In the offseason, one of the many goals of the Pirates was more than likely to add more power to a rather punch-less lineup. I would not say that they added a ton of power with their free agent acquisitions, some, but not a ton. Perhaps the players from last season will look to add the power that was missing from the lineup.
It appears that Jose Tabata is one player that is looking to add some more power, as the Trib reports that the young Venezuelan added a good deal of bulk this past offseason. Tabata says that he had been working out everyday to add more power.
It would be interesting to see just how much power he can generate. In over 2200 professional at bats, Tabata has 33 home runs. If Tabata was to hit double digit home runs this season, it would raise a few eye brows. Heck if he was able to hit 6 home runs, that might raise some eye brows.
I have to wonder if management told Tabata to bulk up more in an effort to supply more power. I would see no reason to have him get in peak physical condition, but with the thought of adding more power? I hope that he does not pull a Willie Mays Hayes and try to change his game completely.
What Tabata did last year was great. I would like to see him build more on that skill set, then to try to develop a whole new one. It seems Tabata understands that, "...I have to be careful not to let it change my swing. Sometimes, when you
want to hit home runs, your swing gets real long. I can’t let that
happen."
Time will tell if the work adds more power. An increase in raw power and power numbers, would be great to see from Tabata.
1 comments:
I don't think Tabata will ever be a big home run hitter. He is an old school Latin player, a throwback in many ways to a lot of guys the Pirates had in the 60s and 70s. I think he is basically a bigger, stronger Matty Alou. But being physically bigger does not necessarily translate into more home run power, and I just hope that Tabata won't become obsessed with trying to pull everything. Fergoshsakes, what's wrong with hitting .300 as a rookie??? I'd be thrilled if he was a perpetual .300 guy who hit 40 doubles and stole 20 bases every year for the next 5 seasons. Again, I just don't think his swing---which is really good right now, as is---should be messed with. If he tops out at 10 HR, who cares, given everything else that he does???
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