Twins Need Rosario to Rein it In

I know Eddie is a fan favorite, but I don't think we'll see him in a Twins uniform in 2021. I bet they sign him to a 1-year deal this offseason and have Larnach ready to go in left for 2021.

His defense has also fallen off - a lot.  Seems like every game I watch he makes an error or fails to make a play.  Maybe he has an injury.

His defense has also fallen off - a lot.  Seems like every game I watch he makes an error or fails to make a play.  Maybe he has an injury.

I think he's had a bum ankle for a while. 

I know Eddie is a fan favorite, but I don't think we'll see him in a Twins uniform in 2021. I bet they sign him to a 1-year deal this offseason and have Larnach ready to go in left for 2021.

He’s signed through 2021...and there’s no reason he would accept a 1-year extension or 1-year deal of any kind. The Twins will give him a multi-year deal/extension...or they’ll trade him.

Coaches who transformed Sano into a more disciplined hitter ought to be able to help Rosario, as well.

Coaches who transformed Sano into a more disciplined hitter ought to be able to help Rosario, as well.

Sano has always been a disciplined hitter. His problem last year and earlier this year was swinging and missing pitches he should have been able to crush.

Sano has always been a disciplined hitter. His problem last year and earlier this year was swinging and missing pitches he should have been able to crush.

Uh, no.  He had a most unfortunate check swing habit that he has learned to control.  He is earning walks at a heretofore unseen pace.  These improvements in his judgment mean that opposing pitchers can no longer get away with throwing him unhittable crap outside the zone.

Eddie Rosario's batting .281 with 27 homers and 92 RBI. The Twins are in 1st place by 6.5 games on September 4th.

There is literally nothing to complain about, so it's "hate on Eddie" week? I know that in this day in age, we all need our daily blog posts to provoke some controversy and conversation. But c'mon man.

Eddie's a free swinger. Been that way since he hit a HR in his first MLB at bat many years ago. He's had some huge hits for this team. He's carried this team on his back for long periods of time.

Yes, Eddie is going to swing at some bad pitches. So what. Let the guy play his game.

Eddie is a unique talent, with a swing that shows tremendous hand and wrist strength all the way through the zone.

Could be, should be, would be one of the best hitters in the league, but, lacks discipline.

I wrote recently that he seemed not to care about outcomes.

I don't think that's right to question motivation.

It's more like he is preoccupied, kind of somewhere else in his head and loses his focus or ability to respond physically/decisively.

"Eddie, get back down here to the physical plane of reality.  We f'ing need you!"

Uh, no. He had a most unfortunate check swing habit that he has learned to control. He is earning walks at a heretofore unseen pace. These improvements in his judgment mean that opposing pitchers can no longer get away with throwing him unhittable crap outside the zone.

Umm, yes. Even back in the minors.

Way back in A ball he walked 80 times in 500 PA. At the same level, Rosario walked 30 times in a little over 400 PA. For his minor league career, Sano had a walk rate over 12%. Rosario’s was under 7%.

Sure, Sano can get fooled, but he has never been a guy to swing at anything that moves like Rosario.

Eddie Rosario's batting .281 with 27 homers and 92 RBI. The Twins are in 1st place by 6.5 games on September 4th.

 

There is literally nothing to complain about, so it's "hate on Eddie" week? I know that in this day in age, we all need our daily blog posts to provoke some controversy and conversation. But c'mon man.

 

Eddie's a free swinger. Been that way since he hit a HR in his first MLB at bat many years ago. He's had some huge hits for this team. He's carried this team on his back for long periods of time.

 

Yes, Eddie is going to swing at some bad pitches. So what. Let the guy play his game.

Let him play it somewhere else. The Twins need pitching more than they need Rosario’s bat. Rosario could fetch a very good, very close to MLB ready prospect IMO. Like, someone that can help fill one of the 4 holes in the rotation next year.

Let him play it somewhere else. The Twins need pitching more than they need Rosario’s bat. Rosario could fetch a very good, very close to MLB ready prospect IMO. Like, someone that can help fill one of the 4 holes in the rotation next year.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the Twins may have to deal some of their pieces to acquire pitching. Not sure Eddie's going to get the Twins much, but that remains to be seen.

I just don't get the hate and vitriol towards one of the better Twins players, who seems to be liked by his teammates and is having a good year. I can see how it's annoying to watch him swing at bad balls, but every player has his quirks. I can see if the Twins had lost 10 of 12 games and Eddie was 0-29 during that stretch or something. But that's not the case.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the Twins may have to deal some of their pieces to acquire pitching. Not sure Eddie's going to get the Twins much, but that remains to be seen.

 

I just don't get the hate and vitriol towards one of the better Twins players, who seems to be liked by his teammates and is having a good year. I can see how it's annoying to watch him swing at bad balls, but every player has his quirks. I can see if the Twins had lost 10 of 12 games and Eddie was 0-29 during that stretch or something. But that's not the case.

Maybe you are talking about other threads, but what I see in this thread is honest assessment.

I love Kepler batting leadoff, and against righties I don't think there's a better option. So that probably means Polanco (picking it back up lately) second, followed by Cruz and then Arraez. Sano can still be trusted at five, but honestly how can you even put Rosario ahead of Cave in the lineup at this point? Simple seniority rules, I guess? Whenever Buxton's ready to come back, it's going to be hard to fit Eddie in there regularly unless he does change something about his approach- especially with runners on.

Curious why you think Arraez is well suited to hit clean up but not lead off. Seems to me that Arraez leading off with Kepler clean up makes all the sense in the world vs RHP.

I love Eddie. He does bring the swagger and attitude every championship team needs. My hope is to see him reign it in and become more polished and disciplined in those moments of consequence on the field and at the plate. Not sure if he is easily bored out in left field at times, or if he has a hero mindset at the plate late in games? For whatever reason he is certainly not maximizing his ability as he could. Such great hands and quick wrists could be better harnessed and better deployed I think. Now do other GM's see this, and are willing to pay a kings ransom for him this winter? Probably not. If not, we need to keep him. Tons of raw talent here, and still alot of refining and developing work to bring out the best in him. He is no where close to his peak ability in my opinion.

This is good stuff! What a fascinating read. 

There's a lot the dedicated Twins fan would be familiar with, and mostly agree on.

I love Eddie like a rock. In addition to his often-productive bat, he brings a lot of intangibles to the club with his attitude and how he approaches the game. But the mental lapses at the plate and in the field- they're beyond the level of maturity he should be showing by now. 

It would not surprise me in the least if Eddie gets packaged this winter for starting pitching, but it would hurt my heart. Those young sluggers that are making their wayt through the ranks, all pretty much project to LF/1B, so they're going to need a spot to fit into. I don't see Larnach, Rooker, or any of the other kids replacing Kep or (a healthy) Buxton for seasons hence.

Is it an injury, a new approach, or is he simply a streaky player? Or all 3?

He's always been streaky, so my hope is a cold spell in Sept, a hot streak in Oct.

He is not signed through 2021. He is controllable through 2021

Right. Arbitration eligible in 2020 and 2021. So, maybe the poster that I responded to meant "don't extend beyond 2021"...or "force the arbitration process". Either way, the Twins can offer a multi-year extension, or trade him...and they have until July 31, 2021 (latest...Brian Dozier scenario) to trade him.

Uh, no.  He had a most unfortunate check swing habit that he has learned to control.  He is earning walks at a heretofore unseen pace.  These improvements in his judgment mean that opposing pitchers can no longer get away with throwing him unhittable crap outside the zone.

Miguel Sano's walk rate this year is 12.4%, compared to his career MLB walk rate of 12.0%.

Free Eddie.

I say let him play as he does.  We all know he will get on one of those hot streaks.  Wouldn't it be great if the next one started around the last day of the regular season.  He could carry the team through the first two rounds all the way to the World Series.

Eddie...Eddie...Eddie!

Eddie is who he is, like it or not.  You cannot make him any different at this time.  He has done a little better, but he will swing at bad pitches and sometimes he will get hits, some times he will not.  If you want him to change to Arraez, he will not.  If he can get hot in playoffs he can carry the team all the way to the ship.  

Personally, I do not expect he will be on team long term and will be replaced by one of our many up and coming OF.  Our team leads MLB in runs scored, and we are complaining we could have scored more if Eddie would just stay off some bad pitches?  How many bad pitches this season has he produced big hits on, did you look at that?  I have not, but know in the past I have seen him hit big hits on pitches well out of zone.  You have to take good with the bad and accept it. If he knew how to hone his zone he would have by now. 

Funny, at the end of last season, to an intermediate fan such as myself, Rosario and Berrios were the ones who I hoped to se extended. They extended Polanco and Kepler.

Falvine must have a crystal ball. 

Umm, yes. Even back in the minors.

Way back in A ball he walked 80 times in 500 PA. At the same level, Rosario walked 30 times in a little over 400 PA. For his minor league career, Sano had a walk rate over 12%. Rosario’s was under 7%.

Sure, Sano can get fooled, but he has never been a guy to swing at anything that moves like Rosario.

First, thanks for enforcing a fact check.  It's important to be certain of the numbers if our opinions are to mean anything.

It was indeed a surprise to find Sano leading the team in BB/PA (45/363, 12.4%).  Next best is Castro at 28/242, 11.6%.  Sano's MLB BB% has never been below 10%, but he only has two seasons with more than 400 PA.  Of Twins players with over 400 PA this season, only Kepler and Cruz are at/over 10%.  Rosario (18/497, 3.6%) and Schoop (16/397, 4.0%) do least well in this category among major batters in Twins 2019 lineup.

Rosario does much better than Sano at not striking out.  This season he has recorded 71Ks for 14.3% of his PAs.  Sano leads Twins batters with 132 (36.4%).

The first half vs second half and monthly stats tell a fuller story of Sano's improved discipline.  His BB% rose from 11.3% to 13.3% at the same time his SO% dropped appreciably from 38.1% to 34.9%.  This is particularly noticeable in the month of July, but he slipped back in August.   He has significantly reduced his number of swings at pitches outside the zone this year, a major Rosario issue.  The perception has been that the number of strikes called on those irritating check swings has also dropped, but I can't locate data to support this at the moment.

Rosario and Sano are certainly different classes of hitters.  But if Sano can apply what he's learned from Rowson and Hernandez, then Rosario should also be able to do so.

Coaches who transformed Sano into a more disciplined hitter ought to be able to help Rosario, as well.

I don't know if i call it a transformation. He's still striking out at near career highs and still not walking as much as did in 2105 which was 15.8%

I have mixed feelings on Rosario. His defense is clearly not up to par this season, and yes - he does look foolish at times at the plate.

He has, however, come up with some of the most clutch hits of the season - second maybe only to Kepler.

I also feel that his digression may somewhat be contributed to his ankle injury.