AJ Pettersen

[PogueBear]

The facts

Name: Adam Jesse "AJ" Pettersen

Position: Listed as shortstop on Miracle website, but literally plays anywhere, including bullpen catcher and pitcher

Handedness: Bats right, Throws right

Height: 5'9"

Weight: A "hefty" 170 lbs

Hometown: Minnetonka

Baseball influences: Derek Jeter, Dustin Pedroia, Nick Punto, Jamey Carroll

Other: ACTIVE TWINS DAILY BLOGGER; freelance writer for Baseball America; enjoys Taylor Swift music (unfortunately), Netflix, and chicken enchiladas

 

AJ was selected by the MN Twins in the 25th round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft out of the greatest university in the world (the University of Minnesota, go Gophers).

 

YTD Grade: 4 (out of 5)

Much like his team, AJ is off to a hot start at the plate in Fort Myers, hitting .318 with a .385 OBP through his first 22 ABs over a span of eight games.

[PogueBear]

AJ lined a double to left, drew a walk, and scored a couple runs in Fort Myers' 7-4 victory over Palm Beach today. He also had a solid day in the field, getting the start at short, he played a role in two double plays, turning one with 2B Eddie Rosario and taking one himself unassisted on a dp scored 6u-3.

[PogueBear]

Week of 4/14 - 4/21

AJ's Stats

AVG: .321 OBP: .367 SLG: .500 OPS: .867 R: 7 SB: 1 2B: 2 HR: 1

Grade: 5 (out of 5)

 

As much as I wanted to set the tone as a tough grader (think Simon from American Idol), AJ had a fantastic week deserving of a 5. Pettersen has been primarily playing shortstop and batting leadoff. If AJ continues to have weeks like this past one, good things will continue to happen for the Miracle and AJ may have to start packing his bags...for New Britain.

 

AJ is a very self aware player who knows that if he's going to make it to the majors, it's going to be with his scrappy, aggressive play and versatile glove. At 5'9" and 170 lbs, he admires hard-working utility players such as current Twin Jamey Carroll and former Twin Nick Punto. When grading AJ for the week, I asked myself, "If Nick Punto had had a week where he hit for an OPS of .867, how excited would I be?" Pretty excited...

[stringer bell]

AJ has a fan in the front office. Terry Ryan said that he thought AJ could very well have a major league career. He said that he could capably play short, has decent speed and took a pretty good at-bat.

[Seth Stohs]

With a first inning double, AJ extended his hitting streak to nine games. He had two hits again tonight and is now a guy that Doug Mientkiewicz certainly doesn't want to take out of the lineup!

[PogueBear]

With a first inning double, AJ extended his hitting streak to nine games. He had two hits again tonight and is now a guy that Doug Mientkiewicz certainly doesn't want to take out of the lineup!

Amen. He has been getting on base at a rate of about twice per game. Mientkiewicz could basically count on him for a single and a walk each day.

[Seth Stohs]

Wendy's Q&A with A.J. Pettersen | Fort Myers Miracle News

 

Get to know, AJ Pettersen. Some great questions and answers here!

 

Also, a little birdy texted to tell me that AJ will be writing an article for Twins Daily which should be posted tomorrow morning!

[PogueBear]

Week of 4/22 - 4/28

Stats Summary

Slash Line: .269/.345/.308 OPS: .653

Miracle Record: 5-1

Grade: 3

 

AJ had another solid week as he collected seven hits, including a double, and scored five runs, while only striking out once in 26 ABs. The week could have been better but for a bit of bad luck as AJ's BABIP was only .280 (.300 is considered average).

 

Levi Michael has returned to the lineup which has forced Miracle manager Doug Mientikiewicz to get a little more creative finding a way to keep AJ in the lineup. AJ has been playing LF and SS while continuing to bat leadoff, which is probably a good idea given AJ's YTD OBP of .389 trails only Miguel Sano and co-catchers Matt Koch and Kyle Knudson.

[PogueBear]

Wendy's Q&A with A.J. Pettersen | Fort Myers Miracle News

 

Get to know, AJ Pettersen. Some great questions and answers here!

 

Also, a little birdy texted to tell me that AJ will be writing an article for Twins Daily which should be posted tomorrow morning!

 

Check out AJ's article about Out of the Park Baseball on the front page of Twins Daily.

 

I can also attest to the fact AJ responds to his fans' emails. I sent him a quick message I "adopted" him a couple weeks ago, and he got back to me a week later.

 

AJ Pettersen, great baseball player, great blogger...great human being.

[Seth Stohs]

Twins Daily Represent... err... Minnesota Represent...

 

A tweet just now from AJ himself:

 

AJ Pettersen ‏@apettersen14m

I'm headed to Portland, Maine tomorrow to join the @RockCats!

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Congrats to you for getting your prospect promoted and to AJ Pettersen!

[Seth Stohs]

Check out the Freckles and Fastballs blog of AJ's wife Emily:

 

Freckles & Fastballs

[PogueBear]

Just saw the exciting news on Twitter, and as I predicted about a week ago, AJ is packing his bags for AA New Britain!!

 

I came directly to the website to update the thread, but Seth had already beat me to it... It's hard to beat those super bloggers.

[PogueBear]

Miracle manager Doug Mientkiewicz on Pettersen: "...Pettersen may be the MVP (of the Miracle)..." That's some high praise on a team featuring top prospects Sano and Rosario. He went on to say that they know how to play baseball at Minnesota...Devries, Perkins, Pettersen, Nate Hanson... I agree.

[Seth Stohs]

I might have a little inside information on this one... Sorry!

 

He left Ft. Myers early this morning. Landed in Portland at about 11:00 eastern time, and now he's in the lineup, batting ninth and playing 2B in the 1:00 game!

[PogueBear]

Week of 4/29 - 5/5 Summary

Slash line: .118/.286/.176 OPS: .462

Miracle Record: 4-0 ROCK CATS RECORD: 1-1

Grade: 1

 

AJ's bat cooled off a bit this past week, but I don't think AJ cared too much since he was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats on Saturday! As Seth mentioned above, AJ left Fort Myers early Saturday morning and landed in Portland, Maine in time to start a 1pm game at second base. Although he didn't collect a hit, I would argue AJ had a very productive, "AJ" type of game, as he got on base twice with a walk and an HBP, didn't strike out, and played defense, turning a double play in the 4th inning.

 

Ultimately, AJ had an awesome month for the Miracle as he hit .299/.374/.379 with four doubles, a homer, two stolen bases, 16 runs, 7 walks, and only 7 strikeouts. He played a huge role in the Miracle's 23-6 start, all while playing versatile defense with starts at SS, 2B, and LF.

[PogueBear]

Week of 5/6 - 5/12 Summary

Slash Line: .067/.300/.067 OPS: .367

Rock Cats Record: 5-2

Grade: 1

 

Unfortunately, AJ was 1 for 15 last week, but that's hardly unexpected given it was his first full week in AA. It's encouraging AJ has continued to draw walks and HBPs, even though he batted .067, as they lifted his week's OBP to a respectable .300. I think it's safe to expect some hits to start falling soon given AJ's lack of strikeouts (only two for the week in 15 ABs).

[PogueBear]

I know I'm overdue for my weekly AJ update, but like AJ who got married last year (I think), I got hitched two weeks ago and am currently on my honeymoon (yes, I'm updating my Pettersen blog while lounging at the pool). I will eventually follow up with a catch-up post, but to summarize, AJ is on a three game hitting streak and has raised his AA OBP to .349.

 

I'm hoping this post keeps Seth off my back until I return because I really don't want to lose AJ as my adopted prospect!

[PogueBear]

Week of 5/13 - 5/19 Summary (Note: I'm playing catch-up)

Slash Line: .167/.286/.167 OPS: .452

Rock Cats Record: 0-6

 

It was an ugly week in general as the Rock Cats went 0-6 and AJ saw limited action getting only two starts total and some action as a pinch runner. May 18, the second start, was modestly successful as AJ went 1 for 2 with a single and an HBP. He was also caught stealing, however, for the first time at AA.

[PogueBear]

5/20 - 6/16 Summary

Slash Line: .107/.219/.143 OPS: .362

Rock Cats Record: 8-10

 

AJ has yet to have a breakout week at AA, but that is understandable given his playing time has been intermittent and he has been asked to fill roles all over the field (2B, 3B, OF).

[PogueBear]

6/17 - 6/23 Summary

Slash Line: .000/.111/.000 OPS: .111

Rock Cats Record: 3-3

 

AJ continues to play the utility role for New Britain as he got starts at CF and 2B during the week of 6/17, but went hitless. He also got 2 ABs pinch hitting in the 11th inning of the Rock Cats' 12-7 victory over Akron last Sunday.

[PogueBear]

6/24 - 6/30 Summary

Slash Line: .250/.400/..250 OPS: .650

Rock Cats Record: 4-3

 

AJ singled twice, walked twice, and scored two runs over the past week as the Rock Cats posted a 4-3 record. I'm sure it's been nice having former Miracle teammates Sano and Rosario join him at AA New Britain.

[PogueBear]

7/1 - 7/31 Summary

Slash Line: .258/.378/.323 OPS: .701

Rock Cats Record: 12-16

 

What a month!! Ok, ok, I know it's pathetic that it's taken me a month to update AJ's progress, but AJ really has shown quite a bit of improvement at AA in the last 30+ days. It seems that AJ has begun to display some of the potential manager Doug Mientkiewicz raved about when he was at Ft. Myers.

 

While he only batted .258, AJ got on base at a .378 clip, displaying his keen batter's eye. On top of that, AJ only struck out once in 38 plate appearances. Let me say that again... AJ only struck out once in 38 plate appearances!! He had an incredible 1:5 strikeout to walk ratio. (Is that even a batter's metric? Well, it is for AJ...) On top of that, he avoided grounding into a double play for the entire month!!