Twins 2020 Position Analysis: Second Base

If you loss Arraez for any amount of time you have good depth and prospects like Gordon and Blankenhorn close.

If you loss Arraez for any amount of time you have good depth and prospects like Gordon and Blankenhorn close.

Love the optimism, but expecting Gordon or Blankenhorn to contribute next year anything close to major league average is expecting quite a bit out of them.

I wish the other parts of his game were evaluated, i.e. defense and baserunning.  It would give a more balanced look at his true value.  People see the B.A.  and get all excited, but he's a below average defender and doesn't have good speed.

Love the optimism, but expecting Gordon or Blankenhorn to contribute next year anything close to major league average is expecting quite a bit out of them.

I don't have particularly high hopes for either but Gordon should at least be close to ready (if he ever will be, which was maybe your point). 160+ games at AAA and he actually had a better year last year than I would've thought. That said I would imagine Adrianza is next up if Arraez were injured.

If Polanco and Arraez are controlable through 2025, where does that leave Lewis?

Controllable for much longer and in Cedar Rapids.

Well, I'm not worried about guys getting "blocked"; that just means they're a trade asset or strong depth, and right now the twins are in great shape at 2B.

Arraez gives them a strong starter who could get to all-star level if his D improves and he can keep/add enough power in his bat to consistently keep his SLG% in the .400-.425 range.  He's young, he's cheap, he looks like he can contend for a batting title...that's awesome.

Adrianza can back up 2B just fine, but Marwin probably isn't an answer there any longer. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt he's got much middle infield left in him and is basically a backup at the corners: 3B, 1B, LF, RF. That's perfectly ok, IMHO.

Gordon's bat looks ready now, and I'm almost certain he would have gotten the call up in Arraez's place if he hadn't gone down with injury right before the opening appeared. I think he's the first middle infielder called up this year and probably gets added if Polanco, Arraez, or Adrianza goes on the IL. While I'm a little concerned about his ability to hold down SS in MLB, I'm less worried about his ability to hold down 2B.

Blankenhorn may be the next iteration of the current version of Marwin, but hopefully he can still play 2B for a while as needed as well. His bat looks like it might be close (I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him at AAA by mid-season) and if needed he'll be in line right behind Gordon.

The pipeline looks good to fill 2B right now. It looks like we should get some consistency there for a number of years with Arraez, which is kind of exciting: I really don't want to go back to 1998-2012. 15 years of looking for a 2B after Knoblauch got traded until Dozier arrived. That was 15 years of instability or inability or both.

The list of primary 2B in those years: Todd Walker (1 ok year, 1 awful year), the immortal Jay Canizaro (ugh), 4 seasons of Luis Rivas (awful), a Nick Punto sighting (in one of his no-hit years), 2 years of Luis Castillo (competent but on the downslide), 2 years of Alexi Casilla (gah), 1 year of Orlando Hudson (quality!), 2 more years of Alexi Casilla (ok, barely).

the years between Knoblauch and Dozier were pretty grim at 2B for Twins fans. I feel much better where we're at now with Arraez locked in and depth in the minors that might actually have a future as opposed to "we got no one else".

If Polanco and Arraez are controlable through 2025, where does that leave Lewis?

From what he's done in the minors (but remember he is still a young man) I'd say you have Marwin Gonzales without any bat...

My question about him is "Is he a major league shortstop?".  I can deal with a .240 hitter with little power if he can play SS like it NEEDS to be played for a good team.  And with the depth that the Twins lineup possesses, a below-average bat can be tolerated.  Especially if he can steal the occasional base.  Bunt a guy over if need be, or any number of the "little things" that used to be part of the "Twins' way" of playing baseball.

I do personally think it's a good sign that even when he had some vulnerabilities on the inner half of the strike zone, he somehow nearly hit .300 on pitches inside that were off the plate (which isn't easy to do with how he crowds the plate).

If you loss Arraez for any amount of time you have good depth and prospects like Gordon and Blankenhorn close.

If such a thing happened (and I hope not), maybe someone will do the obvious and move Polanco to where he needs to be - 2B.  He has a weaker arm than Ozzie Smith had, but doesn't play on astroturf (and will be bouncing throws over to Sano this year - not a pleasant thought!).  I think his arm strength might be below average at second base, but not as bad as it is at SS.  

A below average/ poor defender at one position ( though hopefully not  up the middle) can be dealt with on an otherwise good defensive team.  This team is NOT even close to a good defensive team, and really needs best-case scenarios  from so many guys that very unlikely that they will be even an average defensive team (Improved D from Arraez, Polanco, Garver and Rosario.  A full season from Buxton allowing Kepler to play where he is above average and improving.  Sano being a decent 1B.  Donaldson not getting injured, or having his performance fall off appreciably this year).

I called Polanco's defense a tire fire in another post, and I stand by it.  His arm and range are very bad for a shortstop.  Both would be at VERY BEST be average at 2B - but at least he wouldn't be as far below average at second.  

The Twins have intriguing, but seriously flawed options in the middle infield.  I'm not saying that we need to go back to Nick Punto to have a glove up the middle, but our pitching isn't good enough to be paired with a subpar defense.  

I think Polanco just needs to find a consistent arm angle for his throws and work on it. If he can cut down on the crappy throws his defense would look much better. Arraez will be ok at 2B with better footwork and agility confidence, but some here might be right that he has more value as a super utility player (post Marwin). We'll have to see if Gordon can stay on the field and be reliable. Blankenhorn is a baseball player and will be an asset however he is used.

The list of primary 2B in those years: Todd Walker (1 ok year, 1 awful year), the immortal Jay Canizaro (ugh), 4 seasons of Luis Rivas (awful), a Nick Punto sighting (in one of his no-hit years), 2 years of Luis Castillo (competent but on the downslide), 2 years of Alexi Casilla (gah), 1 year of Orlando Hudson (quality!), 2 more years of Alexi Casilla (ok, barely).

And they stuck with Rivas because, after his first season, they deemed him the heir to the position. Prospect status changes quickly. You want players in the minors pushing the big leaguers or else you're stuck with what you've got.

Careers can change quickly. The Twins were also set a catcher "for years" after signing Mauer.

From what he's done in the minors (but remember he is still a young man) I'd say you have Marwin Gonzales without any bat...

My question about him is "Is he a major league shortstop?".  I can deal with a .240 hitter with little power if he can play SS like it NEEDS to be played for a good team.  And with the depth that the Twins lineup possesses, a below-average bat can be tolerated.  Especially if he can steal the occasional base.  Bunt a guy over if need be, or any number of the "little things" that used to be part of the "Twins' way" of playing baseball.

So Lewis might be Adrianza? I am pretty sure nobody is going to be OK with that.

I was encouraged to see Gonzalez at 2B today.

He might be the best option if something goes awry with Arraez.

Interesting on-air comments made today about the lower demands from our middle infielders with the increase in fly balls and all the infield shifts being used by teams. Hmmm. I still want a GG short stop.

So Lewis might be Adrianza? I am pretty sure nobody is going to be OK with that.

He has tons of power though, so that's not even a remotely accurate portrayal of his skillset. 

What I liked about second base last year was how they played the young hot player and sat the more expensive vet even though he was reasonably good. They also handled the politics of that situation in an exemplary fashion.

He has tons of power though, so that's not even a remotely accurate portrayal of his skillset. 

This is what I quoted, NOT what I said.

"I can deal with a .240 hitter with little power if he can play SS like it NEEDS to be played for a good team.And with the depth that the Twins lineup possesses, a below-average bat can be tolerated."

Notice the - "little power" and "below-average bat" parts., I think that accurately portrays Adrianza

As a Twins fan he better end up being better than Adrianza, no matter what position he ends up at, otherwise he will just be another prospect the Twins wasted an opportunity to trade super high on.

I really, really hope he ends up with tons of power like you stated, but at this point I wouldn't go that far yet.

I can't think of any prospect our favorite team wasted an opportunity to trade super high on.

I hope Arraez continues to hit as he has throughout his career. I liked Schoop and hated to see him go. We seem in the best shape at second with several who can play that position. Just don't hand everything over to Arraez just yet. Let him proove he can do it over time.