Twins Minor League Report (8/24): Walker Jenkins Jumps Up

My vote is Andrew Stevenson over Jordan Luplow on the Twins’ roster. (Even though he is a lefty.)

Nowlin is the Prato of pitching - move up a level and he plays much better, especially his control. Also, anyone else with me back on the Miller bandwagon? He is hitting great this month.

13 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Nowlin is the Prato of pitching - move up a level and he plays much better, especially his control. Also, anyone else with me back on the Miller bandwagon? He is hitting great this month.

Yes, Miller is looking very good lately, but as far as bandwagon's go, I'll also join you on the Jaylen Nowlin one. He's pitched very well at AA thus far. Hoping he keeps those walks down and continues to develop confidence ... and a few more strikeouts!

19 minutes ago, jishfish said:

Not saying he's a top 100 prospect or anything, but always good to remember that prospect development isn't linear.

 

He spent the whole year at A+ as a 20 year old, that is great, sure it would be nice to have better stats, but if he spends next year AA at 21, he is knocking on the major league's door at 22, and that is awesome. I don't think he currently is behind the development curve I believe he is ahead of it.

Couple of observations...

I agree the Nowlin performance at AA is surprisingly positive. When he was promoted, I was skeptical... he just hadn't impressed me in the several starts I'd seen in CR. But whatever the Twins minor league staff was thinking, they obviously got it right. Hope he keeps it up!

Miller's situation makes me smile. He's SO good in the field and everyone you talk to at the ballpark would say, "If he could just hit a bit better." Well... he has. And more than a bit. It's been so fun to watch him prove himself at the plate this month.

And McCusker. Wow. 6 HR in 13 games in CR. Extrapolated over a full season, that would be... um... a lot of dingers. Just a real feel-good story there. Hope he keeps it up as he moves up the ladder.

1 hour ago, Steven Buhr said:

Couple of observations...

I agree the Nowlin performance at AA is surprisingly positive. When he was promoted, I was skeptical... he just hadn't impressed me in the several starts I'd seen in CR. But whatever the Twins minor league staff was thinking, they obviously got it right. Hope he keeps it up!

Miller's situation makes me smile. He's SO good in the field and everyone you talk to at the ballpark would say, "If he could just hit a bit better." Well... he has. And more than a bit. It's been so fun to watch him prove himself at the plate this month.

And McCusker. Wow. 6 HR in 13 games in CR. Extrapolated over a full season, that would be... um... a lot of dingers. Just a real feel-good story there. Hope he keeps it up as he moves up the ladder.

Thanks, Steve.  It is great getting your first hand comments about the kids in Cedar Rapids.  Cannot be happier to see Miller beginning to turn the corner.  Is his defense as special as some suggest?  Is there anyone who has come thru the league that you could compare him to?

2 hours ago, jishfish said:

I'm with you on Miller. It's too late in the season to salvage his overall numbers, but he's hitting .275 in August with an .860 OPS, which is really solid, especially given the reviews on his defense. Not saying he's a top 100 prospect or anything, but always good to remember that prospect development isn't linear.

I believe he was pretty young for A+ ball this year, so I wonder if they send him back to start next year, and if he proves this finish wasn't a fluke, pull him up to Wichita after 6-8 weeks? The jump from A+ to AA is pretty big, so I don't think it would be terrible to give the kid a little more time at A+ where he would still be young for the level.

I'm not quite ready to say that Miller is back as a significant SS prospect yet; he's had one good month as a hitter, 2 sorta ok ones, and 2 awful ones. He's on a really good run right now, and as you note: prospect development is not linear, so this could easily be him figuring out something and putting himself on a good track. but it also could be small sample size.

But it is important to remember that he's still pretty young and there's no need to rush him, especially with all of the infield talent we have in MLB and the high minors right now. If he starts out next season repeating high A it's hardly a crime. I think he's the 3rd youngest player at Cedar Rapids? (Behind Rodriguez and Salas) So it's not like it's a big concern if he slows down a little right now to get his bat where it needs to be with that quality defense.

Severino continues to have an excellent season. There are always going to be some concerns about him with the big K totals, but the power is real and he doesn't just hack at everything. I'm pretty confident we'll see him at Target Field next season unless he becomes part of a trade.

1 hour ago, davidborton said:

Pretty bleak AAA Omaha attendance based on clips from behind home and right field/1st base.

Heat index over 100.

As one who watched McCusker play independent ball, I’m not surprised at his power. The only concern I have about him, then and now, are the strikeouts 

On 8/25/2023 at 9:59 AM, Dman said:

Yeah McCusker is interesting.  He looks a bit like Winokur in that he is so tall.  Watched his last at bat On MiLB.tv and was going to write that he didn't seem have a good eye at the plate and that might be why the K rate is so high and then down to his last strike he hit his second home run of the game.  He has managed around a .900 OPS where ever he has been but the 35% or above K rate does lead one to believe he has trouble recognizing pitches.  Fix that and he would be an awesome MLB player kind of Judge like but eye at the plate generally is not easy to fix.

I'm not going to make excuses for him, but I will say this much... he's had PAs where umpires clearly weren't adjusting their strikezones to account for his height. He clearly has higher knees than pretty much anyone, but he gets "shin high" pitches called strikes with considerable regularity.

On 8/25/2023 at 8:59 AM, roger said:

Thanks, Steve.  It is great getting your first hand comments about the kids in Cedar Rapids.  Cannot be happier to see Miller beginning to turn the corner.  Is his defense as special as some suggest?  Is there anyone who has come thru the league that you could compare him to?

I don't want to assign a comparable. But he's just one of those guys you start to take for granted. Somewhere around the 3rd inning, there will be an eye-catching play made at SS that will make you say "Wow!" Then, you're like, "Oh... yeah... that's Miller out there tonight."