mnfanforlife

Please take a few moments, and imagine having your face caved in from the impact of a line-driven baseball. That's what our boy Eddie Rosario was dealing with mid-summer in 2012 after taking a batting practice rep to the face. How much can you expect from a guy after something like that? [ATTACH=CONFIG]3294[/ATTACH] Well, I'll tell ya. If you combine Eddie's winter league stats with his abbreviated 2012 regular season stats, you'll see a fierce line of numbers that hints at what a full, healthy season could produce for Rosario. Combine everything he did in 2012, and you get 136 games played, 544 at-bats, 168 hits, 44 doubles, 17 homers, 94 RBI, and a .308 batting average. His on-base numbers were adequate for a top-of-the-order guy. I personally know a baseball coach that was struck in the face with a batting practice rep. His incident required emergency surgery, and was a very serious situation. I do not know if Eddie's meeting with a baseball was equally severe, but it's not prudent to expect him to hit like he did following such a confidence-shaking occurrence. What do the numbers tell you about Rosario? I'll tell you what they tell me. The Twins have a guy that will hit, get on base, and slug in the top of a Major League line-up someday. It all hinges on how fast he can learn, and excel at, second base defensively. How fast will Eddie get to Minnesota, and take over that pesky second base position? We just don't know right now. But one thing is certain, Eddie is floating down a "rosy river" of talent that will slowly bring him to the spotlight of Major League Baseball.

Yes John, one paragraph of my blog entry was dedicated to that very point you tried to make.

Wow, this is surprisingly similar to my post from January 12, 2013: Cold Predictions - Blogs - Minnesota Twins News & Rumors Forum I followed it up with 11-20 here: David Arias is Back! - Blogs - Minnesota Twins News & Rumors Forum Thank you for giving some recognition to Polanco, although I do not see Sano moving multiple levels this year. Wrong organization for that.

Oh man...we need more stuff to burn

Remember, this was posted in November....before any of the trades or FA signings of 2013. How can this still be relevant? Did we get anyone better than these four that is MLB ready?

Dont forget Harrison and Kepler. They're big, and their power will show up once they reach their mid-20's. Could be a damm good line-up by 2016-2017

Seth recently highlighted Trevor May and his ascent from 4th round pick to #1 Philly prospect in four short years. Jones is a college arm, but could move into the top-10 with a dominant follow-up to his 2012.

Hilarious!

Jones starts in A+?

This is a great read. I actually ran into Hrbek at Target Field in 2010! He smelled like smoke and looked like he was about 280 lbs. My kinda guy. I said, "Hey Kent!" He was not happy to be recognized because there were a ton of people around. So i just kept walkin.

I think delmon hit 21 HR's in 2010

I disagree with the final paragraph. I am hoping that Burton, Fein, Duensing, Perkins, and Theilbar will be all the Twins need for innings 7-9. IF there is an injury, I would elect to find a young arm within the organization rather than extend an invite to Capps. We know Capps is below average, maybe we could learn more about our young arms by giving them a real shot in Minnesota during this surely ugly 2013.

Harrison did look slow in that clip. He did have good bat speed though.

NO DOUBT! Anyone see Vargas hitting 4, Sano - 5 in Minnesota someday?

Yeah he isn't going to be considered for Minnesota if he doesn't produce at Cedar Rapids

Yes, the Twins have a history of letting projected relievers start in the minor leagues. We'll see how Zach's story plays out...

Two-way players are rarely seen in today’s Major League of Baseball. Though, there have been some incredible examples in our recent and ancient past. I’m talking about a player that can produce at a high level on both ends of the spectrum, and can be considered a legitimate pitcher and hitter in the Major Leagues. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3122[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3123[/ATTACH] The most revered legend of the game broke into the majors as a left-handed pitcher. His rookie stats were impressive with 18 wins and a 2.44 ERA. But he followed it up with two of the best seasons in the history of pitching a baseball. His two-year stretch of pitching dominance boasted a 1.88 ERA with 47 wins. Of course, I am writing about Babe Ruth. 1918 was the year Babe got more than 300 at-bats for the first time. In 1919, he introduced the “power-hitter stat line” to the universe while playing baseball as a full-time outfielder and spot-starter for the BoSox. The Babe’s pitching days had run their course after he hit 29 bombs and was sold to the Yanks. He made four starts for the Yanks over the final 15 years of his career. Many other hitter-pitcher combo guys have come through the Major Leagues since Ruth’s days, but none dominated both arenas in such a fashion. A good list of the best hitting pitchers of all-time is online here. In today’s game, there are rarely opportunities for players to pitch and hit, even in college. This is a good article by Jonathon Mayo that typifies what happens to kids today. Eventually, someone else decides what position suits them best for the next level. It's basically a dying novelty at the highest levels. The Twins recently drafted a two-way college player in Zachary Jones. It is clear that Zach will be a pitcher moving forward. Perhaps, the reason he was available to draft in the 4th round last year was because he was a two-way player projected to simply be a bullpen pitcher in the pros. While I was a college baseball player, I had one season in which I was told I would not be a hitter or a catcher as I was accustomed to. This season, I would be a pitcher-only. I was frustrated at first, because I loved to hit. But, ultimately, the extra time spent working on the finer points of pitching really helped my total knowledge of the game. It also gave me a humble perspective, because I was filling a lesser role than full-time catcher. Zachary will certainly become better as he devotes more time to becoming a pitcher-only, and he did this his junior year at San José State University. So, he has at least one year of pitcher-only experience. We are talking about some scary at-bats for opposing hitters if he keeps getting better. Jones struck out everyone and their brother last year in his professional debut at E-ton and Beloit. There are rumors he could become a starter someday with his intelligent make-up. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3125[/ATTACH] It is fun to imagine Jones as a normal-sized flamethrower in the Minnesota rotation (ditto for JO Berrios). But he may never become a high-innings guy, and his fastball could probably touch 100 if he is allowed to be a one-inning reliever. One thing is certain, Zachary’s future looks bright with all those K’s and a wealth of untapped potential. Hopefully, the more hitters he K's, the less he will want to be a hitter himself. The Twins have a very intriguing prospect here.

HA! Yes, David Arias was wayyy better than the Twins could perceive. As for the title and how it pertains to the article......If you read the Kennys Vargas quip, I compare his "look" to Big Papi....now do you see the correlation?

Thank you Old Goat, I appreciate your optimism. Life is too short to interrupt every dream with practicality