Jose Abreu

[gunnarthor]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know any reports on Jose Abreu in the Twins rookie league? He seemed to have a pretty strong year but he's already 20 so maybe it's a case of dominating younger players but I suppose it could also be a young man growing into his body. Is he a real prospect?

[Seth Stohs]

Not a lot to know about him yet. Like you pointed out, he isn't a top prospect since he came to the States at an older age. Other than that though, he put up numbers, so advance him to ET next year and see how it goes. Could be a sleeper.

[The Wise One]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know any reports on Jose Abreu in the Twins rookie league? He seemed to have a pretty strong year but he's already 20 so maybe it's a case of dominating younger players but I suppose it could also be a young man growing into his body. Is he a real prospect?

 

Isn't three a relatively inexpensive prospect book hawked on this site that would contain that information and so much more?

[B Richard]

Isn't three a relatively inexpensive prospect book hawked on this site that would contain that information and so much more?

 

There's also a forum on this site, namely for asking questions about and discussing players.

[The Wise One]

There's also a forum on this site, namely for asking questions about and discussing players.

 

Holy cow, no shinola. Is there also a place for the occasional lighthearted comment ? Or does everything have to be bloody serious or sophomoric?

[ashbury]

Hi. I'm looking for a gently moderated website where members don't try to adjust each others' behavior through veiled comments too much of the time. Any recommendations? The moderators here tend to be too heavy-handed in their satire.

[gunnarthor]

Hi. I'm looking for a gently moderated website where members don't try to adjust each others' behavior through veiled comments too much of the time. Any recommendations? The moderators here tend to be too heavy-handed in their satire.

 

I post at sportshoopla.com. It's pretty much anything goes but it's more general baseball discussion than Twins specific. I'm sure many of us also post at TwinkieTown but it's not that great of a place. Minorleagueball usually has some good prospect threads (and are currently doing a fan top 100 prospect). Unfortunately, twinsdaily is one of the few places that has decent discussions of the Twins minor leagues so you have to put up with some moderator behavior.

[The Wise One]

Speaking of Abrue, I think that 20 is on the old side for the rookie league but it does not make him a man amongst boys. He needs to have a couple of years where he makes a case to be elevated a another level to be considered a great prospect. That he does not appear to have a lot of IP would lead me to wonder if there has been injuries. The strikeouts look good but stat lines really don't say to what the actual talents are (the hoe they got there). I can't find a scouting report so I guess I will have to wait for a book to come that might not have the answer in it either.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I post at sportshoopla.com. It's pretty much anything goes but it's more general baseball discussion than Twins specific. I'm sure many of us also post at TwinkieTown but it's not that great of a place. Minorleagueball usually has some good prospect threads (and are currently doing a fan top 100 prospect). Unfortunately, twinsdaily is one of the few places that has decent discussions of the Twins minor leagues so you have to put up with some moderator behavior.

 

not to derail the thread...

 

I stopped posting at Twinkietown right after SBnation did that ridiculous design overhaul.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Speaking of Abrue, I think that 20 is on the old side for the rookie league but it does not make him a man amongst boys. He needs to have a couple of years where he makes a case to be elevated a another level to be considered a great prospect. That he does not appear to have a lot of IP would lead me to wonder if there has been injuries. The strikeouts look good but stat lines really don't say to what the actual talents are (the hoe they got there). I can't find a scouting report so I guess I will have to wait for a book to come that might not have the answer in it either.

 

20 yrs old in rookie ball, believe it or not, is pretty average from an age standpoint. But it's old enough where you don't put a lot of stock into those numbers. If he puts up good numbers in Cedar Rapids next season, then he's going to start rising up on the lists. Right now though, he's one of many guys who have done well at rookie ball, but not really on anyone's radar.

[Seth Stohs]

20 years old "may" be old for rookie ball (by a year, maybe 2), but the average age at E-Town is something like 21.3, so if he goes to E-Town and succeeds and then gets to CR in 2015 at 22, he's on schedule.

 

I've mentioned before that I think that "we" make too much about age-to-level-of-competition. For me, it's a factor in prospect ranking, but in player development, players develop at different rates and time and such.

[cmathewson]

I'll add to what Seth said. Late bloomers can sometimes become better players than the guys who sign at 16. But they have a shorter runway. So the odds of a 16 year old are just higher than a 20 year old, all things considered. Also, if they sign at 16, scouts really like them. If they don't sign until they're 20, chances are, they have some flaw preventing the scouts from recommending them.

 

For me, the main thing about age/performance is ensuring that the player is ready to contribute in the MLB in his peak years--26-30. Again, the odds of a guy being able to do that are higher if he signs in his teens. But guys can sometimes beat those odds.

 

On the other hand, it can be challenging signing 16 year olds who are slow to develop. Kepler and Polanco, for example, are great prospects. But they each took an extra year in rookie ball to develop. And they will use their first option this year. That means they must make the major leagues by 2017. Because they will most likely end the year at Fort Myers, they cannot afford injuries or other things that might delay them if we move them along a year at at time.

 

As Seth said, if Abreu makes it to E-ton this year as a 20-year-old, he could make it to Cedar Rapids as a 21 year old, Fort Myers at 22, New Britain at 23 and Rochester at 24. At that point, if he's still a prospect, he would use his fist option, and could be available to the big club for much of his prime years. He just needs a lot of luck at this point, which is why he isn't in the prospect rankings.

[RinaldiPhotos]

I'll add to what Seth said. Late bloomers can sometimes become better players than the guys who sign at 16. But they have a shorter runway. So the odds of a 16 year old are just higher than a 20 year old, all things considered. Also, if they sign at 16, scouts really like them. If they don't sign until they're 20, chances are, they have some flaw preventing the scouts from recommending them.

 

For me, the main thing about age/performance is ensuring that the player is ready to contribute in the MLB in his peak years--26-30. Again, the odds of a guy being able to do that are higher if he signs in his teens. But guys can sometimes beat those odds.

 

On the other hand, it can be challenging signing 16 year olds who are slow to develop. Kepler and Polanco, for example, are great prospects. But they each took an extra year in rookie ball to develop. And they will use their first option this year. That means they must make the major leagues by 2017. Because they will most likely end the year at Fort Myers, they cannot afford injuries or other things that might delay them if we move them along a year at at time.

 

As Seth said, if Abreu makes it to E-ton this year as a 20-year-old, he could make it to Cedar Rapids as a 21 year old, Fort Myers at 22, New Britain at 23 and Rochester at 24. At that point, if he's still a prospect, he would use his fist option, and could be available to the big club for much of his prime years. He just needs a lot of luck at this point, which is why he isn't in the prospect rankings.

 

 

Note the bold: Eddie Rosario is a late bloomer, but he was also drafted rather than signed from the DR. Rosario's best fit is in CF but he just doesn't have the arm so right now hes a fringe guy for me. Might end up as a 2B but he had little success there thus far in the minors.

[ashbury]

Might end up as a 2B but he had little success there thus far in the minors.

 

Link, to any scouts or similar experts actually saying that at this stage of development?

[goulik]

Note the bold: Eddie Rosario is a late bloomer, but he was also drafted rather than signed from the DR. Rosario's best fit is in CF but he just doesn't have the arm so right now hes a fringe guy for me. Might end up as a 2B but he had little success there thus far in the minors.

I am not a scout nor have I seen Rosario play but I have followed his stats and scouting reports for two years (and tons of TD speculation) and everything points to an MLB bat with some power and the athleticism to switch to second. Again, the scouting reports I have read all say 2nd base defense has improved and estimates before the suspension were making his debut this year there. Some scouts are still thinking he could be a sept. Call up this year. I don't get the "Fringe" term or "little success".