Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - April 2023

A couple of promising guys from the 2022 draft! And Severino is someone else the Twins may need to make room for. I think he needs to be Rule 5 protected fer sure next season.

Contreras has been great.  I wonder if he gets traded to a team that will give him a chance at the ML level?

Severino is showing why the Twins went after him hard when the Braves cheating opened the opportunity. Yes, the Ks are something to watch out for, but he's also drawing walks, and the power is impressive. He was good last season at Wichita and right now he seems determined to prove it wasn't just small sample size.

I expect Cossetti will advance quickly if he keeps pounding Low-A like this. Yes, he's a bit older as a college bat, but the FSL is still a tough league to hit in, so this is a good sign. (I wonder if this is the kind of production they thought they were going to get from Sabato?)

Contreras is a tough eval. He's off to an excellent start, but he's also 28. He was just ok in AAA last season, and didn't impress in his short stint in MLB. But it's a great start. Does he just need an opportunity, or is he a AAAA player? Think it's going to be tough for him to get any run in MLB this season with Kirilloff and Wallner ahead of him as lefty OF bats.

not surprised to see Wallner doing well in AAA. Probably good for him to draw even more walks.

Shuffield is doing well, but at 24 he needs to get out of the FSL and needs to stay on the field if he's going to make it as a utility guy. But probably not a lot of time available in cedar rapids right now

Let’s all take a breath and come to the realization that the answer is not: Brooks Lee.  It’s “Lee” NOT Robinson. He’s young, and he is probably at least a year away. 

I agree with MLR that Contreras is MLR, does he need a little bit more seasoning in the Bigs? Could he back Buxton up next year? Severino continues to impress me, Early this season Cossetti has been on my radar, IMO he needs a lot more work on his defense but his hitting is great.

Speaking about backing up Buxton, where is Celestino at? 

28 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Speaking about backing up Buxton, where is Celestino at? 

Still on the injured list. fractured thumb, I think?

Thanks for the mention, Cody, that Cossetti is catching two-thirds of the time.  My question to anyone who has seen him and knows something about catching, is he any good behind the plate?  We all know that the Twins badly need a few catching prospects in the organization.  Would be great if this kid can be one.

To be honest, a bit surprised with how well Severino is doing.  Don't recall if it was last year or the year before, but he was a disappointing signing considering all the money they threw at him.  

Have always liked Contreras.  If I owned the Twins, he is the type of player I would always want to have on my AAA team as an injury replacement.  On the other hand, if I owned the Twins I just may be sitting on a island somewhere drinking my favorite local drink and not thinking about baseball.

2 hours ago, Rosterman said:

A couple of promising guys from the 2022 draft! And Severino is someone else the Twins may need to make room for. I think he needs to be Rule 5 protected fer sure next season.

33 minutes ago, roger said:

To be honest, a bit surprised with how well Severino is doing.  Don't recall if it was last year or the year before, but he was a disappointing signing considering all the money they threw at him.  

Severino was actually already rule 5 eligible last season (the last 2 actually) and wasn't taken in the draft.  Seems like good fortune, because he did already have a great season last year though it seems to have still been a bit under the radar.  He put up about a 35 HR per 150 G pace overall between high-A and AA.

Prior to last season I definitely didn't think he seemed like a very big prospect, but he was probably underrated coming into the season.

He hasn't been a particularly high K bat in past seasons, so I'm not sure how much to read into his early season Ks.  K rates generally drop as the season progresses, so I'd like to see where he ends up in a few months.  His track record would suggest he can maintain the power with a reasonable K rate as well.

5 hours ago, Rosterman said:

A couple of promising guys from the 2022 draft! And Severino is someone else the Twins may need to make room for. I think he needs to be Rule 5 protected fer sure next season.

Severino is not young for his level (for a real prospect), and his strikeout rate is absurd.  Unless you walk and hit for excess power like Matt Wallner, you don't stand a chance with a 30% k rate, much less YS's 40% k rate.  Nobody is going to steal him from the Twins, especially since he's not great in the field.

This is truly the most nothing Twins system I've ever seen.  Cossetti is the same age as Severino and two levels lower.  He may have put up the best numbers for the level he's at, but he's three years older than you'd want a prospect to be there, so his numbers don't mean squat until he moves up at least two levels.  I doubt he's as good as Severino when that happens.

There's a real chance that when Varland, SWR, Julien, Lewis, and Wallner graduate from rookie status this year, it will objectively be the worst system in baseball for prospects  They'll have Lee, who projects as a regular, K-prone EmRod who has a chance, and then some guys in the Florida Complex League or lower, i.e., lottery tickets.

12 hours ago, twinstalker said:

Severino is not young for his level (for a real prospect), and his strikeout rate is absurd.  Unless you walk and hit for excess power like Matt Wallner, you don't stand a chance with a 30% k rate, much less YS's 40% k rate.  Nobody is going to steal him from the Twins, especially since he's not great in the field.

This is truly the most nothing Twins system I've ever seen.  Cossetti is the same age as Severino and two levels lower.  He may have put up the best numbers for the level he's at, but he's three years older than you'd want a prospect to be there, so his numbers don't mean squat until he moves up at least two levels.  I doubt he's as good as Severino when that happens.

There's a real chance that when Varland, SWR, Julien, Lewis, and Wallner graduate from rookie status this year, it will objectively be the worst system in baseball for prospects  They'll have Lee, who projects as a regular, K-prone EmRod who has a chance, and then some guys in the Florida Complex League or lower, i.e., lottery tickets.

They traded away a bunch of assets to bolster the team last year.  According to many here we absolutely had to do this because we were in first place.  Personally, I didn't think that team was even remotely a contender given the injuries that had already happened prior to the deadline.  That said, it's hardly fair to complain in the context of after they graduate Varland, SWR, Julien, Lewis, and Wallner.  Ryan, Miranda, Kirilloff, Larnach, Jax, Winder, and Duran are also recent graduates.  SWR and few others have also made their debut.  What would you expect to happen after graduating over a dozen players in a season and a half?

There are also a few guys like Priellip and Canterino that are out of sight and therefore out of mind but they could be real difference makers if we can get them healthy.   Three picks in the top 50, especially #5 will also hopefully help rebuild the system and they should also end up with a couple comp picks from qualifying offers after this season.

I wouldn't write off Contreras as a AAAA player.  He's definitely old for a prospect, but look at what our old pal Brent Rooker is doing in Oakland.

9 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

torn labrum in his thumb. Had surgery in mid-March... 6-8 week recovery if all goes well. 

Hopefully he'll start rehab soon, then.

21 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Speaking about backing up Buxton, where is Celestino at? 

Celestino as a DH?? 😉

Severino's an interesting case.

A very highly rated international prospect...and the bat has been good pretty consistently all along the way. And yet, here we are with him having somehow become a 'sleeper' prospect. Maybe it's the limited defensive profile?