Twins Prospect Hendry Mendez to Get Time at First

"It's easy. Tell 'em Wash."

"It's incredibly hard." 
 

I am confused about one thing: this article doesn't have "pipeline" in the title and yet it speaks of moving around who might play a position in the future. 

I like it. It’s been a black hole for a while so let’s try something different. 

18 minutes ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

Could he eventually become at least a somewhat competent first baseman and be able to somewhat hit like one?  Sure, he could.

What is the likelihood it'll play out that way?  I wouldn't bet that it's very high.

That being said, it's certainly worth a try, given that his outfield defense is supposedly nothing special.  As long as we exhibit enough patience with the experiment, then there's probably nothing significant to lose in trying. 

Completely agree, especially given the number of better OF in AA and AAA banging on the door already. The line behind Bell, Clemens and the ghost of Ty France indicate a much easier path to the 26 man.

If I were a prospect I'd be pushing to add a new position every spring. I can maybe see not wanting to change course mid-season, but in the offseason, why not? If all you want to do is play then give yourself as many paths to the lineup as possible.

Absolutely great news.  Zoll has been in control for less than a week and we already have one very good decision.

18 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Absolutely great news.  Zoll has been in control for less than a week and we already have one very good decision.

I sure hope that decision was made at the end of last season and that he was working on it over the break.

Hrbek was a converted hockey goalie.  He didn't end up too bad.  

1st off Mendez has the size.    6ft 3   but 175lb soaking wet - 22 years old.    He was an average defender in the outfield.   The contact rates are absolutely off the charts.  The hit tool is excellent.  I have much more confidence in him hitting than Tait.   The value for Bader was crazy good.  he had a 54% groundball rate though coming to the Twins.  

He was hitting 54% groundballs.  He has to get more balls in the air which will result in a higher average, higher OBP and OPS.   .324/.461/.439.   He made improvement.    There was a couple games in Wichita when you had Jenkins, Gonzalez, Culpepper and Mendez -  they put up 16 runs in back to back games.    You had 4 hitters hitting over .300.  If you can continue that as you move up you will do really well.  

He has 90% exit velocity,  his contact % was 86.1% which is considered elite, and he increased his line drive % increased by 6.4% to 23.8% and did this all while decreasing his K % to 12.8%.   If he is going to be a 1st baseman, we have to see 15-20 home runs.  You just need that power,  and if he can pair that with a .300+ BA and a .350+ OBP,  you have something that will obviously work.  

Now he has to get comfortable on the defensive side.   However, from my viewpoint this is a slamdunk as I didn't see where he would get the opportunity in the future.  We have Buxton, Jenkins, Rodriguez and Gonzalez ahead of him.   I am really really excited about him as a prospect.   I think Gonzalez has the best bat,  followed by Mendez, Jenkins, Culpepper and Rodriguez thrown in there somewhere.   The Twins future will be highly dependent on the success of those 5 prospects along with Keaschall and Lee.   

https://www.theskippersview.com/p/hendry-mendez-has-the-potential-to?utm_source=publication-search

FYI though, his move to 1st has been talked about for months.  

Put me down as the guy who has been touting Mendez since he came over LOL.   

There is a huge difference between moving from catcher to first base than from outfield. In order to play catcher you have to have good hands and feet. The same is true at first base. A player who has never played on the dirt is going to have to develop those hands and feet to see if they became adequate as well as learning the position. I am sure Washington knew the transition would be hard for Hatteberg but he also must have know that it was easier than trying to convert a guy who had never played on the dirt.

It is worthy of a try. We might never see him in a game at 1B hopefully working him out there will be remembered.

I would guess that any baseball player that has played his whole life and gotten this far probably has some experience at fielding ground balls and taking throws. The footwork will probably be the challenge.

It will take some time for him to learn his new position. The biggest challenge is that he now only has 3 option years to learn a new position and break into the major leagues. We've all seen how many players run out of options before they make the grade.

One more thing. Didn't I hear he was playing some winter ball at first base.

17 hours ago, Danchat said:

I'm all for it, may as well try out some prospects at 1B so we might not need to keep signing FA 1Bs to one year deals every season.

Exactly, The one-year contract routine for signing first basemen is getting stale. Will be nice if a youngster like  Mendez shows an aptitude for the position. Go for it. 

Scouring the Twins' rosters trying to find all that "excess depth" holding him up. 

At any position...

Dude, stop selling hope.  If guys acquired at the deadline start being part of the solution I might have to think positive.  That can be very dangerous on this site.  Just tell us the sky is falling so we can all get back to going on with our lives.

A week of playing first base in the minors (prior to the first game) will show/determine if he can be a success there.  This is baseball (high level for sure,) but it isn't rocket science......

Heck........Joey Gallo is trying to become a pitcher now........

17 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I sure hope that decision was made at the end of last season and that he was working on it over the break.

I didn't know how to attach one of those funny looking things, as my comment was made "tongue in cheek," if that's the right comment.

1 hour ago, miracleb said:

A week of playing first base in the minors (prior to the first game) will show/determine if he can be a success there.  This is baseball (high level for sure,) but it isn't rocket science......

Heck........Joey Gallo is trying to become a pitcher now........

He had started practicing prior to the end of the season.  After the season they stated their intent was to move him to 1st base.  They sent him to fall ball to work on 1st base and get some games in,  he played in the outfield 5 times before leaving for family reasons.    

He has had all offseason to work at it and will have this season to work on it.  I'm not saying there is nothing to the transition,  look at players bumble their defense all the time,  Julien in particular.  However he is 22 years old,  and it may take a year or two to get a pretty good feeling at 1st base.   Look how much we have moved around Lewis, Lee, Martin.    

Yes, moving Mendez to first was talked about last fall. Yes, it is a good idea. Filling the lineup with good hitters is always a good idea. It is likely he adds power as he matures. I also think that having big power isn't absolutely necessary for a first baseman if there is gap power and a high average and good defense. Good defense at first includes reducing infielders errors.

On 2/5/2026 at 6:19 PM, jorgenswest said:

There is a huge difference between moving from catcher to first base than from outfield. In order to play catcher you have to have good hands and feet. The same is true at first base. A player who has never played on the dirt is going to have to develop those hands and feet to see if they became adequate as well as learning the position. I am sure Washington knew the transition would be hard for Hatteberg but he also must have know that it was easier than trying to convert a guy who had never played on the dirt.

It is worthy of a try. We might never see him in a game at 1B hopefully working him out there will be remembered.

There is a difference, but if you're a bad catcher that infield experience may not be an advantage if bad hands is skill set that is getting you moved off catcher.  OTOH there are plenty of OF that failed moving to 1B, famously including outstanding fielder Joe DiMaggio.

In any event, "It's incredibly hard" may be an over-statement in general, but the move is not trivial.