Tapia sets goal of 30 steals, as Black likes speedster’s intent
Raimel Tapia runs like the wind, but can he harness that power and generate more production on the basepaths?
The Rockies’ 26-year-old outfielder expected to share time in left with Ian Desmond this season, certainly thinks so.
“This year, I really want to improve on the bases, and I look to steal 30 bases,” Tapia said Sunday.
That optimistic number raised the eyebrows of manager Bud Black, not that he wouldn’t love to see it happen.
“It’s a big number, but I like the target,” Black said. “I guess more than anything, I like where his head is at. We’ve encouraged ‘Tap’ to run, to feel comfortable running and to have that aggressiveness that all great base stealers have. The last couple of springs, that’s been part of our message to Tap.”
Last season, across 138 games that included 426 at-bats, Tapia had only nine steals, getting thrown out three times. In 255 career games, he has just 17 steals. Yet he swiped 33 bases at lowSingle-A Asheville in 2014, so the raw potential is there.
But to get close to his goal of 30 steals, a few things have to happen, starting with a higher onbase percentage. His career OBP is .311 but needs to be closer to .350.
“I want to be more patient at the plate this year and look for my pitches,” Tapia said. “And being more patient on the bases is going to help me too.”
The Rockies are working with Tapia to increase his confidence.
“We want for Tap to be able to just go for it,” Black said. “We want him to feel as though he can steal and be confident about it. He’s got to overcome that fear (of failure) a little bit. Especially during spring, we want to encourage him to break through those barriers.”
The Rockies ranked eighth in the National League last season with 71 steals, and their 69.6% stolen-base percentage also ranked eighth.
Slim cut. Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, in camp on a minorleague deal, is 36 but looks 25.
“I lost 13 pounds while I was back home,” he said, referring to the Dominican Republic, where he lived and trained this winter. “Man, I was running a lot, running very hard. I was at 239 pounds, but I’m down to 226.”
Jimenez, the only player in Rockies history to throw a nohitter, is a longshot to make the starting rotation, but that doesn’t concern him at this point.
“It’s worth taking a chance,” he said. “I’m doing what I love. It feels good to be back here.”
Jimenez, who last pitched in the majors for Baltimore in 2017, played for the Rockies from 2006 until the middle of 2011, when he was traded to Cleveland.
Footnotes. Infielder Brendan Rodgers, a bit ahead of schedule as he recovers from last July’s labrum surgery, could see time as a designated hitter during Cactus League games, Black said. … Monday marks the Rockies’ first full-squad workout. They open the Cactus League season against Arizona at 1:10 p.m. Saturday at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.