A dominant athlete in both football and baseball as an Oregon high schooler, Tawa played four years at Stanford -- two of which were affected by a shoulder injury and the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. He recovered enough as a senior in 2021 to go to the D-backs in the 11th round, first reaching Double-A Amarillo in 2022 and staying there three straight seasons. He actually opened 2024 at Triple-A Reno but was sent down and dominated the Texas League with 21 homers and a .487 slugging percentage in 105 games. He returned to Triple-A in late August, finished with 31 homers on the season and was added to the 40-man roster as Rule 5 protection last November.
A right-handed hitter, Tawa has an upright stance at the plate and chokes up a little on the bat, enabling him to stay quick to balls, particularly heaters. That causes him to pull the ball a ton, and that’s part of what allowed him to lead the organization in homers last year. His top-end exit velocities won’t stand out, but he gets the barrel to the ball often enough that there should still be at least average pop in there. (Surprisingly, he slugged just .416 in Amarillo and .541 away from that particular launching pad at Double-A in ’24.) Troubles with offspeed pitches and overall selectivity might hold him back offensively.
Tawa played every position but pitcher and catcher in 2024. He focused more on first base down the stretch in Reno, but with decent speed and an average arm, he best fits at second base in an everyday role. Then again, his athleticism and power make him a candidate to be the last man on the roster who can fill multiple roles in a pinch.
Tawa headed to Stanford as an all-around athlete, having won Oregon’s state Football Player of the Year award twice and the 2017 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year award. He was a strong freshman performer, posting an .845 OPS in 58 games, but his production dropped off after he dislocated his shoulder in the fall of his sophomore year in 2019. The issue required surgery after that season, and he got off to a rough start in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .213 with a .533 OPS in 16 games. The right-handed slugger recovered as a senior with the Cardinal (.290/.357/.519) , and the D-backs grabbed him in the 11th round in 2021. Proving who he could be when healthy, Tawa got off to a fast start with High-A Hillsboro and was promoted to Double-A in late June of his first full season.
When he was at his best in the Northwest League, Tawa made good amounts of contact while taking a healthy dose of walks, fueling an OBP-rich stat line. Those numbers have started to go in opposite directions as he’s been challenged by upper-level pitching for the first time, though the D-backs chalk that up to inexperience. He shows the potential to hit for double-digit homers but will need to get the ball off the ground more to do so.
A plus runner, Tawa is a candidate to play up the middle, though an average arm has kept him away from short. He’s seen a good amount of time at second and center in 2022, and the D-backs value that brand of versatility. Should he get back on track in Amarillo, Tawa has a chance to work his way into a Major League roster as a quality utility player.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2025
5
4
5
4
4
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
4
5
5
4
6
5
4
4
4
4
3
4
5
5
Player
5
4
5
4
4
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
5
4
4
4
5
5
4
6
5
4
4
4
4
3
4
5
5
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
