Apr 12, 2011 By Jim Downey 3 min read

PITTSBURGH — Jose Tabata had never considered himself the type of hitter who could bat leadoff in the major leagues.

Thus, the Pirates left fielder was taken aback in the days leading up to the first exhibition games of spring training in February when new manager Clint Hurdle approached him about hitting in the No. 1 spot of the batting order.

“I was surprised he thought of me that way,” Tabata said. “It’s a very important job on the team.”

Through the first 10 games of the season, Tabata has thrived at the top of the order. The 22-year-old has a hit in every game and is batting .342 with a .457 on-base percentage, going 13-for-38 with seven walks and just four strikeouts.

“I like what I’ve seen,” Hurdle said.

It would be hard not to. Tabata has also stole five bases in six attempts and scored 11 runs for a team that is averaging just 3.7 a game.

“I feel more comfortable hitting leadoff every day,” Tabata said. “I’m being really patient. I’m seeing four or five pitches in a lot of my at-bats. I’m doing everything I can to get on base and make the offense go.”

Tabata made 33 of his 101 starts as the leadoff hitter last season as a rookie and batted just .255 with a .311 on-base percentage. Conversely, he had a .328 batting average and a .373 OBP in his 66 starts in the No. 2 hole.

The more Hurdle watched Tabata on video after being hired as the manager last November, though, the more he believed the right-handed hitter was capable of being a leadoff man.

“I thought Jose could be a good OBP guy because he takes long looks (at pitches) and hits the breaking ball well, which are usually two of the last adjustments young hitters make,” Hurdle said. “He’s not a big swing guy. He’s not trying to hit home runs, so why put him in a spot where he thinks he needs to hit home runs?”

Tabata has been a different player than advertised when he was the key part of a four-man package the Pirates received from the New York Yankees in a July, 2008 trade for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. He was supposed to be a middle-of-the-order hitter.

While Tabata hit just four home runs in 441 plate appearances last season, he has gone deep twice in 46 to the plate in 2011.

“His power is going to come,” Hurdle said. “I don’t have any doubt of that. We just want him to square the ball up, hit it hard, go line-to-line, first-to-third and (steal) some bags.”

If Tabata does indeed add power to his game then the Pirates could have a potential superstar on their hands.

Herald-Standard correspondent John Perrotto is the national writer for BaseballProspectus.com