Thread: Aaaaand ... Parmelee's back at first base....

But everyone swears it's temporary. They just need someone to fill in there since Morneau, Mauer and Colabello are all in the WBC for the next 10 games. In fact, it's all hands on deck to find warm bodies....

(Tom) Kelly has been training Jeff Clement, Drew Butera and Chris Herrmann, all catchers, plus outfielder Brian Dinkelman in the basics of the position. "I'm sure there are guys who have done it a little bit," Gardenhire said.

FWIW, Parmelee doesn't seem to mind.

Shortage sends Parmelee back to first, for a bit | StarTribune.com

Seems kind of obvious to me.

Well, if there's one person whose bat screams "corner infielder", it's Drew Butera.

Let's just hope this doesn't cramp his capacity to learn or compete for RF; that's the only issue.

I'm having a hard time seeing Parmalee ever maintaining the Offensive Standard of a league average 1B of 15 percent more offensive production then league average. Is Parmalee a consistent .800 OPS guy? I'm skeptical. If you raise the Offensive Standard to 20 percent above league average(As it is most years) then you're looking at between a .825 and .850 OPS guy. I realize some projection models tend to disagree with me.

I don't get the skepticism on Parmelee's bat. He OPSd 1.1 at AAA as a 24 year old in follow up to a break out season in AA the year past. He also walked as often as he struck out during that run. I'm not expecting him to put up MVP numbers, but to think that he could be league average or better than that as a first baseman is hardly unreasonable.

If, just days ago, you were worried about some of his throwing - why on earth is he back to a position he doesn't have to throw from? This is spring training...you don't NEED to play him at first. Shuffle someone else over there so the kid keeps working on being a better OF in live situations.

He is going to be the starting RF. He didn't play RF very often in the last few years. Why not give him the best chance to be successful in that role?

It would be reasonable to assess that an OF with Parmelee and Willingham is too damaging to the defense to play together regularly.

Parmalee's Triple A numbers over that stretch weren't really inline with his career numbers previous. He also put up an OPS of .670 in 3/4 as many as bats at the Major League Level. Could Parmalee be a .350/.450 hitter? I suppose- I'm just skeptical that he meets this standard.

Originally Posted by josecordoba

Parmalee's Triple A numbers over that stretch weren't really inline with his career numbers previous. He also put up an OPS of .670 in 3/4 as many as bats at the Major League Level. Could Parmalee be a .350/.450 hitter? I suppose- I'm just skeptical that he meets this standard.

Those numbers are not fair to Parmelee. He saw sporadic playing time and played out of position for the first time in years. It was very much a topic of contention with how Gardy handled him while we was up. Another young player that Gardy mishandled IMO. Obviously he went on to succeed as a whole on the season and hopefully in the scheme of things it wont be a big deal. Just adds to my ire against Gardy.

Yeah, this is a non-story. It's completely due to Morneau, Mauer and Colabello being gone. Nothing more. Sure, he'll get some time at 1B just because he's a 1B, but he'll be the RF, and he'll be adequate out here.

Originally Posted by jorgenswest

He is going to be the starting RF. He didn't play RF very often in the last few years. Why not give him the best chance to be successful in that role?

It would be reasonable to assess that an OF with Parmelee and Willingham is too damaging to the defense to play together regularly.

Parmelee may also be the starting 1B at some point this year, if Morneau either gets injured or traded. That would leave room in the outfield for one of the fast guys, whichever one is still in AAA.

Mastrioanni, Hicks and Benson. Three Speedos!

Originally Posted by FrodaddyG

Well, if there's one person whose bat screams "corner infielder", it's Drew Butera.

How long till Gardy "likes the way he led the infield warmup"?

Originally Posted by GCTF

How long till Gardy "likes the way he led the infield warmup"?

He'll have some real snap on those return throws after pickoff attempts.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Yeah, this is a non-story. It's completely due to Morneau, Mauer and Colabello being gone. Nothing more. Sure, he'll get some time at 1B just because he's a 1B, but he'll be the RF, and he'll be adequate out here.

That's right. He'll play right also while those guys are gone. I can see Dinkleman getting alot of time at first during that stretch. Also, they've worked Dinkleman at all the infield positions this spring. That's a plus in his favor, which he admits.

Originally Posted by jorgenswest

He is going to be the starting RF. .

If Benson, Boggs, Hicks, Mastroianni and Ramirez (alphabetically) continue to perform they way they have been this Spring Training and Parmelee continues to perform the way he has been, he will probably be the starting RF in Rochester...

Originally Posted by jimbo92107

Mastrioanni, Hicks and Benson. Three Speedos!

Thanks for the mental image I did not need.

Originally Posted by josecordoba

Parmalee's Triple A numbers over that stretch weren't really inline with his career numbers previous. He also put up an OPS of .670 in 3/4 as many as bats at the Major League Level. Could Parmalee be a .350/.450 hitter? I suppose- I'm just skeptical that he meets this standard.

You are correct that they were not inline. He was also 24, and it is not unusual for kids to improve their game. Those AAA numbers followed up his breakout season in AA as well. You also have to consider that the Twins spent plenty of time tweaking his swing and approach, which sapped his power early on the minors as well. Those things don't show up in stat lines, but are well documented and need to be taken into consideration.

I should add that no one is saying he will be a .350/.450 hitter. I could see him having a few .300 seasons as he peaks, but for him to be a .280/.360/.470 hitter (or something close) is not an unreasonable expectation. That would be about league average for a 1B and not a bad rookie campaign.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Yeah, this is a non-story. It's completely due to Morneau, Mauer and Colabello being gone. Nothing more. Sure, he'll get some time at 1B just because he's a 1B, but he'll be the RF, and he'll be adequate out here.

Right, no one is suggesting the problem here is because the Twins are forcing him there. The problem is that he didn't get playing time there last year in the minors and now, in a 4-5 week spring training, another half of that is gone. And we've already had suggestions from the coaching staff that he needs work.

I'd rather have a bunch of mis-cast 1B out there for a few meaningless games than Parmalee not ready when the games count.

Originally Posted by diehardtwinsfan

You are correct that they were not inline. He was also 24, and it is not unusual for kids to improve their game. Those AAA numbers followed up his breakout season in AA as well. You also have to consider that the Twins spent plenty of time tweaking his swing and approach, which sapped his power early on the minors as well. Those things don't show up in stat lines, but are well documented and need to be taken into consideration.

I should add that no one is saying he will be a .350/.450 hitter. I could see him having a few .300 seasons as he peaks, but for him to be a .280/.360/.470 hitter (or something close) is not an unreasonable expectation. That would be about league average for a 1B and not a bad rookie campaign.

I think josecordoba was referring to OBP/SLG when saying .350/.450 which would put him at .800 OPS. His argument was that he was skeptical of him being an annual .800 OPS guy. I think you misinterpreted what he meant for .350/.450.

I on the other hand believe he will sit around .780 this year and be a .825 - .850 guy in the future. Not quite what Morneau is capable of (.900+) but certainly acceptable at 1B for a team that has other issues to address.