nytwinsfan

Now bring up Taylor Rogers for Aaron Thompson or Brian Duensing.

Now bring up Taylor Rogers for Aaron Thompson or Brian Duensing.

Well deserved for both. Congratulations!

I was guessing Jay, but maybe they are not including him yet.

Another great article. That being said, although Gonsalves is a good prospect especially for his age, I guess I would take dominating AA at 22 (Kepler) over dominating low A ball as a 20 year old. I would have switched these two. But maybe this is also a result of the order being decided a few weeks ago.

Pretty sure Kepler is known for being on the faster side, especially for his size (and gap power). He also has a decent number of SB and a good success rate. So yes, he is hitting a surprising number of triples, but its not like it is an absolutely crazy number (like Buxton).

I wouldn't read too much into that. He just had a hand/arm injury, so they are probably starting him slow.

The success in June is great to see. And his plate discipline looks solid even over the whole year. The power has a good chance of arriving as he grows and matures.

Since June 1, Gordon is hitting .310/.385/.362 (.747). And his defense is by all accounts great for a 19-year old. Just saying that there is still plenty of potential here.

I think his defense and projected ability to stay at SS, along with what the scouts think of his hit tool is driving this, but it is maybe worth noting that since June 1, Gordon is hitting .310/.385/.362 (.747). The plate discipline (.075 isolated discipline) is already really great. The power will come.

As much as he deserves to be in the rotation, it has to be Milone. No way can it be May or Pelfrey right now.

After going 2 for 4 with a double last night, Sano is now hitting .252/.352/.491 (.842) on the year. In his last 10 games he is hitting .243/.326/.486 (.812) with two errors.

Yup, Kepler is better at both spots, but given that he is not Tatiana Maslany, he can only play one. So what matters is comparative advantage, not absolute advantage (remember your college econ class on free trade?). If DH is not occupied by a better option, I'd put Kepler in the OF and Walker at DH. If DH is occupied and 1B is not, then its a tough call, but I might agree that Kepler has a comparative advantage at 1B.

I honestly think they are waiting for the all star break, although now that they clinched a playoff position Kepler might be sent to AAA tomorrow.

I'll take that bet. Hicks is not already a bust. At the very least he is likely to succeed as a platoon bat/4th outfielder. Rosario has some plate discipline problems, but he has the ability, and the coaching to improve them. Kepler lacks HR power, but not power. HRs are great, don't get me wrong, but a bunch of doubles and triples, especially with a high BA and OBP can make up for few HR. I know that isn't conventional wisdom, but value-wise it is true. So I don't agree with that. And he is barely 22 and likely to gain 10-20 pounds of muscle in the next 3 to 4 years, hopefully turning some of those doubles and triples into bombs. Walker has a huge strikeout problem, but has an outside chance of overcoming that. I think Kepler and Rosario are the most likely, but I think all five have a shot. When you add up those probabilities across the five, I think they equal to a greater than 50% chance that at least two will be starting or frequently playing outfielders.

I am guessing one of the reasons he started at 1B so much this year is to avoid another immediate arm injury diving for a ball in the outfield. Also, unlike their other three outfielders, he was able to play a position that they needed to fill, especially once Dalton Hicks was injured. I didn't ever get a sense that it was his ideal position. He is big height wise, but I don't think he's big in a slow or lumbering sense at all, and it sounds like if anything, Walker is bigger than Kepler in every sense other than height, but everyone thinks Walker can play OF.

Also, my ranking would go: 1. Sano 2. Berrios 3. Jay 4. Polanco 5. Kepler 6. Gordon 7. Meyer 8. Walker 9. Gonsalves 10. Stewart 11. Hu 12. Harrison 13. Rogers 14. Minier 15. Chargois 16. Z. Jones 17. L. Diaz 18. Booser 19. Burdi 20. Turner 21. Reed 22. Garver 23. K. Cody 24. Thorpe 25. Achter 26. Duffey 27. B. Peterson 28. Swim 29. Ynoa 30. W. Javier(coming soon)

Excellent points. I think we should wait to move Pelfrey and Plouffe until we are out of contention, or in Plouffe's case, the end of the season. And I haven't completely given up on Mauer yet. Let's give him more time. Otherwise I agree with everything.

I agree with Seth. I don't think Mauer to the outfield and Kepler to 1B makes sense. Otherwise I thought it was a very good article. I also don't think the Twins should trade Arcia until they know they have a superior option at DH. Right now the jury is out on who that is (maybe Vargas, maybe Mauer, maybe whichever of Sano/Plouffe is not at 3B). But I agree Arcia should probably not be in the outfield with his defense.

Let's be honest, Arcia isn't an outfielder. He has the potential to be a very good hitter with lots of lefty power, but his real position is DH. Kepler's hitting has less of a track record, but his upside value as a corner outfielder is higher than Arcia's, given his ability to provide at least above average defense (not to mention Kepler's ability to steal a few bases). Arcia's atrocious defense depletes his offensive upside. Ideally, we would move Arcia to DH and Vargas to 1B. If Mauer manages to rebound, then we'd have a logjam of Arcia and Vargas at DH, but I think Arcia should be taken out of the medium and long-term equation in the OF. There are too many other great options that provide superior defense, including Kepler, Rosario, Walker, Hicks and Harrison. Not all of them will likely succeed at AAA and the majors, but it is pretty likely that at least 2 out of 5 will.

Worth a shot. Not a bad idea.

Wow, Kepler must be absolutely locked in. This is just insane. I can't imagine he'd' stay in Chattanooga after the all star break.

Fantastic. If he can back up Buxton at CF or Mauer/whoever at 1B, and play corner outfield 75% of the time, all the better. Versatility is awesome to have. Makes me wonder if Rosario could still play some backup 2B if Dozier needs a rare day off (or has a short-term injury). I'm sure he could in a pinch.

Definitely not arguing with you about Kepler's talent. On that we do 100% agree. Just arguing about where those talents would be best positioned.

First, it is his "natural position" according to who? Second, they didn't draft him, they signed him as an international free agent . . . at 16 -- an age when it is hard to know what it would even mean for a player to have a "natural position." Are you saying because a couple of German middle and high school baseball coaches put him at 1B for reasons that probably have nothing to do with his potential long-term development, he should play that position 6 years later when he reaches the majors? Yes, I agree he is more than athletic enough to play 1B, as I noted above, and I am fine with them giving him time there, and it is great that he has defensive versatility, but as I and others have noted above, what matters is where they plan to have him play most of the timewhen he gets to the majors, which I think should be corner outfield. Sure, things could change. Mauer could retire or be benched, Vargas could continue to flounder at the plate, Plouffe might be traded, and Walker could continue to hit and cut his strikout rate. Anything is possible. Under those circumstances, sure, Kepler might make sense at 1B. But under the most likely circumstances, as I discussed above, I've made an argument for why I think Kepler fits in the corner outfield. I've made my case above, and in other threads, as has SD Buhr. How about making an argument to the contrary, rather than just asserting in conclusory fashion that his "best" or "natural" position is 1B. Based on what? Even if that were true, it might be an even "better" or "more natural" position for someone else, like Mauer, Vargas or Sano. I don't think Kepler would be offended at all to be told that his talents would be wasted at a less demanding defensive position. I'm not saying 1B defense isn't important or demanding (that's another straw man), I'm saying it isn't as important or demanding as corner outfield.