Brian Dozier Is Not Ready

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

He has a horrid .578 OPS and is leading the AL with 11 errors despite not even BEING with the team on opening day. Dozier hasn't spent an entire season at triple A and that's what he should be doing now. A retread like Casilla or someone with no potential like Ray Chang could play just as mediocre for the Twins in the meantime while Dozier develops.

[shs_59]

Couldn't Agree More

 

Yes once we're "Officially" out of the race . I'd LOVE LOVE to see Pedro Florimon up here, and Dozier playing in Meaningful games @ AAA Rochester. He needs more AAA time Before its Too Late!

 

Lots of things to work on, and Defense isn't even one of them exactly.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Dozier has also accumulated -.8 WAR.

[Nick Nelson]

Dozier is 25. He shouldn't need to develop in the minors anymore. Leave him in there for the rest of the year, let him try to figure things out, and if he can't then go a different direction in 2013. The alternative at this point is going back to Alexi Casilla, who in addition to being almost equally bad has no future with the organization.

[gmarais66]

You people are amazing... Before they called Dozier up, everyone was upset, because he wasn't being called up, now everyone is complaining and saying he needs to be sent down... Dozier belongs with the Twins... He's a smart kid with a good mind for the game... This is where he needs to be to learn how to hit major league hitting... He's not going to learn that at Rochester.... And as is common with many rookies, he shows flashes of what his potential is, while other times he struggles.... By the end of the year I think he'll have settled in a will be playing more consistently, but it's a process... All of his growing pains this year will payoff next season...

[Highabove]

I thought this was a rebuilding year. At such a time, you play your young players and let them take their lumps.

[Mauerzy4Prez]

You people are amazing... Before they called Dozier up, everyone was upset, because he wasn't being called up, now everyone is complaining and saying he needs to be sent down... Dozier belongs with the Twins... He's a smart kid with a good mind for the game... This is where he needs to be to learn how to hit major league hitting... He's not going to learn that at Rochester.... And as is common with many rookies, he shows flashes of what his potential is, while other times he struggles.... By the end of the year I think he'll have settled in a will be playing more consistently, but it's a process... All of his growing pains this year will payoff next season...

Couldn't agree more with you gmarais... you can't have your cake and eat it too. Let's do Dozier a favor and let him continue to play ball... what difference is it going to make this season anyway? Let's not treat this guy like Parmelee and screw with his head so much that he doesn't even know where he is anymore, and just watch a young player grow and mature through adversity.

[cr9617]

You people are amazing... Before they called Dozier up, everyone was upset, because he wasn't being called up, now everyone is complaining and saying he needs to be sent down... Dozier belongs with the Twins... He's a smart kid with a good mind for the game... This is where he needs to be to learn how to hit major league hitting... He's not going to learn that at Rochester.... And as is common with many rookies, he shows flashes of what his potential is, while other times he struggles.... By the end of the year I think he'll have settled in a will be playing more consistently, but it's a process... All of his growing pains this year will payoff next season...

I agree with this. Although, I wouldn't get your hopes up going forward. I don't see him as much more than a 2 or 3 year solution at SS. I hope I'm wrong...

[John Bonnes]

I'm not ready to give up on him, and that's not the point of the thread. It says "he's not ready" and he's not.

 

I don't know whether you keep him up or send him down. I find his age irrelevant. The bottom line is you do what you think is best for the kid.

 

I find it troubling that he mostly struggled at AAA. It might be that a demotion to master things there is what he needs before he is fed to the sharks here. he doesn't SEEM like he's lost all confidence, but the (often bad) errors are the exact opposite of his reputation, so maybe his lack of hitting is getting to him a bit. I don't think I'm the one to best judge that. Hopefully the Twins have a better feel for how he's handling this than I do.

 

I'm still optimistic about the kid. I just think he's been pushed too fast. Which seems kind of silly considering they coudl pick up a utility infielder on waivers and have Casilla and Carroll handle the middle infield until he's ready.

[Montecore]

A demotion is in order. You can't have a disaster at the key defensive position. And, he's practically an automatic out. Carrol at SS, Casilla at 2B.

[Rosterman]

We can look at and rotate thru any number of other guys, but only so many open spots on the 40-man roster...like two. Is it worthwhile to give Holimon and Chang a look, and Florimon as a future reserve? The pain is when you play musical chairs, you also lose guys in the minors and need to sign others to replace them if they leave on their own or are claimed. And you ultimately want to put the effort and playing time into people who will also be given a chance next year, not just filling space this year. That's the upset with Casilla, will he be too expensive for what he brings to the Twins to even be considered for 2013. And Valenci, and Burroughs...and, forgive me, make a decision now on Toshi. Time to cut and eat salary, front office.

[Winston Smith]

This one is on Gardy. He was a shortstop (being nice here) he is said to be a great coach and if that's the case Dozier should be in the right spot right under Gary's tutelage. He doesn't look ready, do we have better coaches in AAA that can work with him?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm a Dozier supporter and I think he'll pull through it. With that said, I didn't like the promotion in the first place. If a kid is struggling at AAA, it doesn't make much sense to put him in the majors and hope that he sorts it out against major league pitching.

 

But now that he's here and the Twins are awful, I don't see much point in sending him down. It's not as if his awful play is affecting the outcome of the season.

[Thrylos]

Let him play and let Casilla play and have Carroll as the back up. This team is not going anywhere... They need to give the younger players some time to see whether they are part of the problem or the solution in intermediate/short term.

[wavedog]

I would only send him down if the team wanted to bring Florimon up and see what he can do at the major league level. I really don't mind Dozier taking his lumps up here this year as the season is a lost cause anyway.

[one_eyed_jack]

I'd keep him up and let him develop here. Yeah, his numbers aren't great, but there have definitely been flashes of good with the bad.

 

I'd feel differently if he looked overwhelmed and confused like Nishioka usually did last year.

[shs_59]

I'm a Dozier supporter and I think he'll pull through it. With that said, I didn't like the promotion in the first place. If a kid is struggling at AAA, it doesn't make much sense to put him in the majors and hope that he sorts it out against major league pitching.

 

But now that he's here and the Twins are awful, I don't see much point in sending him down. It's not as if his awful play is affecting the outcome of the season.

Agreed entirely

 

well done.

 

And to Gmarais66 or whoever responded to my first post. I was Not one of them clammoring for Dozier to be in the Big Leagues....I thought he should of Been in Rochester untill mid-season or even Late July anyways.

[The Greatest Poster Alive]

He was probably here too early, but let him keep hacking. Despite his struggles he has more extra base hits than ben revere.

[DPJ]

Middling prospect.

[TheLeviathan]

The reason to send Dozier down is to help him. If he's struggling here and potentially taking those struggles with him into the field, it's going to wear on his confidence a bit. People are arguing to let him stay up because the team is struggling, I'd argue that's precisely why we shouldn't care if we send him down and play some scrub. Dozier is potentially an important piece of this team going forward - send him down for a month, let him have some success, work on some things in AAA, and come back up after the deadline.

 

Ben Revere may be a good model for this idea I guess.

[DPJ]

Ben Revere may be a good model for this idea I guess.

 

I know this was painful to type.

[Kobs]

Ben Revere may be a good model for this idea I guess.

This season has the potential to really mess with this team for the next few years. I fully expect the Twins to go into 2013 thinking that Revere will bat .325 and Plouffe will hit 40 homers.

[TheLeviathan]

I know this was painful to type.

God yes. So far a lot of crow-eating on the Revere front. Guy is really making solid contact - never thought I'd say that.

[spideyo]

This season has the potential to really mess with this team for the next few years. I fully expect the Twins to go into 2013 thinking that Revere will bat .325 and Plouffe will hit 40 homers.

Kinda like how Valencia's Rookie year made us think we had a .300 hitter at the Hot Corner for the next decade? Or how Slowey circa. 2008 made the team think they had a solid #2 or #3 starter for the next few years?

[Guest USAFChief]

I can't see any benefit to shipping Dozier back to Rochester. As long as he's playing almost every day, there isn't really anything to be learned there that can't be learned in the big leagues, and keeping him here has little to no effect on the Twins' season. Let him play. Maybe he won't figure it out, maybe he will, but he can start to prove that one way or another in Minneapolis.

[GCTF]

This season has the potential to really mess with this team for the next few years. I fully expect the Twins to go into 2013 thinking that Revere will bat .325 and Plouffe will hit 40 homers.

Numbers lie a lot," Gardenhire told the Pioneer Press

[Riverbrian]

My head is spinning... So much to respond to in this thread.

 

1. Sending Revere down to AAA did not produce the Ben Revere we are seeing now. Ben puts the ball in play and is freeky fast. That's why he hits over .300 all the time. He's not chasing and pitchers are not afraid of him so he gets good pitches to hit. He's a good hitter... He's just not a power hitter. When the pitches start getting trickier... He will walk more. Revere will be just fine until Hicks or Buxton come to town. I'll never understand how anyone doesn't love having Revere wear a Twins jersey.

 

2. No reason to send Dozier down unless you feel the guy is standing in the way of a division title this year or you are sure that Free Agent SS X is going to be manning the SS Position next year. Otherwise... There is no one else more ready for his job. Carroll is a baseball player but he's also 83 years old.

 

3. Plouffe will regress because no one can stay that hot. However because of how dialed in he was. Of course he will playing 3B for awhile. It would take a pretty special idiot not to put him in the line up after witnessing what he showed he was capable of. Plouffe just needs to swing at pitches he can drive and quit going after what the pitcher wants him to hit. Hopefully he learned what he can accomplish by doing just that. A streak like that can do amazing things for young players. It fills them up with a bunch of "I can do this" juice.

[Badsmerf]

Dozier has no business in AAA. The Twins don't have another SS option (unless you count Florimon) until Daniel Santana and Levi Michael. You have to give a player time before sending him back down. Revere and even Valencia are different cases. Revere wasn't playing everyday and wasn't able to make adjustments. Valencia was just being complacent and not producing (plus Plouffe needed a look). Let Dozier continue to have consistent AB's, he already showed potential when he first came up, now he just needs to adjust. It takes young players time.

[Pius Jefferson]

His spot in the order might not matter but would Dozier benefit from hitting 2nd between Span and Mauer?

[clutterheart]

Maybe the scouts were right and he can't play SS in the majors?