Here’s a look at Ruben Tejada, which I’m reprinting from last summer, when I wrote a Surfing the Mets farm report about him.
With the Mets already depleted at shortstop, and with backup Ramon Martinez’s balky back threatening to sideline him as well during a series at Fenway Park late last month, GM Omar Minaya mentioned Ruben Tejada as a potential call-up.
Upon further review, team brass concluded it didn’t make sense to promote the 19-year-old Panamanian infielder, since Tejada doesn’t need to be protected in the Rule 5 draft until after the 2010 season, and it wouldn’t be prudent to tie up a 40-man roster spot for a season and a half for a short call-up. Still, word did filter to Tejada at Double-A Binghamton about Minaya dropping his name.
“Yes, I heard it,” Tejada said through an interpreter last weekend in Trenton. “But that’s neither here nor there. I just have to focus on what I have to do.”
With Jose Reyes entrenched at shortstop, Tejada’s future may be at second base for the Mets.
When shortstop Jose Coronado was demoted from Triple-A Buffalo to Binghamton with a .141 average in mid-May, Tejada began getting exposure to second base. Coronado and Tejada began alternating games between the middle infield positions. Tejada quickly adapted to second base, which he had previously played only during the instructional league in Port St. Lucie.
“He’s been doing a great job playing second base, turning the double play,” Binghamton manager Mako Oliveras said. “The first thing I look for is the double-play situation, if he’s a little afraid of the runner. He’s got instincts.”
Tejada is in a 2-for-17 rut his past five games, but he’s still hitting .277 with two homers, 22 RBI and seven steals in 61 games.
“He’s a 19-year-old kid who weighs 160 pounds,” Oliveras said. “I’m not going to say he’s going to be a home run hitter, but he’s going to hit a lot of doubles. Sometimes, like a typical young hitter, he tries to create more power than what he’s got right now. But, bless him, he’s got very, very good talent. He’s the type of guy that he gets better with better competition. Hopefully he’ll stay healthy. So far he’s been playing every game.”
Being exposed to Double-A as a teenager follows the Mets’ recent pattern of challenging the organization’s young Latin American prospects. Tejada did wear down last year in the high-A Florida State League while also being challenged, although team officials said an extensive weight-training program contributed. He hit .229 with two homers and 37 RBI in 131 games last year at St. Lucie.
Tejada’s hectic schedule then included playing Hawaii Winter Baseball. Despite his young age, Tejada then represented Panama in the World Baseball Classic. The country lasted only two games and was bounced, with Tejada going 0-for-4. Tejada said first baseman Julio Zuleta, who appeared in a combined 79 games for the Cubs in 2000 and ’01, was a mentor during the WBC.
“I was very impressed with the surroundings and taken aback by being on the list to play on the national team,” Tejada said.
Tejada said his most memorable experience was just playing host Puerto Rico in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan in Panama’s first game, on March 7. Tejada got to face Javier Vazquez.
“I didn’t get a hit, but I felt good that I was there competing,” he said.
Tejada actually wasn’t even the youngest player on Panama’s roster. Mariners pitching prospect Manuel Campos was born 134 days later.
“Being such a young player, he has a great feel for the game,” Oliveras said. “He’s a kid that you challenge and he rises to the occasion.”
