Seth Stohs

Good topic... I mean, Mike Trout should be the easy winner... Ken Rosenthal is even throwing his fellow BBWAA writers under the bus a little, pushing for Trout. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/how-will-voters-rob-mike-trout-out-of-the-mvp-this-year-091916 But as you wrote, there is certainly enough precedent for guys from teams that aren't contending that it shouldn't factor into where people vote for Dozier. Of course, in a perfect world, the best player plays on a winning team, but that's not always going to happen. I'd put Dozier behind Trout, Donaldson, Altuve, Betts and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple. He should be in that 6-8 range probably.

He's got two years left on the contract.

Days before the July trade deadline, the Minnesota Twins traded their All-Star Game representative Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants for lefty Adalberto Mejia. Also that day, the Twins announced that infielder Jorge Polanco was being recalled. At the time, I wrote an article asking Where Should Jorge Polanco Play? With Brian Dozier at shortstop, and Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe at third base, shortstop made the most sense, at least until you looked at his playing time at shortstop at that time in 2016:: In Rochester, he had played: 2B - 64 games, 559.1 innings 3B - 2 games, 17 innings SS - 0 games, 0 innings In his brief time with the Twins, he played: 2B - 4 games, 34 innings 3B - 1 game, 7 innings SS - 1 game, 8 innings Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski, USA Today Days before the July trade deadline, the Minnesota Twins traded their All-Star Game representative Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants for lefty Adalberto Mejia. Also that day, the Twins announced that infielder Jorge Polanco was being recalled. At the time, I wrote an article asking Where Should Jorge Polanco Play? With Brian Dozier at shortstop, and Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe at third base, shortstop made the most sense, at least until you looked at his playing time at shortstop at that time in 2016:: In Rochester, he had played: 2B - 64 games, 559.1 innings 3B - 2 games, 17 innings SS - 0 games, 0 innings In his brief time with the Twins, he played: 2B - 4 games, 34 innings 3B - 1 game, 7 innings SS - 1 game, 8 innings And there was good reason for it. In 2015, between Chattanooga and Rochester, he had 28 errors in 102 games at shortstop. In AAA, he had a .908 fielding percentage at shortstop in just 19 games. In 83 games in AA, his fielding percentage at shortstop was just .942. As noteworthy, I had people who watched him frequently last year wonder whether he could play any defensive position adequately. His arm was questioned at shortstop, but many saw that he struggled mightily just fielding the ball at times. His spring training performance this year was more than enough to understand why he was moving to second base. Since that article was written, here is the breakdown of games and innings played by Polanco: 2B - 1 game, 9 innings 3B - 8 games, 70 innings SS - 34 games, 310 innings In the first weeks or two following the Nunez trade, Polanco pretty much split time between third base and shortstop. However, with his start at shortstop on Sunday, his last 29 games have been played at shortstop. What does our readership think of the Polanco defense at shortstop? Here’s a look at some numbers: In 148 chances, Polanco has just six errors. That is a .959 fielding percentage. If you’re a fan of UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), Polanco has been a -2.4. That equates to a UZR/150 of -11.3. Both of those bullet points certainly indicate - in a small sample - that Polanco is clearly a below average defensive shortstop. Again, no surprise. But can Polanco be a regular shortstop if this is the question: Can he make the routine play? For many, if you don’t have a shortstop with huge range, the key is for that player to make the routine plays. In watching, the eye test tells me that he’s been solid. He’s made most of the plays. He’s had a half-dozen errors, but not many have been of the really bad category. My eyes tell me that he has been fine. Certainly not great. Maybe not even all that good, but certainly well within the realm of adequate. Well, Inside Edge provides some numbers to FanGraphs to help quantify that. They break each ground ball into six categories: 1.) Routine, 2.) Likely, 3.) Even, 4.) Unlikely, 5.) Remote, 6.) Impossible. Here is how Polanco has fared in each of those categories: Routine: 96.9% (of 98) Likely: 80% (of 5) Even: 42.9% (of 7) Unlikely: 25.0% (of 4) Remote: 0% (of 12) Impossible: 0% (of 3)Of course, for each of these categories, the sample size is far too small to make any grandiose statements. For the routine, 96.9% is low end of where you would want to be. However, that is 95 out of 98 which isn’t too bad at all. For the most part, Polanco has made the routine play. Of the likely category, four out of five isn’t too bad. Very small sample. Over time, you would certainly want this number to come up a little bit. “Even” would, in my mind, be a 50/50 proposition. Polanco is at 42.9%, but if he had made one more of those, he’d be at 57.1%, which could be good. Unlikely,remote and impossible are all “bonus” categories, in my mind. Remote would be the great diving plays where not only you make the grab but are able to throw the runner out too. It appears that Polanco has been successful in one out of just four opportunities. I’m not even worried about the 15 that showed up in the remote or impossible categories. A week or so ago, Nick wrote an article in which he discussed the scary idea of Polanco and Sano manning the left side of the Twins infield. It is difficult to envision. It certainly would not provide a lot of range. There would certainly be some limitations. However, after reading Tom’s article on the Recent Success of 100 Loss teams, I am OK should the Twins and their new front office decide they would like to see that alignment on the left side of the infield. Of course, should the Twins decide to trade Brian Dozier, Polanco could make the move to second base and they could go get a new shortstop. At least in my mind, and eyes, and my review of the defensive stats (admittedly small sample), Polanco has expectedly been a little bit below average. However, I believe he has done enough to keep the experiment going, even beyond the 12 games remaining in this season. What do you think? View full article

They've been consistent the whole time. It was his hamstring.

I wonder what Rick Sutcliffe did... I remember watching him and his exaggerated hand-behind-the-back approach. When I saw the images of how different the pictures were of Berrios, Sutcliffe is the first thing I thought of. Maybe he just had a fastball/curveball and didn't have a changeup? From a hitter's perspective, I think that the fastball and curveball grips would look very similar whereas the fastball/changeup look (And have to look) different. I don't know, but this is definitely something hitters can catch.

It'll stay between us. Ha!

All fair points... As for this report, whether or not he will be an above replacement level player in the big leagues or not doesn't affect whether he's a minor league All Star. If you saw at the bottom, a couple of people voted for Vargas, Buxton, others...

Who would you put in his place? And, there has been a little bit of Walker discussion in these forums over the last 2-4 years.

I've updated the article to include many links that I intended to link last night, but it was so late, I went to bed instead.

Updated the Gonsalves timeline. Thank you! Regarding Gordon... I figured 2017 in Chattanooga. 2018 in Rochester. Start there again in 2019 but called up pretty quick that year. It could be September of 2018.

Sadly, the Minnesota Twins minor league season came to an end the other night when Cedar Rapids lost in the Midwest League playoff's second round. In the last couple of weeks, we have handed out several season-ending Twins minor league awards. For the first time, we are also unveiling our Twins Daily Twins Minor League all-star team. Our Twins Daily minor league report writers were asked to vote for a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, a DH, a left-handed starting pitcher, a right-handed starting pitcher, a left-handed reliever and a right-handed reliever. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs Sadly, the Minnesota Twins minor league season came to an end the other night when Cedar Rapids lost in the Midwest League playoff's second round. In the last couple of weeks, we have handed out several season-ending Twins minor league awards. For the first time, we are also unveiling our Twins Daily Twins Minor League all-star team. Our Twins Daily minor league report writers were asked to vote for a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, a DH, a left-handed starting pitcher, a right-handed starting pitcher, a left-handed reliever and a right-handed reliever. Read through our choices for each position. Check out how each of our writers voted. And then discuss and cast your votes as well. Let’s get started. Catcher: Mitch Garver - Chattanooga Lookouts, Rochester Red Wings Acquired: Twins 9th round draft pick in 2013 out of New Mexico 2016 Stats: .270/.342/422 (.764) with 30-2B, 12-HR, 74 RBIs. Garver was the Twins Daily Minnesota Twins Daily 2014 Hitter of the Year. In 2015, he played in Ft. Myers before having a very successful stint in the Arizona Fall League. He did this Q&A while on his way to his honeymoon in December. He returned to big league camp as a non-roster invitee for the second straight year. He began the season in AA Chattanooga where he hit .257/.334/.419 (.753) and threw out over 50% of would-be base stealers in 95 games. He moved up to Rochester for the final 22 games. He hit .329/.381/.434 (.815). In the season, he was the starting catcher for the Southern League All-Star Game. He was #2 in the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month in July when he hit .311 with a .905 OPS. ETA - June 2017 First Base: Zander Wiel - Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 12th round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt 2016 Stats: .259/.333/.459 (.792) with 27 doubles, 8 triples, 19 home runs and 86 RBIs. Wiel signed with the Twins last year but missed nearly a month of the season after being hit by a pitch. He spent his first full season in minor league ball playing in Cedar Rapids. After a slow start, Wiel took off in the second half of the season. In July, he hit .310/.407/.660 (1.067) with nine double and eight homers. He was named the Twins, Twins Daily’s and the Midwest League’s Hitter of the Month for July. During the season, the 23-year-old had a nine, a ten and twelve-game hitting streaks. On the final day of the season, he hit two home runs and drove in seven runs. His 86 RBIs led the Midwest League. ETA - August 2019 Second Base: Luis Arraez - Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: International signing out of Venezuela in November 2013 2016 Stats: .347/.386/.444 (.830) with 31 doubles, 3 triples 3 home runs and 66 RBIs. Arraez came to the States for the 2015 season. He played well in the GCL. It was somewhat surprising when he began this season in Cedar Rapids. He turned 19 years old after Opening Day. He was remarkably good and remarkably consistent throughout the full season. His monthly batting averages starting in April were .313, .340, .330, .306, .425, and .333. He was a multi-hit game machine. He had 34 two-hit games, 13 three-hit games, three four-hit games, and a five hit game. In the first two Kernels playoff games, he had a three-hit game and a four-hit game. His .347 batting average led the Midwest League. He hit .351 (.839) against right-handed pitchers and .333 (.800) against left-handers. Of his 514 plate appearances, only seven of them came against pitchers who were younger than him. ETA: September 2019 Third Base: Nelson Molina - Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 11th round draft pick in 2013 out of high school in Puerto Rico 2016 Stats: .300/.374/.381 (.755) with 15 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 43 RBIs. In his three seasons in the rookie leagues, the Puerto Rican infielder never hit over .243. At 6-3 and 170 pounds, he looks the part of a shortstop. He had a strong spring training and was playing well in Extended Spring. At the end of April, he received the promotion to Cedar Rapids. He immediately started playing well. He posted an .829 OPS in May, and then again in two of the next three months. He had a twelve-game hitting streak in August. In late July, he had a stretch of five straight games with two hits (and 7 out of 8). He won’t turn 21 until after the 2017 season begins. In late May, I chatted with Molina for this fun story. ETA: April 2020 Shortstop: Nick Gordon - Ft. Myers Miracle Acquired: Twins 1st round draft pick in 2014 out of high school in Orlando 2016 Stats: .291/.335/.386 (.721) with 23 doubles, six triples, three homers and 52 RBIs. The fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft has been pushed in his first three pro seasons. After signing, he went to Elizabethton. He spent 2015 in Cedar Rapids. He started out strong in April when he hit .333 and was third in our hitter of the month rankings. He was the first Twins Player of the Week. He also hit .330 in July. He started and shortstop in the Florida State League All Star Game in Ft. Myers. He had 34 multi-hit games during the season. In late August, he had a five hit game against Palm Beach. He had two four-hit games during the season as well. Gordon will turn 21 in October. As one of the youngest players in the Florida State League, he had just two at-bats all season against pitchers who were younger than him. ETA: May 2019 Outfielder: LaMonte Wade - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Ft. Myers Miracle Acquired: Twins 9th round draft pick in 2015 out of Maryland 2016 Stats: .293/.402/.438 (.841) with 14 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 51 RBIs. LaMonte Wade began his first full professional season in Cedar Rapids. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in April when he hit .316/.430/.542 (.972) for the Kernels. He started the Midwest League All-Star Game in Cedar Rapids before being promoted to Ft. Myers. In July, he hit .341/.400/.538 (.938) which was fourth in the Hitter of the Month rankings. He spent a couple of stints on the disabled list which is where his season ended. Against right-handers, he hit .287/.384/.439 (.823). The left-handed batter hit .315/.455/.438 (.893) against southpaws. On the season, he walked 54 times and struck out just 44. For his one-plus seasons career, he now has 101 walks to go with 80 strikeouts. The outfielder will turn 23 on New Years Day. ETA: June 2019 Outfielder: Zack Granite - Chattanooga Lookouts Acquired: Twins 14th round draft pick in 2013 out of Seton Hall 2016 Stats: .295/.347/.382 (.729) with 18 doubles, eight triples, four homers and 52 RBIs. In 2015, Granite began in Cedar Rapids. However, after April - in which he was the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month - he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He made the jump to AA to start the 2016 season and immediately was an instigator at the top of the Lookouts lineup. Not only did he get on base, he hit for more power than he has in the past. If he got on first, he was on the move. His 56 stolen bases led all of minor league baseball. On April 20th, he stole four bases in one game. He began June with 12 hits in his first six games. He had a 15-game hitting streak in June and finished behind only Daniel Palka for the Hitter of the Month in June. During the month, he hit .363/.420/.529 (.949). He finished fourth for that award in August. Granite posted a .296 (.744) line against right-handers and a .291 (.684) line against left-handers. It was the first time in his pro career that he hit better against right-handers than left-handers (more specifics in this story on Granite). Following the season, he was named the Lookouts 2016 MVP. On Saturday, he will turn 24. (More on his Rock Solid 2016 season, with quotes from him, here) ETA: July 2017 Outfielder - Daniel Palka - Chattanooga Lookouts, Rochester Red Wings Drafted: Diamondbacks 3rd round draft pick in 2013 out of Georgia Tech Acquired: in a trade with Arizona in November, 2015 for Chris Herrmann 2016 stats (AA and AAA combined): .254/.327/.521 (.848), 24 doubles, 4 triples, 34 home runs, 90 RBIs. A year ago in High-A, Palka hit .280 with 36 doubles, 29 home runs and 90 RBI. He even stole 24 bases. He came to the Twins and put on a show in his first Twins spring training game when he hit two home runs. He began the season in AA where he hit .270 (.894) with 12 doubles, 21 home runs and 65 RBI. He was the Twins Daily HItter of the Month in June after finishing runner up in April. He was also the Twins and the Southern League’s Player of the Month for June. He played in the Southern League All-Star Game. In early July, he was promoted to AAA Rochester. In his first game, he became the first Red Wings player to hit a homer in his first at-bat with the team since Terry Tiffee in 2004. He added a double and a second home run in that game. In 54 games with the Red Wings, he hit .232 (.779) with 12 doubles, 13 homers and 25 RBI. His 90 RBIs led the organization. His 34 home runs was tops in the Twins minor leagues and fourth overall in minor league baseball this year. He will turn 25 in October, and in November, he’ll be added to the 40-man roster. He was recently named Twins Daily's 2016 Minor League Hitter of the Year. ETA: June 2017 Designated Hitter: Adam Brett Walker - Rochester Red Wings Acquired: Twins 3rd round draft pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville 2016 Stats: .243/.305/.479 (.784) with 22 doubles, five triples, 27 home runs and 75 RBIs. In the five seasons that Walker has been in the Twins system, 2016 is the first time his team did not make the playoffs. It was also the first time that he did not lead his league in home runs. He finished second in the International League and fourth in extra base hits. And first in strikeouts. Of his 27 home runs, three tied the game and nine gave the Red Wings a lead. His 30 multi-hit games were tied with Wilfredo Tovar for the team lead. On May 21st, he hit three home runs. On June 30th, he hit an extra-innings, walk-off grand slam for the Red Wings. He has hit 25 or more homers in all four of his full minor league seasons. In August, he was the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month. He did a Q&A for Twins Daily last December. ETA: July 2017 Right-Handed Starting Pitcher: Fernando Romero - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Ft. Myers Miracle Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic in February 2012 2016 Stats: 9-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9 Fernando Romero made a name for himself in the Gulf Coast League in 2013 when he posted a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings. Plus, he was throwing 95 mph. In 2014, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids in mid-May. However, after three starts, he was hurt and had Tommy John surgery. He missed two years,in part due to a knee surgery too. This spring, he was throwing 96+. He began in extended spring and was called back up to Cedar Rapids. He made five starts for the Kernels and went 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP before being promoted to the Miracle. In 11 starts with Ft. Myers, he went 5-2 with a 1.88 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP before being shut down in late August. He was #3 in the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in June, July and August. He won’t turn 21 until Christmas, and most will agree, there isn’t a Twins minor league pitcher with a higher ceiling than Romero. ETA: May 2018 Left-Handed Starting Pitcher: Stephen Gonsalves - Ft. Myers Miracle, Chattanooga Lookouts Acquired: Twins 4th round pick in 2014 out of high school in California 2016 Stats: 13-5, 2.06 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 9.7 K/9 What a year 2016 was for Gonsalves! He began in Ft. Myers where he went 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, and 9.0 K/9. He pitched an inning in the Florida State League All Star game. Then he was promoted to Chattanooga where he went 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9 and 10.8 K/9. He was especially strong in August when he went 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP. Right-handers posted a .174 (.511) line against him, while left-handers hit .194 (.582) against him. He was the Twins and Twins Daily’s Starting Pitcher of the Month in April, and then again in August. He was named Chattanooga’s Pitcher of the Year. He was also the Twins Daily Starting Pitcher of the Year. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both named him to their 2016 first-team All Prospect teams. He was also on Baseball America’s AA Classification team. He will represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League. ETA: June 2017 Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Trevor Hildenberger - Ft. Myers Miracle, Chattanooga Lookouts Acquired: Twins 22nd round draft pick in 2014 out of California-Berkeley 2016 Stats: 3-4, 19 Saves, 0.75 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9, 8.9 K/9 After being named the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2015, he was again the choice in 2016. He began the season with six games in Ft. Myers. By the end of April, he was in Chattanooga. He was consistent throughout the year. In April, he had a 0.87 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. In May, he had a 1.20 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. In June, his ERA was 0.87 with a 0.58 WHIP. In July, he didn’t give up a run while posting a 0.73 WHIP. In a nine-game stretch in June, he went 2-0 with seven saves. Unfortunately, he was shut down in early August with elbow tendinitis. He will turn 26 in mid-December and if healthy could be given a shot to make the Twins roster early in 2017. ETA: May 2017 Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Michael Theofanopoulos - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Ft. Myers Miracle Acquired: Twins 30th round draft pick in 2014 out of California-Berkeley 2016 Stats: 5-3, 3 Saves, 2.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, 11.6 K/9 Our voters stayed with the Cal-Berkeley-relievers-who-have-long-last-name theme in the bullpen. The left-hander began the season back in Cedar Rapids for the first half. In May, he had a streak of 11 games and 20.2 innings without allowing an earned run. He was named the Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Month. With the Kernels, he posted a 1.67 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9 and 12.5 K/9. Right before the Midwest League All-Star game, he was promoted to Ft. Myers. In 23 games, he posted a 2.73 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9 and 10.6 K/9. Theofanopoulos turned 24 in August. ETA: August 2019 So there you have it. The first annual Twins Daily Minor League All Star team. Who would get your vote? Below are the votes/selections of our Twins Daily Minor League writers: BALLOTS Seth: C-Garver, 1B-Wiel, 2B-Arraez, 3B-Molina, SS-Gordon, OF-Granite, Wade, Palka, DH-Walker, LH SP-Gonsalves, RH SP-Romero, LH RP-Theofanopoulos, RH RP-Hildenberger Jeremy: C-Garver, 1B-Wiel, 2B-Arraez, 3B-Beresford, SS-Gordon, OF-Granite, Wade, Palka, DH-Walker, LH SP-Gonsalves, RH SP-Romero, LH RP-Vasquez, RH RP-Hildenberger Cody: C-Garver, 1B-Wiel, 2B-Arraez, 3B-Molina, SS-Gordon, OF-Palka, Walker, Buxton, DH-Vargas, LH SP-Gonsalves, RH RP-Berrios, LH RP-Theofanopoulos, RH RP-Hildenberger Steve: C-Garver, 1B-Wiel, 2B-Arraez, 3B-Molina, SS-Gordon, OF-Granite, Wade, Palka, DH-Walker, LH SP-Gonsalves, RH SP-Romero, LH RP-Theofanopoulos, RH RP-Hildenberger Eric: C-Garver, 1B-Diaz, 2B-Arraez, 3B-Molina, SS-Gordon, OF-Granite, Wade, Palka, DH-Vargas, LH SP-Gonsalves, RH SP-Berrios, LH RP-Theofanopoulos, RH RP-Chargois View full article

MiLB.com's All GCL Team: Aaron Whitefield was named the Utility guy.

Postseason awards: Stephen Gonsalves named to Baseball America's and MLB Pipeline's 1st team All Prospect teams. On Baseball America's Classification All Stars, Stephen Gonsalves made the AA team and Felix Jorge made the High-A list.

Sano, Buxton, Kepler and Berrios are the young core, along with Polanco are the young core.

They shouldn't... That'll come with time. Polanco's not real vocal either. I'd think maybe Escobar would be a good one. Mauer is, even if people like the narrative that he isn't.

He'd been on a program with the Twins from early May til July 31st. He was going to start throwing for the Twins in early August. He's on the same timeline. He went through the rehab steps. It's all good.

Yeah, I don't think any of them would, not anytime soon. Buxton is a leader by example, but he's very quiet. Kepler is quiet, keeps to himself a bit. Sano is not quiet. He could, but I don't think anyone will follow his example lead they way that the other two could lead by example.

Looks like the official list is out. Only changes... Add Jean-Carlos Arias and Alex Kirilloff to the list. I wonder if Kirilloff will be able to play or just be there.

Don't forget that last year the Twins heard it from fans because so few of the players came out for the National Anthem.

The season is running down, and the quest to avoid 102 losses is going full steam ahead. John Shipley of the Pioneer Press sat down for a Q&A with the Twins manager. Many topics were discussed. We can discuss his comments here.

He has been for awhile, probably a couple of years.

It's very common. I'm sure there are a couple in every organization every year. Guys get three option years. Walker has used one. There's no rush to call him. And I say that as someone who would have liked to have seen him come up, especially now that I see Schafer getting a start or two a week.