This time, Emma Baccellieri writes a haiku for every team, and the Rockies poem is, well, as to be expected: Ah well, nevertheless. "I've never seen anybody in a deep crouch hit like that with two strikes," says Zach Wilson, the Rockies' senior director of player development. The Patrick Saunders vendetta with Jeff Bridich continues in Saunders’ latest article with the Post. Rockies news and links for Sunday, September 29, 2019. Actually, hate is probably the wrong word. Sunday: Giants LHP Ty Blach (4-4, 4.24 ERA) at Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (6-7, 4.16), 1:10 p.m., ROOT, Tuesday: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (8-3, 3.00) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (5-3, 4.19), 6:40 p.m., ROOT, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Parra was hitting well before his injury, Reynolds too. But with Tapia, there are as many questions over his calling card—hitting—as the rest of his game. But as young he appears, and still is, Tapia has his convictions. Trying to do so with serious mechanical questions looming about your swing is borderline impossible. But it's unusual for so much of the skepticism around a prospect to center around that player's very best quality. Saunders does bring up good questions, though, such as what will he do with expensive, aging, under-performing veterans like Bryan Shaw, Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Ian Desmond, as well as wondering if acquiring a starting pitcher will be high on Jeff’s priorities this offseason after the rotation struggled in 2019. They believe that along with his overall athleticism and hand-eye coordination—physical traits that even Tapia's most ardent critics agree are exceptional—that the intangibles will dictate his success or failure, the way they would with any other player.
Noted prospect guru John Sickels tabbed him as only the ninth-best prospect in the Rockies organization. ", According to Tapia, he's hit this way since he first picked up a bat at age five. Why have models of Colorado’s coronavirus trajectory been off? With Parra on the disabled list, the Rockies had shed the pleasant problem of having to find playing time for four players in three spots. I’ll be at 20th and Blake myself to send them off and wrap up my Purple Row days in style. In the summer of 2019, Atlanta Braves bench coach Walt Weiss was studying the organization's minor-league scouting reports.
He cheerfully but steadfastly believes he will be a big league success, so much so that Fernandez gets a kick out of needling him about still being a minor leaguer.
He stood 6-foot-1 at the time of his signing but since sprouted to 6-foot-3; the rest of his body is still catching up. All last year, little kids across Modesto, Calif.—home to the Rockies' High-A affiliate—pantomimed Tapia's deepest crouches at games. Nobody figured 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve could become the best second baseman in the game, much less knock 15 home runs in a season. "It was clear, easily, that Tapia was the right type of guy, both who he was from a makeup and character standpoint, but also how he played the game," Wilson says. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. “I always stick with my same plan,” Tapia said. But Colorado believes that the same quirks some analysts hone in on as warning signs also distract them from something they'd notice with a more conventional prospect: Tapia possesses a natural aptitude for hitting. There was something else, too: Before Tapia settled in against each pitcher, he pointed his bat directly at them. Since then, … Ask Carlos Gonzalez, and he simply says, "Man, he can hit.". Then the at-bat reached two strikes, and things got weird. Accordingly, he is an aggressive swinger. On Friday night, Raimel Tapia set a new Rockies record after hitting his second pinch-hit grand slam of the season, and it was his fourth pinch-hit home run in total. In Tapia's case, some of the criticism is based around the qualities he's still missing— body mass and power, in particular. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Rockies beat Giants in extra innings thanks to Story highlight reel play, Tapia sac fly Colorado received a solid outing from right-hander Chi Chi …
Cain, on the other side, is struggling. He, however, is focused on his rookie rise. "The best advice I got is when things start going backward and you're hitting the ball well but not landing, just keep being aggressive and keep swinging because they're going to start landing at one point. Raimel Tapia hits unlike anyone who has ever played baseball. According to outfielder Brandon Barnes, much of the clubhouse has learned to stop what they're doing and pay attention when Tapia takes batting practice. Whether or not you agree depends on how liable you are to believe Colorado's assertion that Tapia's skills and makeup transcend the way they're packaged. But I also feel really excited when it’s on TV for my family to be able to see it and be proud of me,” he said. In the span of one pitch, he had dropped his eye level nearly six inches. MLB Power Rankings: 30 Haikus As We Bid Adieu to the Regular Season | Sports Illustrated. There's no other way to account for the batting averages he has compiled while maintaining a strikeout rate below 20% every season. "I said, 'What the hell is this guy doing?" Raimel Tapia's immediate placement back in the Rockies lineup did not require much thought from his manager. David Dahl, Tapia's minor league teammate, pictured here sliding with mucho swagger, papi. “It was really exciting. Stick with Taps as your starting left-fielder, or get as much value as you can out of him and let the kids play in 2020 with an eye on 2021? While Tapia has only a .276/.310/.418 slash line (74 wRC+) over 442 PA, he has also battled injuries and didn’t get many consistent starts until late July, Groke noted. Thomas Harding also covered Tapia’s big night off the bench for the Rockies, and emphasizes Raimel’s strong confidence in himself going forward. Mark Reynolds moved to the bench. By continuing to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. "Is this a joke or is he for real? And the more he dominates doing it, the more plausible it becomes to wonder whether Tapia is the sort of occasional oddity that shatters baseball stereotypes. 4, Swag Baseball Out Again. The outside world is more bearish. His current stint, in place of Gerardo Parra (quadriceps strain), started slow as a late-inning substitution.
Recovering Ballplayer No. He found one name especially intriguing. I’m always talking Rockies on Twitter (see my handle above in the byline), and I’ll catch y’all on the flipside!
But once Bud Black moved David Dahl to center field and Raimel began taking over in left, his numbers began to impressively climb. Of course, none of them go about it the way Tapia does, either. Now he’s seeing the ball great. "Mucho swagger, papi," Tapia told him. It would be nice to see him get an extended opportunity first. Gonzalez and Desmond, while struggling, remain veteran threats at the plate and in the field. Three years after that first encounter with Tapia, he's no closer to cracking the code. "As a matter of fact, he hit a couple of bullets up the middle. As Nick Groke posits, Raimel shouldn’t get the opportunity to match or beat that record, as he should now be entering 2020 as the primary left-fielder while Ian Desmond rides the pine. He figured it needed to be junked, because that's what two decades of scouting drilled into him. By continuing to use the site, you accept our. Bring up the swing to Nolan Arenado, and Colorado's franchise player discusses how his own motion was scrutinized, too, and that players like Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield were blueprints for how unconventional hitters can thrive. Ryan McMahon will never forget the first time he saw Raimel Tapia hit. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. Back in San Pedro de Macoris, Tapia was as thin as a greyhound, and while his hand-eye coordination immediately stood out to scouts, he was too weak to dependably knock the ball out of the infield. October 10, 2020 October 14, 2020 Tapia is wiry strong but his uniform still sags and he patrols the outfield on tapered legs. When you ask people in the organization now about Tapia's stance, and his two-strike crouch, they all return to the same talking point as Roa. Rockies news and links for Thursday, October 15, 2020, Ranking the Rockies: No. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! On the other, he's still a long way from conforming to baseball's established norms. But in his past three overall, the Denver native is 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA. Kids that age don't do that.". Raimel Tapia falls into that category as he has been a promising prospect for years but 2019 was the first year he got a full season of ABs. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. FanGraphs' Dan Farnsworth, in his own (positive) assessment of Tapia, concedes that "his swing has been scrutinized by evaluators for years now."
The swing was quirky, but not in a bad way. Ryan also already surpassed Clint in RBI total for a primary 2B, and he looks to be big offensive threat who can play great defense, as well, at a position usually lacking pop. Tapia’s confidence in his bat-to-ball skills makes him a threat to go on torrid streaks, but it can also lead to chasing pitches early and plunging into poor counts. Since then, Tapia is 8-for-14 — with six hits over his last two games entering Friday.
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