The Cedar Rapids Conundrum

I would imagine that Miller will play 60-65% of the games at SS and Salas 35-40% until Salas has either shown the improvement necessary to earn a greater share of the time at SS or failed to earn it.  Playing Miller more at 2B would be good with a little 3B mixed in to enhance utility player capability.  

Seems to me there is an easy solution here—if Miller is considered more or less a lock to stick at short, reps there are less important than for Salas, for whom finding out if he can play at short is imperative.  Put Miller at second, Salas at short, and see whether Miller’s bat or Salas’ glove merits a promotion to AA first.

Two thoughts - Ross and Schobel also play SS. They can pretty much forget about getting playing time there.

For a high school draft pick, I don't think Miller has struggled as much as some people are saying. He seems to walk enough that he has a good feel for the strike zone. We need to give the high schoolers a little more time. Now, Cavaco, he was drafted 2 years earlier than Miller, doesn't play defense like him, and has not shown much as a hitter. I can understand giving up on him.

When I saw the roster for Cedar Rapids I saw the potential problem. I'm ready to move on from Cavaco, see if we can find a taker. Probably one will get bumped up to AA soon when Lee graduates, IDK who maybe Salas & he'll get his SS reps there but I don't think he'll stick there.

Miller is a stick at SS so I wouldn't mess w/ him & keep him there where his value is. I wouldn't sweat about Miller's hitting because most hitters have some trouble in low A (unless you are E Rod) due to the high level of pitching.

Once someone is promoted to AA; Ross & Schobel will play more often with some reps at SS

Both have three more seasons before needing a hard decision. And we can hopefully count on Correa to be the shortstop in the majors for those three, and probably four, seasons.

Either could step in when the time comes.

Bigger question is what is the depth chart for 2B and 3B. And where do guys like Lee, Lewis and Martin fit into the grand scheme of things, which means those three "studs" could be in positions for up to six seasons.

A guy named Acuna could also be in the shortstop mix come 5-6 seasons from now.

A good problem to have. But, yes, one will advance to Wichita if the Twins see fit to move Lee more quickly towards third base, for example.

Hey, as if this team doesn't have enough good players, Mike Paredes, who pitched really well last year, was added to the Kernels roster today.

Aren't rotations and timesharing pretty standard on A-ball rosters?

Why is this a conundrum? Does having Correa, Lewis, and Lee all able to play SS at the big league level very soon a problem? Sorry, I don't see it.

Noah Miller was a vast overdraft, can't hit a lick, and will at his peak be a utility man in the infield if all goes as well as possible over the next several years.  So we're not really serious with the question, right?  It's like the Twins blew this one, and nobody wants to admit it.  Why is this harder to admit than Aaron Sabato?

This sounds like a good problem to have. Both players should probably be playing shortstop almost every day. Since fielding can be worked on just as well at low A as it can at high A it seems to me that Miller might benefit from some more time at low A if he's struggling at the plate. If he starts raking we can move him up and worry about making adjustments at that time.

6 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Because who plays SS at this level, right now? That's the question......there are at least two good options, who both could be playing SS there every day. I'm not sure how this isn't a question.

I still don't see a problem. It's not like either one has to play SS every day. Can't they play 2B or 3B too alternating certain days at one or the other until one of them outplays the other at SS? Isn't that what the minors leagues is about? Finding out who is better at a position? Or should they wait until the next level or the majors to see if they have what it takes? This is just dumb.

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Maybe because Miller is 20 and Sabato is 23 🤷‍♂️ 

And I’m not quite ready to give up on Sabato yet either. But this has to be the year, IMO.

Personally, I do not believe the majority of growth in the field comes from games being played, but from practice time.  You can go a full game with only a few possible balls hit for you to field, but in practice you can get a ton of reps.  I fully expect Miller to get most of games at SS with Salas at 3rd.  Reports are Salas is already expected to transition to 3rd at MLB level.  Nothing wrong with some reps in games for Salas at SS, but that is not where he will grow most defensively. 

14 minutes ago, Trov said:

I do not believe the majority of growth in the field comes from games being played, but from practice time.

Agreed, to a point. You can't duplicate the game "pressure" or whatever you want to call it. When you fail in practice, it's easy to get the next ten. In a game, you may have lost the game for everyone on the team. A great example is Julien yesterday. Not known for his fielding (which is probably going to keep him from getting called up earlier), he boots a routine grounder with 2 outs in the 9th inning. 4 unearned runs later the Saints have a loss instead of a win. Now, how well does he bounce back from that?

So many shortstops and so little games. 

Yes, it is a bit of a problem, not only at Cedar Rapids but at other levels too. But as others have suggested, some of these player should be able to, somewhat effortlessly. slide over to second or third base, or even do some outfield duty. Good athletes like these guys are somewhat resilient.