Twins Outfield Of The Future Begins

Aaron Hicks is only 25 years old, young enough to learn to be a decent major league hitter. He has shown he can hit AAA pitching. Hicks now needs at-bats to prove his worth in the majors, for better or worse.

Where I disagree is the fielding ability of Hicks. He has been awful during his first to attempts at the major league level. On the other hand, Robinson has been excellent in the field. Hicks should not get at-bats if he can't field any better than his last two tries with the Twins.

Developing players at the major-league level has to be done in the context of the team. Our young pitchers (starters and relievers) are all affected by defense. Let's give them a chance to succeed as well.

With Arcia and Hunter at the corners, it's critical that the CF be able to field his position with range and consistency. If Hicks plays poor defense, DFA him and let Rosario have a spot on the roster. If his defense is solid the first few weeks, give him time to develop his offense.

"The hope is no doubt that an outfield of Oswaldo Arcia, Byron Buxton and Aaron Hicks would be the configuration for many years to come"

I think the only sure thing for years to come is Byron Buxton. Rosario was mentioned but his upside is that of a starter. Kepler, Walker and Harrison are all performing rather well in AA this year and any one of them could be up as soon as 2017. They're going to end the drought of outfield talent with a flood.

I'm so tired of the cliche "player x doesn't hit enough for y position". When it comes to defensive positions, as long as a guy can field it, and not be an offensive black hole, I'm fine with it. After all, if offensive production is what matters for defensive production, we can greenlight Vargas for right field.

Assuming all pans out with Hicks, Buxton, Rosario and Arcia - something has to give. It is way too early to write off any of these four as "fourth outfielders".  They all should be considered everyday players.  

One great advantage of having a stacked minor league system is their value as trade chips.   I expect that full rebuild will include a balanced team of experienced veterans and talented younger players. 

The Myers trade for Davis and Shields in Kansas City is a perfect example of what we should expect from the Twins.  

It seems to me that one of these outfielders will be playing elsewhere somewhere down the road.   What will be interesting is who the player will be and what it says about the type of team we construct.  

"I think the only sure thing for years to come is Byron Buxton." 

Seems like guys rated this highly by almost everyone rarely flop. If Byron stays healthy, he will be a star. The rest might work out. Hope so.

It would be nice to see Rosario-Hicks-Robinson together to start tonight's game. Just. See. What. Defense. Can. Mean. For. A. Game. Please.

Please?

Assuming all pans out with Hicks, Buxton, Rosario and Arcia - something has to give. It is way too early to write off any of these four as "fourth outfielders".  They all should be considered everyday players.  

 

One great advantage of having a stacked minor league system is their value as trade chips.   I expect that full rebuild will include a balanced team of experienced veterans and talented younger players. 

 

The Myers trade for Davis and Shields in Kansas City is a perfect example of what we should expect from the Twins.  

 

It seems to me that one of these outfielders will be playing elsewhere somewhere down the road.   What will be interesting is who the player will be and what it says about the type of team we construct.  

Well, they can clear a DH spot for Arcia, if they want to do so. I don't know what is going to happen there. I get the impression that they like Vargas the best of Vargas-Arcia-Pinto, but each one has some pros and cons factoring in their favor or against it. I really thought 2015 was Arcia's time to go ape . . . but damn it hasn't starter that way at all. Meanwhile, Vargas is starting to hit.

It would be nice to see Rosario-Hicks-Robinson together to start tonight's game. Just. See. What. Defense. Can. Mean. For. A. Game. Please.

 

Please?

Oops, forgot about Robinson's situation.

Let's just say that the Twins may, again, have riches beyond compare (like when we had 84 centerfielders and traded two of them for three pitchers).

But they are all prospects. Have no idea if Buxton will be...ahem...another Hicks. Of Walker can not strikeout every other at bat. If Kepler doesn't run out of options before he runs out of minor league levels to play. If Arcia IS the next David Ortiz, and how much do the Twins spend to find out. Throw in the Sano issue (third base or outfield).

But we won't know until everyone has some time in the big leagues.

No worries, everybody.  This will all sort itself out as out of all the guys being mentioned, we will be lucky to find 4 good MLB players to man the three outfield spots and DH.  Its kind of naive to think few if any of these guys won't make it.  That's why you cultivate a deep farm system so you can throw a whole bunch against the wall.....

It might be an interesting thread to start the "Bust List" and people can lay odds on which of the "top" prospects flame out.  I won't start that thread because I am enjoying the positivity of winning baseball too much.

I doubt Arcia gets traded at this point.  But once again, Ortiz was hurt at all times and nobody signed him until the end of spring training for $1 million, and Ortiz blossomed, sure we had him, but he never produced for us

ortiz had an .839 ops (120 ops+) in 466 plate appearances during his last year with the twins (2002), along with an .809 ops (108 ops+) for his entire time with the team (1693 plate appearances).

Been saying this over and over, but I've never thought Arcia was a logical fit for this roster, even though I love the potential in his bat. I'm likely in a large minority, but I was advocating to trade him two years ago because you could see this exact scenario of too many DH's looming, and he was peaking in value in my opinion.

 

The potential of HR power too often overshadows the deficiencies of a player in the eyes of fans if you ask me, and you point out his.

I'm absolutely baffled by the sudden desire to dump Arcia. He's got 30 HR potential, he's young, and he's cheap. Sure, he'd bring a big haul of prospects in return but that's not what the team needs right now.

Also, the idea that the team would choose to pay Hunter to DH over keeping Arcia would be a fireable offense. Hunter might have another year left in the tank after this one, but he's not in the long term plans of any team. Arcia certainly should be.

If Hicks can show effectiveness from the LH side of the plate, he's going to stick (even if he has a few brain farts in the field or on the basepaths). Arcia just needs to calm down at the plate again and he should be an effective LF. Hunter will get us through this season in RF and Robinson makes for a reasonable 4th OF this year.

But the future is an OF rotation of Buxton, Arcia, Hicks, and Rosario. That should be an exciting prospect for a lot of reasons: there should be plenty of offense, even if Arcia stays below average overall it should be a fine defensive alignment, and it's going to be cheap for some time. Rosario should be a great fit as a 4th OF.

Look, Arcia isn't great in LF, but he'll be able to get by out there. There's no need to look at moving him to DH any time soon. But frankly, it's a good thing that there are guys in the minors that are putting pressure on people in the majors. That means you have depth to guard against injury. That means you're not promoting guys too early any more out of desperation (Hicks). And it means you can trade assets from a position of strength to keep the minors strong.

Arcia isn't going anywhere unless he gets too expensive AND doesn't fit in the OF any longer.