Matt VS

Before I go into detail on these two players, I want you to look at their A-AAA stats, as well as parts of two MLB seasons.

Player A

League	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB	84	299	265	25	58	12	1	10	32	3	3	28	65	.219	.304	.385	.689
AAA	163	697	613	112	206	52	3	49	163	9	8	66	141	.336	.405	.670	1.075
AA	107	467	414	66	109	30	0	20	80	7	1	45	100	.263	.334	.481	.815
A+	84	364	317	49	88	28	0	8	44	5	0	41	71	.278	.357	.442	.799
A	85	361	328	49	104	27	0	9	53	2	1	28	75	.317	.374	.482	.856

Player B

League	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB	61	208	184	18	49	11	1	6	20	0	0	21	41	.266	.351	.435	.786
AAA	42	187	154	30	54	11	0	12	34	1	1	32	27	.351	.465	.656	1.121
AA	253	1073	941	127	265	55	7	19	127	3	3	111	164	.282	.355	.416	.771
A+	145	594	502	70	136	29	2	18	90	2	3	78	120	.271	.370	.444	.815
A	208	817	695	99	166	34	8	29	121	11	7	103	229	.239	.341	.436	.777

Both players were drafted out of high school in consecutive years.

Without going into the history of these players, simply by digging into the stats, here's what I see:

1) Player A moved quickly through the lower levels of the minors and developed power after reaching the AA level; Player B moved much slower through the lower levels, showing the ability to get on base via the walk and hit for marginal power before struggling at the AA level.

2) Both players have shown the ability to consistently hit HR's throughout their years in the minors (Player A: 27.3 AB/HR, Player B: 28.6 AB/HR)

3) MLB WAR comparison:
Player A- 2011: -0.4, 2012: 1.0, Total: 0.6 WAR
Player B- 2011: 1.3, 2012: -1.0, Total: 0.3 WAR

4: Age:
Player A- 23 years
Player B- 24 years

5) Both players' MLB teams suffered through 90+ loss seasons in 2011. Fans and writers for Player A team couldn't wait for "the future" to arrive. Fans and writers for Player B's team would rather he stayed in AAA for the 2012 season, even after ripping AAA pitching for a .351/.465/.656 line and 12.8 AB/HR.

Alright, enough with the stats although many of you may have figured out who the two players are already (or just scrolled down like I always seem to do on these comparisons). Player A is 1B Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs while Player B is 1B/OF Chris Parmelee of our Minnesota Twins. I do realize that there are factors than stats to consider, such as Morneau's contract through 2014, but it is interesting to compare the two young sluggers. Living in the Chicago area, I was in the midst of the buzz that surrounded Rizzo when he was finally called up after raking AAA pitching. Since his callup the Cubs aren't much better (going 17-18 since June 26th), however, Rizzo is batting .292/.329/.518 while finding his niche at 1B on the north side.

I've been following the discussions in the forums on Parmelee (trading or promoting) and Morneau (trading or extending). I'm not going to pretend I have the right answer as far as which option is better, but I do believe that one of these options must be done before the start of the 2013 season:

1) Trade Morneau and promote Parmelee
2) Trade Parmelee and extend Morneau

What I would be disappointed to see is Morneau begin the 2013 season as the starting 1B with Parmelee beginning the year in AAA. In my opinion, another minor league season would not do the Twins or Parmelee any good.

Any ideas on what your best option would be?