percentage dropping from .995 to .988, while also seeing his range factor per nine innings decrease as well.  Despite this, the Pirates signed Tabata to an extension that could be worth $37.25 million over nine years, and is guaranteed to be $14.75 million over six years with the other three years being club options.
There was a time when Tabata was a teenager where some scouts considered him a “Manny Ramirez” type player, but his offense never developed to that point, especially his power.  His power showed up early in the season this year, with three homers in his first 15 games, but he only hit one more during the remainder of the season.  Unless he makes some major adjustments in his swing, I don’t see him ever becoming any kind of a power hitter.  

Looking at his monthly splits, Tabata hit a combined .293 in 150 at bats between June and August, and remember he didn’t play in July.  This shows that he very well could have been in a slump between April and May, where he batted a combined .249 in 169 at bats, and can definitely return to 2010 form in 2012.  However, the only time his OPS exceeded his 2010 number of .746 was in August, where he had a .798 OPS.  Not surprisingly, August was the month where he posted his highest slugging percentage, which was .435, and also the only time where that number was over .400.  This shows that he had very little power throughout the year, which could have been a cause to his down numbers.  

There is a good chance that the Pirates will face a problem in 2012 if and when Starling Marte is deemed ready for the majors.  Marte would most likely be put in as the regular left fielder when he is called up, and that would cause the Pirates to choose between Presley and Tabata as the everyday right fielder.  If Presley and Tabata’s numbers are similar, the better option would no doubt be Tabata because he has the higher long term upside, plus he was signed to a long contract extension, so it would be nice to see him start.  Marte is far from guaranteed a call up this year, but if he is, the Pirates will have a decision to make in right field.

The Pirates are going into the offseason with their outfield already set.  McCutchen will be in center, and Presley and Tabata will man the corner outfield positions, with Presley most likely in left and Tabata in right.  Tabata has a lot he needs to prove next year, but his numbers towards the end of 2011 show that he is definitely capable of handling an everyday job for the Pirates, and possibly becoming an above average major league player.