cmathewson

It depends on what the definition of the word "is" is. If you're in the top 4 in baseball, you're elite by most people's standards. Escobar is below average defensively. It is possible he could have a smidgen more offensive upside. He has a shorter swing, which should make him less slump prone. Given his fast start last year, I'm skeptical about his spring numbers. He was really streaky last year. OPS by month: April: .935 May; .361 June: .612 July: .368 Sept: .755

It is possible Escobar could be developing. But his track record doesn't suggest it. If anything, he is winning the competition for the utility role. And his play does give us confidence it won't be a big drop off in case Florimon is not ready for opening day.

Were we reading the same post? 'Cause I drew a different conclusion from Seth's post, namely, he's confident now and ready to try again.

I'm with the general consensus. What good is a competition if the results aren't honored? I wouldn't be surprised to see Kubel start the year at Rochester to resurrect his swing, while Parmelee stays with the big club. Make Kubel beat him out. If he can't, let him opt out.

Yes. He's also added about 16 pounds of muscle to his frame. So there's that.

It's not like the universe will implode if a player fails to dominate every level below the majors before getting his chance. Lots of guys struggle in AAA or in their first stint in t he majors and are not forced to go and prove it before eventually succeeding in the majors. Dozier's name has been mentioned. I think about Carlos Gomez a lot. It took him three years to make it. He's pretty good now. Hunter had a really tough time. Cuddyer too. There's not hard and fast rule. But most players struggle like Hicks did in his first year. The other thing is, you're exaggerating his bad year last year. I can't remember that bad a slump at the beginning of a year. But I remember guys having slumps like that. Ben Revere couldn't hit the ball out of the infield when he first came up. But because it happened in September, after the team was out of it, nobody seems to remember. Denard Span had a 2-48 stint like Hicks. But because it happened in the middle of a year, people forgot it. Hicks' happened under the microscope of the first two weeks of the year. So that's what people remember about him. They forget the 12-game hitting streak or the three-homer game.

Credit where credit is due, it's a Dick Bremerism, purportedly picked it up in town ball.

OK I'll play. There are two fundamental differences: the players are at different stages in their development cycles and the team has more needs in center than starting pitcher. First, raw numbers are helpful, but they are not the primary way the Twins evaluate whether a guy is ready. Take their respective AA seasons. Hicks started slow and then dominated the league for the second half. He was among that league's best players. Meyer started strong, got hurt, and pretty much shut down before having a good AFL season. He never dominated. Anyway, the Twins know a lot more about these guys than we do. They thought enough of Hicks to thrust him into the pressure cooker last year. It didn't work, but that doesn't mean it can't work. And it sure doesn't put him at the back of the line or anything. Second, there currently is no room for Meyer, whereas there is a definite need for Hicks. Presley is a good bench option, but what we saw in September is his upside. Mastro had a decent year in 2012. But that was his upside. His game is speed, and he has reportedly lost a step with the injury and age. So those are the options, barring an acquisition. Hicks is better now and much better in the future. I don't know what you expect from him. He's always been a guy who relies as much on walks and XBhits as anything. He's not a contact hitter and never will be. But that doesn't mean he can't be an above average center fielder with the bat, and a potential gold glove outfielder. Would AAA help him? Probably. How much? Open question. Guys like him get there eventually. I don't believe in talented guys ruining their careers through rushing. Grinders like Presley have to earn their way every level. One bad habit and they're done. Guys like Hicks have much larger margins for error.

It's good comparison. Presley has Revere-like contact skills, arm and power, without Revere's speed, range or base running ability. The thing I've noticed about Hicks this spring is he is much stronger than he was at this time last year. When he hits the ball, it stays hit.

The Fans at Fangraphs have Hicks at a higher OPS while Oliver has him at a much higher WAR. But I don't think this discussion is going anywhere. So I will refrain from arguing with you further.

I don't know what Correia's trade value is, but it can't be much. Ryan was asked at the Winter meetings if there was any interest in Correia and he said no. That might have changed a little with injuries, but not much. Speaking of injuries, his value can only rise between now and the trade deadline. I do expect him to be moved by then. I would just be very surprised if it happened before June.

In the minors, pitchers don't throw 3/2 breaking balls. I hope he makes the adjustment.

Presley made another base running boo boo today, over sliding the bag on a stolen base attempt. Meanwhile, Hicks homered in a minor league intra-quad game, as did Pinto.

I think we'll see Florimon almost everyday at this point. If he's not ready, he'll stay in extended spring until he is. In that case, Escobar will start until Florimon is ready. Santana needs seasoning. But he opened some eyes this year. I'd be surprised if he isn't up yet at the All-Star break. That would mean he's not making the adjustments defensively. It's up to him.

I wouldn't call Diamond's outing yesterday "solid". He was overthrowing everything. His fastball was up. His breaking ball was consistently in the dirt. He was saved by the opposition--the Mets' B team--who swung at his stuff out of the strike zone a lot. But he did't get enough called strikes, and he threw a lot of pitches in four innings. If that was a regular-season game against a normal line-up, he's out after three with a six-run deficit.

In every position besides catcher, I would say a prospect needs to play every day. But there's plenty of work to go around the catching position that a 50-50 split won't hinder Pinto's development. Even when he's sitting next to Steiny, or out in the bullpen with Cuellar, he'll learn something. After watching Fryer yesterday, it is clear that he's behind Pinto both offensively and defensively, not counting upside. His defense was brutal.

Good points. Johnson needs stretching out. He's better than Diamond, IMO, but he has options. So he was not going to make the team out of spring training. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him before September this year.

Mitchell was also among the cuts. The only center fielders left in camp are Hicks and Presley., unless you count Ramirez, which I don't.

With Mastro being sent out today, it makes the Hicks/Presley combo a near certainty. I too hope he plays well. As we saw last year, that is by no means certain. But the Twins give talented guys second chances. I think he'll be fine. He's too good a player to play like he did in April last year.

Spring training competition is kind of silly. Antony said they look at scouting more than numbers in the spring. "Is he taking good at bats? Is he throwing to the right base? Etc." Hicks was hurt and unable to show how he handles himself until Monday. While Hicks was hurt, Presley was the guy. According to reports, he didn't handle himself like he did last September. Since Hicks has come back, he's put together a lot of good at bats and flashed some leather. He'll need to keep doing that if he wants to make the team. But I think the job is his to lose. I also think you have to take the position in context. The Twins need two guys who can play center. Presley is one of those guys no matter what. The other guy is either Mastro or Hicks. If it's Hicks, he's the starter and Presley gives him a couple of days off a week. If it's Mastro, Presley's the starter and Mastro plays back-up. The team will take the best combination. The fact that neither Mastro nor Presley has played well yet is making that combo less likely by the day. Add Mastro's roster issue, and I'd say a Hicks/Presley combine is the odds-on favorite right now. One other thing on that. The Twins have said they are willing to give Hicks a mulligan on how he started. As bad as he played, he also was alone, because Mastro broke his leg on the last day of spring and they didn't put him on the DL until April 15 or something. So there was no one else to play center for the first 16 games. Normally, when a guy struggles, you give him a day off to clear his head. Hicks didn't have that luxury. He had to take his lumps. Gardy has alluded to the way he responded to this with praise. Finally, I wouldn't read too much into Presley's extended tryout in September. They try to that with every newly acquired player, to give the field staff a long look at the player heading into the offseason. The fact that Presley performed about as well as Hicks had prior to being sent down is not all that positive, especially since Presley was doing it in a low pressure situation. If he had hit like Pinto or something, I'd say give him the job until Hicks takes it from him. But he was just OK, with clearly less outfield range or arm than Hicks.

Hicks has started four of the last five games. Presley has done nothing this spring. Ditto Mastro, who also earned the ire of Gardy by missing the cut- off man. Ramirez is not a center fielder. He's not much of an outfielder at all. Add to that the 40- man implications (sending Hicks down means adding Mastro to the 40 man), and I think the job is Hicks' to lose.

Yes. When he came back healthy, he played well in AAA. Not reflected in the regular season stats. I don't know how many times I have to post this, but perhaps one more time will do the trick. OPS by month: April .356 May .707 June .708 July .671 Clete Thomas 2013 OPS: .597 Alex Presley 2013 OPS: .699 So from May to the end of the year, Aaron Hicks was the best center fielder on the Twins in 2013. And he didn't perform nearely as well as anybody expected. But he made an adjustment towards the end of April that carried through until they sent him down. He carshed and burned in his first 10 games. After that, he held his own.

Johnson looks much better than Diamond. Locating his fastball, with some life on it. Good breaking ball.

I know this is facetious, but the only way to learn this is by sitting in the pre-game meetings and putting those scouting reports into action. The difference between that and BA is like the difference between an internship at the New York Times and a subscription to the St. Cloud Times.

B team swinging at a lot of pitches in the dirt. He did not locate the fastball at all, hence the three walks. Watching on TV in NY.