The Curious Case of Kala'i Rosario

I do not expect anything - I think he is a lost prospect who needs a really bad team to give him some ABs

Sweet.  He's a sweet 21 long-shot with a positive attitude and a desire to improve.  Get back to us when Kala'i's got some sweet plate discipline figured out.  And Rosario's our #11 prospect?  Oh, my....

40 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

Sweet.  He's a sweet 21 long-shot with a positive attitude and a desire to improve.  Get back to us when Kala'i's got some sweet plate discipline figured out.  And Rosario's our #11 prospect?  Oh, my....

Yes, the Midwest League MVP is the #11 prospect in the system. He's 19th on the MLB.com list.

Quote

Like many hitters this front office has drafted since taking the helm, there’s a fair amount of swing and miss to Rosario’s game. 

It's a little disappointing that Rosario is our #11 top prospect but it's the result of this FO's priority in hitter preference & lack of priority of defense & athleticism.

We will see how Rosario fare at AA.  His stock might be at an all time high coming off a MVP season and a power packed fall league.  For a 1 tool power only prospect. 

30 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Having a swing likened to that of the three "o" ( Sano Gallo Sabato) is not a good place to be.

RosariO …. Fits right in…

Trade bait

He seems like a great kid. He has a long way to go to be in the show. At 21 yrs old…. So does most of the guys in MILB.  Will he adjust his swing? Its going to be a nice show to watch over the next 3 years while he checks off more awards…. or not. 

The kid won the league MVP and you're making it sound like he's Joey Gallo? 🙄

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

It's a little disappointing that Rosario is our #11 top prospect but it's the result of this FO's priority in hitter preference & lack of priority of defense & athleticism.

Noah says 👋.  He is the SS prospect who won the minor league gold glove this year.

Patience at the plate I think would be difficult when one has had success with swing. If the swing is not an ideal swing it will probably take a lack of success to get him to change.  

Rosario began the season with high A Cedar Rapids as a 20yo and didn't turn 21yo until July 2nd, roughly half way through the year. 

His quad slash line was as follows: .252/ .367/ .467/ .831

Yes, he strikes out more than you'd like, and he will need to curb that, or at least not see his K % rise. But a .367 OB% at A+ as a 20/21yo?  I'll take that all day long!

Oh, and a .831 SLG% which was 27 Dbls, 3 Trips, and 21 HR. He accounted for 94 RBI and won the league MVP honors. 

As a follow up, he went to the AFL and over 4 weeks cracked 7 HR and won the HR tournament. Oh, and despite the hits not falling in and batting only .214 he still maintained a .333 OB%.

He's got a ways to go, but I'm very excited about this kid. All he's showing is great potential! What kid his age and experience...generally speaking...doesn't have some things to keep working on?

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

I bet Joey Gallo could sign a contract with a team in the Midwest League and compete for MVP.

Are you joking? He would get cut from most High School teams.

Difficult to know where people are going in this discussion. I wondered how many folks have seen Rosario hit at least a couple of dozen times? I'm fine if this is via milb.com and live is better. If you haven't seen him play in dozens of games, .....

Rosario gets some criticism and he won the league MVP. Noah Miller, who I think could still develop, gets a minor league gold glove and people weigh in that he is the future shortstop for the Twins even if he is just a utility player at Hi-A baseball right now. Either way, I think it is too early to make these judgments. I want to encourage those fans interested in prospects to watch a half dozen minor league games every week to see what is happening down below on the farm. Some of the games are pretty crazy. Forget the stats and watch what these kids can do against their peers.

I've seen the kid play in person and I wouldn't bet against him.

15 hours ago, Dman said:

If you can't get excited about a 21 year old hitter winning MVP of his league you might as well stop following prospects because they can't play any better than that.  How many Twins prospects have won MVP honors?  He was better at a younger age than Daulten Rushing the Dodgers number 1 prospect.  

Sure the kid can improve on his plate discipline, but his approach was good enough as is, to win MVP honors ahead of the Dodgers number 1 prospect.  If you ask me 11 is too low for this kid.  I don't know if anyone on here has watched him but he has a nice setup at the plate leaning on his back leg to uncoil and launch baseballs.

We'll know more once he hits AA as he will be challenged with more and better breaking stuff.  Still he is the only right handed outfield bat with power close to the majors I don't think the Twins will be interested in trading him.  If he meets the challenge at AA he could be a top 5 player in the Twins top 30 this time next year.

Not to mention above average speed as a. Orner outfielder and 24 assists in 2 years. I'm rooting for the kid ..

So, here's the thing: Sano & Gallo were both MLB players. Sano accumulated 7.6 bWAR, had a 116 OPS+, and made the all-star team. Gallo was a 2-time all-star, won 2 gold gloves, and has a career OPS+ of 110 even after the past 2 1/2 seasons where he struggled. Sabato is a former 1st round draft pick that is going to be exposed to the Rule 5 draft and doesn't look like he'll ever make it to the majors.

I realize there's a real dislike towards players that K a lot around here, and the Gallo experiment flamed out after the first month causing immense frustration as he became unplayable again (yet lingered on the roster and kept getting chances). And Sano's last season was a disaster as the injuries piled up and he couldn't adjust.

But early in their careers, Sano and Gallo added a lot of value to their teams. If Rosario is on a Gallo-ish path where he could supply quality defense (I wouldn't expect gold gloves) and light tower power and spends 5+ years in MLB with the Twins...that's a heck of a result for a 5th round pick.

But grouping Sabato in with Gallo & Sano is ridiculous. Sabato has never dominated in the minors like Gallo or Sano did. Point of fact, Sabato has never dominated for a full season at any level in professional baseball, only doing it for short bursts. He's never had a season as good as Rosario's 2023 as a pro, despite being an older and more experienced college bat.

Rosario had an excellent season in high A and deserves to have risen in his prospect status. He's going to be playing AA next season at 21, which is a great development path for a high school hitter. So far he hasn't needed to repeat a level, either.

Sano, Gallo, Sabato. Big power, but all or nothing. I think Rooker was the same.  But I bring him up as an example of a late bloomer who ultimately found success. Until last year he couldn't do anything at ML level. But then, in his age 28 season, he hit .246 with 30 HR. Unfortunately, it was with Oakland. (OK, I know his numbers were Jacked up by a crazy hot early start, and he swooned mid season, but the final stats are still good.)  But also, he led his team in strikeouts. So what. That happens with power hitters.

So now we are trying to project whether a 20 year old prospect with power and strikeouts will develop into a Killebrew or a Sano (or a Rooker.) It's way, way too early to know. The road ahead is very long with many unforeseeable bends and forks. But the question being asked now is what do they do with him? It's a fact of baseball life that teams will sometimes quit on a player who goes on to prove their worth with another team. (Ortiz, Hendricks.) I see way too much potential, as do some others as he was named MVP of his league, to give up on him. Maybe it will take 8 more years, like it did for Rooker, but he has a chance.  Keep him.

14 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I want to encourage those fans interested in prospects to watch a half dozen minor league games every week to see what is happening down below on the farm.

Most of us who are working just don't have the time to do that. We rely on people on TD and the stats. I especially like when posters like yourself report what they actually see in person at games or on tv. Most of those reports have been glowing on Rosario's power and Miller's glove. Both need to develop other tools. Not sure why we have to bash either one of them (though I did say I was disappointed in Rosario when he was hitting .060 after two weeks in the AFL - did pretty darn good after that to get his average up to .214 by the end).

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

So, here's the thing: Sano & Gallo were both MLB players. Sano accumulated 7.6 bWAR, had a 116 OPS+, and made the all-star team. Gallo was a 2-time all-star, won 2 gold gloves, and has a career OPS+ of 110 even after the past 2 1/2 seasons where he struggled.

Well said. Most prospects don't make the major leagues and most of the ones who make the major leagues don't make the All-Star team.

O I was just extending a joke about power hitters with last names that end in O. I don’t think Rosario is anything like those other guys except that. At his age he has tons of time to develop better hit skills and have a better career than all 3 of those guys. I believe his real development will begin in AA when he will be 2.5 years younger than average.  I will definitely be betting on him to be a solid MLB’r in 4 years and if he finely tubes his craft, we may be talking about him for well over a decade. 

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Most of us who are working just don't have the time to do that. We rely on people on TD and the stats. I especially like when posters like yourself report what they actually see in person at games or on tv. Most of those reports have been glowing on Rosario's power and Miller's glove. Both need to develop other tools. Not sure why we have to bash either one of them (though I did say I was disappointed in Rosario when he was hitting .060 after two weeks in the AFL - did pretty darn good after that to get his average up to .214 by the end).

This is true, the crunch of time is real. For years I worked, coached, played, and had my own family. Life was crazy. I fit following baseball into a 11pm time slot for an hour at most. I took the kids to minor league games and that sort of thing. Time flies.

Retirement does open the gates of indulgence, for sure. I can slip off to watch games live or follow via the internet. 

Twins Daily has been a solid site for fans. The one thing I try to accomplish is attempt to help folks to understand how difficult it is to play baseball and rise to the top. The work ethic is outstanding. Development takes time. Talent isn't just physical.

My view of Rosario is of a guy who has made incremental adjustments and had steady growth. His abilities to maintain at AA and AAA will be watched. The Arizona Fall League was a stretch for him, yet he stayed above water. Too early to make any judgments on Rosario. He does not possess those freakish skills of the young prospects who may become superstars. Few do. 

The only two players who I have seen a number of times who I feel have a chance to make a leap are Emmanuel Rodriguez and David Festa. E-Rod has a long way to go with the mental part of the game and 2024 will be big for him. Likewise, Festa can be unhittable and then just groove a few pitches or fall into poor sequencing. He is learning and just because he played college doesn't mean that he should be more advanced. His body is just catching up as well. 6'-6" and 185 pounds, but he looks like he weights 130 lbs. Both of these guys seem to have more talent but they still have to learn what to do and then continually focus. It's a tough road for prospects. 

Noah Miller has a really good glove and plays with confidence in the field. He has not put up any decent looks for a sustained month ot two on offense, but he has definitely looked better over the course of the last year in the batter's box. He could become a fair player with the bat. Again, it is way too early to tell with Miller. 

I have a hard time getting down on prospects, especially when I remember myself as a teenager and young person.

“He’s shown plus range in the corner outfield, with solid speed and a strong arm that led to 23 outfield assists over the last two seasons.” So he has better than average range and decent speed, with a strong arm and a lot of outfield assists. How does that make him “passable” in the eyes of evaluators?