Twins 2025 Prospect Previews: Kyle DeBarge

15 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I like the added athleticism and bat to ball skills. Kind of a shorter version of Neto or Wilson from the last couple years in my mind. Maybe more Wilson than Neto as Neto has added some real pop, but they're those athletic, scrappy, small college guys who just know how to put the bat on the ball. I like it.

Yeah, he's a grinder and baseball "dude".  Going to be fun to watch him play this season.

He should be fun to follow his ride through the minors. Hopefully they keep him at SS. Seems we draft so many of these shortstops then by the time they get called up to MLB they aren't shortstops anymore. Martin, Lewis, Lee, I think Miranda maybe....

Thanks, Jamie, really appreciate learning more about last year's class.  Especially looking forward to those guys taken lower in the draft who we know little about.

Looking at his size and speed, could DeBarge be our next Nick Punto?  Does he have that level of hustle and grit? 

he's an interesting player to watch. i think this season will tell us a lot about whether or not he can hit for any power with wooden bats in pro baseball and be a significant hitting prospect. I don't have him fast-tracked to being a top 10 prospect in the organization, though. he did ok in Ft. Myers but hardly impressed.

Scouting report:  Couldn't touch upper end pitchers in college.  All his damage done in the league he played in and equivalent.

Horrible pick by the Twins.  And in the first round.

But wait...this could be wrong.  A first rounder (33rd) should be able to hold his own in A+ the year he gets drafted, let's see.

Oh, that's right.  He was placed in low A and not promoted.  Why not?

.235 avg, .665 ops, 24.3% K rate,   The strikeouts portend...ugly. 

Meanwhile, Tanner Schobel (68th, .242/.670) put up a similar slash but some of that may have been more unlucky (19.2% k rate).  Objectively, Schobel looks better at a comparable time, and we know how much of a prospect Schobel is at this point.  He was a bad pick much later.

Some of the 2024 big draft names were sent to low A and struggled, at least initially.  But when the prior is inability to hit top end pitching (in college), it does not bode well.  Another example of this, btw, is his Cape Cod league season, where he fizzled with a .633 ops.

I honestly think the Twins went to see him in LaFayette, LA, saw him hit vs bad pitching, saw him hustle like a white guy gym rat, and thought they saw another Luke Keaschall, all while forgetting about the context.  I hope I'm wrong.  I wasn't wrong on Noah Miller, who, btw, did as well at Ft. Myers while being 1.3 years younger there.  DeBarge?  Not a fan of his play and especially of the Twins drafting him.  Baseball America had him at 89 prior to the 2024 draft, MLB.com had him at 67.  Just like Miller, he was seriously over-drafted.

Not only good contact with speed, but he and his family had some major dance hits back in the 80s-  "Rhythm of the Night" still gets my toes tapping.

Eeles and DeBarge are two infielders to watch this year. I am really curious to see how Eeles does in his first full season at AAA. He might be a real dynamo!