Eddie Rosario - 2015

[bulldozier14]

Eddie M. Rosario was born September 28, 1991 in Guayama, Puerto Rico. He was signed out of Rafiael Lopez Landron High School in Guayama by the Twins in 2010 for $200,000. Eddie’s best tool is his hit tool. He throws right but bats from the left side, and scouts generally praise his exceptionally quick hands through the zone. He’s 6’ 1” and weighs 180 lbs, according to baseball reference. He has average speed and has shown some flashes of power, but he has hit for average at almost every stop of his minor league career.

 

His path through the minors so far, however, has not been without its highs and lows. In his debut in the Golf Coast Rookie League in 2010 as an 18 year old, he hit .294 with 16 extra base hits in 51 games. He played 34 games in center and 17 in the corner outfield spots. In 2011, Eddie made a huge splash with the Elizabethtown Twins. As a 19 year old playing exclusively center field, he arguably out-produced an 18 year old mega-prospect in Miguel Sano. Rosario had 39 XBHs (21 homers) in 67 games and batted .337 for a ridiculous OPS of 1.068 (compared to .998 for Sano). His 2011 season propelled him into the top 5 of most Twins prospect lists and entering 2012 he was ranked 87th nationally by BaseballProspectus.

 

In 2012, Rosario moved with Sano to full season ball in Beloit. Both were young for the league and both continued to hit. Rosario hit .296 in 95 games in Beloit with 48 XBHs for an OPS of .835. Due to their lack of talent in the middle infield and in an effort to increase Rosario’s versatility, the Twins moved him to second for most of the games.

 

He played at second full time in 2013. After dominating high A with the Fort Meyers Miracle to the tune of a .903 OPS over 52 games, the Twins moved him to AA New Britain. At 21, 3.4 years younger than the average player in his league, Rosario held his own for The Rock Cats. He hit .284 and posted an OPS of .742.

 

Rosario was ranked 60th nationally by BaseballProspectus going into 2014 and was set to start the year in AA and hopefully hit his way to the majors. In November 2014, however, it was announced that Rosario failed a drug test. This was his second failed test, subjecting him to a 50 game suspension. It was made public that he was suspended for a “drug of abuse,” which many speculated was marijuana.

 

This issue was a bit polarizing for the Twins fan base. While many weren’t concerned with his use of a drug that is becoming legalized (or at least decriminalized) throughout the country, others thought failing a drug test for a second time and putting his career in jeopardy was a big red flag.

 

After serving his suspension, Rosario had an underwhelming return to AA (OPS of .672). Many speculated this was due to a combination of him pressing too hard to come back and working off the rust. While he only hit .237, he did manage 31 XBHs in 79 games, and had an Isolated Power of .159. Due to the emergence of Brian Dozier at second in the majors and others in the minors (mainly Jorge Polanco), the Twins moved him back to the outfield full time in 2014. Attempting to make up for lost time, Rosario played in the Arizona Fall League this past fall. While his OPS wasn’t overwhelming due to a lack of walks and XBHs, he did hit .330 and impressed his coaches. He was also added to the 40 man roster in November of last year, which protects him from any more tests for "drugs of abuse".

 

Most think Rosario can be a solid defender in the outfield. He is pretty quick and has good instincts and can play center. Rosario was a late cut in Spring Training  after hitting .233/.227/.442 and is starting the year in Rochester with the Red Wings, where he is a phone call away. He has value with his versatility, which is important because the Twins will likely be set at second and center, with Dozier and hopefully soon Buxton holding a claim on those.

 

It won’t take much to get him to the show- likely an injury in the Twins outfield, Rosario posting solid numbers in AAA or some combination of the two. Hopefully he’ll get the opportunity to show what he’s got for the Twins soon.

 

Here is a cool slow-motion video of his swing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI7piqFx5pE.

 

Scouting grades, according to MLB.com: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50.

[bulldozier14]

Reserved for weekly in-season stats and updates. 

 

Eddie was 1-4 with a single and a walk in his Rochester debut yesterday. He was the starting Right Fielder for the Red Wings. 

[bulldozier14]

Eddie has mostly struggled in his AAA debut. Some of the same issues I had with him coming out of his Arizona Fall league stint- a lack of power and walks- are still emerging after a week with the Red Wings. He had a walk in each of his first two games, but hasn’t drawn one since. He has gotten on base in every game except one, but only has one extra base hit (a double). I was able to watch his last 4 at bats yesterday, and he was swinging early and getting behind in counts, making him chase a lot of balls away. He got thrown out trying to turn a single into a double in his first at bat, and pulled a hanger hard to right field for a single in his second.

Stats after one week: 6 games, 26 Abs .231/.286/.269 for a .555 OPS. 2 BB, 8 Ks.

Let’s hope he’s just adjusting to the new level.

[bulldozier14]

Rosario has brought his numbers up in the past week of games with a few good performances and a great one. Encouragingly, he has shown some of the power he flashed in the early minors. In yesterday's game, he was 2-5 with a 2-run homer and a double. He also had a grand slam on the Red Wing's game on the 17th and a triple on the 19th.

 

Eddie's discipline at the plate is something to watch. He has 16 strikeouts to 3 walks this year, a less than ideal ratio. He was able to draw a walk in yesterday's game; let's hope we see more of that going forward. 

 

Since the last update a week ago, Rosario has hit .276/.300/.586 for and OPS of .886. His BABIP was .316. 

 

On the season he is hitting a much more respectable .255/.293/.436 for an OPS of .729. His BABIP is .324. Hopefully he continues to improve. 

[bulldozier14]

Eddie had a decent week of games- he had 8 hits in 29 ABs. He had one extra base hit (a home run on Thursday). I’ve been keeping an eye on his walks, and he didn’t draw a single one in the last week’s games. However, he also only struck out once, and only has 3 in his last 11 games. That’s a huge improvement over the beginning of the year, when he had 14 in his first 9 games. It’s interesting- he’s looking like a guy who can make contact consistently, but just isn’t walking much at all. We know he has quick hands, and presumably good bat control and a good eye. Hopefully he can learn to be a little more patient and get on base a bit more. 

 

This past week his splits were .276/.276./.379 for an OPS of .655. His BABIP was only .259. Consistent with the rest of the year, he pretty evenly split his time in RF and CF.

 

His splits for the year: .262/.287/.417 for an OPS of .704.

[goulik]

Great updates bulldozier. I love your format.

 

I had really high expectations for Rosario this year. If he can get his OBP up, he will be up Im sure.

[bulldozier14]

Apparently Rosario retweeted a message that congratulated him on his call-up to the Twins. 

 

I don't know who "Hiram Burgos" is or how reliable they are, but if it's true it is honestly a little surprising. His performance has been a bit underwhelming at AAA this year, though he certainly hasn't seemed overmatched. This is likely a temporary move to replace Arcia, who tweaked something in yesterday's game. 

 

It's also surprising to me because Aaron Hicks has been hitting really well for the Red Wings. It shows that they want to be patient with Hicks, possibly at the expense of rushing Rosario. An interesting decision, but I am absolutely pumped to see Eddie in the bigs. He is undoubtedly talented, and deserved a shot eventually. Now they've thrown him into the deep end, and we all get to see if he'll swim. Most importantly:

 

CONGRATS, EDDIE! 

 

This guy's dreams are (potentially?) coming true. More updates to come. 

[bulldozier14]

Ninja update: It is official. Congrats Eddie! There is a thread on the front page discussing it, but I will say here I'm proud of my prospect, and good for him. Whether it's a cup of coffee (which is likely) or he shows he belongs, Eddie worked hard to get here.