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You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.ph...League-Rundown
I tweeted this last night, but thought I would put it up here, as well, for those interested in following Oswaldo Arcia:
Over his first 98 AA at-bats, here are Oswaldo Arcia's stats: .316/.370/.500; 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR; 26 RBI; 7 BB; 27 Ks. He turned 22 in May FYI.
I've been really high on Arcia since his 2010 campaign. I believe he's the second best prospect in the system behind Sano.Quote:
Originally Posted by Twins Fan From Afar
A little against the grain of thinking but I think he's going to be a monster in the big leagues.
Also, he turned 21 in May, not 22. He's one of the youngest prospects in the system with big upside.
Hit the wrong key -- thanks for the correction! 21 years and 2 months old, and not at all in over his head at AA.Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketpig
Nope, not at all over his head. He's striking out a bit too much but you can't expect too much from the kid. I don't see him staying in the minors for long and I fully expect him to be dominating AA with a 900+ OPS by the end of the season. I think there's a good chance he's going to force his way to Minnesota sooner rather than later, possibly even before Hicks or Benson.Quote:
Originally Posted by Twins Fan From Afar
Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketpig
Pretty much spot on, I'm not quite sure how people value Hicks, Benson, Gibson and others over him... Rosario I can get given that he has had some impressive results as well, but Arcia simply continues to produce...
My big concern about him thus far is his strikeouts... that rate needs to come down a bit more, as I suspect major league pitching will take advantage of it... but none-the-less, this guy looks like a legit middle order bat.
His strikeouts and historically, he has struggled against left-handers (and dominated righties), not an unusual thing though. I think Sano is 1 still. But between Arcia, Buxton, Hicks and Rosario, a case could be made for each of them at #2... and that's not giving up on Benson and Gibson and Hendriks and others as very good prospects.
It may be written about elsewhere or "common knowledge" (although my guess is there is differeng common knowledges that are contradictory), but how is Arcia defensively? Looks like he's gone from playing all over the outfield to mostly RF, but I would guess that has as much to do with who his teammates are as it does with his own skills. Anyone have actual knowledge on his fielding?
Here's my impression from a 1-game sample (last Saturday). I thought he was adequate. Not especially fast, but he hustled and got to a couple balls in right center. Arm: decent. He has 4 assists already, so that's not bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by CDog
I'm sure Seth and others can tell you more accurate information, though.
The reports I got were always that he could play center field if needed, but he isn't a burner, so much more of a RF. Has a good arm, and it's good to see after all the elbow problems last year. He's a "good" outfielder.
Regarding Arcia's AA performance, it is also important to remember he stumbled out of the gates to a triple slash of .174/.240/.217 after his first 6 games (4-23 with 1 double, 3 RBI, 2 W and 7 SO). Since then, he has had a .360/.400/.623 (27-75, with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR and 23 RBI with 5 W and 20 SO).
IMVHO here is how I have the Twins stacked up:
1. Sano
2. Buxton
3. Arcia
4. Hicks
5. Rosario
6. Gibson
7. Goodrum
That is a pretty solid 1-6 to be honest and a strong case could be made for the top 3 to be in the top 40 prospects overall, with Hicks and Rosario somewhere in the 60-90 range and I still think Gibson is a top 100 guy if he comes back from the injury healthy.
I like that list. I'd probably go 1.) Sano, 2.) Buxton, 3.) Rosario, 4.) Arcia, 5.) Hicks, 6.) Hendriks, 7.) Gibson...
and, I woudln't give up on Benson yet... Travis Harrison and Hudson Boyd are doing as you would hope in ET, as is Max Kepler. Goodrum's not hitting for average and playing not-so-great D. JO Berrios is certainly intriguing.
I think the criticism the Twins farm system has received is fair, but I also don't think that it is as bad as many seem to want us to believe.
You know what, for some reason I totally blanked on Hendriks as he hasn't reached the 50 IP threshold. I would probably have him replace Goodrum as #7. I really think he can put it together and become a solid #3.(Legit number 3, not Carl Pavano #3)Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth Stohs
I'm curious why you put Rosario ahead of Arcia at this point? Is it strictly positional wise? (not arguing or anything as prospect lists more than most thing in sports can vary quite a bit due to certain peoples preferences and ideas)
I guess the only reason I put Goodrum that high is because I really like his ceiling. Even though his average isn't the best it is super encouraging to see him taking a ton of walks 20% BB/rate! and hitting for some decent power (3 HR, 6 3B, 5 2B). If he can stick at SS he could be a special player.
I haven't given up on Benson, I just drop him quite a bit due to his early struggles, if he can come back strong and play like he did pre 2012 I think he slots somewhere right behind Hicks and Gibson. Either way the way it stacked up now the Twins have 10-12 prospects we can be very, very excited about in the minors.
It seemed to me the largest criticism the Twins received for their farm system was the lack of upper minors talent. 2013 should change that as Hicks, Arcia and Gibson should all be in AAA to start the year (if they don't make the team out of spring training) and Sano and Rosario should be less than 2 years away from the bigs as well. It's not a perfect system by any means and they still have a ways to go, but at this point they should be close to the top 10-12 in all of baseball prior to 2013.
I had Rosario ahead of Arcia bfeore the season, and until his injury, I still had him there... It's tough because of how well Arcia has hit. There are some questions about Arcia yet (defense, hitting vs lefties, etc.) but he's also now two levels ahead of Rosario. So, if I actually had to dig and think a lot about it, I could easily flip-flop those.