Article: Push Candidate: Adam Brett Walker III

[jokin]

Joe Benson. I will always miss you. So much potential.

 

I've got a guy you definitely need to Friend:

 

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1891176

[Shane Wahl]

Who was the last (position player) prospect to benefit from a repeat stay in high A?

[I'm talking after a full season in high A and start of next season]

 

I'm talking about prospects who became MLB Twins regulars?

 

I hear those who say let him repeat A+, but where in Twins history has this been beneficial to the point of "This is what should be done"?  If no one is blocking a player, let them move up and repeat at the higher levels.  Besides, it is not like he had a horrible season.  These are not terrible numbers for FSL  [ .250 BA / 25 homers / 95 rbi / 750+ OPS].  The new "Twins Way"  = Push Push Push

 

Good question. I really do wonder about sustained Twins success from players who repeated A or lower ball. That is worth looking up. I cannot imagine that there are many, and certainly very few of the top 20% of all Twins players.

[Shane Wahl]

And Lightfoot's suggestion for Walker looks good to me. Little things like that can go a long way.

[lightfoot789]

Intangibles do matter to me and should be rewarded after a while:
• FSL Championship (1st in decades/ever)
• FSL All Star Game MVP  (against FSL Best / HR;DB; Single)
• FSL  Home Run Derby Champion  (36 points final Rd / 35 1st Rd)
• Final MLB Spring Training Game (call up = 1 HR / 1 DBL)
• Best Record in MiLB in 2013 (CR Kernels) / Post Buxton

  Midwest League Topps MVP

• Appy League Championship (Post Season MVP)

 

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120918&content_id=38611162&vkey=news_l120&fext=.jsp&sid=l120

 

Some prospects just have a way of raising their game as GM stated.  Push

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think the big issue here is that most of those intangibles are team records. Kind of hard to say credit Walker for these while not using the same criteria to credit other guys. As it is, it's not as though the Twins have been hard on the guy. He got promoted to FTM and will likely play in AA this season. Not bad for your 3rd season in the minors.

[GMinTraining]

AA is deserving / A+ would be a hard stand IMO

 

He has been lucky to have great players around him.  He has also been a big contributor.  Doubt you find a teammate to speak differently.

[lightfoot789]

Big time when it matters.  MiLB Postseason numbers.

[14 Games / 53 ABs / 12 Runs / 15 Hits / 2 Doubles / 4 HRs / 10 BB / 17 SO / 4 SB]

 

,283 BA

.406 OBP

.566 SLG

.972 OPS

 

#I'mTalkingPlayoffs  #WalkerWalks  #OBPmachineLol  #PushPushPush #NewWeekLastPost

Edited February 17, 2015 by lightfoot789

[Seth Stohs]

Intangibles do matter to me and should be rewarded after a while:

• FSL Championship (1st in decades/ever)

• FSL All Star Game MVP  (against FSL Best / HR;DB; Single)

• FSL  Home Run Derby Champion  (36 points final Rd / 35 1st Rd)

• Final MLB Spring Training Game (call up = 1 HR / 1 DBL)

• Best Record in MiLB in 2013 (CR Kernels) / Post Buxton

  Midwest League Topps MVP

• Appy League Championship (Post Season MVP)

 

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120918&content_id=38611162&vkey=news_l120&fext=.jsp&sid=l120

 

Some prospects just have a way of raising their game as GM stated.  Push

 

Lightfoot, you know that I like Walker and am higher on him than most... but I have to admit that I can't get into this argument.

 

The league championships don't matter much to me in prospect rankings. They're a team thing and he was one of 24 on the team. He was one of the starting 9. It's awesome that they win, but doesn't affect prospect status for me. That said, it was his 3-run-homer in the 9th of the Appy League championship game that sent it to extra innings and then Dalton Hicks' grand slam won it a couple innings later.

 

FSL All Star Game MVP is a nice honor, but one game. A home run derby championship alone doesn't mean a lot. Chris Parmelee won that same championship several years ago. It speaks to his power, but the 25+ regular season homers mean more to me than a HR derby. 

 

Walker is a good prospect on his own based on power and potential. Intangibles to me are his personality, humility, work ethic, etc.  Those matter to me. 

[lightfoot789]

I remember Seth.  You don't believe in the "Clutch" gene.

 

No argument here.  Agree to disagree.  I am a believer in "Positive Energy" resulting in positive happenings.  Guys miss free throws because they are bad at it and they can feel everyone else believes it too.    Pitchers are wild because they know they have a tendency to be wild and everyone believes them to be wild as well.  Players who can stay in the moment better than others perform better.  IMO

Positive Energy Brings Positive Results - Gotta Believe

[Willihammer]

And, I don't think it's stubbornness on Walker's side. I feel like, from listening to many of the Miracle games last year, he was taking a lot more pitches. It may have meant more strikeouts last year, but maybe in the long-term, it'll be beneficial. I just don't think it's as easy as you may think it is to change, or to be something different. It's going to take time and patience.

I can't find any data to support this. In fact it looks like Walker swung as much as he ever has.

 

From minorleaguecentral.com

[Willihammer]

I always thought players with extreme contact tendencies could benefit by adhering to a red light-green light matrix. If Walker's whiffing is putting him at a disadvantage, give him the red light!

 

On the opposite end a guy like Revere might have benefited from a red light since he never swung and missed. All his balls went into play and he never got deep enough into counts to draw any walks.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Willihammer

[Seth Stohs]

You may have to translate for me... does that show how many 3-ball counts there were, or pitches per at bat?

[lightfoot789]

I can't find any data to support this. In fact it looks like Walker swung as much as he ever has.

 

From minorleaguecentral.com

 

The question you should ask is how many strike 1's and strike 2's were looking.  There's your support.  Some one posted that Walker probably had more full counts than anyone on Miracle team last year.  Didn't mean he was swinging away, just meant he had a lot of 2 strike counts.  That maybe dumb on his part, but doesn't necessarily mean he was swinging away.   Like the poster I'm referring to said - Very rarely did I hear (radio) him go down on 3 swings or 3 straight strikes for that matter.   For all his strikeouts - I would bet as well, that most of his hits came with 2 strikes as well.

[Willihammer]

You may have to translate for me... does that show how many 3-ball counts there were, or pitches per at bat?

No, but it does show actual facts regarding Walker's swing tendencies as opposed to hearsay, even but it is limited to 2 strike counts.

 

FWIW his BB% was 7.9% compared to a career average of 6.8%. So unless his swing and miss tendencies changed in 3 ball counts, he did not see a significantly higher proportion of them last season.

[lightfoot789]

You may have to translate for me... does that show how many 3-ball counts there were, or pitches per at bat?

Neither.  Just the percentage of "type of strikeouts" .

 

Striking out proves that you obviously had 3 strikes on you, but doesn't establish how you came to those 3 strikes....................

 

*3 crazy swings? 

*1 crazy swing ala Puckett / Carlos Gomez (going for yours) and then settling in? 

*several called strikes early in count and 1 limited bad swing? 

*mixture of all the above on any given night (no approach)?

*several near misses on swings with good swings?

 

All these are important factors for me and should be something a good hitting coach will figure out moving forward.  What is the approach you want for him and is he adhering to it throughout the season?  We will see?  Would be a good question to ask a Chad Allen during the season?

Edited February 18, 2015 by lightfoot789

[diehardtwinsfan]

I can't find any data to support this. In fact it looks like Walker swung as much as he ever has.

 

From minorleaguecentral.com

Looks to me like he took a step in the right direction in 2013 only to revert to previous behavior in 2014

[diehardtwinsfan]

does anyone have the pitches/at bat stats for him and how it relates to the rest of the league? That stat would end this debate. A high number means he's being selective. A lower number means he likes to swing away.

[Shane Wahl]

I agree about pitches/at bat. I doubt that we will find that. 

 

In the long run, I can see Walker spending all of 2015 and 2016 in AA (until September). 2017 starts in AAA and then it all happens from there.

[GMinTraining]

Start AA w/July promotion to AAA.  Southern League has first half and second half playoff qualifiers.

Team led by Buxton and Sano will allow for second half promotions by several players.  

Twins want playoffs in both AA and AAA.

 

The bigger question will end up, does he make 40 man roster this November?  Are skills worthy?

[diehardtwinsfan]

If he plays well in AA, probably.