In the MLB some teams just can’t wait for a player with potential to develop at the MLB level, however, that is seemingly the best way of evaluating if a player can play at the MLB level. It is my belief that the best way to evaluate talent at the MLB level is to give that player somewhere in the range of 400-600 at bats.

Jose Bautista is entering his 5th team in 8 years. He has played for the Orioles, Pirates, Royals, Rays and now the Blue Jays. The Orioles, Royals, and Rays all gave up on him with less than 30 at bats in 2004. Less than 30 at bats with teams that were no where near contention for the playoffs is far from enough time to evaluate a players potential. Once he latched on with the Pirates in 2004 and received regular playing time in 2006 he began to produce for the pirates over the next 3 years.

06 16 hr 51 rbi 110 k’s .235 avg 400 ab’s
07 15 hr 63 rbi 101 k’s .254 avg 532 ab’s
08 12 hr 44 rbi 77 k’s .242 avg 314 ab’s

In 2008 he was shipped off to the Toronto Blue Jays for Catcher Robizon Diaz who has amounted to nothing and is currently in the minors for the Texas Rangers. With the Blue Jays here are his numbers:

09 13 hr 40 rbi 85 k’s .235 avg 336 ab’s
10 54 hr 124 rbi 116 k’s .260 avg 569 ab’s
11 16 hr 27 rbi 19 k’s .368 avg 114 ab’s

Clearly the jobs for the talent evaluators with the Orioles, Royals, and Rays need to be reassigned to a different department. Obviously the Rays have done well for themselves, but the Royals and Orioles have had a terrible time evaluating talent and Jose Bautista is just icing on the cake.