Has Nick Gordon Hit the Wall?

[strumdatjaguar]

Nick's offensive production with the Lookouts in AA was very good.  Now he's falling within close reach of the Mendoza line at AAA Rochester.,  Is he banged up?  Have pitchers figured out how to pitch to him?   Many of us had him pemcilled in at 2B for 2019, but maybe this is why we use pencils instead of pens.

[jorgenswest]

He can scale this wall but they shouldn’t count on him in planning for next year. It won’t be linear progress. Once he has better command of the strike zone he will se better pitches and he will barrel up the ball more often. By June 1 next year I think we will be pushing for his major league debut.

[gil4]

Has he hit a wall? No, he hasn't hit anything for at least a month.

[puckstopper1]

 

Gordon has become the anti-Dozier.  Great first-halfs followed by poor second halfs.  

 

With the trades of Dozier and Esco I has hoping he would have been doing well enough to get a look at the MLB level, but clearly he has not.

 

I'm a big Gordon fan, but now I'm pretty concerned that he will be able to live up to his draft ranking.

 

Fortunately he is still young, so hopefully he will figure it out and be a solid contributor at the MLB level in the near future.

[diehardtwinsfan]

if anything, he's showing that he isn't ready. Given has age, I'm not worried about it, though his constant strong first halves followed by weak second halves is a bit concerning. Granted there was a promotion mixed in with it, so it's probably a combo of stamina as well as tougher pitching...

 

either way, I'm not counting on him to do much of anything in 2019 with his cup of coffee coming when a middle infielder ends up on the DL. That said, he's way too young to write off.

[bird]

You can bet if that his fall-off is attributable to stamina, and it probably is in large part, then the development people are aware of it and are doing things to help him increase it over the course of his development. I doubt that anyone on the field staff who's working with him has clamored for either his demotion or for his promotion. His progress has been uneven, no doubt about that, yet the evaluators still seem to like his prospects. I'm not sure we should be all that alarmed by it.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Has Nick Gordon Hit the Wall?

 

As long as it's only a metaphorical wall, he should be all right:

 

"Kevin Brown injured punching clubhouse wall"

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=1874557

[jorgenswest]

I do not see a second half fall this year. I see a fall that connects with AAA on May 22. From the first day in AAA he has had poor strike out and walk rates.

 

I think it is all pitch recognition. His strike out and walk rates were steady in 2017 until the last month and by end of the season those pitchers have likely improved their off speed offerings.

 

It is pitch recognition. He can and will improve.

[Squirrel]

 

He can scale this wall but they shouldn’t count on him in planning for next year. It won’t be linear progress. Once he has better command of the strike zone he will se better pitches and he will barrel up the ball more often. By June 1 next year I think we will be pushing for his major league debut.

This is where I'm at with Gordon. I wanted him up at AAA sooner with hopes he might get a late-season call up to get some seasoning at the MLB level. But he's not ready. And is not in my plans to start next year. But I'm thinking more All-Star break time before we get a look. He's young and needs more work, but I'm not at the point with that wall being insurmountable. He's just young and not quite ready.

[ashbury]

I watched him in-person last night, and wrote it up as a response to the minor league wrap-up thread so I won't belabor it here, but I concur that he can't succeed in the majors at this time. I'm quite concerned but am not writing him off yet.

[GCTF]

What do people feel his upside is at this point? Anyone feel like giving a comp?

 

It seems as if his offensive value is going to be tied to his batting average as he doesn't have much power and has never taken a lot of walks. He also strikes out way too much for a guy with so little power. 

 

I don't want to write him off yet but other than 40+ games repeating AA, his offensive numbers are kind of meh, and from what I've read he isn't bringing a slick glove with him either.

[twins_89]

I'd guess Gordon's struggles at AAA are a combination of running out of gas and facing a new level where the pitching is more experienced and able to exploit weaknesses. I don't really have any concerns about him at this point, if he is still struggling next season at AAA then I'll start to worry.

[mngopherguy]

I think he has hit the AAA wall.  He's pretty young, he still has another year or two before I'd be too concerned.  

[Thrylos]

I think that he is the anti-Sano in many respects.  He is about 130 lbs wet of stick and bones.  Cannot survive a full season with some sort of muscle.  He has proven it season after season.  It will behoove him, and the Twins, if this off-season he hit the gym instead of the recording studio.  The Twins should set a playing weight for him for Spring Training.  if he does not reach it, he does not get assigned to an affiliate.

This kid needs some tough love.  The Twins have millions invested in him.

[tvagle]

Alarms should be ringing in Twins world in regards to the physical fitness of Twins Uber-Prospects and/or the amount of "pressure" or Tough Love, as Thrylos put it, that has been applied to these prospects

 

At some point it's ok to demand a certain amount of effort from youngsters...I have no idea what's being asked of them at the end of the season, but it sure doesn't seem like there's been a plan put in place for them to grow and improve or move up

 

Indications are that this might be attributable to the old FO as the three that come to mind are pre-Falvine and we haven't had enough time to see how their picks pan out

 

I'm not saying they aren't fantastic athletes...just what are they doing or not doing to stagnate prior to MLB success?

 

As we tell young golfers struggling with consistently making good contact with the golf ball...

 

Once is pure luck...Twice we may have something...Three times is a trend

 

With Sano, Buxton and Gordon we're seeing a trend that has me wondering about the off-season program they are expected to complete

[jimbo92107]

I believe every word that my fellow commentators have said about Nick Gordon in AAA this season. He needs to pack on muscle, and he needs a lot of work on pitch recognition. That said, I would still bring him up in the last couple weeks of the season. Why? To let him see his future home. To let him watch Joe Mauer in the batting cage. To let him practice his infield footwork with the coaches that turned Jorge Polanco into a decent mlb shortstop. Let him play if the last few meaningless games on the way to 90 losses. Tell him it's okay to just stand there at the plate and watch pitches go by, see if he can guess what they are. 

 

With Nick Gordon, it's all about building him up, physically, mentally and emotionally. That starts with letting him know that he's not disappointing anybody in AAA. Let him know the organization considers him a special prospect, but that it's going to take tons of work to bring out all his talent. First guy at practice, last guy to leave. That's what made Larry Bird a great player, even though that was just basketball, an easy sport.

[strumdatjaguar]

Twins are going to have to think about bringing in a FA on a one year deal to cover 2B.  

[h2oface]

He'll be fine! He's the man. He's the best. He's G Cinco. Maybe he just needs a new pair of shoes.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IfDry906h8

[drivlikejehu]

Gordon could wind up being a late bloomer, considering that he needs to develop more physically . . . but I'm not high on him at all. Blocking him shouldn't be a consideration if the Twins can acquire a solid 2B option in the off-season.

[jimbo92107]

 

Gordon could wind up being a late bloomer, considering that he needs to develop more physically . . . but I'm not high on him at all. Blocking him shouldn't be a consideration if the Twins can acquire a solid 2B option in the off-season.

Wander Javier is the backup plan. 

[drivlikejehu]

 

Wander Javier is the backup plan. 

 

Javier hasn't been able to stay healthy and is years away, there's really no connection to either Gordon or what else the Twins might do in the infield.

[Brandon]

Isnt AAA where a lot of veteran breaking ball pitchers go? Maybe its just adjusting to a bunch of breaking balls and the annual wear down that occurs

[Darius]

First time I'm hearing about this, I must live under a rock. I'm sure G Cinco's rap career is something that could be good for the sport. It could help bridge a gap between a younger demographic that they're purportedly losing, and all that.

 

That said, I can't really imagine how he could find it a good idea to spend time doing that. Does he have some buddies in his ear in regards to his big signing bonus?

 

You have a foot in the door with the lineage (father and brother very prominent and respected). You have apparent talent that has you a step away from the major leagues, with a hundred million dollars for the taking over the next decade plus....and you're taking a day off of work to go record yourself half-singing in max auto-tune?

 

That probably sounds really curmudgeonly, but what a gross and negligent misappropriation of effort at this time in his life. (Only my opinion on how I'd feel, this is America and live, laugh, love, et. all).

[ewen21]

 

Alarms should be ringing in Twins world in regards to the physical fitness of Twins Uber-Prospects and/or the amount of "pressure" or Tough Love, as Thrylos put it, that has been applied to these prospects

 

At some point it's ok to demand a certain amount of effort from youngsters...I have no idea what's being asked of them at the end of the season, but it sure doesn't seem like there's been a plan put in place for them to grow and improve or move up

 

Indications are that this might be attributable to the old FO as the three that come to mind are pre-Falvine and we haven't had enough time to see how their picks pan out

 

I'm not saying they aren't fantastic athletes...just what are they doing or not doing to stagnate prior to MLB success?

 

As we tell young golfers struggling with consistently making good contact with the golf ball...

 

Once is pure luck...Twice we may have something...Three times is a trend

 

With Sano, Buxton and Gordon we're seeing a trend that has me wondering about the off-season program they are expected to complete

Totally fair to question this

[Mike Sixel]

I have no issues with hobbies, all work and no play.....

 

Gordon hasn't fallen down any lists yet, most of which were updated in July, so I'm not worried, yet.

 

he's 22 and can't hit AAA pitching yet. No way he should be starting in MN next year, or this, imo. 

 

Push Lewis to AA this year, and maybe he can play SS next year in MN at some point, and Polanco can move to 2B. Or (and....really) sign Escobar and put him at 2B until they have a better answer....

[Rosterman]

I'm going to argue here. AAA ball is fine. A step up from AA ball. But the difference between AAA and major league is light years. Many of the people you face in AAA ball, or play with on the field, are on par with the bench bats, substitutes, people looking for their own comeback. Just because you tear up AAA ball doesn't mean you are going to crush the majors.

 

You can jump from AA ball to the majors. You can perform well in AAA ball. A lot of it is being able to recognize and work in a less threatening environment. 

 

But things can change. You listen to major league coaches. You try harder. You learn that it is a lot of ahrd work. 

 

Give Gordon a shot, a 20-30 game taste of the Big Leagues. Challenge him. Then have him work even harder in the off-season.