Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month: July 2023

So many guys striking out at around a 30% clip.  I think I am just burned out on strikeouts.  Makes me really appreciate Lee's approach to hitting. 

Will be interesting to see if they move Severino and Lee up before the end of the season.

If you are Severino, you shouldn't be too worried about the swings and misses. He's at a .317 clip for strikeouts for his career. If the batting average stays in the .270-.290 range he'll be a huge upgrade over a current Twin who can't hit the ball and strikes out much more than he does. Gallo for the 2023 season is striking out at rate of .427 and has a career rate of .447. It's amazing how foolish this FO thought Gallo would help this team for a staggering $11M. League minimum would have been too much for him. 

1 hour ago, Dman said:

To be honest I thought Keirsey was a bust and was never gonna get there with the bat.  I guess the joke is on me as he looks really good at the plate this year.  The walk rate could be higher but other than that he looks really solid at the plate this year.  He is an aggressive hitter and he plays really good defense and he has stolen 30 bases this year.  Another late bloomer and if the numbers hold he would be a nice 4th outfielder option at the MLB level.  Likely better than Gordon all the way around but until they promote him to AAA we won't know if that bat plays at higher levels.

I wouldn't call Kiersey a bust. It was always a long shot he would contribute as a major leaguer. It's still kind of a long shot. He's 26, this might be his career year and he's still only an .850 OPS in Double-A. That won't play as more than a 4th outfielder. He could be a fun addition when rosters expand as a pinch-runner, he can steal a base.

15 hours ago, TwinkieFan4life said:

So many guys striking out at around a 30% clip.  I think I am just burned out on strikeouts.  Makes me really appreciate Lee's approach to hitting. 

Will be interesting to see if they move Severino and Lee up before the end of the season.

Yeah, agreed.  But Severino's an eventual AAAA player.  I just hope they don't protect him this offseason.  How difficult would it be for MLB pitchers to strike him out?  I will say his K rate this month is under 25%, so that's huge improvement for him.  But then again, the tougher pitchers get promoted in June, and he didn't.

Pretty much doesn't matter which player Falvey was offering me in trade for my reliever or rh stick, I wouldn't want anybody he was wiling to give up.  It's a very stinky system, and will really only avoid being the worst this offseason because they lucked into the 5th pick.  Lee, EmRod, and Jenkins are the only three who stand out, and I believe anyone else would be an after-thought in nearly every other system.

Just wondering, how does Keirsey, 26, get the nod for #5 hitter of July over catcher Cardenas, 23?  Keirsey's numbers are average in a hitter's park/league, while the more valuable position player in much more of a pitcher's park/league had very good stats.  I could see it one were the prospect and the other not, but Cardenas is more of a prospect than Keirsey.

I am not a jersey guy, but I would wear that one! Flowers up the sides and black pants with a pink belt---just fire!  Fun! Latin baseball at its finest---the Latino Leagues and MLB Latino players bring fun to the game. 

Lee will be the starting 2B in The Show next year!

Just read that Lee is on his way to St. Paul, or wherever the Saints are, today.

16 hours ago, Dman said:

The Twins should move Cossetti to AA yet this year as his well rounded batting profile makes him the best catching prospect in the system at least IMO. 

Cossetti (will turn 24 in a month and in A+) - .806 OPS

Winkel (will turn 24 in January in AA) - .773 OPS

Camargo (just turned 24 one month ago in AA) - .810 OPS

Catchers usually take longer so age really isn't a huge factor here, but I think Camargo on the hitting side is the best prospect.

41 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Cossetti (will turn 24 in a month and in A+) - .806 OPS

Winkel (will turn 24 in January in AA) - .773 OPS

Camargo (just turned 24 one month ago in AA) - .810 OPS

 

Catchers usually take longer so age really isn't a huge factor here, but I think Camargo on the hitting side is the best prospect.

 

 

Cossetti - 14.9% BB, 16.9% K

Winkel - 13.6% BB, 23.1% K

Camargo - 7.8% BB, 34.9% K

For the record, Cossetti also has a .925 OPS overall in A+, which is significantly different from OPSing around .800.

There is more than just OPS to being a well rounded prospect who can carry success to the highest level.  I do like Camargo too, but his long track record of being an aggressive hitter who whiffs a lot is going to limit his ceiling.  He seems likely to be Gallo-esque in the majors but without the walk rate to help him get on base.  If the defense is good enough, which I think it could be, you can still live with that for a backup catcher.

Cossetti's bat has been about as well rounded as you can get.  Good plate discipline and contact rates, with very strong quality of contact in A-ball too.  The defense is another question, but the reports are that he's worked hard and made huge strides so he should at least stick.  It's fair to wait a little to see how well the numbers hold up against tougher competition, but to me Cossetti still has a huge edge in performance so far.

37 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Cossetti - 14.9% BB, 16.9% K

Winkel - 13.6% BB, 23.1% K

Camargo - 7.8% BB, 34.9% K

For the record, Cossetti also has a .925 OPS overall in A+, which is significantly different from OPSing around .800.

There is more than just OPS to being a well rounded prospect who can carry success to the highest level.  I do like Camargo too, but his long track record of being an aggressive hitter who whiffs a lot is going to limit his ceiling.  He seems likely to be Gallo-esque in the majors but without the walk rate to help him get on base.  If the defense is good enough, which I think it could be, you can still live with that for a backup catcher.

Cossetti's bat has been about as well rounded as you can get.  Good plate discipline and contact rates, with very strong quality of contact in A-ball too.  The defense is another question, but the reports are that he's worked hard and made huge strides so he should at least stick.  It's fair to wait a little to see how well the numbers hold up against tougher competition, but to me Cossetti still has a huge edge in performance so far.

You are correct I pasted the wrong OPS for him, my only point was that Cossetti is two levels below and they are basically the same age, he could shot though the minors and pass Carnargo but as of now he is the basically the same age two levels down and I think that matters when looking at players and saying one has better numbers.

I generally am not a huge fan of a 23 year old in A+, unless their path puts them in AAA this year.

19 hours ago, Dman said:

I don't understand how Severino Sustains a high batting average and incredible slugging with so many K's and what seems to defy all odds high BABIP of .378.  I have been waiting for his BABIP to drop all year and it has stayed around that .370 mark most of the year.  I know there is a correlation with hard hit rate and BABIP.  The theory goes the harder you hit the ball the harder it is for fielder's to make a play on the ball. I believe it is why the Twins always seemed to go for players that hit the ball hard.  Still that seems like an incredibly high rate to me.

I will say that while he is an aggressive hitter his plate discipline isn't bad as he has a near 10% walk rate. Also he is hitting .290 on the year which is a very good batting average for a guy who K's as much as he does. And then there is the thing teams fall in love with Slugging and his .567 mark is in elite territory.  Like I said earlier on average given the warts his numbers shouldn't be sustainable but here we are his BABIP's have generally been high since A ball so I guess I have to concede he might be an elite hitter.  Congrats to Severino who isn't even on the top 30 prospect list but is probably better with the bat than most hitters in the top 30.

 

Severino numbers are very close to CES numbers at nearly same age and level.  CES struck out a little less but ratio has been about the same.  Similar power levels too.  What is funny is CES was a college guy that started hitting HR, Severino did not start hitting HR until age 22 season.  If Severino was drafted out of college same year as CES we would be singing Severino praises like may have for CES.  They both have huge issues with their game, like bad defense and a lot of swing and miss, but people fell in love with CES power.  CES is struggling at MLB level so far, and I think some expect him and possibly Severino to be the dreaded AAAA player.  Unless Severino can drop the K's he will be a fringe MLB player.