Thread: July 25th

Syracuse vs Rochester 6:05 PM
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SYR: Duke (11-4, 3.89) vs. ROC: Vasquez (3-5, 3.70)

Binghamton vs New Britain
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Charlotte vs Fort Myers 5:30 PM
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FTM: Hauser (3-2, 3.18) vs. CHA: Romero (4-4, 3.51)

Beloit vs Burlington 6:30 PM
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BEL: Wheeler (11-4, 3.68) vs. BUR: Peters (0-3, 4.66)

Elizabethton vs Off-Day
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GCL Rays vs GCL Twins
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DSL Cubs1 vs DSL Twins
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Aaron Hicks

5-6 5 runs hr 2bi 2 doubles

I wonder Romero will the player promoted to Rochester if Plouffe goes on the DL?

That whole lineup was hot today... Hermsen pitched pretty well too.

Originally Posted by Pius Jefferson

Aaron Hicks

5-6 5 runs hr 2bi 2 doubles

A quick eyeball says all the XBH came against righties too. That's a big, fat day for Mr. Hicks.

Originally Posted by Celebrity Weddings!

A quick eyeball says all the XBH came against righties too. That's a big, fat day for Mr. Hicks.

And legitimate pitchers as well. Zack Wheeler was the starter and he also faced a big league reliever down on a rehab assignment.

Damn that NBR boxscore is pleasant to look at.

Rosario got a start in the GCL today! Also, Felix Jorge has put together a few nice outings.

Scouting Book.com
One of the top pitchers in Latin America from 2010's signing period, righthander Felix Jorge is one of the most promising Latin American prospects in baseball. He entertained offers from several MLB teams, but the Twins made the best push after seeing him perform at an all-scouts tryout in early 2011.

Jorge wields a 90-92mph fastball with a loose, repeatable arm action and has already shown advanced feel for a quality breaking ball. He's several years away from being a serious force, but he's got the right mix of physical, mental and toolsy makeup... and now he's in the perfect system to develop his potential.

BA
Jorge, who is around 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, has an 88-91 mph fastball that has touched 92. Jorge, a 17-year-old from Santiago, has a good delivery, a loose arm and shows feel for spinning a solid curveball.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/02/twins-sign-dominican-righthander-jorge

Have to say I'm somewhat excited about this kid from reading these scouting reports and watching him throw. He already was sitting in the low 90's at 17 and with that frame he could easily put on a few ticks to his FB. I mostly like his delivery, wish he extended his arm a little more as I think short arm deliveries create more injuries (just my opinion). I do like the push-off and fluid arm motion though. Between him and Berrios, the Twins might have a few high upside pitchers in their system.... unfortunately they wont be ready until 2016. Add a couple more nice pieces though and the Twins might be ready to compete by then.

Somebody else can verify that I'm not just imagining this, but I could have sworn there was something this winter (maybe BA's DSL top-10?) that indicated Jorge's fastball was already showing a bit more fast...ness.

Originally Posted by drjim

And legitimate pitchers as well. Zack Wheeler was the starter and he also faced a big league reliever down on a rehab assignment.

I checked Hicks' numbers as of today and they are quite impressive. He is above .280, has 10 homers and has an OPS of .826. His splits have evened up and he seems to have a pretty good eye, although he strikes out a lot. Since his arm and defense are unquestioned, I think there is a chance that Hicks is closer to ready than anyone might have thought. This is by far the most impressive season that Hicks has put up. All the more reason to trade Span for pitching.

No Ks and 3 BBs for Sano

Originally Posted by stringer bell

I checked Hicks' numbers as of today and they are quite impressive. He is above .280, has 10 homers and has an OPS of .826. His splits have evened up and he seems to have a pretty good eye, although he strikes out a lot. Since his arm and defense are unquestioned, I think there is a chance that Hicks is closer to ready than anyone might have thought. This is by far the most impressive season that Hicks has put up. All the more reason to trade Span for pitching.

Hicks has been doing this for for a while now. In the past he's had some nice runs with this type of play, but never sustained for this long, or nearly this good. My biggest issue with Hicks was always consistence, lack of power, and splits from the left side. All of those things have been improved.

Originally Posted by Badsmerf

Rosario got a start in the GCL today! Also, Felix Jorge has put together a few nice outings.

Scouting Book.com
One of the top pitchers in Latin America from 2010's signing period, righthander Felix Jorge is one of the most promising Latin American prospects in baseball. He entertained offers from several MLB teams, but the Twins made the best push after seeing him perform at an all-scouts tryout in early 2011.

Jorge wields a 90-92mph fastball with a loose, repeatable arm action and has already shown advanced feel for a quality breaking ball. He's several years away from being a serious force, but he's got the right mix of physical, mental and toolsy makeup... and now he's in the perfect system to develop his potential.

BA
Jorge, who is around 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, has an 88-91 mph fastball that has touched 92. Jorge, a 17-year-old from Santiago, has a good delivery, a loose arm and shows feel for spinning a solid curveball.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/02/twins-sign-dominican-righthander-jorge

Have to say I'm somewhat excited about this kid from reading these scouting reports and watching him throw. He already was sitting in the low 90's at 17 and with that frame he could easily put on a few ticks to his FB. I mostly like his delivery, wish he extended his arm a little more as I think short arm deliveries create more injuries (just my opinion). I do like the push-off and fluid arm motion though. Between him and Berrios, the Twins might have a few high upside pitchers in their system.... unfortunately they wont be ready until 2016. Add a couple more nice pieces though and the Twins might be ready to compete by then.

Thanks for the heads-up. Jorge had fallen off my radar. He's still a long ways off but in a system that has no power arms in the high minors, any kind of positive news is a good thing.

Originally Posted by Badsmerf

Hicks has been doing this for for a while now. In the past he's had some nice runs with this type of play, but never sustained for this long, or nearly this good. My biggest issue with Hicks was always consistence, lack of power, and splits from the left side. All of those things have been improved.

This. Hicks has been an up-and-down player, prone to long droughts of hitting mixed with explosive months. It's a really good sign that he's starting to dominate AA consistently at a relatively young age.

People gave up on Hicks way to soon, he was always a toolsy player with a huge upside (see Buxton) it just takes most prospects a few years to put it together, guys like Trout and Harper are the exception to the norm.

I hope people remember this with Buxton's development as well.

Originally Posted by rocketpig

This. Hicks has been an up-and-down player, prone to long droughts of hitting mixed with explosive months. It's a really good sign that he's starting to dominate AA consistently at a relatively young age.

Best news with Hicks are his splits.

.278 vs RHP, .299 vs RHP.

The lefty batting has been atrocious in the past.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

People gave up on Hicks way to soon, he was always a toolsy player with a huge upside (see Buxton) it just takes most prospects a few years to put it together, guys like Trout and Harper are the exception to the norm.

I hope people remember this with Buxton's development as well.

They won't. Even some BYTOers were ready to put Kubel and Cuddyer on the chopping block, even though they dominated all the way through the minors.

People just don't show enough patience with kids on the farm. It happens every year, even with guys like Hicks who never do that badly. Aaron never had a bad season, he has only posted somewhat pedestrian numbers in off years as he advanced to a new level at a young age.

And I'm saying that as a guy who was never enamored with Hicks.

I know I was hard on him, but he deserved it lol. Never said he wouldn't amount to anything, but at some point a guy needs to show some progress to keep top prospect status. This year, he has.