So how did Jose come out of nowhere last year? Was he on any radar to do this? What is his best position and is he any good defensibly?
Depends on how you view prospects/take stock into minors performance.
Some people see guys who hit at every stop in the minors, and at a very young age for the league he is in as well, and then expect that to eventually translate to the MLB level as well.
Kind of the case for Jose, or at least was what people who defended him after his early struggles said to get people to step off the ledge a bit with regards to his future. He hit at every level in the minors, while consistently being one of the youngest guys in his league every year...figured it was only a matter of time before he figured it out at the MLB level too, if you take stock in minor league performance at all.
Not sure any of us expected the doubles surge...but a few expected him to post high BAs, get on base quite a bit, K:BB fairly evenly, and steal bases, because that's what he did at every stop as a pro.
He was also a top 20 prospect for us for a few years, our 12th best prospect the year he broke into the MLB, and was performing well enough and thought highly enough by the organization to reach the majors as a 20 year old...so its not like he came out of nowhere.
He's a plus defender at 2B and 3B, a wash at SS, but he is by far his best defensively at 2B. Probably takes over that spot when Kip hits free agency in the winter of 2020.