Raimel Tapia

Position: OF
Born: 2/4/1994
Height: 6'2
Weight: 160
B/T: L/L
Acquired: Signed as an international free agent (Dominican Republic) on November 29, 2010 (COL).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: .328 with eight homers, 48 RBIs and 23 steals in 128 games between Hartford (Double-A) and Albuquerque (Triple-A), adding 28 doubles and 10 triples for a .458 SLG. He hit .323 in 104 games at Hartford and .346 in 24 games at Albuquerque.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Albuquerque on September 2.
MLB Debut Date: 9/2/2016

Debut Details
September 2, in a 14-7 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a pinch-hitter, he went 1-for-1 with a run scored. With the Rockies trailing 5-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Tapia got a six-run rally started as a pinch-hitter for Stephen Cardullo. Facing Zack Godley in his first at-bat, he delivered an infield single and came around to score the team’s first run of the game on an RBI single by David Dahl.

Player Notes
Tapia had never played a game above High A ball before the 2016 season, but he’d put up consistently strong numbers every year since coming stateside. In 2015, he batted .305 with 12 homers, 71 RBIs and 26 steals at Modesto (High A), adding 34 doubles and nine triples along with 166 hits for a .467 SLG. Always one of the youngest players in his league, he earned Pioneer League MVP honors in 2013 when he batted .357 with seven homers and 47 RBIs. In his first full season, 2014, he hit .326 with nine homers, 72 RBIs and 33 steals along with 32 doubles at Asheville (Class A). Tapia’s approach at the plate is unorthodox and has generated a ton of discussion around the internet, but we’ll let the 2080 experts explain it all to us in the links below.

2080 Notes
Nick J. Faleris’ Prospect Spotlight on Tapia would be a good place to start. Checking in at No. 66 in our Top 125 Preseason Prospect Rankings List, we had this to say about him: “Tapia brings an unconventional approach to the plate, but he shows excellent hand-eye coordination, making his ability to hit the loudest of his tools.” You can also check out this video from Mark Shreve's library from a game at Trenton earlier this season.