Twins Minor League Hitter Of The Month - June 2015

AB Walker is one of my crazy favorites. Teams need a guy like this to remind them that baseball can be fun, like seeing how hard and how far you can hit a ball, even if you strike out...A LOT.

Walker's strikeout stats are nuts. More than just about anybody's. On the other hand, he's batting well over .300, leads his league in homers, and has lots of yummy RBI's. He's also a very good athlete, good speed, decent glove, decent arm. Not an idiot in the outfield, just around average.

Walker's all-or-nothing approach at the plate is one of the things people pay for when they buy a ticket to watch a baseball game. Lots of former little leaguers appreciate the slick fielding, the amazing pitching, etc, but most casual fans don't know what they're looking at...until some big, muscly guy cranks a baseball 450 feet over their heads into the second deck. That, we can all understand.

That's AB Walker. I like it.

AB Walker has been the most consistent run producer in the Twins system for quite some time.   Let's be honest.  EVERYBODY / MOST had doubt about his success at the AA level coming into the season.  Everyone / Most  "thought"  - that AA pitching would expose his previous mistake hitting success.  

Seems everyone was semi right.  Walker is exposed during most of his ABs (usually via the strikeout), while others are usually exposed in multiple ways (via the FO or GO or SO).  Lucky for Walker his .940 OPS helps off set that flaw some.  

Sense baseball is a game of failure, I tend to look at the positives more so than the negatives.  That's just me.  What collection of players bring me the best opportunity to win?  NATURAL BORN WINNERS   - With a .620 winning percentage in the minors, Walker's power (2B / 3B / HR) has shown to be a valuable asset in terms of Runs, RBI, and Wins.  Love the choice for this months top hitter.

Kepler, Walker and of course Polanco should be headed to AAA - BTW

From Baseball America Team of the Month: 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/baseballist-prospect-team-june/

 

OF Adam Brett Walker • Twins

Double-A Chattanooga (Southern)

Walker has led every minor league in which he has played—from Appalachian to Midwest to Florida State—in home runs, and he’s gunning for a fourth straight title this year in the Southern League. In fact, he led all minor leagueres with 23 bombs and a .612 slugging percentage at the end of June. Walker’s extreme power exploits come bundled with an extreme strikeout rate, for in June he led all minor league batters with 11 homers and a .453 isolated slugging percentage while ranking third with a 39 percent strikeout rate.

 

He really does take it to the extreme.  The question like always becomes, which extreme will prevail at the MLB level?  Thus far in his minor league career, it has been the ISO because his teams win and his numbers are a big part of those wins.

Note:  The Lookouts were shut out for the first time this season tonight.  Walker struck out in only 25% of his AB's.   Karma.  

{ That was a joke people - Lol }  

That K rate has to come way way down.  Agreed!  Just imagine what his ISO might be then?  It's not like he over swings at the plate either, yet his balls travel 400+ every time.    His nickname should be  "Extreme"

Love the potential, despite a high K rate that may never drop to where we want it to be. But thus far in his short career, he has made adjustments, and has performed at a pretty constant level. In fact, I dare say he's made more adjustments and more improvement this season than any other. And this, perhaps he finest season yet, comes at the AA level. So what if strikes out too much to hit 3 or 4. Maybe he strikes out too much to hit 5th. But he could be an absolute terror in the 6 or 7 hole if nothing else. (And honestly, Dozier, Sano, Kepler and others, might be the only spots with room anyway.

But with his propensity for strikeouts, with the success and improvement under way, I'm in favor of keeping him at AA for the remainder of the season. Just feels like a necessary, logical step in his evolution and development as a player. And there's nothing wrong with that.

My only problem with the year to year promotion philosophy for Walker is that he hasn't improved his K rate during the last 2 years.  Why not see if a mid season promotion works in some strange way?  If you want change, stop doing the same thing goes for the organization as well as the prospect.   Besides he has earned it IMO.  

Walker:

Leads all of AA in HRs by 8 and RBI by 16.  He also leads AA in XBH's with 44.  He is not boom or bust from the standpoint that he also has 19 doubles and 2 triples to his resume.  Even with his ridiculous K rate - Walker is among the top run scorers in AA and has done so thru out his career.   Promote the kid and throw him his first true bone (from the organization) since drafting him.  

 

Walker:

Leads all of AA in HRs by 8 and RBI by 16.  He also leads AA in XBH's with 44.  He is not boom or bust from the standpoint that he also has 19 doubles and 2 triples to his resume.  Even with his ridiculous K rate - Walker is among the top run scorers in AA and has done so thru out his career.   Promote the kid and throw him his first true bone (from the organization) since drafting him.  

Counting stats. The only reason he does so well with RBI's and Runs, is because he plays on teams that score a ridiculous number of runs. Those stats mean nothing. 

I can't agree with that. I don't see how he can be promoted with that big of a k rate. That said, I expect him to get a Sept call up.

I hear you Seth, but you and many others have suggested the same development playbook for Walker over the last 3 years.  You have gotten what you wanted as it pertains to his need to cut down on K's and improve contact.  How has that worked for you or the Twins?  Wanting him to stay to get certain results is one thing, but wanting him to stay and getting the same results proves nothing.

What is the joke:  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and getting expecting different results.  That joke can go for Prospect and Organization.  I say try something new and pray for new results.  What do you have to lose after trying your method for 3 years?

Counting stats. The only reason he does so well with RBI's and Runs, is because he plays on teams that score a ridiculous number of runs. Those stats mean nothing. 

That has been the case every year Walker has played and you have no argument with me there.  He plays with great teammates who know how to score runs.  I'm just saying he does it better than everyone else on his team (EVERY YEAR).  Whether he bats 7th (like most of this year) or 5th (like he is lately).  As far as those stats meaning nothing - naaah - They mean plenty.  Don't ask the fans.  Ask his teammates who play with him if they mean nothing.  Ask those opposing coaches if they mean nothing.

70 RBI and 23 HRs on a team that scores a lot of runs can't mean nothing when his now 70 RBI are double the next closest teammate on his team.  That's right DOUBLED.   Is his .924 OPS a meaningless stat too?  He has plenty to work on but damn.............. "Nothing"

Seems like the Southern League agreed with you Seth.  I agree with you as well.  The Twins announced their Minor League Hitter of the Month going to Kepler.  

Crazy stats for both, but I again can't ignore the mass numbers put up in the month of June.  Crazy Production.

http://www.milb.com/documents/2/9/6/135045296/Walker_Named_Player_of_the_Month_89m02y48.pdf