Seth Stohs

Eddie Rosario is having one of the best rookie seasons in Minnesota Twins history. He won’t be the American League Rookie of the Year. In fact, he may not even win the Twins top rookie award following the season. However, the emergence of Eddie Rosario in 2015 has been vital to the Twins success. Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today Eddie Rosario is having one of the best rookie seasons in Minnesota Twins history. He won’t be the American League Rookie of the Year. In fact, he may not even win the Twins top rookie award following the season. However, the emergence of Eddie Rosario in 2015 has been vital to the Twins success. The Twins used their fourth round pick in 2010 to take Rosario, a high school kid out of the mean streets of Guayama, Puerto Rico. He signed quickly and went to the GCL. He teamed with the likes of Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano. Rosario hit a solid .294/.343/.438 (.781) with nine doubles, two triples and five home runs, but Miguel Sano was the player talked about. In 2011, he advanced to Elizabethton where he performed so well he was named the Appalachian Leaguer’s Player of the Year. He and Sano teamed to hit 41 home runs in the short season. Rosario hit .337/.397/.670 (1.068) with nine doubles, nine triples and 21 home runs. Sano hit .292/.352/.637 (.988) with 18 doubles, seven triples and 20 home runs. While Sano came into the organization as a top prospect. Rosario has been a Top 10 Twins prospect since that monster season in Elizabethton. In 2012, the duo advanced to Beloit for their first full-season action. Sano, just 19 then, hit .258/.373/.521 (.893) with 28 homers and 100 RBI on the season. Rosario was limited to just 95 games because he was hit in the face with a line drive during batting practice. He was taking ground balls at third base at the time. He hit .296/.345/.490 (.835) with 32 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. As you recall, he had gone to the Instructional League after the 2011 season and moved to second base. It was certainly a work-in-progress, but he made improvements throughout the season. Of course, when the Snappers went to the playoffs, Rosario was right back in center field where his defense was always above average. Before the 2013 season, Rosario was named a representative of the team from Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He played left field most of that tournament. Sano and Rosario advanced to Ft. Myers to start the 2013 season. The Miracle had a terrific team. They clinched a first-half title about a week before the Florida State League All-Star Game. The day after they clinched a playoff berth, Rosario and Sano were promoted to AA New Britain. In their half-season with the Miracle, they both put up big numbers. Sano hit .330/.424/.655 (1.079) with 15 doubles, two triples and 16 home run. Rosario hit .329/.377/.527 (.903) with 13 doubles, five triples and six home runs. With the Rock Cats, Sano hit .236/.344/.571 (.915) with 15 double and 19 home runs. Meanwhile, Rosario hit .284/.330/.412 (.742), solid for a 21-year-old. In the fall, Rosario went to the Arizona Fall League. He hit just .238/.262/.275 (.537) in 20 games there. His on-field performance was the least of the concerns. When the AFL came to a close, Rosario returned to Puerto Rico and told his Puerto Rico Winter League GM that he was going to be suspended by MLB for PED usage. A month later, MLB announced that he was being suspended for a Drug of Abuse. Fast forward to spring of 2014. Sano missed the full season after having Tommy John surgery in March, and Rosario did not go to spring training. The Twins had excused him. He also had to miss the first 50 games of the season. Upon his return, he began with eight games in Ft. Myers before jumping back up to New Britain. This time with the Rock Cats, he hit just .237/.277/.396 over the final 79 games. Fortunately, he was able to go back to the Arizona Fall League where he hit an impressive .330/.345/.410 (.755) with six extra base hits. The hope was that it would springboard him to a big 2015 season. Rosario had a good showing at MLB spring training. Though his numbers were pretty similar to those he put up in New Britain in 2014, new manager Paul Molitor talked about how impressed he was with him defensively and how well he held his own against lefties. Still, he started this season in Rochester. The 23-year-old struggled in his AAA-debut. He hit just .242/.280/379 (.659) in 23 games with the Red Wings. When Oswaldo Arcia went on the disabled list the first week of May, it was Rosario who was called up from Rochester, not Aaron Hicks. Reports came out indicating that they wanted Aaron Hicks to continue hitting as he had been and that because it would be just a two-week stint with the Twins, it would be a good opportunity for Rosario. As you know, however, if a player comes up and gets the job done, he has the ability to stick. And that’s exactly what Eddie Rosario did. In fact, he has continued to be productive ever since and has become a fixture in the Twins lineup. He has far out-performed this minor league numbers the last two seasons. Now, in 113 games, he has hit .268/.290/.455 (.744) with 17 doubles, 14 triples, 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Defensively, he has proven that he is an above average corner outfielder. Not only does he have great range, but he has a strong, accurate arm which has accounted for 14 outfield assists. FanGraphs has him at 1.9 wins, a value of about $15.5 million. (Not bad for a guy making the league minimum for the next two seasons too. Sure, he will need to work on a few things to take the next step in his career and continue to progress. The key will be to improve upon his 109 to 14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That will help him to improve on his .290 on-base percentage. Will he be able to make that progress? There is reason for optimism that he can improve his numbers. He has struck out about 25% of the time in the big leagues. Through his minor league career, that number has been between 13% and 21%, so we could see a good reduction in strikeouts over time. More important, however, would be for him to take more walks. He is walking just 3.2% of the time this year in the big leagues. In his minor league career, he was never one to walk a lot, but he walked between 5% and 7% of his plate appearances. Not big numbers, but he could potentially double his walk output which would be huge. It has been a very good rookie season for Eddie Rosario, but as has been the case throughout his entire minor league career, it has been completely overshadowed by Miguel Sano. The third baseman, who has primarily DHd for the Twins, has hit .282/.399/.563 (.962) with 16 doubles and 17 home runs in 69 games. Sano has just three fewer strikeouts in 150 less plate appearances than Rosario. Sano is the one being touted in Rookie of the Year discussions along with Houston’s Carlos Correa and Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor. Meanwhile, Rosario continues to put up solid, all-around numbers with less fanfare. That may be the case nationally, and somewhat locally, but I guarantee that the efforts of Eddie Rosario have not been overlooked by Paul Molitor and his coaching staff. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by the front office. And, I am certain that the pitching staff appreciates what he does in the outfield with his range and his arm. Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano have been teammates for most of their young careers. Rosario has been in the shadows of Sano throughout that time, and yet, he has always been productive. He has been a big asset to the Minnesota Twins in 2015 and the goal will be for him to continue to improve over time. He may never get out from Sano’s large shadow, but he can be a long-time, productive big leaguer. View full article

Tonight, the Twins announced their minor league awards. No surprises: Hitter of the Year: Max Kepler Pitcher of the Year: JO Berrios.

Twins Daily Awards: Hitter of the Year: Max Kepler Starting Pitcher of the Year: JO Berrios Relief Pitcher of the Year: Trevor Hildenberger Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Jermaine Palacios Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Williams Ramirez

These lists have nothing (or at least very little) to do with statistical performance.

He was hurt most of the year. That's why he fell. Wade and Murphy both 9th round picks... making too much of college guys and their ETown numbers isn't good for prospect rankings, but as I always say, they can only play where they're sent. So, we'll learn a lot more about him next year. BA is good about looking at the tools and potential in these lists, so that he's on it is worth noting.

I'd guess he'll start in CR.

My initial thought was no, but I'll be talking to a bunch of people and maybe he'll get into the Twins top 20.

No pressure or anything, but Grantland's Michael Bauman wrote an article about how important the development of Max Kepler may be to the growth of baseball in Europe. There was Italian Alex Liddi who gave up in 2013, but played in just a handful of games in the big leagues. Kepler getting called up and being such a highly thought of prospect gives more hope that baseball could take off in Europe. Excitement over Kepler becoming a long-time big leaguer could give reason for MLB to scout Europe more, or for them to build academies and such in Europe. Obviously all Kepler can do is be himself and represent Germany to the best of his abilities. But those added bonuses for baseball will only make the game better long-term.

Baseball America is beginning to post its annual Top 20 prospects by league. Today, they posted their Top 20 Prospects in the Appalachian League. The list includes: SS Jermaine Palacios (#3) 3B Travis Blankenhorn (#15) OF LaMonte Wade (#17) Kyle Tucker, the #5 pick in the 2015 draft, was the #1 prospect. Highly-touted Daz Cameron came in at #5.

It's impossible to know. If a guy appears ready in the minors, gets called up and struggles in the big leagues, does that mean he wasn't ready? If a guy appears to not be ready, gets called up and hits well, does that mean he was ready? If a guy looks ready, gets called up, hits really well right away, does that mean he was ready weeks ago, or that the extra time in the minors made him ready? No way to know.

He's really been terrific since the Twins signed him. Still just 24, there is still room for improvement. He's got the right mentality to be good. Just based on prospect rankings, Jeremy had him at about 11 or 12. I had him around 14-16 before the season. His curveball has always been his calling card, but he's got a good fastball too, and the changeup has certainly been solid at times too. It's been fun to see him come up and do well. More impressive is how he overcame that first start.

Monday marked the Twins last off day before the end of the season and provided a good chance to take a step back and survey what lies ahead. Minnesota opens a three-game series with Cleveland coming to town, with Tuesday marking the first of seven remaining games between the Twins and the Tribe. So essentially, more than half the Twins’ remaining 13 games come against Cleveland, a team which has underachieved virtually the entire season, but finds itself a mere 1.5 games behind the local nine. Image courtesy of Ken Blaze, USA Today Monday marked the Twins last off day before the end of the season and provided a good chance to take a step back and survey what lies ahead. Minnesota opens a three-game series with Cleveland coming to town, with Tuesday marking the first of seven remaining games between the Twins and the Tribe. So essentially, more than half the Twins’ remaining 13 games come against Cleveland, a team which has underachieved virtually the entire season, but finds itself a mere 1.5 games behind the local nine. The series matchups don’t favor the Twins, either. Danny Salazar takes the mound for Cleveland Tuesday night, and he’s proven to be one of the most physically gifted pitchers in the American League, with 9.7 strikeouts per nine, a league-average groundball rate and a 3.48 ERA to go along with legit 95 mph heat. His changeup (27.2 percent whiff rate) is absolutely devastating as well. Things get no easier with Corey Kluber starting on Wednesday. And while he’s taken a bit of a step back — far less than most think, however — from last year’s Cy Young pace, he’s still had the Twins’ number all season long. He’s held them to a .085/.128/.146 batting line with a 1.38 ERA across three starts. In 26 innings, he’s allowed only 11 baserunners. Cody Anderson starts on Thursday, and while he’s a total wild card — he’s faced the Twins just once, and they smoked him — keep in mind that manager Terry Francona was willing to bump Trevor Bauer from the rotation to keep him in there. After a rough August, Anderson has a 1.78 ERA in four September starts. And if that isn’t tough enough, the upcoming four-game series with Cleveland promises to be just as tough. Not only are the odds good that the Twins will get Kluber again in the series opener on Monday, but that’s four games in a row down the stretch against the team which ranks fourth in the AL in starter ERA, first in strikeouts and second in FIP. It’s pretty easy to make an argument that this rotation and the Rays’ are in a dogfight to be the best in the AL. It’s not certain which Tigers team the Twins will find at Comerica after the first Cleveland series, but there are a couple things at play here. The Twins lost two of three to Detroit at Target Field last week, and this is probably a Tigers team that hasn’t totally forgotten the thrashing they took to end last season. The Twins took two of three from the Tigers in Detroit in mid-September last year and split a four-game series to end the season with two blowout wins when they were jockeying for position in the playoffs. The Tigers were summarily bounced from the playoffs in three straight by the Orioles and find themselves fighting to get out of the cellar at the present time with a 69-79 record — a game back of fourth-place Chicago. The other team in the Twins’ way of the end of the season is Kansas City, and while an 11-game lead wouldn’t suggest a team needing to get things together, it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride for the Royals for a while now. The Royals are 7-13 in their last 20 games and now are battling with Toronto for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Royals have a two-game lead as of this writing, and of course at this point it’s unclear where that’ll stand when they invade Target Field from Oct. 2-4, but ultimately it’d be ideal for the Twins if they have nothing left to play for. The odds don’t seem to favor it, however. So what’s a realistic need for the Twins record-wise in the 13 games that remain? Fangraphs’ Cool Standings presently gives the Twins a 6.1 percent chance of making the playoffs, and an expected final record of 82-80. That’s progress from the last four seasons, but disappointing to be sure. Not many teams get to the cusp of the playoffs after a rough stretch and revel in the fact that they almost made it, even if that represents considerable growth. Cool Standings projects 89 wins for the Yankees and the top Wild Card slot; the Twins would have to finish 13-0 to match that. So … that can clearly be ruled out. The projections suggest 85.4 wins for the Astros and 82.7 for the Angels; we’ll round to 85 and 83 for mathematical ease. At 76-73, the Twins would need to go 9-4 to match that projection for the Astros — and maybe 10-3 to be safe — and that’s assuming the Halos don’t flip the script. Going 7-6 would be enough to beat their projection and the Angels’ as well, but that would only claim the third Wild Card spot which, as of this writing, doesn’t exist. In short, the Twins are going to have to go all Chris Sale on Corey Kluber and friends if they’re going to punch their ticket into October. Well, further into October. The odds don’t favor it, but that’s why they play the games. This content originated at Cold Omaha here; please consider clicking through to support it. View full article

I would agree with you on each of those things.

right, but there will be moves made in the offseason. It'll clear itself out.

With Sano, they waited until they felt he was ready after missing a full season. With Buxton, it was an injury that brought him up, not that he was ready. Kepler may be ready now. He may be ready on Opening Day or a month in, or next July. No way to know. I don't expect an early call up at all for him in 2016. I think it would be awhile. Rosario and Hicks will be in the OF. Arcia is out of options. Hunter could come back. Buxton may be an Opening Day possibility, though I think he could use another couple months or a half-season in AAA too.

Hey, you can get an official Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League championship t-shirts here: http://lookouts.milbstore.com/store_contents.cfm?store_id=37&dept_id=-1&product_id=69157

This is a great Adopt-A-Prospect... great job goulik!

Let's just hope for different results!!

Like I said, he'll almost certainly start the 2016 season in Rochester, but he could be up in a month. The service time isn't an issue at all. Also, there are way too many examples with the Twins not worrying about service time to worry about that anyway. It may send a message to Arcia. That's not why Kepler is up, but the message is clear. It doesn't send Hunter any sort of message. Hunter isn't going to be threatened in any way.

Yes, teams can add one coach in September. Ivan Arteaga has been with the club for the last couple of weeks, and now Jake will join the Twins.

Jason Wheeler was named the Southern League Championship Series MVP. He threw seven shutout innings in Game 2 and then four shutout innings tonight. In an interview after the game, he talked about the talent and the organizational depth, especially considering Buxton, Sano and Duffey were Lookouts to start the season. Kind of a nice reminder. This is a pretty special group. Those seven guys have won together, a lot. And, Cedar Rapids made the playoffs and had the best record in the Midwest League in 2013.

On Monday night, Max Kepler was a member of the Southern League champion Chattanooga Lookouts. He was one of seven Lookouts players who also won a championship with the Ft. Myers Miracle in 2014 and the Elizabethton Twins in 2012. Following the game, he also learned that he was going to the big leagues for the final 13 games of the Twins regular season. Image courtesy of Craig Gordon On Monday night, Max Kepler was a member of the Southern League champion Chattanooga Lookouts. He was one of seven Lookouts players who also won a championship with the Ft. Myers Miracle in 2014 and the Elizabethton Twins in 2012. Following the game, he also learned that he was going to the big leagues for the final 13 games of the Twins regular season. After the Lookouts championship, the Minnesota Twins announced via Twitter that Max Kepler was heading to the big leagues. It's been a great year for the German. He began the year with this second year at big league spring training. After injury meant his season started with a week with the Ft. Myers Miracle, and he then moved up to the Lookouts. From that point, he dominated the Southern League. He went on to hit .322/.416/.531 (.947) with 32 doubles, 13 triples and nine home runs. As impressive, he walked 67 times and struck out 63 times. He ended the season on a cold streak and hit just .188 in the playoffs. That said, he hit three homers in the playoffs and walked nine times (to go with 10 strikeouts). Kepler was signed the same day the Twins signed infielder Jorge Polanco in July of 2009. Miguel Sano signed that October. Kepler has been written about nearly every day at Twins Daily since about May 1. Last week, he was unanimously chosen as the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year. Kepler can play all three outfield positions defensively as well as first base. I would guess that he will do some pinch hitting until (or if!) the Twins are officially eliminated from contention. If they are eliminated, he would likely play every day, somewhere. Kepler will most likely spend a couple of months in Rochester at the start of the 2016 season. However, it is a nice "bonus" for Kepler as he will be able to learn from the veterans through observation. He'll also make about $35,000 to $40,000 for his two weeks with the club. The other person from the Twins minor leagues who will be joining the Twins is Cedar Rapids Kernels manager Jake Mauer. He will join the Twins coaching staff for the final two weeks of the season. View full article

For the third straight game, the Cedar Rapids Kernels found themselves down a run going into the bottom of the ninth at Perfect Game Field and Veterans Memorial Stadium. On Saturday in Game 3, the Kernels had a come-from-behind win on a Brian Navarreto infield single. On Sunday afternoon, their comeback fell short. What would happen in a winner-takes-all Game 5? Image courtesy of Seth Stohs For the third straight game, the Cedar Rapids Kernels found themselves down a run going into the bottom of the ninth at Perfect Game Field and Veterans Memorial Stadium. On Saturday in Game 3, the Kernels had a come-from-behind win on a Brian Navarreto infield single. On Sunday afternoon, their comeback fell short. What would happen in a winner-takes-all Game 5? 26-year-old Ross Seaton got the start for the West Michigan Whitecaps. The 26-year-old had 21 starts for the Detroit Tigers’ Low-A affiliate on the season, posting an 11-8 record with a 3.88 ERA. He also made two starts for AAA Toledo. He has made AAA starts each year since 2012. Randy LeBlanc made the start for the Kernels. On the season, he went 9-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 33 games, and just five starts. Both starters began with two scoreless innings. In the bottom of the third frame, outfielder Austin Diemer put the Kernels on the board with a long home run. It was his first of the postseason and just the third since he was promoted from Elizabethton in mid-July. The Kernels added another run in the bottom of the fourth as well. Edgar Corcino led off with a single and scored on a TJ White single. Randy LeBlanc was terrific through four innings. In fact, he had faced the minimum, 12 batters. His only blemish was a one-out single in the fourth inning. That was quickly erased on a double play. Unfortunately, LeBlanc was unable to get out of the fifth inning. With that two-run lead, LeBlanc got the first out, but followed it with a four-pitch walk. It was followed by a single and another walk to load the bases. A fielder’s choice scored the Whitecaps' first run. A line drive single tied the game at two. That was it for LeBlanc. Luke Bard entered and hit the first batter he faced to load the bases. A few pitches later, he threw a wild pitch off the glove of Brian Navarreto which gave the Whitecaps a 3-2 lead. Bard then struck out the batter to end the inning. Unfortunately, it was a lead that would stick over the remaining innings of the game. The Kernels had a few runners, but were not able to add that third run to tie the game. Randy LeBlanc took the loss. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. Though he allowed an inherited runner to score, Bard hit a batter and struck one out. Yorman Landa came on and struck out the side in the sixth inning and struck out four over two scoreless innings. Nick Anderson gave up two hits, but no runs, over two scoreless innings. The Kernels managed just four hits in the game. Edgar Corcino and Max Murphy each had one hit and walked once. Congratulations to Jake Mauer, Tommy Watkins, Henry Bonilla and the entire Cedar Rapids Kernels organization on another terrific season and a fun-filled playoff run. Jake Mauer will now join the Minnesota Twins coaching staff for the final two weeks. View full article