Diamondbacks 2025 Player Projections: Tim Tawa

The super utility man had a breakout power season in the minor leagues in 2024. Will that carry over into MLB?

Amarillo Sod Poodles Tim Tawa (10) slides in safely at second base, in a Texas League Championship game against the Arkansas Travelers, Tuesday night, September 26, 2023, at Hodgetown, in Amarillo, Texas. The Arkansas Travelers won 6-5. / Carter Pirtle for the Amarillo Globe-News / USA TODAY NETWORK

This article is part of a series reviewing the projections for each member of the Arizona Diamondbacks 40-man roster, as well as select prospects and non-roster invitees. The order of presentation was chosen using a random number generator.

The projection comprises the average of ZiPS and Steamer rate statistic projections, which can be found on FanGraphs. The playing time projections are our own, based on our estimates. As the D-backs make further moves throughout the offseason, the playing time projections will be updated, and relevant counting stats such as home runs and WAR can be updated.

RHB Tim Tawa INF /OF Age 26

Tim Tawa Projection / Jack Sommers

Tim Tawa was added to the Diamondbacks 40-man roster this offseason, and stands a very good chance of getting some major league playing time. He played six different positions for the Reno Aces and Amarillo Sod Poodles in 2025, including 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, CF and RF. The 26 year old utility man is one of six right-hand batters on the 40-man roster (there are also four switch hitters and six left-hand batters on the roster).

Tawa has a rather pedestrian projection, calling for just a .228 batting average and .651 OPS, with four homers in 166 PA.

Why Tim Tawa may outperform the projection

Tawa recovered from a slow start to have a monster season in 2024. Splitting time between AA and AAA he hit .279/.349/.519 with 31 homers and 90 RBI in 613 Plate Appearances. That was good for a 133 wRC+, or roughly 33% better than league average.

Tawa ranked first among Reno Aces in hard hit percentage (49.5%) and second in average exit velocity (91.1 MPH). Those numbers were better than several D-backs prospects who played in MLB in 2024 such as Pavin Smith, Adrian Del Castillo and Blaze Alexander.

In fact, out of 691 tracked minor league players with at least 100 PA, Tawa ranked 21st in Hard Hit Rate and 24th in Avg. Exit Velocity.

Why Tawa might underperform the projection

The hitting environments of Reno in the PCL and Amarillo in the Texas League are notorious for inflating offensive numbers. Closer observers of the Diamondbacks have long since been conditioned to view prolific batting numbers coming out of those environments with a grain of salt.

Tawa is also an older prospect having played the bulk of his season in AA at age 25, where he was one year older than the average player in that league. Age for level is a key factor prospect projections, and this is probably the biggest reason for his underwhelming projection of just a .651 OPS.

Summary

Despite the caveats and discounts usually attached to older prospects coming out of Reno, Tawa is a good bet to beat his projections. It should be noted that Tawa had a very strong road vs. home split in 2024, batting .303 with a .918 OPS on the road and .248 with a .801 OPS at home. That negates at least part of the concern of him receiving undue bounce from his home parks.

The Diamondbacks don't have a lot of right-hand options as of this writing. They may still go out and sign or trade for a right-hand hitter who can back up in either the outfield or first base, or platoon with Pavin Smith.

But even if they're able to land such a player, Tawa's positional flexibility all around the diamond should give him plenty of opportunity to grab a super utility role at some point during the season. After hitting 53 homers the last two years and posting outstanding batted ball metrics in the PCL, Tim Tawa is a poised to be a pleasant surprise for Arizona Diamondbacks fans in 2025.

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