Don’t Sleep on Jorge Polanco

Once Royce Lewis comes up I'd love to see him and Gordon battle for 2nd. With all of the middle infielders either on the Twins or in the high minors it'll be interesting to see who wins out.

Seems like we are always wondering why minor league success doesn't translate into big league success and Polanco feels like one of the rare ones that has done that.   I would be just fine with Polanco at 2nd or 3rd once Lewis comes up.   Definitely Polanco over Gordon or Schoop.

I think he's been a solid player ever since he has had the chance to play every day. Plus speed and a productive bat kind of offsets his defensive shortcomings. At this point we dont have another choice. Hitting him leadoff, we would be better off than a bunch of teams.

Seems like we are always wondering why minor league success doesn't translate into big league success and Polanco feels like one of the rare ones that has done that.   I would be just fine with Polanco at 2nd or 3rd once Lewis comes up.   Definitely Polanco over Gordon or Schoop.

Agree with this take.  I think Polanco's   best   bet is as a 2B in the long run.

Could eventually be a multiple year all-star, in my opinion.  Love his bat in the lineup.

Polanco, Rosario, and Berrios are the best Twins farm-system guys on the team. I love Polanco as a hitter, I'm willing to accept a few flaws in his defense. I'd like to see him at the top of the order every game this year between the 1-3 spots. With guys like Mauer and Dozier now gone, Polanco is going to be a major key to this offense. And just like he's always done, he'll probably hit .287 and score lots of runs. He may indeed be the best hitter on this team right now.

Is anyone "sleeping on" Polanco? He is inked in as the starting SS.

Why are so many people projecting Polanco as a 3B when his arm can barely handle SS?? Whether he remains with the Twins or not, Polanco’s future is at 2B.

I like Polanco, but lets not forget his is 25 played a grand total 288 games and  has had an 80 PED suspension. He isn't a guy IMO that blocks Lewis or signing a better SS.

I've always liked Polanco's bat. A spark plug and clutch hitter. His presence seems to energize the lineup and in big spots he doesn't have many holes for the pitcher to exploit. The most well rounded hitter of the twins in house core.

Polanco is a nice well rounded player. Seems capable of holding down SS, especially with that slash line. I don’t see Gordon being any more than injury replacement this year, no reason to get his arbitration clock started.

So far as bringing in Machado. My preference would be to start him at 3rd and move Sano to a 3b/1b/DH/bench bat role, he’s earned it.

I believe Torreyes deal is a split major/minor league deal so he’s not a 25 man crunch issue and will likely get first dibs over Gordon should the need arise.

Gordon is not playing any meaningful games in Minnesota this year. If Schoop is hurt, or Polanco is hurt, or whatever scenario you can dream where the Twins need a second baseman, that guy is Torreyes or Adrianza. Gordon feels like he has something to prove and that's because he has something to prove. If everything goes right, he may show up in September for 9 games and 35 AB (with a .171 BA).

Polanco is a better player than Gordon. He is now, and he will be when Gordon is at his peak. Polanco should be extended, with the understanding that when Lewis arrives, he moves to 2B. A guy with an 80 game suspension under his belt will appreciate the security of an extension and it won't break the bank. He seems like a good guy who made a mistake and I don't think he'll make the same one again, so I don't think it's much of a risk from the Twins side. Sign him, tell him he's the lead off hitter, and appreciate his production.

Also, if we sign Machado, make sure you save this post. Because I'm a mystery candidate to be President in 2020, and you're going to want to say, "the President used to post on TwinsDaily."

Well said Thrylos.

He came up ready to hit and hopefully he continues.

Polanco is extremely useful. Switch-hitter than makes contact and can put a little pressure on defenses on the bases. Depending upon how/when/if Lewis/Javier/Gordon arrive (and Schoop departs), Polanco can be a SS, 2B, or super-utility...but he can definitely be an every-day type on a very good team, IMO.

Also worth noting that Polanco, given a decent contract scenario (FA in 2023), represents an asset that might return tangible value in a trade.

I doubt Polanco sees Gordon in the rearview mirror .... He'd have to get hurt or play pretty horribly for that to even enter the conversation right now .... I remember Thad Levine talking about how Gordon's bat was close, but he still had a ways to go with the glove last year. If the bat is "close" with a .544 OPS at AAA, I'd hate to see where the glove is.

If I remember correctly, there were some posters who watched Gordon live last year and echoed Levine's thoughts on his defense.

I'm looking forward to a full productive year from Polanco.  He can be an asset to this team.

Yeah, I'm not sleeping on Polanco. I think he's a significant part of this club and his absence was a significant part of the first half being such a disaster last year. Instead of having a power-hitting on-base machine 2B paired with a high average good power SS, we had a no-hit SS and a slumping 2B dealing with a balky knee, turning both spots into wastelands instead being assets.

A .280/.335/.420 slash line is eminently reasonable for a projection and substantially better than anything we could expect from Adrianza, and would make it easy to accept Polanco's occasional struggles on D. But as Tom and others have noted, he's shown the ability to exceed that level. He fits nicely in either the 1st or 2nd slot in the batting order, and I think we can pencil him in for 140+ games this year.

He's not a guy who need a bounceback year, he just needs to play. He screwed up, took a BIG ban that cost him a lot of money and hurt the franchise. But when he got on the field, he showed he could still hit. We had the 7th worst WAR at SS last season; a full year of Polanco easily slips us into the middle of the pack.

In 2018, we were 21st at 2B and 24th at SS by bWAR. 

In 2018, we were 3rd at 2B and 14th at SS by bWAR.

Polanco will help.

"His presence seems to energize the lineup and in big spots he doesn't have many........"

Per the Whizzanater (won't ask for any background on that name lol)

This is a subjective trait that I have always thought was a must in any lineup and definitely picks up the rest of the lineup. Doesn't show up in a spreadsheet but does show up in the eye test in actually watching games instead of deciphering acronyms and abbreviations. Polanco does have it and there have been players on the Twins held in high esteem that did not have it. Glad the "Whizz" recognized it. BTW, Machado has the opposite effect. Polanco is a ball player (sorry for using that term). Machado is a sausage on a bun. Just ask the Os or the Dodgers.

Zzzzzzzz!

I like Polanco. He takes good at bats most of the time and has some pop in his bat. He can run, high energy type guy also. 

He's my SS until someone takes the job from him, at which point I move him over to 2B or something. Perfect 1-2 hitter. Gets on base at a pretty good clip and with his speed...

Why are so many people projecting Polanco as a 3B when his arm can barely handle SS?? Whether he remains with the Twins or not, Polanco’s future is at 2B.

SS requires a stronger arm than 3B, due to the longer throws from deep in the hole, moving away from 1B.

As a fan, I would love to see the power surge of late 2017 (for everybody on the team, really). Polanco is a lot better than people think, and has huge potential.

As a fan, I would love to see the power surge of late 2017 (for everybody on the team, really). Polanco is a lot better than people think, and has huge potential.

I have been waiting for someone to do a poll as to how many home runs the Twins will hit this year.  Or maybe an over/under poll.

Personally, I put the number of home runs somewhere between 225 and 240. 

Besides the PED thang....I would argue to anyone watching that Jorge is better than Sano or Buxton. Rosario better watch out too. I cant wait till Nelson Cruz takes Polanco under his wing!.

The Machado/Harper rumors are just BS, planted by their agents to push other teams into paying more, and quicker. Twins probably put a call in, just to test the waters, now they are "the big mystery team". Sorry, not buying it. Twins need to give Gordon a chance. Very exciting player. Would you take Dee Gordon on your team? Of course you would. Nick Gordon is a splitting image. Give him the shot.