TRex

How can you say he is a 'new school type of player but we still run an old fashioned organization' when he was drafted as an athletic lump of clay and has been molded by our organization? Would you suggest that he has persevered in spite of the organization's teaching? And in terms of organizational philosophies on lead-off men, I think Hicks' power and RBI ability are exactly what TK (Shane Mack, Knoblauch) and Gardy (Jacque Jones) prefer.

Sorry to steal your idea, Spirit, but I was having too much fun reading the Liriano posts, and thought I would throw another log on the fire (even though it isn't Hot Stove time). So, what are people's thoughts on signing Carl Pavano to a $2-3 million contract with incentives for innings pitched? I think if he can prove his shoulder is healthy, I think he could be a better innings-eater than Marquis was this year.

Everyone should follow the link and go look at the pitch-by-pitch selection for all the pitchers. I thought Gibson was especially impressive in that he established his fastball early and was able to get a lot of strikeouts late off his slider and changeup. I was impressed that his fastball, which started out 93-95, and even though it was down to 91 in the later innings he could still reach 93 when needed. The gun seemed kinda fast when Darnell was hitting 92, but Tonkin was just at 94-95, so he was still throwing pretty hard. Gibson did a great job of attacking the strike-zone, and he really exploited the outside (generously called) corner of the plate vs. lefties. The only down side was that Gibson threw a lot of pitches, but overall he maintained ~15 pitches/inning, which is pretty normal. It will be really exciting if he can build arm strength and maintain his velocity through all 5 innings.

OOF, just Googled Bob Sacamento... maybe this isn't my favorite post after all. and

Quite simply, this has been my favorite post in ~2 weeks! Thanks, and I look forward to more posts if you have time.

In Twins-terms, I think the best they could do is something like Liam Hendriks... a pitcher without swing-and-miss stuff who succeeded in the minors but has struggled in the Majors.

The MLB is not a Roto-league... having outstanding CF defensive skills AND plus base running ability counts (IMHO even more than plus hitting because they do not go through slumps). I am not saying Arcia is a terrible defender, but he is no better than an average corner outfielder and reports indicate that he is a below average runner (but not a base clogger). All-in-all, this is a much better debate to have than 5(?) years ago when we were discussing whether Angel Morales' monster Appy League numbers would hold up despite his very high strikeout rate.

I tend to agree with thrylos' comment, but only because I find myself finishing old nurse's statement as "He will also need to cut down on strikeouts and make contact more often"... OR HE WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES. However, old nurse may wish to complete his/her sentence as ... or he will not become an All Star (or HOFer), in which case I would be in complete agreement.

... or his trade value !

After another dominating outing in the GCL (7IP, 1H, 1HBP, 9SO), Rosario now has an ERA of 1.64 in 38.1 innings with a GO/AO rate of 3.21. Now before anyone goes all Nick Blackburn on this guy, he has also allowed only 19 hits (~.150) and stuck out 42. Finally, he also just turned 18 in May and is a left-hander. I couldn't find anything on Google, and he hasn't yet been adopted. Anybody know anything about his 'stuff' and potential ceiling?

Goodrum and Michael at 21 and 22, respectively, but no love at all for the just-turned 19 Jorge Polanco?

I think the higher K-rate w/ nobody on base indicates that the pitchers throw him fewer strikes in these situations and get him to expand his strike zone. This tendency would definitely be exploited at the ML level, and I would imagine this is one of the reasons TRyan said Arcia still had things to work on.

Which outfield do you like better... LF:Benson CF: Hicks RF: Arcia or... LF: Kepler CF: Buxton RF: Walker

I was originally thinking of a comparison with Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes, who were always 'old' for their league, but managed to consistently make Seth's top 30. However, Valencia was still 1 year younger than Romero during his big AA year (Romero is actually just 25 until September... eom). I guess Romero has really been adrift for a long time, and even though his peripherals suggest he has really improved it may still be too late.

Deibinson Romero's triple slash is at .271/.360/.448 and rising rapidly. Is there any chance that the 26 yr. old third baseman could regain his place among the Twins' top 30 prospects? [TABLE] [TD=class: dg-obp][/TD] [TD=class: dg-slg][/TD] [TD=class: dg-avg][/TD] [/TABLE]

Born: July 5, 1993 – San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic Bats: Both Throws: Right Height: 5’11" Weight: 165 Drafted as a SS in the 2009 International class for $700,000 out of the DR by Fred Guerrero. Pro Stats: 2010: Twins DSL 18G / 60AB / .250/.309/.283 1SB/3CS GCL - 34G | 103 AB | .223/.299/.301 | 2SB/4CS 2011: GCL - 51G | 172 AB | .250/.319/.349 | 6SB/4CS 2012: E-ton AppL – 40G / 138 AB / .319/.390/.522 ANALYSIS Pre-2012: When drafted in 2009 at the age of 16 for $700,000, Polanco was the epitome of a Latin American middle infielder. Hailing from the ‘cradle of shortstops’ (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic), he debuted in the US on the day after his 17th birthday and was the Twins #17 prospect in the 2011 BA Prospect Handbook based on the strength of his ‘top-shelf defensive tools at shortstop, with his actions, range, hands and arm strength all rating above average’. His offense, however, was best described by the old Dominican adage that ‘you can’t walk off the island’! Polanco is a switch hitter with excellent contact skills, and had one of the lowest strikeout rates in his first year in the GCL (2010). That is pretty faint praise, and he returned to the GCL in 2011. His second trip around the circuit also yielded pretty pedestrian numbers (.250/.319/.349) and, even in a very down year for Twins prospects, he dropped to #28 in the 2012 BA Prospect handbook. While BA still lauded his defensive work, they indicated he ‘lacks the strength to repeat his swing or defensive actions over the grind of everyday play’. His career appeared to be stalling out except, as pointed out in Seth’s handbook, in “the last month of the year, he improved to .284/.348/.407 in 81 at-bats”. The BA piece concluded with ‘The Twins think they’ll have a player if Polanco gains strength’. Perhaps the Twins weren’t taking a huge leap of faith thinking an 18 year old from the DR might continue to gain strength, but even they must have been surprised at Polanco’s offensive transformation in 2012. 2012: Even though he was still only 18 years old, Polanco started his third season in Rookie ball (albeit at Elizabethton). While there were pleasant signs of an improving offensive game (.323 average), a familiar theme was that he had only 1 walk and 2 strikeouts in 31 ABs. Then, as though he flipped a switch on his 19th birthday, Jorge started taking a bigger swing (20 SO in 105 AB) and has developed into an offensive FORCE. After having only 2 HR in his first 400 ABs, he has had 4 in his last 70! He currently is sporting a triple-slash line of .319/.390/.522 (ranking in the top-10 in all three categories) and was even named the Appy league player of the week for 7/16! Finally, this offensive explosion does not appear to have come at the cost of his excellent control of the strike zone, as his strikeout rate is still below 1 in 6 AB, and he has managed to keep his walk rate at ~10% despite a 70 point jump in BA. I am amazed that, with all the clamoring by Twins fans about the sad state of minor league middle infielders, Polanco is not mentioned more. He is a true shortstop and was the youngest position player at Elizabethton until Buxton arrived. If he keeps up this level of production, he should crack everyone’s top-20, and is already in my top-10. I can’t wait to read what others (including BA and Seth) have to say about Polanco’s development. It’s always nice to see prospects turning ‘tools’ into ‘skills’!

+1.

In regards to Hermsen 'not fooling anyone'... I think you would have a much better argument if he were a 5 n' fly pitcher. But he has averaged OVER 6 innings per start for his whole minor league career, meaning he routinely goes through a lineup three times. I would argue that if you are as successful the third time through the lineup as you are the first two, you most certainly are fooling someone. It certainly doesn't guarantee him big league success, but it does give him a shot. And I would turn your example of Slowey (the consummate 5 n' fly) around on you and say that he is the perfect example of why you need more than one pitch in the majors, and that minor league strikeout rate is not an absolute. At the risk of being ridiculed, I would be happy if Hermsen turned into Nick Blackburn, who had a 5.5 SO/9, a ground ball rate of 1.16, and 11 home runs allowed as a 23 year old in AA.

Arcia is from a country (Venezuela) with their own winter league, and thus is ineligible for the AFL.

Thanks Jeremy, your 'Big Board' is the coolest thing EVER! One question I have is, what did you use for your cut-off on 'old' or 'young' for the league? Did you consider having somewhat of a sliding scale to represent that 1.5 yrs younger at lo-A is much more important than 1.5 yrs at AAA? Really small point, but for the Beloit roster, you list: The average age of players in the MWL is 21.5 (late 1989) for batters and 21.9 (early 1990) for pitchers. Since the pitchers were older than the hitters, did you mean early 1989? Thanks again!

I think people forget you can acquire a top-end starting pitcher without going the FA route (i.e. via trade like Cincy dealing for Mat Latos last year). In addition, the 'future aces' in their 4th or 5th year are usually cheaper with less wear on their arms. I would imagine most clubs would at least listen if the offer started with Miguel Sano, so if we could identify a similar future ace with at least 2 years of team control, would you be willing to deal 3 top-15 prospects, including Sano, for him?

Don't get me wrong, he's definitely a C/C+ prospect and, as 23 yr. old reliever, a very long shot to even make AA. However, I think one of the fun things about the Minors is not just reporting the stats but trying to project whether any of the stats indicate future success. In that vein, I am more impressed by the high strikeout numbers than worried about the walk totals from someone who didn't pitch at all in 2011 because of Tommy John surgery. I would also posit that his walk rate against lefties will likely improve as he regains command of his fastball (i.e. due to arm-side run). Maybe all just mental mast********, but what's the harm of trying to identify a diamond in the rough. Besides, aren't we all clamoring for power arms?

Hey Seth, It's great to see Dallas Gallant continue to strike people out as he climbs the ladder. Do you have any more info on whether his fastball is still a plus pitch? Thanks!

You are right r.e. Polanco! I have him as my Adopt-a-Prospect and didn't start a page for fear of being snickered at as I wrote about a slick-fielding, switch-hitting shortstop whose only real distinction, other than being one of the youngest players on every club (18 to start this year), is that he was one of the hardest players to strike out in the GCL last year. However, it looks like he may have turned those bat-control tools into skills this year as he is 2nd in the Appy league in doubles, and ranks in the top 10 in AVG and OPS (ahead of Goodrum and Harrison). He would be having a truly monster season if, like so many other prospects, he could hit left-handed pitchers (~.400 point swing in OPS).

Why does everyone get their undies in a wad over having someone ready to go on opening day? Do you really plan on letting them pitch 150 innings after pitching 1 inning competitively the year before? I think the time table of returning in July and getting 75-100 innings in before the end of the year is a good goal. In that case, NO time was wasted by waiting.