Tejada started the 2007 season with the VSL Mets where he had a wonderful season (.364/.466/.479 in 121 at bats, 16 SB). He was promoted and came stateside to finish the season starting for the GCL Mets (.283/.401/.367 in 120 at bats, 16 SB).
2007 Tejada was named the recipient of the 2007 Sterling Award as the MVP of the VSL Mets.
November 2007, Scouts.com named Tejada the 25th top Mets prospect.
In late January 2007, Baseball America raked Tejada as the 18th top Mets prospect, adding: "best present tools are on the defensive side, as he has above average arm strength and range that allow him to make all the plays at shortstop"
In February 2008, Baseball Prospectus awarded him a 2-star prospect rating and named him as the 10th overall Mets prospect.
Also in February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Tejada as the #2 Mets prospect, saying: It doesn't happen very often, but Tejada made an in-season jump from the Venezuelan Summer League to the GCL after hitting .364/.466/.479 with 16 steals in 32 games last season. He didn't hit any homers or steal many bases in the U.S., but he did manage a .401 OBP as a 17-year-old. Tejada doesn't have the same kind of tools typically associated with the top young international properties. He's built like a second baseman, and it's doubtful that he'll ever possess more than 20-homer ability. Even that is probably pushing it. Still, that he's this young and already possesses such strong on-base skills makes him worthy of attention.
In June 2008, Baseball America wrote: High Class A St. Lucie SS Ruben Tejada (Mets) was arguably the worst hitter in the Florida State League during the first two months of the season. But Tejada, 18, showed in June that he's not as overmatched as many thought. This week, he hit .409/.458/.500 (9-for-22) with two doubles and a 2-2 walk-to-strikeout ratio. For the month of June, he's hitting .373/.428/.482 . . .
In late July, Rotoworld’s came out with their mid-season adjusted Top 150 Prospect List and Tejada was ranked 105th, with a 2013 ETA.
In late July 2008, ProjectProspect.com updated their top 10 Mets prospect list and he was ranked #8 - Tejada looked rushed in 2008, playing the entire season for St. Lucie and hitting only .229/.293/.296 in 497 at bats.
From Mets.com in February 2009: For an average 19-year-old, playing in the World Baseball Classic might seem like a daunting challenge. For Mets shortstop prospect Ruben Tejada, however, it probably won't seem as that big of a deal if he makes it. The Panamanian middle infielder has already seen plenty of challenges in his brief professional career. At age 17, he came to the United States in 2007, playing in the Rookie Gulf Coast League to end the summer. Then the Mets, not a team shy about pushing young talent these days, sent him straight to the Florida State League for his full-season debut. He stayed there all year and, as one might expect, it was a roller-coaster season. Tejada hit .229 in 131 games, with a .588 OPS. He also made 30 errors as he played all season in the Class A Advanced league. It was nothing the Mets didn't expect and the organization was quite pleased with how their 18-year-old shortstop handled himself.
In March 2009, Rotoworld ranked the Mets Top 10 Prospect: Any other organization would have had an 18-year-old Tejada open last season in low-A ball, but the Mets opted to get ridiculously aggressive and make him the youngest player in the FSL. He never excelled at any point, but his line wasn't bad for a guy facing pitchers primarily three to five years older than he was. Unlike Flores, Tejada is a natural shortstop, though he lacks outstanding range at the position. He could prove to be an outstanding defensive second baseman if the Mets want to have him play alongside Jose Reyes someday. His power potential is quite limited, but he has a pretty good idea of the strike zone for someone so young, and he might blossom into a No. 2 hitter. It'd be for the best if he repeats the FSL this year.
9-9-9 From http://www.hardballtimes.com/ : - Tejada smoked the GCL to a line of .283/.401/.367 in his 2007 pro debut. However, the Mets seemingly rushed him to High-A St. Lucie in 2008 where he hit a meager .229/.293/.296 as an 18 year-old. This could've been another case of the Mets rushing a Latino prospect into oblivion, but maybe New York knew what it was doing. Placed in Double-A in 2009, Tejada broke out, hitting .289/.351/.381 in a full season while playing solid shortstop. Oh, and he was just 19 years-old, one of the youngest starters in the league. Tejada's future may be at second base in the big leagues, but he first needs to show that 2009 wasn't a fluke.
9-15-09 from: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?cat=42 - Ruben Tejeda SS - He has the tools to play shortstop, something that can’t really be said about Flores or Havens. Last year he only hit .229 but the Mets still promoted him to AA where he hit .289. The Mets have selected him to play in the Arizona Fall League. Ruben is from Panama.
1-1-10: Forecast: - 2010 will be the come to Jesus year for Tejada. So far, his combined three year, three level, pro career has produced .262/.331/.341/.672 in 1105 at bats. And, he’ll play 2010 as a 20 year old. Trust me, if he hits .280 in AAA, there will be a lot of meetings in Queens over whether or not they renew the Reyes option year.
I wrote on 2-10-10: - Ruben Tejada – one of the future “Class of 2011”… Tejada is being converted to a second baseman (who isn’t in this organization?), so we’ll keep an eye on any increase in errors. He’s still very young and the only reason that his next step is Queens is because he’s done with all the levels by the end of this season. Will he become the 2011 Mets second baseman. Did Brian Bannister become the Mets SP5? We’ll see…
4-4-10: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10444 - With it becoming official that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will begin the regular season on the disabled list while recovering from a thyroid condition, talk goes to who will be his temporary replacement. While it looks like Alex Cora with get a majority of at-bats, 20-year-old Panamanian Ruben Tejada has made some noise this spring with a .328/.400/.414 line, and one scout thinks he's a better option thanks to an overall game that is polished beyond his years. "He's such an accomplished player," gushed the scout. "He's already making the routine plays routinely, and he can make the difficult ones as well. He's a fast-forward defender who knows how to slow the game down and let things come to him." As for his offense, the scout also thought he'd be fine, as long as one tempers expectations: "He doesn't have the tools to be a star, but he works the count, makes contact and should be more than good enough to hold his own."
4-4-10: - link ; The Mets start the arbitration clock, and waste an option, on someone who will be sent down in a week and who is unlikely to return to MLB until 2011 or 2012. The public line is that Tejada has superior defensive skills compared to others in the organization, but that’s not saying much. If Tejada had Rey Ordonez-like wizardry, I might understand the move, but he doesn’t — at best, Tejada is an above-average shortstop, but one who like most young shortstops, also makes a lot of errors. There is only one reason he made the team: so that Omar Minaya and co. can continue to force the mirage that “the Mets have a strong minor league system that can produce MLB-quality players”. It’s a sham, a total PR move to incite journalists to write positive things about the farm system and help Minaya keep his job.
5-6-10: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=201005 - Ruben Tejeda SS (Panama) Mets - With the injury to Jose Reyes this year he had an opportunity to make his major league debut. If he had started like Wilson Ramos (.733) instead of hitting .167 he may have had the opportunity to play more. At some point the Mets will get tired of the inconsistent production from Jose Reyes and give Ruben another opportunity. He can’t hit .229 like he did in 2008 or continue with the .167 stick. His defense is solid but he still has not proved that his bat will be adequate to play the major leagues. So far this year for the Bisons he is only hitting .256 with a .298 OBA.
5-22-10: - SS Ruben Tejada: The 19-year old Tejada impressed everyone during ST and almost made the 25-man, but common sense took over and he was returned to the minors for seasoning. He has hit at every level which includes this season at AAA (.299), and, with the recent developments involving the health of Luis Castillo, might be back in Queens before I finish writing this. Tejada experimented with second base (who doesn’t on this team?) but he’s now back playing short, sparking rumors involving just who is going to play that position in Queens next season
7-6-10: - http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b4Pq4 - The Mets are 16-6 in the 22 games Mr. Tejada has started at either second base or shortstop since Mr. Castillo went on the disabled list. There isn't necessarily a direct correlation—Mr. Tejada is hitting just .228, after all—but that record does indicate how little drop-off, if any, there has been since he entered the starting lineup. Mr. Castillo is scheduled to return from the DL not long after the All-Star break, and there's a sports axiom that a player isn't supposed to lose his starting spot because he has been injured. (It's an axiom that Lou Gehrig, Tom Brady and a few other superstar athletes past and present might dispute, but many coaches stick to it anyway.) Mr. Tejada's presence at second base, though, gives the Mets two obvious advantages they didn't have with Mr. Castillo. First, because he is a natural shortstop and because he is younger and more athletic than Mr. Castillo, Mr. Tejada makes the Mets a better defensive team. He has a stronger arm, covers more ground and will grow only more comfortable at second the more he plays there. Second, whenever Mr. Castillo starts, Mr. Manuel hits him second, a compulsion that weakens the Mets' lineup. At the team's No. 2 hitter, Mr. Pagan has delivered more speed and dynamism than Mr. Castillo, and Mr. Tejada, at this stage of his career, is a natural No. 8 hitter.
7-14 from: - http://www.westport-news.com/highschool/article/Tejada-pro-athletes-bring-disappointment-576086.php - Baseball World Training School's campers were disappointed last Wednesday when Ruben Tejada, an infielder for the New York Mets, didn't show up for his spot as guest instructor at Baseball World last Wednesday. Owner Vince Diaco sent one of his instructors to pick Tejada up at Citi Field, but he didn't show up. Many youngsters were looking forward to see him, the Connecticut Post and Norwalk Hour sent photographers and Channel 12 stopped by to do a story on it, but it turned out everyone sacrificed their plans in vain. Diaco tried feverishly to find out what happened and New York Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson expressed his dismay towards Tejada for not keeping his commitment
8-5-10: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/8/5/1606179/2010-top-20-new-york-mets - Ruben Tejada, INF, Grade C+: .279/.326/.344 in 64 games in Triple-A, .212/.297/.250 in 35 major league games. Very young at age 20 and I still think he can develop.
9-29-10 from: - http://buffalo.bisons.milb.com/ - 2010 Notes: - Began the season with the New York Mets but was optioned to the Bisons on April 10. Recalled to New York from June 4 – July 11 and August 7 to the end of the season. Played 65 games over his two stints with the Bisons. -Ranked 9th on the Bisons with 61 hits. -Had just 2 hits in fi rst 25 at-bats with the Bisons (8 games). Hit .306 (59-193) over fi nal 57 games with the Bisons. -Hit lone home run of the season came on April 29 vs. Durham. -Went 4-4 with a run scored on May 10 in Louisville.-Excelled in May, hitting .316 (31-98) n 29 games. -Season-high 7-game hit streak, May 3-10 (.522, 12-23). -Made 8 errors in 58 games at SS (.968) and 2 errors in 7 games at 2B (.950).
12-20-10 from: - http://www.patrickfloodblog.com/2010/12/2011-mets-trade-value-part-1.html - Lost his rookie status last year, so you won’t see Tejada on prospect lists anymore. I was shocked at how tiny he is in person. He’s listed at 5‘11“ and 160 pounds, which is total BS. Maybe he’s 5‘9“ on a tall day. Maybe. Tejada has a couple of years to figure out how to get himself on base often enough to be a competent utility infielder.
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