I agree in general. I'd like to see him gain more at-bats and confidence at AAA so that potential is maximized rather than having him slumping in the majors and then sitting on the bench.
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Totally disagree. The Twins organization and Twins fans need to realize that sending a player down to AAA or prolonged minor league progress is not the only way to develop a player. Players can and at times should, develop at the major leagues.
The problem with the Twins is that right now they do not have that type of organization. They need to FINALLY accept that this is a rebuilding team. I have said it from the beginning of the season: this team is not good enough to even come close to competing and they need to start the rebuilding process NOW. Adding a Jamey Carroll is not the solution to this team's woes, and we have seen the downside of that. That is, instead of letting Brian Dozier start the season from the beginning and even hitting .220, instead we had a 38 year old player signed to a $3.5 million 2 year deal hitting under .220. We should have had Joe Benson, Ben Revere, Chris Parmalee, and several other players playing everyday in the major league lineup. We also need to have a coaching staff designed to develop these players at the major league level. Our current major league coaching staff is too impatient and expects all of the players to be ready to win the division crown again. They simply are not adequate to rebuild this team.
In fact, and I have already said it it in this forum as perhaps the first to make the statement, the Twins really need to consider promoting our lower level phenoms like Sano and Rosario up to the majors. So what if they strike out 150 times. The experience will make them that much better, and in the long run the team gains value from the at bats, rather than waste them on the likes of Clete Thomas.
The claim that this will "taint" a prospect is just pure BS. Frank Viola was in the major leagues with just 8 AAA games of experience. His rookie year ERA was 5.21 followed by an ERA of 5.49 in his first full season with the Twins. Yet, the Twins sent him out there for 210 innings and eventually he worked out ok.
The time is now. If these prospects are worth anything, they should be in the major leagues. If they are not with a major league team that is on pace to lose 100+ games, they are not prospects. All of the TwinsCentric writers "top 40" prospect lists are invalid if they think that each of them should move up the minors one rung at a time with the major league team at the level it is. "Rushing" worked with Greg Gagne, Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, Randy Bush, and Kirby Pucket. The proof is in the World Series championships.