Lurking In The Shadows

The Twins used their fourth round pick in 2010 to take Rosario, a high school kid out of the mean streets of Guayama, Puerto Rico. He signed quickly and went to the GCL. He teamed with the likes of Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano. Rosario hit a solid .294/.343/.438 (.781) with nine doubles, two triples and five home runs, but Miguel Sano was the player talked about.

In 2011, he advanced to Elizabethton where he performed so well he was named the Appalachian Leaguer’s Player of the Year. He and Sano teamed to hit 41 home runs in the short season. Rosario hit .337/.397/.670 (1.068) with nine doubles, nine triples and 21 home runs. Sano hit .292/.352/.637 (.988) with 18 doubles, seven triples and 20 home runs.

While Sano came into the organization as a top prospect. Rosario has been a Top 10 Twins prospect since that monster season in Elizabethton.

In 2012, the duo advanced to Beloit for their first full-season action. Sano, just 19 then, hit .258/.373/.521 (.893) with 28 homers and 100 RBI on the season. Rosario was limited to just 95 games because he was hit in the face with a line drive during batting practice. He was taking ground balls at third base at the time. He hit .296/.345/.490 (.835) with 32 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. As you recall, he had gone to the Instructional League after the 2011 season and moved to second base. It was certainly a work-in-progress, but he made improvements throughout the season. Of course, when the Snappers went to the playoffs, Rosario was right back in center field where his defense was always above average.

Before the 2013 season, Rosario was named a representative of the team from Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He played left field most of that tournament.

Sano and Rosario advanced to Ft. Myers to start the 2013 season. The Miracle had a terrific team. They clinched a first-half title about a week before the Florida State League All-Star Game. The day after they clinched a playoff berth, Rosario and Sano were promoted to AA New Britain. In their half-season with the Miracle, they both put up big numbers. Sano hit .330/.424/.655 (1.079) with 15 doubles, two triples and 16 home run. Rosario hit .329/.377/.527 (.903) with 13 doubles, five triples and six home runs.

With the Rock Cats, Sano hit .236/.344/.571 (.915) with 15 double and 19 home runs. Meanwhile, Rosario hit .284/.330/.412 (.742), solid for a 21-year-old.

In the fall, Rosario went to the Arizona Fall League. He hit just .238/.262/.275 (.537) in 20 games there. His on-field performance was the least of the concerns. When the AFL came to a close, Rosario returned to Puerto Rico and told his Puerto Rico Winter League GM that he was going to be suspended by MLB for PED usage. A month later, MLB announced that he was being suspended for a Drug of Abuse.

Fast forward to spring of 2014. Sano missed the full season after having Tommy John surgery in March, and Rosario did not go to spring training. The Twins had excused him. He also had to miss the first 50 games of the season. Upon his return, he began with eight games in Ft. Myers before jumping back up to New Britain. This time with the Rock Cats, he hit just .237/.277/.396 over the final 79 games.

Fortunately, he was able to go back to the Arizona Fall League where he hit an impressive .330/.345/.410 (.755) with six extra base hits. The hope was that it would springboard him to a big 2015 season.

Rosario had a good showing at MLB spring training. Though his numbers were pretty similar to those he put up in New Britain in 2014, new manager Paul Molitor talked about how impressed he was with him defensively and how well he held his own against lefties. Still, he started this season in Rochester. The 23-year-old struggled in his AAA-debut. He hit just .242/.280/379 (.659) in 23 games with the Red Wings.

When Oswaldo Arcia went on the disabled list the first week of May, it was Rosario who was called up from Rochester, not Aaron Hicks. Reports came out indicating that they wanted Aaron Hicks to continue hitting as he had been and that because it would be just a two-week stint with the Twins, it would be a good opportunity for Rosario. As you know, however, if a player comes up and gets the job done, he has the ability to stick.

And that’s exactly what Eddie Rosario did. In fact, he has continued to be productive ever since and has become a fixture in the Twins lineup. He has far out-performed this minor league numbers the last two seasons. Now, in 113 games, he has hit .268/.290/.455 (.744) with 17 doubles, 14 triples, 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Defensively, he has proven that he is an above average corner outfielder. Not only does he have great range, but he has a strong, accurate arm which has accounted for 14 outfield assists.

FanGraphs has him at 1.9 wins, a value of about $15.5 million. (Not bad for a guy making the league minimum for the next two seasons too.

Sure, he will need to work on a few things to take the next step in his career and continue to progress. The key will be to improve upon his 109 to 14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That will help him to improve on his .290 on-base percentage. Will he be able to make that progress?

There is reason for optimism that he can improve his numbers. He has struck out about 25% of the time in the big leagues. Through his minor league career, that number has been between 13% and 21%, so we could see a good reduction in strikeouts over time. More important, however, would be for him to take more walks. He is walking just 3.2% of the time this year in the big leagues. In his minor league career, he was never one to walk a lot, but he walked between 5% and 7% of his plate appearances. Not big numbers, but he could potentially double his walk output which would be huge.

It has been a very good rookie season for Eddie Rosario, but as has been the case throughout his entire minor league career, it has been completely overshadowed by Miguel Sano. The third baseman, who has primarily DHd for the Twins, has hit .282/.399/.563 (.962) with 16 doubles and 17 home runs in 69 games. Sano has just three fewer strikeouts in 150 less plate appearances than Rosario.

Sano is the one being touted in Rookie of the Year discussions along with Houston’s Carlos Correa and Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor. Meanwhile, Rosario continues to put up solid, all-around numbers with less fanfare.

That may be the case nationally, and somewhat locally, but I guarantee that the efforts of Eddie Rosario have not been overlooked by Paul Molitor and his coaching staff. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by the front office. And, I am certain that the pitching staff appreciates what he does in the outfield with his range and his arm.

Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano have been teammates for most of their young careers. Rosario has been in the shadows of Sano throughout that time, and yet, he has always been productive. He has been a big asset to the Minnesota Twins in 2015 and the goal will be for him to continue to improve over time. He may never get out from Sano’s large shadow, but he can be a long-time, productive big leaguer.