Jose Tabata is just ten games into the new season but he’s picking up where he left off in 2010…on fire, but is he the next power/speed fantasy stud.
Analysis: Last year was Drew Stubbs’ coming out party with 22 homers and 30 stolen bases and it just may be Jose Tabata’s this year. Tabata already has 2 bombs and 5 swipes while hitting well over .300 in ten games thus far this year. In fact if you average Tabata’s two year big league career over 162 games you get a .302 hitter who averages 9 home runs and 34 stolen bases. Tabata will easily get to the double digit home run mark this year and with how aggressive he is on the base paths he could hit 40 stolen bases. Tabata may not look like a burner but Rickey Henderson didn’t have the prototypical “burners” body either. Last year only BJ Upton and Carl Crawford hit double digit homers and stole 40 bags, that’s pretty good fantasy company and when you couple the power/speed threat with his ability to consistently make contact…you have a stud in the making. Tabata only K’s 13.9% of the time in the majors and his minor league K rates are in line with his big league numbers, you have to love this guy.
Projection: 10-13 home runs, 40 stolen bases and a batting average in the .290-.300 range is what Tabata is capable of this year and the fact that he isn’t owned in every fantasy league is criminal.