Jose

Tabata

Tabata was taken out of the game as a precaution, according to Charleston manager Pat Roessler, after suffering apparent distress while batting in the top of the first inning. The 17-year-old outfielder returned from a bruised thumb the previous day.

Jose Tabata opened the spring as the Pirates’ leadoff hitter, with Presley batting second, but those two have switched roles recently. It shouldn’t make a whole lot of difference for either the Pirates offense or for fantasy leaguers, as both are expected to be full-timers regardless. Presley is having a terrific spring so far, having hit .429 with two homers in 28 at-bats.

After taking a .111/.158/.111 triple slash into Pittsburgh’s April 20 game against the Cardinals, Tabata has been steadily heating up, going 11-for-29 (.379) in his past seven games. With the worst apparently behind him, the time to take a flier is now if a frustrated owner dropped Tabata at the apex of his slump.

Nate McLouth will make the start in right field and bat ninth against right-hander Jhoulys Chacin. Tabata went 1-for-4 in the first game and is now hitting an even .200 (11-for-55) on the year.

Incredibly, the two-hit day was just Tabata’s second of the season, while the extra-base hit was his first. The silver lining is that his other two-knock performance came on Friday, so it’s possible he might finally be heating up. As it is, however, he’s bringing an abysmal .170/.220/.191 triple slash into the season’s third full week.

Tabata is off to a pretty rough start this season, batting just .200 (11-for-55) with two walks and 10 strikeouts, so Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle is trying something a little different Friday. Garrett Jones will make the start in right field while Casey McGehee plays first base and Clint Barmes bats No. 2.

The 23-year-old has not yet found his groove in 22 spring at-bats, posting a .227 batting average with zero extra-base hits and zero walks. The Pirates are hoping for a rebound year from their starting right fielder.

Hague will start at first base and hit fifth. Neil Walker drops to sixth in the order. Jose Tabata replaces Alex Presley at the leadoff slot.

It’s even worse than the .118 average suggests: Tabata doesn’t have a single walk, extra-base hit, run scored or RBI on the season. We’d suggest dropping him in the lineup for a bit until he gets it going, but everyone else besides the Pirates’ No. 1 and No. 3 hitters is batting under .200 as well.

Tabata didn’t have a multihit game while hitting .111 in his first 10 appearances of the season, but he’s had five in 11 games since, raising his average to .244 in the process.