Thread: The Future is Bright

Parm is probably going to stick at 1B for Minnesota. I think its more likely that Morneau and Willingham go the way of Span/Revere.

Then MN is patient with Sano at 3B and Vargas will probably DH in 2 years from now

Imo Parmelee is just a placeholder but he will be needed for several seasons. Talk of Sano, Vargas, Kepler and also Harrison being the future at 1B is nice but it will take years for that to happen. In a way he's like a completely different version of Dougie Alphabet. he looks solid but not great.

FWIW - Kepler's future is in the OF until he gets close to the majors and the Twins have a stacked OF already. Currently that's an 'if' situation. It could happen but that's counting on a lot of prospects to become good MLB'ers. Chances are that 1 or more massively disappoint.

The thing is that there is no indication that the player at the very top: (Sano, Hicks, Arcia, Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler) are going to struggle and falter. They ALL look like legitimate MLBers in the future. So Mauer, 3B, and the middle infield are left).

Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

The thing is that there is no indication that the player at the very top: (Sano, Hicks, Arcia, Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler) are going to struggle and falter. They ALL look like legitimate MLBers in the future. So Mauer, 3B, and the middle infield are left).

Even the Sure Things end up being 50/50 for a lot of reasons that collectively add up.

Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

The thing is that there is no indication that the player at the very top: (Sano, Hicks, Arcia, Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler) are going to struggle and falter. They ALL look like legitimate MLBers in the future. So Mauer, 3B, and the middle infield are left).

Way too optimistic.

Sano could be Wily Mo Pena. Buxton and Kepler haven't even played full season ball yet. If Rosario doesn't stick at 2B he needs to be in CF because he probably doesn't have the bat to play in the corners. Arcia has a high floor although he could end up as a platoon player since one knock before 2012 was that he could struggle against lefties. Hicks could hit .230 with a .300 OBP. He'll be a MLB'er almost for sure but not even one of these prospects have the floor of an above average regular.

You might think I'm a pessimist but I'm more of a realist. I'm actually very excited about this group of hitting prospects and I think this group will produce enough to provide the Twins with an extremely good offensive core that will only need a few trade/FA additions to complete but there is absolutely no way that none of them will struggle or falter. If half of them end up as average ballplayers then the Twins are on their way to being set for the future.

Both Parmelee and Plouffe found their power stroke in the high minors and have shown flashes in the big leagues. The path is clear for both of them but they won't have unlimited time to establish themselves. I am relatively confident that both will succeed, but I'll not be shocked if either or both fail. Both guys were #1 choices so it shouldn't be a surprise if they succeed.