Rockies Raimel Tapia is jazz with a bat

 

Here at BSN Denver, we do our best to bring you the most up-to-date, timely, accurate, hopefully interesting, and unbiased reporting on your Colorado Rockies every day.

On the rare occasion that the “unbias” part becomes difficult, the next best thing we can do is be 100 percent honest with you. From merely the perspective of the potential to cover this guy on a daily basis, it’s difficult to maintain professional composure when discussing Colorado Rockies outfield prospect Raimel Tapia.

Since Carlos Estevez translated our first conversation in 2013, I’ve believed wholeheartedly that this kid has everything it takes to be something special. No one has followed his professional career longer or more closely, and I feel it is only fair to admit up front that before he has ever played an inning above the Double-A level, Tapia might be my favorite baseball player of all time.

The current Hartford Yard Goats outfielder is in the midst of a torrid stretch that has seen him hit .369 (115 hits) over his last 77 games; the best stretch of his career at a time when many thought the talent level would catch up to his unusual mechanics.

Tapia’s star shined bright in the recent MiLB Future’s Game among the best prospects in the world and considering his production of late, it’s reasonable to believe that his MLB debut could be just around the corner.

Here is everything you know so that you can impress your friends with all kinds of info on the new kid when that day comes:

Offense

We’re going to be here for a minute.

Raimel Tapia is a hitting savant; a jazz musician with a baseball bat.

He forces you to think about the game in a new way and toss out some of the rules you thought you knew. You would not teach anyone to hit the way he hits, and if you haven’t seen him before, then you have never seen anyone hit the way he hits.

Beginning with a compact, slap approach, and stance, Tapia is known for being able to hit the ball hard on the ground and on a line to all fields. He has popped out only 3.58 percent of the time in 100 games this season.

He pulls the ball more than he pushes it, but a quick glance at his heat map shows that he is clearly comfortable hitting the ball just about anywhere:

Credit: MLBfarm.com

For the last two seasons, Tapia has had “reverse splits” meaning that as a left-handed hitter, he has hit fellow lefties better than he has hit right-handed pitching. In 2016, he is hitting lefties at a clip of .375 and righties at a clip of .315.

Not only does he not drop off against same-handed pitching, he remains very good against elite pitching as well. In 372 plate appearances against Top 20 pitching prospects (according to MiLB.com) Tapia is hitting .309 with 6 home runs and only a 14.2 percent strikeout rate.

If there is a flaw in his offensive game, it comes in the lack of power. Tapia has topped out at 12 home runs in 131 games for Modesto a year ago. The existence of David Dahl has often pushed him into a corner outfield role, and his lack of power could be a bit more concerning at those spots.

There are some that believe he is still filling out his six-foot-two frame and could develop more power, but of course one doesn’t want to mess too much with a guy who has made himself this consistent. More on this at the end.

The Two-Strike Approach

If you’ve heard just one thing about young Raimel to this point, it is likely that he does something weird with two strikes. His exaggerated crouch has become the stuff of urban legend (kind like Finn Balor) and those who have seen it in action often feel like converted zealots of a new band or PokemonGO.

Former GM Dan O’Dowd and current GM Jeff Bridich both told me independently and in an unsolicited fashion that Tapia is the best two-strike hitter in the organization. Not in the minor league system. In the organization.

Jon Gray and Estevez have both described him to me as “almost impossible to throw the ball by.” Gray once said — in the most complimentary way possible — that Tapia “has got to be the most annoying hitter to pitch to.”

Raimel (pronounced RAY-mel, by the way) was signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic and that summer for the Rockies DSL team he played in 67 games and recorded 65 hits. Every year since — every league since — Tapia has recorded more hits than games played in … usually by a considerable amount.

His ability to manipulate the bat and barrel up baseball that mere mortals would swing-and-miss at led him to a 29-game hit streak during the summer of 2013 when I first saw his brilliance at work. His hits-to-games ratio starting that season are 92/66, 157/122, 166/131, 29/23 (Arizona Fall League) and now he sits at 134 hits in 100 games for Hartford.

It feels a little ridiculous but the only player that comes to mind with a batting profile similar to Tapia’s is Ichiro Suzuki, who is coming up on his 3,000th MLB hit.

Defense

Reports on Raimel Tapia’s defense tend to vary. He has all the tools — speed, natural athleticism, and a strong arm — to eventually be a very good defensive player. He still has work to do on his reads and routes, he also has the tendency to get a little amped up and make some wild throws.

When he plays within himself, he is a very capable outfielder even if he needs to roam the great wide open of Coors Field. He would be one of the more dynamic left fielders in baseball if that is where he ends up, and while the arm is unlikely to become MLB-elite, he could be a perfectly serviceable right fielder, meaning that Tapia gives the Rockies a lot of flexibility in terms of where to put him.

He has a Gold Glove ceiling, but he’s going to need to put in a lot of work to get there.

Speed

Tapia has above-average-to-well-above-average raw speed. His base-stealing instincts so far leave a lot to be desired as evidenced by the 14 times he has been caught stealing this season. He has been successful 17 times.

In that way, he is a lot like Dexter Fowler was. His speed is most definitely an asset in the outfield and when stretching singles into doubles, doubles into triples, and scoring on gap shots from first. But don’t expect him to be Juan Pierre when he gets to first.

Intangibles

Tapia brings a ton of energy and enthusiasm to the field every day and is likely to become a quick fan favorite because of his infectious smile and quirky style.

Since 2013, Tapia has missed 40 games and played in 452. In those 450+ games, he has only two stretches where he went three consecutive games without a hit. Unless I missed it somewhere, he has no stretches of four consecutive games without a hit.

We’ve already discussed his absurd contact tool — a career 14.9 percent strikeout rate, 10.9 percent this year) but his consistency over the course of his career absolutely must be noted.

The theory that Tapia’s strange mechanic, wiry frame, aggressive approach, and general over-exuberance might catch up to him, has yet to gain a single piece of tangible traction. It could still be the case that MLB will show the hitting phenom who’s boss, but at this point, it is just as likely that the vast expanse of Coors Field will be the perfect canvass on which Tapia can paint his masterpieces and capture the hearts of Rockies fans everywhere.