Twins Daily's Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects: #2 Emmanuel Rodriguez

[JD-TWINS]

23 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I didn't say he couldn't gain any value in AAA. But the 20 year olds I mentioned for the other teams could've gained value from 2-5 months in AAA, too. If he gets hurt again in the first 2-5 months this year is the argument next year that the 23 year old in his last option year can still gain value from 2-5 months in AAA so he should start there in 2026 because he only had 200 ABs in '25? I've openly stated he'd struggle in the first couple months. I've said he'd OPS in the .600s. I just think the lessons he needs to learn are best learned against big league pitching.

He would play left field while Larnach DHs and he'd play CF while Buxton DHs and gets his rest days. That's the easy part. He displaces both Larnach and Wallner in the field easily and they don't have a set DH. Emma-Buxton-Wallner-Lewis-Correa-Castro-Whoever at C-Larnach. You can easily get him everyday ABs in the majors. Easily. But I'm not a big Lee believer so I understand that people are going to have different opinions here. Or maybe Castro is traded to save money and then it's Lee at 2B. But Martin, Keirsey, Helman, and Julien aren't taking ABs from Emma.

He'll get AB's and repetition and guidance in the majors. Those are the off-speed pitches he needs to learn to hit. Him taking off-speed stuff in AAA isn't helping him learn to hit off-speed stuff in the majors. I don't think it's crazy to send him to AAA. It's what they're very likely going to do. It's just not what I'd do. And it's not what every team would do. It's what some teams would do. 22 isn't that young. I don't get the logic behind every prospect having to get hundreds of ABs at every level. And neither do plenty of MLB teams because they skip guys over AAA completely or have them only play a handful of games there all the time. Elite players don't need to do it.

If you want Emma or Jenkins or Keaschall or any of these guys to be superstars you better cross your fingers they have enough talent to essentially jump AAA, too. Especially at age 22. They shouldn't force any of these guys to do it just to do it, but we better hope they have the talent to do it. I think Emma has the talent. My question with him is his ability to stay on the field.

If Teams want guys to be superstars they should jump AAA? That seems to be a pretty out of the norm thinking. MLB isn’t a place to season guys because they’ve been hyped in an organization…….Lee is a great example. Not a huge Lee guy myself…….TEAM needs to win games not focus on creating superstars by letting them practice an an everyday line-up spot.

A guy that has serious potential flaws in his approach at the plate in lower levels (doesn’t swing enough to keep MLB pitchers honest & struggles with breaking balls) needs to work on things and have success of some sort relative to those flaws before coming to the Show.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I tend to believe that those who can play...can play.  I think chpettit19 made a great comparison with Chourio and Merrill.  They struggled initially but the teams stuck with them.  The kids figured it out.  The Brewers knew Robin Yount was a player.  They let him struggle for his first two years (he was 19 when he debuted)  and then he turned the corner.

The thing about E-Rod is that he's a pretty good outfielder.  And for at least 2-3 years can be expected to supply good defense in CF, which comes in handy if Buxton has to miss any length of time.

If E-Rod earns a roster spot in spring training, let him break camp with the club.  

Definitely, if he earns a spot!! My contention is an organization doesn’t promote a guy to get seasoned at the MLB level unless they are rebuilding, i.e. the Brewers when Yount was 19 OR if they have Machado, Tatis, Boegarts, Kim, & Profar to carry the offensive load. To me the Twins are in a win now mode……all the rostered guys need to be competent to produce.

Being enamored with the new shiny toy in the minors with great stats at High A or AA or wherever, can’t drive how a team tries to win in the season that’s 4 months ahead. I’m talking in generalities here, not just about Emma. 30 organizations have AAA teams for a reason and development (polishing for the Show) is at least 75% of AAA function. Skipping that is not prudent in my opinion. If he tears the cover off and hits a handful of curves/sliders hard in Spring Training, give him a shot.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

If Teams want guys to be superstars they should jump AAA? That seems to be a pretty out of the norm thinking. MLB isn’t a place to season guys because they’ve been hyped in an organization…….Lee is a great example. Not a huge Lee guy myself…….TEAM needs to win games not focus on creating superstars by letting them practice an an everyday line-up spot.

A guy that has serious potential flaws in his approach at the plate in lower levels (doesn’t swing enough to keep MLB pitchers honest & struggles with breaking balls) needs to work on things and have success of some sort relative to those flaws before coming to the Show.

Not what I said. I said they should hope they have the talent to do it. I actually specifically said they shouldn't force them to do it just to do it, but should hope they'd have the talent to be able to do it. I never claimed they should call anyone up just because they've been hyped, you're putting words in my mouth. I said I believe this specific prospect is best served by finishing his learning at the big league level. The Padres and Brewers weren't held back by having their young stars finish their development on the fly in April and May. Royce Lewis level performance is the exception, not the rule. Odds are that Emma will struggle early in his call-up even if they send him to AAA for half the season first. You prefer those struggles in April and May or August and September? 

He's had success relative to those flaws. He hit .298 in AA. That's more success than younger players that skipped AAA, as I've shown. He can put the bat on the ball. They all have things to learn and none are perfect when they debut. Trout had to go back down after his debut. 

[JD-TWINS]

58 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Not what I said. I said they should hope they have the talent to do it. I actually specifically said they shouldn't force them to do it just to do it, but should hope they'd have the talent to be able to do it. I never claimed they should call anyone up just because they've been hyped, you're putting words in my mouth. I said I believe this specific prospect is best served by finishing his learning at the big league level. The Padres and Brewers weren't held back by having their young stars finish their development on the fly in April and May. Royce Lewis level performance is the exception, not the rule. Odds are that Emma will struggle early in his call-up even if they send him to AAA for half the season first. You prefer those struggles in April and May or August and September? 

He's had success relative to those flaws. He hit .298 in AA. That's more success than younger players that skipped AAA, as I've shown. He can put the bat on the ball. They all have things to learn and none are perfect when they debut. Trout had to go back down after his debut. 

“Trout had to go back down” ……I realize this is not uncommon. My thought is to minimize this possibility for Emma and not to experiment at the MLB level. I would like to see any player try to work out a big % of his potential struggles somewhere other than in the Twin’s line-up. I don’t think that bringing a guy up in April means he will be solid by June 15. Twins need to focus on winning - you and I are just fans with differing opinions……..how they approach it won’t be solved here. Personally, I don’t see anyone (Emma) that’s only had success through AA (while frequently hurt) take the place of a more proven veteran bat from outside the system (FA) when Spring Training breaks.

Have a nice Thanksgiving!!

[chpettit19]

21 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

“Trout had to go back down” ……I realize this is not uncommon. My thought is to minimize this possibility for Emma and not to experiment at the MLB level. I would like to see any player try to work out a big % of his potential struggles somewhere other than in the Twin’s line-up. I don’t think that bringing a guy up in April means he will be solid by June 15. Twins need to focus on winning - you and I are just fans with differing opinions……..how they approach it won’t be solved here. Personally, I don’t see anyone (Emma) that’s only had success through AA (while frequently hurt) take the place of a more proven veteran bat from outside the system (FA) when Spring Training breaks.

Have a nice Thanksgiving!!

Other teams do it. Michael Harris played 43 games at AA with 196 PAs before being called up at the end of May. It's all an experiment. Even at the major league level. He could stay in AAA til he's 30 and it'd be an experiment when he debuts. The Twins have been sitting on prospects until they're in their mid-20s forever. I don't get why people look at what they've done and think it's some fool proof way to get guys ready and are terrified to call them up too early.

But this is why TD is fun. We can have differing opinions and have an educated back and forth. Enjoy your holiday and we'll find something new to discuss tomorrow! 

[tony&rodney]

The thoughts on whether Emmanuel Rodriguez needs to show himself as ready in St. Paul versus those of us who would like the Twins to put him in the lineup is pretty much an endless loop of basic opinions. What I think should be clear is that a few people believe that there are sometimes players whose talents separate themselves from the vast majority of prospects. There are zero current Twins who I would advocated for skipping AAA. That doesn't mean ER is a sure thing at all but I'm seeing him as a Twin more than a Saint. It is easy to understand the usual stance of more time in AAA, but this time I will simply disagree even if the path is one Falvey surely chooses.

[Mike Sixel]

I remain baffled that prior complain about the Twins coaches, while also insisting guys shouldn't be called up until they are mythically ready. If they're ready, why do we need MLB coaches?