Twins Minor League Report (8/7): Kendry Rojas Debuts, James Outman Goes Deep

[Tom Froemming]

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Darren McCaughan sent outright to Triple-A St. Paul. He was promoted to the MLB roster Monday and DFA’d Tuesday. 

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 6, Iowa 5
Box Score
The new guys were having some fun for the Saints. Trade acquisition James Outman hit his first home run for the Saints, his 21st overall in Triple-A this season. While his teammates surely loved seeing his majestic blast, Outman’s home run trot earned him a call from the bullpen.

For several seasons now, the tradition in St. Paul is that a hitter acknowledges the Saints bullpen as he rounds second base. If not, they can expect a call from the bullpen on the dugout phone. Well, on the broadcast, Saints excellent play-by-play man Sean Aronson confirmed Outman got a call. I’m sure Outman got a good laugh out of that introduction to Saints team culture. Something tells me he won’t have to wait long before he has another chance to acknowledge the bullpen.

Kendry Rojas, another new trade acquisition, made his first start with the Saints, his second career Triple-A start and sixth overall start above Class A. The 22-year-old lefty mostly pitched well, but he couldn’t work around a fielding error and surrendered five unearned runs.

With one out and a man on first, Rojas induced a tailor made double play ball. Instead of that ending the inning, Saints shortstop Will Holland booted it. To make matters worse, left fielder Kyler Fedko’s throw trying to get the runner advancing from first to third was wild and ended up going out of play. It’s not often you see two errors committed on the same play.

Rojas responded by striking out top Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros for the second out. Instead of what would have been an impressive escape, Rojas walked the next batter, gave up a wall-banging RBI double and then a two-run home run.

Rojas went five innings, gave up five hits and walked two batters. Of his 75 pitches, 47 were strikes (62.7%). He topped out at 96.3 mph but six of his 10 whiffs came on his changeup, which averaged 86.9 mph.

Holland eventually made up for his error by hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. put the Saints up with a two-out RBI triple in the fifth inning that scored Jonah Bride.

It’s generally been a tough year for the Saints bullpen, but they were nails tonight. The trio of Kyle Bischoff (one inning), John Stankiewicz (two innings) and Noah Davis (one inning) protected a one-run lead over the final four innings to lock down the victory.

Down 5-0 at one point, the Saints came back to win 6-5 and helped Kendry Rojas earn his first career win in Triple A.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Northwest Arkansas 6, Wichita 4
Box Score
Fun fact: Among the 811 minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched so far this season entering tonight, Connor Prielipp was tied for the highest batting average on balls in play at .401. To put that into some context, the MLB average BABIP this season is .289.

Tonight continued what’s been a somewhat confounding season for Prielipp. On the positive side, he struck out six of the 19 batters he faced (31.6 K%) and threw a season-high 72 pitches. But he only went 3 2/3 innings, gave up five hits (one of them a home run), walked two and hit a batter.

I suppose the biggest thing is it’s August and Connor Prielipp is still pitching.

The Wichita lineup produced some impressive individual performances, but they only yielded four runs. Jake Rucker, the No. 9 hitter, went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run (a solo shot). Kaelen Culpepper also had a three-hit night and stole his 23rd base of the season. Nate Baez was 2-for-4 with a home run and Kalai’ Rosario slugged his 16th homer. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
West Michigan 3, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
Ty Langenberg pitched great but a couple of his throws that didn’t go to home plate cost the Kernels in this game. With runners at the corners in the fifth inning,

Langenberg attempted a pickoff throw to first that got by first baseman, allowing a run to score. With the score knotted at 2-2 in the seventh inning, Langenberg threw to second base in more of an attempt to keep the runner honest than to actually get a pickoff, but it deflected off the runner’s back and into center field. 

In what ended up a 3-2 game, those two throwing errors loomed large, which was a shame because Langenberg pitched well. The Iowa product had his longest outing of the season, throwing 6 1/3 innings. He surrendered five hits and two walks while striking out five. He gave up three runs, though only one was earned. Langenberg entered July with a 7.98 ERA but has brought that down to 4.81 since. 

The Kernels lineup mustered five hits, all of them singles. Eduardo Tait, who was catching Langenberg, was the only Cedar Rapids batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Kyle DeBarge stole his 57th base of the season.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 6
Box Score
Eduardo Beltre blasted his first Low-A home run in this game. It’s been a trying year for the 18-year-old Dominican outfielder, but that he has his first homer in full-season ball before his 19th birthday is a nice accomplishment to hold onto. He hit three balls in excess of 100 mph exit velocities tonight.

The Mussels built a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the bullpen immediately gave it away. The relief corps wasn’t the only unit that struggled, as the Fort Myers bats were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. That’s all especially tough to swallow in a one-run loss.

Marek Houston, 2025 first-round pick, was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. In his first six games of pro ball, the Wake Forest product has hit .370/.414/.407 (.821 OPS). Michael Ross struck out five batters over five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk in the process.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 7, DSL Rockies 4
Box Score
A four-run top of the seventh inning made the difference for the DSL Twins, but starting pitcher Eliezer Lucena twirled a gem prior to the bats getting going. The 17-year-old right-hander out of Venezuela went five innings for the second-straight start and held the DSL Rockies to one run on six hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Lucena has surrendered just one earned run over his last four starts (13 2/3 IP).

The Twins bats weren’t able to take advantage of Lucena’s strong start, and they trailed 2-1 entering the top of the seventh inning. Darwin Almanzar drew a leadoff walk, but the next two Twins hitters were retired. Teilon Serrano then reached on an error that would prove to be incredibly costly for the Rockies.

Santiago Leon hit a two-run triple, then Haritzon Castillo blasted a two-run homer and suddenly the Twins were up 5-2. Serrano later added a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to put an exclamation mark on the late-inning scoring barrage. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids (6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day: Jake Rucker, Wichita (3-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 0-for-4, BB
3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 3-for-4, BB, SB (8), K
5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, K
6. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 72 pitches (62.5% strikes)
9. Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 75 pitches (62.7% strikes)
13. Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, BB, K
14. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, BB, HBP, R
17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, SB (57), 2 K
20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 0-for-4, 2 K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Iowa, 7:07 pm CT: Marco Raya
Wichita vs. Northwest Arkansas, 7:05 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo
Cedar Rapids at West Michigan, 5:35 pm CT: Jose Olivares
Fort Myers vs. Clearwater, 6:05 pm CT: Michael Carpenter
DSL Twins vs. DSL Mariners, 10 am CT: TBD

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 54-60
St. Paul Saints: 49-60
Wichita Wind Surge: 56-49
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-45
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-58
FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs)
DSL Twins: 19-28

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[DJL44]

Outman also whiffed at 5 sliders down and in. Wasn’t even close. There is a reason he had a K rate around 40% in the majors.

[jmlease1]

Rojas has talent, but also has a fair amount of work to do. The multiple errors are going to make his ERA look better, but the reality is he still yielded the double and the dinger. Kind of feels like he's in AAA on scholarship a bit and looks more like a AA pitcher to me right now. Hopefully he has a strong finish to the season, but 2027 looks more likely than 2026 for his arrival in MLB.

Culpepper is really having a great season, Pretty impressive for his first full professional season; he doesn't seem to be wearing down at all in the grind of a long season. You can see exactly why the Twins liked him so much in the draft and he should be looked at as a Top 100 prospect now...is he top 50? I'm sure there are evaluators who prefer 18=19 year old kids at low-A with theoretical higher ceilings, but I'm in on Culpepper. He looks nicely lined up to start next season in Saint Paul and potentially debut in 2026.

Would love to know more about how Tait looked behind the plate. I can see why people are into his bat, and if he can stick at catcher, then he's a prospect to be excited about. Happy to have him in high A when he hasn't even turned 19 quite yet.

[tony&rodney]

23 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Culpepper is really having a great season, Pretty impressive for his first full professional season; he doesn't seem to be wearing down at all in the grind of a long season. You can see exactly why the Twins liked him so much in the draft and he should be looked at as a Top 100 prospect now...is he top 50? I'm sure there are evaluators who prefer 18=19 year old kids at low-A with theoretical higher ceilings, but I'm in on Culpepper. He looks nicely lined up to start next season in Saint Paul and potentially debut in 2026.

Culpepper has been fantastic. He has been the leader of the Wichita team. The concern, from me, was his tendency to chase on occasions. There are times when Kaelen takes some wild swings. I'm seeing enough physical and mental talent that I'm hoping Culpepper can be the Twins shortstop next season. That may be aggressive but he raises the bar for defense, base-running, and is a dangerous bat as well. 

[Tom Froemming]

23 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Kind of feels like he's (Rojas) in AAA on scholarship a bit and looks more like a AA pitcher to me right now. 

...

Would love to know more about how Tait looked behind the plate. I can see why people are into his bat, and if he can stick at catcher, then he's a prospect to be excited about. Happy to have him in high A when he hasn't even turned 19 quite yet.

Not sure on the scholarship part, since if anything the Twins sent a lot of their trade acquisitions to a level lower than I would have guessed. Rojas is certainly the exception, though. I agree it seems more like he should be in Double A. I know he made one start there with Toronto, but he's also barely pitched above High A, and I'd say the Twins are typically on the less aggressive side in terms of promoting guys. But, Rojas didn't look out of place last night. His arm talent is evident, he needs to throw more strikes.

I didn't get to watch a ton of that Cedar Rapids game, but Tait had a passed ball and base stealers were 3-for-3 against him. Well, him and Langenberg, who I don't think is quick to the plate. Based on the looks I've had at Tait behind the plate, I think you have to use your imagination. You have to begin every analysis with "well, he's still only 18, so ..." That being said, I've seen some other reports that are complimentary of his work back there, so maybe I've just seen his bad days or am looking at the glass half empty. Either way, he should definitely continue to develop at catcher, in my opinion. Stay on that path for now and see where it leads.

[Dman]

39 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Rojas has talent, but also has a fair amount of work to do. The multiple errors are going to make his ERA look better, but the reality is he still yielded the double and the dinger. Kind of feels like he's in AAA on scholarship a bit and looks more like a AA pitcher to me right now. Hopefully he has a strong finish to the season, but 2027 looks more likely than 2026 for his arrival in MLB.

It is interesting to me how errors and or missed calls by umps can lead to big innings.  I don't know if pitchers get rattled or decide to get more aggressive or passive, but things sure do seem to snowball when you have to get 4 outs instead of 3.

Fort Meyers had the same thing happen instead of player errors the ump was squeezing the zone for Fort Meyers while expanding it for Clearwater (to the point the manager got thrown out of the game). Then the first base umpire missed a clear out call at first base and getting that 4th out proved too much as they scored three runs that inning and the pitcher almost got pulled.  That was the difference in the game.  Nothing to do with the players just human error for the umps.

It doesn't always happen, but sure seems to be a catalyst for bad innings when an error is made.  Whether that be umpires or players. Not sure if the pitcher is to blame in those situations or not, but probably more mental than anything. Getting squeezed is tough to overcome though.

[Dman]

I think others have mentioned this, but Houston's swing looks great for covering most all the zones of the plate, but I don't see much power there at all.  I Guess it makes sense to stick with what you do well in your debut and he is getting hits.  It is early, but I do wonder just how much power he is going to get to with that stroke.  I can see why other scouts had concerns now.

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, Tom Froemming said:

Either way, he should definitely continue to develop at catcher, in my opinion. Stay on that path for now and see where it leads.

If that path leads to 1B, they need that as well.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Tom Froemming said:

Not sure on the scholarship part, since if anything the Twins sent a lot of their trade acquisitions to a level lower than I would have guessed. Rojas is certainly the exception, though. I agree it seems more like he should be in Double A. I know he made one start there with Toronto, but he's also barely pitched above High A, and I'd say the Twins are typically on the less aggressive side in terms of promoting guys. But, Rojas didn't look out of place last night. His arm talent is evident, he needs to throw more strikes.

I didn't get to watch a ton of that Cedar Rapids game, but Tait had a passed ball and base stealers were 3-for-3 against him. Well, him and Langenberg, who I don't think is quick to the plate. Based on the looks I've had at Tait behind the plate, I think you have to use your imagination. You have to begin every analysis with "well, he's still only 18, so ..." That being said, I've seen some other reports that are complimentary of his work back there, so maybe I've just seen his bad days or am looking at the glass half empty. Either way, he should definitely continue to develop at catcher, in my opinion. Stay on that path for now and see where it leads.

well, that's why I said he's in Saint Paul on scholarship: he hasn't really earned his way up there based on performance, but on arm talent and projection of what he can be. Considering how little AA time he's had, it feels a little like PR to drop him in AAA right now ("we know you're pissed about Varland going out, but this super-talented prospect guy is close to the majors, we swear!").

So hard to evaluate catchers, especially in the low minors. They don't exactly get much help from the pitchers in controlling the running game (which is one of the reasons you have to pump the brakes on players with gaudy steal numbers at that level too) so I don't know that I'm that worried about Tait's ability there yet. I've heard he's got enough arm at least? (and did throw out 32% of guys in Low-A this season) Hopefully he looks comfortable back there, sets up a decent target, and passes the basic eye test for now. Would love to keep hearing more about how he looks back there, because if he can be solid defensively it would be a big win.

[Jeff K]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Culpepper has been fantastic. He has been the leader of the Wichita team. The concern, from me, was his tendency to chase on occasions. There are times when Kaelen takes some wild swings. I'm seeing enough physical and mental talent that I'm hoping Culpepper can be the Twins shortstop next season. That may be aggressive but he raises the bar for defense, base-running, and is a dangerous bat as well. 

And for goodness sakes, let's get him to St. Paul now and avoid the Christmas rush!

[tony&rodney]

14 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

And for goodness sakes, let's get him to St. Paul now and avoid the Christmas rush!

Think he is just as well off playing in Wichita. The difference is minimal and I'm afraid he he doesn't play every day for St. Paul.

[DocBauer]

Prielipp is at AA, healthy, throwing hard, getting K's, extending the number of pitches per game, and has already surpassed his career IP from college and professional ball. The talent is there and the health finally seems to be there. So I'm not going to worry about much of anything right now.

But that BABIP is unreal. Even if he's been a little wild and thrown some mistakes, he simply has to be suffering at least partially from just bad luck.

I'm not even sure I can remember the last time a prospect had as an amazing 1st full season as Keaschall did last year. And now Culpepper is probably exceeding what Keaschall did. Wow! There's nobody blocking him at St Paul. I'd really like to challenge him in September with a promotion there and jump start his 2026.

Langenberg has really turned things around after a poor start. I had originally thought he had a shot to begin the season in AA this year. Oops. But he'll certainly be there next year, if not late this season.

Michael Ross has quietly been having a very nice debut season. Numbers are very solid all across the board. Any report on what he throws? His draft profile indicates lower 90's but can touch 94, a change, and a "slurvy" slider. 

[jmlease1]

54 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Think he is just as well off playing in Wichita. The difference is minimal and I'm afraid he he doesn't play every day for St. Paul.

I think this is right. Didn't really hold back Keaschall to not play in AAA last season. If Culpepper can replicate his development track (without the injuries) that would be spectacular.

It's going great for Culpepper right now. Love to see it. Going to be fun seeing prospect evaluators change their tune on him.

[Tom Froemming]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

well, that's why I said he's in Saint Paul on scholarship: he hasn't really earned his way up there based on performance, but on arm talent and projection of what he can be. Considering how little AA time he's had, it feels a little like PR to drop him in AAA right now ("we know you're pissed about Varland going out, but this super-talented prospect guy is close to the majors, we swear!").

So hard to evaluate catchers, especially in the low minors. They don't exactly get much help from the pitchers in controlling the running game (which is one of the reasons you have to pump the brakes on players with gaudy steal numbers at that level too) so I don't know that I'm that worried about Tait's ability there yet. I've heard he's got enough arm at least? (and did throw out 32% of guys in Low-A this season) Hopefully he looks comfortable back there, sets up a decent target, and passes the basic eye test for now. Would love to keep hearing more about how he looks back there, because if he can be solid defensively it would be a big win.

But I'd think if they were trying to make the new acquisitions look good that Outman, Bradley and Abel would all be up with the big club. Though I suppose it's possible they took that approach with Rojas/the guys in the Varland trade specifically. Who knows? 

On Tait, yes, he does have a good arm.

[Tom Froemming]

10 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Michael Ross has quietly been having a very nice debut season. Numbers are very solid all across the board. Any report on what he throws? His draft profile indicates lower 90's but can touch 94, a change, and a "slurvy" slider. 

Good callout, Ross has pitched well enough to deserve a closer look. I'm still not super familiar with him, but I've watched a bit of his last two outings. It's not surprising he's doing well in Fort Myers, he has above average feel for pitching for that level. It would be cool if he could get up to Cedar Rapids this year, but time is running out.

Ross tops out at 94/93 and has five or six pitches. He was particularly confident with his changeup yesterday, throwing that in the zone a good amount, but I'm not sure what his best secondary is, to be honest. It's a nice foundation to try to build upon. He's not currently inside my top-50 Twins prospects, to be honest, but he's still a nice find in the 18th round and, again, I should probably give him another closer look. He's pitched well.

[rdehring]

5 hours ago, Dman said:

I think others have mentioned this, but Houston's swing looks great for covering most all the zones of the plate, but I don't see much power there at all.  I Guess it makes sense to stick with what you do well in your debut and he is getting hits.  It is early, but I do wonder just how much power he is going to get to with that stroke.  I can see why other scouts had concerns now.

Why does everyone have to talk about power, or lack thereof, for most players.  The Twins just drafted what was reported to be the best defensive shortstop in the draft.  He begins play in A-ball and proceeds to hit well over .300 average.  Add he also has reasonable speed.  The Twins should be ecstatic if that is who he would be when he reaches the majors.  I know I sure would. 

Question.  Does steal #57 give DeBarge the most steals of any Twins minor leaguer, ever?  And there is what, about a month of season remaining?

 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Why does everyone have to talk about power, or lack thereof, for most players.  The Twins just drafted what was reported to be the best defensive shortstop in the draft.  He begins play in A-ball and proceeds to hit well over .300 average.  Add he also has reasonable speed.  The Twins should be ecstatic if that is who he would be when he reaches the majors.  I know I sure would. 

Bottom line, I think mainly because it is really hard to get hits at the major league level.  With the game on the line would you rather have two doubles or two singles? Or one single or one home run?  the singles don't net you anything.  So when you hit the ball you want it to count and thus power rules the baseball world.

Want more examples.  No one even really seems to care who the batting champ is anymore.  They are far more interested in who has the highest OPS and the players that make the big bucks are players with power Otani, Judge, Soto to name a few.

Want further evidence and you could look at Arraez versus Kody Clemens. Arraez has the higher batting average.  He walks more than he strikes out granted he only walks at a 4% clip but K's at 2.5% clip which is just unreal.  Probably the best contact hitter out there. Clemens hits for a lessor average. Strikes out more than he walks, but he hits for much more power. 12HR's to Arraez's 6 in fewer at bat's.

Arraez's OPS is .723 and Clemens is .777. Don't like OPS try WAR.  Arraez has .6 WAR and Clemens 1.2 and he has played in half the amount of Games as Arraez. Want to go strictly offense with WRC+ Arraez is 106 and Clemens is 112.  By almost any measure of advanced stats Clemens comes out better than Arraez except for batting average. 

The conclusion: without power even a journeyman player can be seen as more valuable than a player with a high batting average that just hits singles and gets on base.  I'm not saying a player like Arraez has no value. Just less value than someone who can hit with power and hit more home runs. Getting on base and not making outs is important, but baseball has statistically proven that power is the most valuable tool as it helps you score more runs.  That is why everyone cares about power potential.

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, Dman said:

Bottom line, I think mainly because it is really hard to get hits at the major league level.  With the game on the line would you rather have two doubles or two singles? Or one single or one home run?  the singles don't net you anything.  So when you hit the ball you want it to count and thus power rules the baseball world.

Want more examples.  No one even really sems to care who the batting champ is anymore.  They are far more interested in who has the highest OPS and the players that make the big bucks are players with power Otani, Judge, Soto to name a few.

Want further evidence and you could look at Arraez versus Kody Clemens. Arraez has the higher batting average.  He walks more than he strikes out granted he only walks at a 4% clip but K's at 2.5% clip which is just unreal.  Probably the best contact hitter out there. Clemens hits for a lessor average. Strikes out more than he walks, but he hits for much more power. 12HR's to Arraez's 6 in fewer at bat's.

Arraez's OPS is .723 and Clemens is .777. Don't like OPS try WAR.  Arraez has .6 WAR and Clemens 1.2 and he has played in half the amount of Games as Arraez. Want to go strictly offense with WRC+ Arraez is 106 and Clemens is 112.  By almost any measure of advanced stats Clemens comes out better than Arraez except for batting average. 

The conclusion: without power even a journeyman player can be seen as more valuable than a player with a high batting average that just hits singles and gets on base.  I'm not saying a player like Arraez has no value. Just less value than someone who can hit with power and hit more home runs. Getting on base and not making outs is important, but baseball has statistically proven that power is the most valuable tool as it helps you score more runs.  That is why everyone cares about power potential.

Power wins games easier than BA. Much. The math is really clear at this point. It's hard to string his together..... Agreed..

[Jeff K]

20 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Think he is just as well off playing in Wichita. The difference is minimal and I'm afraid he he doesn't play every day for St. Paul.

I hear you, but the Twins rarely jump a guy two levels and if he is moved to St. Paul, he has to play since he is our best bet at SS

[rdehring]

21 hours ago, Dman said:

Bottom line, I think mainly because it is really hard to get hits at the major league level.  With the game on the line would you rather have two doubles or two singles? Or one single or one home run?  the singles don't net you anything.  So when you hit the ball you want it to count and thus power rules the baseball world.

Want more examples.  No one even really seems to care who the batting champ is anymore.  They are far more interested in who has the highest OPS and the players that make the big bucks are players with power Otani, Judge, Soto to name a few.

Want further evidence and you could look at Arraez versus Kody Clemens. Arraez has the higher batting average.  He walks more than he strikes out granted he only walks at a 4% clip but K's at 2.5% clip which is just unreal.  Probably the best contact hitter out there. Clemens hits for a lessor average. Strikes out more than he walks, but he hits for much more power. 12HR's to Arraez's 6 in fewer at bat's.

Arraez's OPS is .723 and Clemens is .777. Don't like OPS try WAR.  Arraez has .6 WAR and Clemens 1.2 and he has played in half the amount of Games as Arraez. Want to go strictly offense with WRC+ Arraez is 106 and Clemens is 112.  By almost any measure of advanced stats Clemens comes out better than Arraez except for batting average. 

The conclusion: without power even a journeyman player can be seen as more valuable than a player with a high batting average that just hits singles and gets on base.  I'm not saying a player like Arraez has no value. Just less value than someone who can hit with power and hit more home runs. Getting on base and not making outs is important, but baseball has statistically proven that power is the most valuable tool as it helps you score more runs.  That is why everyone cares about power potential.

Don't often disagree Dman.  But my frustration is with everyone talking about power, power, power.  I don't disagree that power isn't important.  It is.  And much of what you say above is true.  But there is more to winning games than just power.  Let's not write off players just because they aren't a power guy.  A winning team needs some of both.  Otherwise you have a team of Wallner like players.  It wasn't long ago that he had something like 12 home runs and what was it, 19 rbi? 

Yes power is important.  And some fast players get a lot of doubles because they stretch that single.  Or they get a single and steal second.  Just think about DeBarge.  How many of his singles became doubles one or two pitches later?

Yes, power is important.  But it isn't the only thing.  At least for me. 

[Dman]

55 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Don't often disagree Dman.  But my frustration is with everyone talking about power, power, power.  I don't disagree that power isn't important.  It is.  And much of what you say above is true.  But there is more to winning games than just power.  Let's not write off players just because they aren't a power guy.  A winning team needs some of both.  Otherwise you have a team of Wallner like players.  It wasn't long ago that he had something like 12 home runs and what was it, 19 rbi? 

Yes power is important.  And some fast players get a lot of doubles because they stretch that single.  Or they get a single and steal second.  Just think about DeBarge.  How many of his singles became doubles one or two pitches later?

Yes, power is important.  But it isn't the only thing.  At least for me. 

I totally agree.  Just not making outs and getting on base is important. There is a place for all kinds of talent.  It's just that power rules.  There is a lot to like about Houston and I think he is going to be a good hitter because he seems to cover the plate really well. 

The only potential issue I have is that in the draft there are only only so many players that have star potential.  Power is a big part of star potential and when you are picking at 16 you want to try and find a guy with traits that will make him better than the average MLB player.  Without power Houston might end up a utility player and I would want more than that at pick 16.  Other teams have shortstops that can hit for power and play short so if the Twins want to win they have to find players that will be better than other teams players.  Otherwise it's a losing battle.

There is lot's of time left for Houston to develop more power and given what has been said about him I believe he will.  We won't know much until the end of next year as to the likelihood of that happening. It took Spencer Steer three years to get there. Martin is still trying to get there  As I mentioned above power is such an important part of the game they will have him working on it. right now they just want him to get comfortable and do what he does which appears to be getting on base at a healthy clip.

If you want the Twins to be winners then you should want them to try and develop power in all their players as it will help them win more games and increase their chances at a world series title.

[Doctor Wu]

On 8/8/2025 at 11:25 PM, DocBauer said:

Prielipp is at AA, healthy, throwing hard, getting K's, extending the number of pitches per game, and has already surpassed his career IP from college and professional ball. The talent is there and the health finally seems to be there. So I'm not going to worry about much of anything right now.

But that BABIP is unreal. Even if he's been a little wild and thrown some mistakes, he simply has to be suffering at least partially from just bad luck.

Good points. And as the article stated:

I suppose the biggest thing is it’s August and Connor Prielipp is still pitching.

That alone is huge. He's healthy and pitching more innings. I still have faith that he will be able to contribute in the majors very soon. 

[rdehring]

On 8/9/2025 at 1:31 PM, Dman said:

I totally agree.  Just not making outs and getting on base is important. There is a place for all kinds of talent.  It's just that power rules.  There is a lot to like about Houston and I think he is going to be a good hitter because he seems to cover the plate really well. 

The only potential issue I have is that in the draft there are only only so many players that have star potential.  Power is a big part of star potential and when you are picking at 16 you want to try and find a guy with traits that will make him better than the average MLB player.  Without power Houston might end up a utility player and I would want more than that at pick 16.  Other teams have shortstops that can hit for power and play short so if the Twins want to win they have to find players that will be better than other teams players.  Otherwise it's a losing battle.

There is lot's of time left for Houston to develop more power and given what has been said about him I believe he will.  We won't know much until the end of next year as to the likelihood of that happening. It took Spencer Steer three years to get there. Martin is still trying to get there  As I mentioned above power is such an important part of the game they will have him working on it. right now they just want him to get comfortable and do what he does which appears to be getting on base at a healthy clip.

If you want the Twins to be winners then you should want them to try and develop power in all their players as it will help them win more games and increase their chances at a world series title.

I don't know what type of power Houston will, or will not develop.  There is a chance, and in his case a real chance, that he could become a star player even if he doesn't develop that power.  Shortstop is one of, if not the most important position defensively on the field.  If he is as good with his glove as they say, he could be that special player who becomes a star with an average bat or good bat with minimal power.  

Was a long time ago, but I don't remember Ozzie Smith hitting many home runs.  Yet he was a star, a real star.  Is he in the Hall, or didn't he make it?  Anyway, a shortstop who is one of the league's best doesn't have to hit all that much to be invaluable to any team.  But then I value defense and speed much more than a lot of folks.