Twins Daily Awards 2017: Most Improved

I think award could have easily gone to Buxton, Rosario or Berrios and nobody could have complained.  Nice to see three (3) young, key figures for this club in the future take such dramatic steps forward! Very exciting!

I get why everyone voted Buxton based on his amazing 2nd half.  He carried the team into the playoffs.  But I I would've gone:

Rosario 

Mauer

Buxton

Hard to argue with this verdict. Buxton showed considerable improvement this year, much to the relief of us all! But others aren't far off the mark in picking Rosario or Berrios as Most Improved too. Rosario perhaps showed the most surprising surge, whereas most believed Berrios would be much better.

Both Mauer and Gibson had impressive second half performances, but I think they would rate more as "Comeback Players" rather than "Most Improved" due to their years of experience. The maturation and improvements that the top trio of youngsters demonstrated was very encouraging. I only hope there is no regression from this bunch next year.

Too many good choices for me to pick one.

My dad and I were chatting this weekend, and he suggested that Mauer could be the American League comeback player of the year this year. I couldn't argue with that. I still went with Rosario, who I think made tremendous strides, and I hope he can continue to build from there. 

Kind of begs the question.     I think there are official awards for this voted on sportswriters.    Has there ever been an award winner for the league that was different than the same award winner for the team.    For example if Buxton wins Twins comeback player and Mauer wins American League comeback player.

My dad and I were chatting this weekend, and he suggested that Mauer could be the American League comeback player of the year this year. I couldn't argue with that. I still went with Rosario, who I think made tremendous strides, and I hope he can continue to build from there. 

While trying to look this up I went to this site    

Its the official site of the Minnesota Twins.   Kind of myopic on my part.   I saw it listed Mauer with 2 batting titles so was focusing on the fact that he won three.   Then it dawned on me that Oliva and Carew and I think Puckett had titles also.  Am I missing something there?

Too many good choices for me to pick one.

And that is a GREAT thing, and why this team had such a dramatic turnaround this season.

Buxton obviously improved a lot over the course of the year, but much of that was about him realizing latent talent that we all knew was there.

When I think about Most Improved, fairly or unfairly, I think, "Who raised my expectations the most as to what he is going to be over the rest of his career?" While there are a few other ways to interpret Most Improved, this one would seem to be the most relevant and indicate the largest change in outlook for long-term value (as opposed to recognizing a flash-in-the-pan fluky season, or rewarding someone who demonstrated minor league talent and finally showcased it at the major league level).

That description probably telegraphs where my vote is headed, but my Most Improved selection would be Eddie Rosario. No player raised my opinion of him and what the rest of his career will hold for him more than Rosario this year.

Fine analysis by Nick. Buxton was a force on defense, and his peripherals the last couple months are encouraging. But I couldn't call him the "Most Improved Player" with a 90 wRC+, just 4 points better than last season.

Eddie Rosario was a marginal bat with no plate discipline, and even in the early part of this season he seemed in danger of washing out. Then suddenly he stopped chasing pitches, drew walks, and he started to crush the ball. His 116 wRC+ is 30 points better than last season. On the other hand, his defense slipped (-6 DRS this year) and 116 wRC+ still is just OK for LF.

Jose Berrios, as we all know, was just awful in 2016: a 5.50 BB/9, 1.85 HR/9, 16.2 HR%. He's still a flyball pitcher who may be at the mercy of HR% fluctuation in the future, and his 4.51 xFIP this year indicates possible regression in 2018. But this year he did solve his control problem and knocked down his homer rates to 0.93 HR/9 and 9.1 HR%. His FIP dropped from 6.20 to 3.84 and his fWAR increased by 3+ wins.

Berrios would be my pick for "Most Improved" on the Twins this year.

Byron Buxton's improvements truly were extraordinary this year, if you compare the level of his technique at the beginning of the season to the end. 

Among the specific areas I saw:

Bunting. His technique went from poor to expert. In April Buxton commonly would poke at the ball. He would pop them up, whiff, or offer at pitches well out of the zone. Around mid-season, Buxton became far more selective, and his bunts got much, much better. He was setting up earlier, meeting the ball farther out front, and waiting to finish the bunt before breaking for first. 

Weight transfer at the plate. April, Buxton's weight transfer was a confused mess. He was in the process of eliminating a big leg kick that wasn't doing him any good because he would kick his leg, then rotate his front hip away from the plate, making him meat for pitches outside. Gradually during the season Buxton began to get it right, more and more shifting his weight into the pitch, while keeping his torso level, like a balanced skate step. The outside hole disappeared, and as this happened Buxton's confidence rose, allowing him to become far more selective at the plate. These improvements combined into a sharp rise in good contact rate, power, average and OBP, as well as setting the stage for another huge asset.

Base stealing. Buxton clearly got by early in his baseball life with nothing other than blazing speed, and you can't really blame him. Even sans technique, nobody in the minors could hold him, so he frankly didn't need to improve. That changed when he hit the show, where pitchers hold runners better and most catchers have quick, powerful arms. Suddenly his speed wasn't enough by itself, so Buxton stopped trying to steal. For this improvement I give tons of credit to Paul Molitor, who spent time teaching Buxton every aspect of base stealing, from correct form to careful film study of pitchers to figure out their cues. Around the All-Star break, Buxton was becoming impossible to stop going from first to second. Next season it will be fun to watch Buxton learn to steal third with equal impunity. Buxton is now prepared to break records.

Fly ball catching routes. Not as noticeable as some of Buxton's other improvements, his routes to catch fly balls got better as the season progressed. This not only helped Buxton make more impressive catches, it also helped protect him from some of the more violent wall collisions we saw earlier, because now he was able to better control his bursts of speed, slowing down as he neared the wall on deep drives. Even on Buxton's last collision, clearly he timed his leap and squared his body to the wall, allowing him to make the catch without the ball popping out of his glove. He did get injured, but his improved technique may have prevented a more serious injury. 

The future looks incandescent for Byron Buxton. His awesome raw tools got him to the major leagues. With continued good coaching and Buxton's enthusiasm for learning how to do it right, he appears destined for multiple years of MVP-level play. 

Kyle Gibson posted nearly identical numbers in 2016 and 2017.

Rosario. Leader of Confident Young Hitters.

I remember telling people before the season and I believe predicting somewhere on TD before the season that Buxton will be HOF someday. My faith in his skills has only been enhanced by his baserunning this season and his second half patience with the bat. The future's bright!

Not sure how you don't Rosario here. Buxton had a nice streak towards the end, but I'm not ready to call him

Buxton had a nice streak, but I wouldn't go as far to say "most improved". We already knew he was a good fielder. Until he shakes that "disastrous" start next year, I'm not sold. My vote goes to Rosario, hands down. He changed his approach at the plate, and became an offensive machine. Between Buxton and Rosario, Rosario is the guy everyone should be paying attention to.

Before you can win "most improved", I believe that you should have to finish with a good stat line. Buxton's does not look that good. Rosario looks excellent. Rosario significantly cut down his K, increased his BB rate, and was just hands down a better hitter than a year ago. Rosario was most improved.

Before you can win "most improved", I believe that you should have to finish with a good stat line. Buxton's does not look that good. Rosario looks excellent. Rosario significantly cut down his K, increased his BB rate, and was just hands down a better hitter than a year ago. Rosario was most improved.

The award isn't "most improved hitter" though.

Rosarios defense got worse, and his baserunning is unacceptably bad.