Thread: Olney: Evaluators say Nishioka looks "lost" this spring

ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted today that talent evaluators that he spoke with has said that Twins middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka has looked "lost" both offensively and defensively so far this spring:

Multiple talent evaluators saying that the Twins' Tsuyoshi Nishioka just looks really lost this spring, in his hitting and in his defense.

And here I thought last year's performance was rock-bottom for Nishi...

That is obviously a bit disappointing for him, but it wasn't a major surprise considering last years performance.

Originally Posted by Nicholas Mueller

it wasn't a major surprise

I'm hoping for a MINOR surprise instead of a MAJOR one this year, as in minor leagues.

I still would like to know which Scouts made the recommendation. Are they going to be involved with the upcoming Draft?

Originally Posted by Highabove

I still would like to know which Scouts made the recommendation. Are they going to be involved with the upcoming Draft?

I think there was a split in the organization about Nishi but I don't remember enough to know who wanted what. As for the draft, my understanding is that scouts do write ups but the cross checkers and regional coordinators (whatever they're called) have more pull. And the draft itself is conducted by Deron Johnson with input from those regional guys and, of course, the other front office guys. So whether or not one or two scouts thought Nishi was good probably won't have much impact on the draft board.

I've seen Nishi really swing at some absolute junk pitches this year that were in the dirt. It's hard to believe a guy who was a batting champ just a couple of year ago now has to compete to make the team as a utility infielder. It tells you how far the Japan League has fallen behind, I guess.

I dislike reports like this. What does "talent evaluators" mean? Are they scouts, front office people, the manager, reporters, or maybe bloggers who like to watch spring training? It maybe that the Twins are looking are alternatives to Nishioka for the utility position. It is likely they would be doing that no matter how good Nishioka looked. There are have been some suggestions like this from the reporters following the Twins. I notice that they are kind of careful not to quote actual Twins sources.

This can't really be a huge surprise to anyone...There are only two people who have defended Nishioka and that was Smith and then Ryan. They both said Nishioka deserved a "Mulligan" for last year. Ryan only said it to defend his friend Smith for making a huge mistake by signing him.

No way this guy could have won a batting title in any league. He is terrible from both sides of the plate, can't bunt and has average speed at best. That Japanese league must be similar to town ball.

Clearly Nishi belongs in AA or A ball.. I'm not sure he is good enough to play AAA!

Wow, a lot of Japanese Ball trash talk... hey, that's cool, whatever.
Maybe they outta invite his hitting coach to Spring Training and have him stay with Nishi during his Rochester year.
It would be nice if he could just get comfortable in MLB, get a rhythm going, start hitting .275 and build at least a hint of trade value before this is completely over with.

Originally Posted by gunnarthor

I think there was a split in the organization about Nishi but I don't remember enough to know who wanted what. As for the draft, my understanding is that scouts do write ups but the cross checkers and regional coordinators (whatever they're called) have more pull. And the draft itself is conducted by Deron Johnson with input from those regional guys and, of course, the other front office guys. So whether or not one or two scouts thought Nishi was good probably won't have much impact on the draft board.

Nishi wasn't drafted. This was a failure in international scouting. We paid a hefty price tag just to negotiate a contract with Nishioka. While it didn't work out, I'm glad the Twins have made a bigger push into the international leagues. They made inroads into Japan (Nishioka), Germany (Kepler), and the Dominican (Sano) all at about the same time. I often wondered why the Twins didn't pay too much attention to the international leagues in the past. I think the extra target field revenue has helped the Twins make more of a splash in those markets. I'm glad the Twins are taking shots at these type of players, and I don't fault the Twins for making a mistake. I just hope Nishioka doesn't discourage the Twins from dealing with Japan in the future.

Nishioka does not have the basic fundamentals which are required to play Major League Baseball. How was that missed??

Originally Posted by The Greatest Poster Alive

Nishi wasn't drafted. This was a failure in international scouting. We paid a hefty price tag just to negotiate a contract with Nishioka. While it didn't work out, I'm glad the Twins have made a bigger push into the international leagues. They made inroads into Japan (Nishioka), Germany (Kepler), and the Dominican (Sano) all at about the same time. I often wondered why the Twins didn't pay too much attention to the international leagues in the past. I think the extra target field revenue has helped the Twins make more of a splash in those markets. I'm glad the Twins are taking shots at these type of players, and I don't fault the Twins for making a mistake. I just hope Nishioka doesn't discourage the Twins from dealing with Japan in the future.

Agree 100%. In a chat last year, Klaw said he thought the Twins were the most active team in the international markets, which is something former GM Bill Smith should be proud of .

I think what Highabove was concerned about was whether those people who scouted Nishi prior to us signing him would have a great impact on this years draft.

"Nishi wasn't drafted. This was a failure in international scouting. "

I would still like to know how much can be attributed to a failure in international scouting and how much should be attributed to the front office's desire for a toehold in Japan. Were the scouts really this far off (I hope not) or did marketing decisions overcome scouting reservations?

Originally Posted by JB_Iowa

"Nishi wasn't drafted. This was a failure in international scouting. "

I would still like to know how much can be attributed to a failure in international scouting and how much should be attributed to the front office's desire for a toehold in Japan. Were the scouts really this far off (I hope not) or did marketing decisions overcome scouting reservations?

Good point, JB. I suspect marketing was a big part of the decision.

I'm pretty sure the scouting report was accurate, or so I've heard from people that have seen it. This was a mixture of maybe too much optimism and a desire to expand into Japan. It isn't all (or even the majority of it) on scouting.

Originally Posted by Jim H

I dislike reports like this. What does "talent evaluators" mean? Are they scouts, front office people, the manager, reporters, or maybe bloggers who like to watch spring training?

Most likely scouts or front office people. Buster Olney is a veteran national reporter, I doubt he uses "bloggers who like to watch spring training" as sources.

There are have been some suggestions like this from the reporters following the Twins. I notice that they are kind of careful not to quote actual Twins sources.

Or Twins sources just aren't saying anything about the situation publicly, which would make sense.

If I remember correctly, no one on the Twins' staff actually saw him play in person. It was all on 'word of mouth' and the video presentations..... (I'll dig around and see if I can find the reference that said that)

If the Twins would have used a few of the Bloggers, they might have saved their money.