Berardino: Kepler Gives Self C- Grade for Rookie Season

[Seth Stohs]

Mike Berardino wrote a good article on Max Kepler who was named the team's rookie of the year yesterday by the BBWAA. 

 

 

“I’m very hard on myself, so I would give myself a C-plus,” he said.

 

He said he needs to make some adjustments and be more consistent, which I would say is accurate. 

 

He'll spend his offseason between Florida, California and Germany. 

 

 

http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/20/twins-outfielder-max-kepler-gives-himself-a-c-plus-for-rookie-year/ 

[dgwills]

He flashed some real talent this year. I'm sure everyone on this site is excited for Max's future.

[Thrylos]

Wonder how many writers the Twin Cities chapter of BBWAA has...

 

I think that C is about accurate, take away his games with Cleveland and drops really fast.  On the other hand I'd grade Taylor Rogers a solid B and give him the award

[ashbury]

Wonder how many writers the Twin Cities chapter of BBWAA has...

 

I think that C is about accurate, take away his games with Cleveland and drops really fast.  On the other hand I'd grade Taylor Rogers a solid B and give him the award

Small world. Take away Rogers's games with Cleveland and his season ERA jumps really fast, to 4.50. Cherry-picking works both ways.

 

I like Rogers but he didn't even achieve a league-average ERA for relievers, just as Kep's OPS was just a bit below league average. I'll take a full time player over a reliever when their results are both in this range.

[snepp]

I think we should take Dozier's games against the Royals away. He's a bum without those 11 home runs.

[theBOMisthebomb]

He needs to make adjustments since the league seemed to adjust to him as 2016 progressed. Don't pull a Sano and appear to not work on your craft during the off season.

[DocBauer]

I always felt it was just a matter of time before the athleticism met experience to make a really good ballplayer. At AA in 2015 we saw this start to take shape. But I honestly expected him to play more in AAA last season as part of a natural progression. The fact that he played as well as he did last season, especially a few hot streaks and the power, has done nothing but further convince me of his bright future as a quality all around player. I still believe he's the next great 3 hole hitter for the Twins.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I like that he's tough on himself. He wants to be a grade A+ player and knows there are gaps in his game to do so. He needs to work on both sides of the ball, becoming a better route runner in the OF and getting that average up a bit. It's nice to see that power blossoming, but I think he's going to need to work a bit more on contact. His walk rate was pretty nice, but he saw a big spike in his K rate in the majors. He was much more disciplined in the minors, and if he can get his BA up to around his minor league average (.280) without sacrificing his new found power, he's going to be a stud.