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Ruben Tejada Tearing the Cover Off the Ball

Written by Mike Mariano | 11 August 2009

If you're wondering who the Mets second baseman of the future is, look no further than Ruben Tejada.  Coming into the season, Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog listed the 19 year old Tejada as the organization's 19th best prospect.  Scouts liked Tejada's potential, but he struggled as an 18 year old in advanced competition.  Last season, while playing with players who were on average 3-5 years older, Tejada batted just .229 in 131 games in St. Lucie.  It was impressive in and of itself that Tejada held up for a full season in St. Lucie, but his numbers left a lot to be desired.  Of course, in typical Tony Bernazard fashion, the Mets rushed Tejada to AA Binghamton this season, and he has exploded onto the scene.  He is 7 for his last 8 (including a HR off Kyle Drabek), and he has raised his average to .294.  For a 19 year old in AA, that is simply phenomenal.  And the fact that he is red hot this late into the season demonstrates how close he is to being major league ready.  Now I know all too well that prospects are simply that.  Prospects.  There's no such thing as a "sure thing".  But for what it's worth, take a look at this comparison between Tejada, and 19 year old Jose Reyes:
Name Age G AVG OBP SLG XBH HR SB CS
Ruben Tejada 19 108 .294 .358 .382 25 4 14 2
Jose Reyes 19 134 .288 .343 .444 53 8 58 24
Obviously, Reyes has an edge in power and speed.  But keep in mind the fact that Reyes split the year between class A St. Lucie and AA Binghamton.  Tejada has spent the entire season in AA Binghamton.  That doesn't mean that Tejada is going to blossom into a superstar like Jose Reyes did, but I feel like this is a reasonable comparison. Hopefully, the Mets play it safe with Tejada and allow him to repeat AA next year.  And let him stay there all year.  See if his bat is for real, and hopefully he will develop some gap power.  He should improve defensively (17 errors this season), and he will need to learn to play second base full time. It's hard to project Tejada's absolute ceiling, but I feel like he has the potential to be a .320/10+ HR/25 SB guy.  Think Luis Castillo at his peak.  And with Jose Reyes manning SS, that would be one hell of a double play combo.

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