A Glimpse at Tim Tawa, the D-backs Utility Man of the Future

Tim Tawa is a fast-rising Diamondbacks prospect that could reach the Majors next year after reaching Triple-A

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

Tim Tawa might not be a big-name prospect or highly ranked on the many Arizona Diamondbacks prospect boards, but that doesn't mean that he isn't having a phenomenal season.

Tawa has launched himself into the conversation of potential MLB call-ups next year should he keep performing like this. He started the year off at Triple-A Reno before being sent down to Double-A Amarillo. While with the Amarillo Sod Poodles, he crushed on offense.

Recently, he got sent back up to the Reno Aces and has continued to hit the ball with authority and excel at any position he plays. He's becoming a strong super utility player on the field.

Getting to know Tawa a bit more, he shared what a major football and fantasy football fan he is. He loves it. If he had to pick a favorite team, it would be the Seattle Seahawks due to having the opportunity in high school to attend a game there which is the only time he's been to an NFL game.

This was due to his growing up in Oregon, a state with very few professional sports teams and no NFL team. But, about his fantasy football, Tawa said, "Oh, I love fantasy football...I love watching it on Sunday, I'm excited for it to come back in just over a week."

He noticed how D-backs Manager Torey Lovullo hit batting practice to determine the team's fantasy draft order and how cool it was to have a manager do that. He said, " I got to figure out how to pick our league's picks. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do that too, but it was cool to see Torey doing that."

During his extended run at Amarillo this year, Tawa hit .270/.340/.487/.827 over 105 games with 22 doubles, two triples, 21 homers, and 64 RBI, plus he stole 11 bases. He walked 40 times to 96 strikeouts.

This was on the heels of struggling to start the season in Reno over his nine game cup of coffee at Triple-A. During those nine games, he hit .188 with a .493 OPS with 13 punchouts in just 33 plate appearances. He was over-matched.

Since he got the second call-up to Triple-A on August 20th, he's been vastly better over a small sample. Over six games, he's hitting .375 and slugging .833 and with an OPS of 1.277.

This is due to six of his nine hits being extra-base hits with three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He's adapting well to Triple-A pitching with three walks against four strikeouts.

Tawa talked about the adjustment to Reno so far, "There's definitely an adjustment. I think that I'm getting a lot more off-speed pitches and the pitching's a little bit more precise...It'll take some time but I feel confident that I'll get there."

His walk rate has risen over the past couple of years as he has shown more patience at the plate. He's spit on pitches that he used to swing at in the past which has increased his on-base percentage and made him a much better hitter overall.

Tawa spoke on that, "I think it's just trying to be better with the gameplan...It's more just knowing what the pitcher has, how often he's in the zone early, what his stuff looks like and then having a plan every time you go up to the plate...As you get older and more mature as a baseball player, you kind of work that plan in better."

In High-A Hillsboro, Tawa hit just eight home runs over 58 games, but with Amarillo, he hit 48 homers over 284 games. In Triple-A, he's homered twice in his last six games. His power has grown as he moved up the levels.

Tawa shared that "Playing at Hodgetown helps a little bit but just trying to be more consistent with my swing more than anything. Stick with what I know and what I know I can do well. It's just kind of translated into more power, hasn't been anything specific."

Tawa has better speed than expected as he routinely catches up to deep balls in the outfield and has stolen plenty of bases. He's been observed to consistently take the extra base on the basepaths and be a very aggressive baserunner, a trait that the D-backs will certainly like.

He's stolen 48 bags over his minor league career with 26 of them coming in Double-A and Triple-A. He doesn't steal a lot, but he seems to pick his spots quite well and routinely steals the bag when he tries.

Tawa spoke about his speed, "You always try to stay aggressive and you try to run in the right situations. This offseason, it was a big focus for me to try to get the speed back to where I want it to be and really just pick the right times to go and just be confident when you go."

As mentioned above, Tawa has been playing at multiple positions for years now. He hasn't been settled into just one spot but rather has been moving around and playing the infield and outfield as a super utility player.

This will get him to the Big Leagues sooner as the more versatile you are, the more MLB will want you. He has most often played second base with 58 games there this year. However, he's played 23 games at first, 11 at third, four in left field, 15 in centerfield, three in right field, and two at shortstop aside from serving as DH.

Across all those positions, he has made nine errors but eight of them came at second base, he's been mostly sure-handed at every position he's played and picked up the ball.

Speaking on his defense and playing multiple positions, Tawa said, "I think that the utility thing is definitely something I like to utilize. I think it's a big part of my game being able to be versatile and play a lot of spots. I really enjoy it...It's something I want to keep working at and getting better at...That's going to be big for me playing everyday and help the team win however I can."

He said that he feels comfortable with every position that he has played this season and that "The outfield is a little bit different because when you go out there...there's maybe a little less technique and just knowing how the ball is going to go and attack it with an efficient route versus the infield."

Tawa has been following the Arizona Diamondbacks and noticing how they are doing, routinely watching highlight videos of the games they play. "You watch and follow scores, I watch the highlights a lot at night and it's been fun."

Tawa said that he hasn't quite realized that he's just one step away from the Major Leagues and he isn't sure when it will hit him. "I'm not sure when it will sink in."

It could very well be in 2025 that one sees Tim Tawa playing at Chase Field for the Arizona Diamondbacks.