Front Page: The Uncertain Future Of Nick Gordon

[Kelly Vance]

 

If I was a MLB FA pitcher and someone offered me a chance to pitch in front of the Twins IF, and frankly their catchers, I would have to give serious thought to the wisdom of that idea. Oh they can hit, but that is one awful looking IF. It's almost inconceivable that this orginisation cannot draft and develop a SS who doesn't need his offensive prowess to justify his playing that position?

and yet they won 101 games

[jmlease1]

 

I highly doubt he will ever make it to the majors. Another "can't miss prospect" that should have been dealt while he had value.

 

I'll take that bet. Absent a career-ending injury in like spring training, Nick Gordon will make it to the majors. I don't know if he'll be good, great, or a bust but I'm pretty damn certain Nick Gordon plays in MLB. Frankly, he's very likely to play this season. If not for the untimely injury last season, he probably would have played for us last season in MLB.

[insagt1]

 

I also am a season ticket holder at Frontier Field in Rochester - and I concede Nick was much better in 2019 than the previous year. But I never saw him make a spectacular play in the field, and his hands/arm are not SS worthy. He was not a leader on the team and I would have much rather had Jake Cave, Astudillo (when there) , Zander Weil, Thomas Telis , Lamont Wade or even Drew Maggi up in a clutch situation. I see that we don’t agree on his future, but hope that you are right.

what section are you in Dave? I don't think his position is SS. It's 2nd base. He probably wasn't a 'leader' but he did make a few very nice plays...along with some nerve wracking errors on routine grounders I know. Based on the way he was coming on in July I was looking for a solid August. Was not to be. Wings had far too many k's in 2019 and Gordon was starting to cut down on his. A good sign. I think he remains valuable 'currency' as they say, in the organization.

PS--I don't know how you felt about Skinner, but I am not sad to see him go.

[Monkeypaws]

 

I think I remember Levine specifically stating that they thought his bat was MLB ready, but his glove was where they wanted to see more improvement.  This was after his AA breakout in 2018.  The glove and conditioning/health seem to be what's actually holding him back.

 

If defense is what you're looking for, Gordon appears to be a major downgrade from Adrianza.

 

Have the Phillies called up Aaron Nola yet? ... oh wait.

 

Is that Trea Turner hitting leadoff for the team that's up 2-0 in the WS?  I need to go check my glasses to be sure.

 

Speaking of infield defense .... Matt Chapman sure looks good at the hot corner!

On the other hand, 47 out of 60 1st round and supplemental 1st rounders from 2012 have a lower career WAR than 12th rounder Taylor Rogers, including picks 5-10 overall. Works both ways.

 

Sure, the Twins aren't perfect, but neither are the other teams. 

 

And if you wanna pick on Gordon, how about #1 and #2 from that draft, Brady Aiken and Tyler Kopek? At least Gordon will likely make the majors, whereas neither of those guys made it past A ball.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Monkeypaws

[jorgenswest]

The Twins need to get this assessment right. If they are confident in Gordon they player to sell high is Arraez.

[Platoon]

and yet they won 101 games

That they did. It's sort of a shame they couldn't have made it 104 games. Or maybe 103? Or even 102? They had a great offensive year, along with something like 20 other teams and the company that makes MLB baseballs. But that does not hide the fact that this isn't a good defensive baseball team. Those flaws were painfully exposed in the playoffs. Those deficiencies coupled with more or less the same level pitching, and one had better hope that the Bombas continue at a high level.

[mlhouse]

Gordon should commit himself to earning a utility infielder role with the Twins.   That means he needs to get more experience playing 3B, improve his defense at both middle infielder positions, and like Arreaz he should look at being at least a primitive LF. 

 

This defensive flexibility would create value for him even if his bat disappoints a bit.

 

The Twins should also look at putting him in a trade package.  I doubt his trade value alone is worth much at this time, but as a piece of a package he could bring the Twins in a quality bullpen arm.

[RochesterDave]

what section are you in Dave? I don't think his position is SS. It's 2nd base. He probably wasn't a 'leader' but he did make a few very nice plays...along with some nerve wracking errors on routine grounders I know. Based on the way he was coming on in July I was looking for a solid August. Was not to be. Wings had far too many k's in 2019 and Gordon was starting to cut down on his. A good sign. I think he remains valuable 'currency' as they say, in the organization.

PS--I don't know how you felt about Skinner, but I am not sad to see him go.

 

I couldn’t agree more about Skinner being let go as the Red Wings manager. He was unenthusiastic and never seemed to argue about questionable ump calls. In terms of this Nick Gordon discussion, I hope he has a great start to 2020 and he’s packaged come trade time . He’s not a hustler and in terms of Twins fans - he’s the anti-Nick Punto. I think next years Red Wings team should be the most entertain years as I expect to see Lewis, Kiriloff and Larnach sooner than later. As an aside, I hated to see Jaylin Davis traded - he was their best player by far this year and they desperately need a RH hitting outfielder. I am in Section 120, between home and the visitors dugout.

[Doctor Wu]

Gordon was a fantastic high school player who hit .505 and pitched to a 0.78 ERA over 35 2/3 innings in his last year of high school baseball.

 

Is it too late for him to resurrect those dormant pitching skills?

[insagt1]

 

what section are you in Dave? I don't think his position is SS. It's 2nd base. He probably wasn't a 'leader' but he did make a few very nice plays...along with some nerve wracking errors on routine grounders I know. Based on the way he was coming on in July I was looking for a solid August. Was not to be. Wings had far too many k's in 2019 and Gordon was starting to cut down on his. A good sign. I think he remains valuable 'currency' as they say, in the organization.
PS--I don't know how you felt about Skinner, but I am not sad to see him go.

I couldn’t agree more about Skinner being let go as the Red Wings manager. He was unenthusiastic and never seemed to argue about questionable ump calls. In terms of this Nick Gordon discussion, I hope he has a great start to 2020 and he’s packaged come trade time . He’s not a hustler and in terms of Twins fans - he’s the anti-Nick Punto. I think next years Red Wings team should be the most entertain years as I expect to see Lewis, Kiriloff and Larnach sooner than later. As an aside, I hated to see Jaylin Davis traded - he was their best player by far this year and they desperately need a RH hitting outfielder. I am in Section 120, between home and the visitors dugout.

I'm in 209, first row right over the ramp between home and 1st. Trading Davis was a dagger to the heart of Red Wings fans. I so remember the game where we needed to get a runner in scoring position and the struggling Davis was up. All of us were screaming...bunt...don't strike out. He then hit his 1st HR. We all just stared at each other! Rest as they say is history. I doubt Twins will ever get value from that trade.

After Mike Quade, Skinner was a cardboard cutout. Even our venerable Bob Matthews said he was 'boring'. That was being kind.

[Thegrin]

10 years from now Gordon will be playing somewhere in the major leagues. DNA tells us so.  Lets hope the Twins get something of value for him. 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I figured i would check in here, missing Nick Gordan's name on the Twin's daily prospect list (with #1 still to be revealed, so maybe that is him)

 

Has he recovered from his injury, or otherwise been traded and i didn't notice? Or is everyone just more excited about other prospects these days?

[South Dakota Tom]

 

 

I figured i would check in here, missing Nick Gordan's name on the Twin's daily prospect list (with #1 still to be revealed, so maybe that is him)

Has he recovered from his injury, or otherwise been traded and i didn't notice? Or is everyone just more excited about other prospects these days?

He was an honorable mention in the top 20 list, and he's definitely not our #1 prospect any longer.  That being said, there was a lot of chatter about trading him (either solely or in a package) for some relief or starting pitching.    I agree with the posters who suggest we'd be selling low on him at this time (though his abbreviated 2019 season looks pretty good to me).    I see his future as a utility guy right now (in our organization, I should add); when Marwin is gone after 2020 then it will be down to him and Ehire, and Nick is under control for cheaper, longer.  Sure there are also other candidates for that, but I would have him play some corner OF this year - if something happens to Adrianza or Marwin (assuming Jake Cave is also on the 26-man) much less to Polanco or Arraez, I think he is the call.

 

[Doctor Gast]

 

Gordon was a fantastic high school player who hit .505 and pitched to a 0.78 ERA over 35 2/3 innings in his last year of high school baseball.

 

Is it too late for him to resurrect those dormant pitching skills?

 WOW! Gordon had great #s. I can see why they drafted him high. Yet again I see Lewis passing him up as a super utility in ML. I see Gordon improving this year at AAA but I don`t see him adjusting quickly to the ML. I believe he`ll make it to the bigs but not w/ MN. He should be traded at the deadline for a high rated pitcher hopefully having raised his stock.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

He was an honorable mention in the top 20 list...

Ah yes, i missed the honorable mention when perusing it before posting above. Thanks for pointing him out in there. My bad.

 

I am glad he is still there and comes back from the injury. And i hope all the prospects play well enough to make the Twins FO have difficult decisions to make.

[darin617]

I said over 2 years ago that Gordon would never make i to the majors. This is his last year to make a giant leap forward or be done.

[Seth Stohs]

For Gordon with the Twins, I think he'd be the guy called up if there was an injury in the middle infield early in the season. In other words, it is about opportunity for him with the Twins right now. 

 

He had a nice 2019 season when he was healthy. Unfortunately, he missed a month at the start and probably 6 weeks or so at the end. Lots of doubles.

 

For many organizations, he would be in the big leagues by now if healthy. 

[SomeGuy]

What is his trade value though? He has been fading from the prospect lists, Fangraphs moved him all the way down to 35th in our system. They could include him as a supplementing piece of a bigger package or trade him for another fringe prospect at a different position that isn't as blocked.

[SomeGuy]

 

Naw, they have Ehire for that. I think he gets moved this off season with a couple of other prospects  for pitching 

Adrianza and Gonzalez are set to be Free Agents after this season. Gordon could have a shot in the utility player(s) competition for 2021.

[South Dakota Tom]

 

 WOW! Gordon had great #s. I can see why they drafted him high. Yet again I see Lewis passing him up as a super utility in ML. I see Gordon improving this year at AAA but I don`t see him adjusting quickly to the ML. I believe he`ll make it to the bigs but not w/ MN. He should be traded at the deadline for a high rated pitcher hopefully having raised his stock.

Royce Lewis is not going to be a utility player in MLB; he will play minor league ball until a full-time spot opens up for him (or he creates his own full-time spot by his play).    When I suggested that others are in the competition, his was not one of the names I think Gordon is competing with.