Thread: Article: Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year

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It doesn't look like any of them will go North with the team after Spring Training. However, we can look forward to seeing Hicks and Arcia next September and for years afterwards,

As crazy as this sounds, I would consider trading Sano for a couple of top, AND I MEAN TOP!!!, pitching prospects. We have some really top notch hitters coming through the system, so I think we can afford to deal on some of these hitters. Sano's my choice to deal. ... One other thing, nobody's talking about Kennys Vargas, but I think he can be a stud-and-a-half player for the Twins.

Vargas can be a big power hitter, but he'll have to prove/show that he can hit a good fastball as he moves up.

Should be an interesting off-season, with major league top rotation starters needed, hopefully we don't have to give up some of these prospects to get them. I'd love to see Arcia in a Twins uniform (and Sano eventually too).

Originally Posted by twinsfiend

Should be an interesting off-season, with major league top rotation starters needed, hopefully we don't have to give up some of these prospects to get them. I'd love to see Arcia in a Twins uniform (and Sano eventually too).

When is the last time any teams exchanged elite prospects?

Other than Ramos, when was the last time the Twins traded a prospect?

I'm guess Parmelee didn't make it because of the limited number of plate appearances. But Kepler and Roberts had better OPS than Colabello at younger ages. Colabello was 28 playing 1b in AA. I know he's a feel good story but he does not merit an honorable mention.

Kepler was young for his league and played CF until Buxton was called up.

Roberts is not young for league and was repeating (which may or may not have been a organization mistake). He played only one game in CF. Can he suffice in CF? If YES, he might be something more than an organization soldier.

Describe Pinto as a defensive catcher.

Originally Posted by Lonestar

I'm guess Parmelee didn't make it because of the limited number of plate appearances. But Kepler and Roberts had better OPS than Colabello at younger ages. Colabello was 28 playing 1b in AA. I know he's a feel good story but he does not merit an honorable mention.

Yup, it's totally about plate appearances. I know Kepler couldn't do much about that. He played the full season that he was sent to, so a good case could be made there. Parmelee was amazing, but had about 250 less plate appearances. Roberts just missed time again. All three deserve recognition, for sure... And second, this isn't some "prospect list." Age didn't factor into this ranking in anyway.

Can he suffice in CF? If YES, he might be something more than an organization soldier.

From what I saw, I don't think he can play CF. I mean, he can, but there's no way that he's in the same caliber as good CF. I wasn't impressed with him defensively, and he doesn't have a great arm at all. He's an offensively player, a great leadoff guy.

Describe Pinto as a defensive catcher.

Pinto's defense is said to not be great. He's not a great athlete. However, if you look at his CS%, he's been good. He threw out 38% of base runners this year and is at 32% for his career. He moved up to AA though, and he didn't catch much. He was there to DH.

Eddie Rosario – Beloit Snappers (123-411 - .299/.347/.499 (.846), with 35 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 62 R)

...What could he have done with another 120 plate appearances?

Another point in Rosario's favor is that his numbers still looked good after returning from the injury to his face. He batted .326 in April, and was batting .325 in June when the injury happened. Back again in August Rosario batted .304, and I'm guessing his slight drop in average was probably more due to rust and a new face shield than being gun shy at the plate. You don't bat over .300 if you're afraid of the ball.

Who adopted Rosario around here? I'd be interested to read how the young guy dealt with his injury and his comeback.

I would hope that either Arcia or Hicks will make the club out of spring training. That would mean an outfielder would have to be moved, as it would make no sense to carry them north as a 4th outfielder. Twins should work to this plan as it is unlikely they will contend in 2013

I hope Nate Roberts skips A+ and goes straight to AA. They have been extremely passive in promoting him. He's always been just a little too old for his league.

jimbo - Rosario didn't wear a face shield when he came back. Really, it's remarkable how he came back.

Originally Posted by Lonestar

I'm guess Parmelee didn't make it because of the limited number of plate appearances. But Kepler and Roberts had better OPS than Colabello at younger ages. Colabello was 28 playing 1b in AA. I know he's a feel good story but he does not merit an honorable mention.

I respectfully disagree on Colabello. Seth's post was about the Twins' minor league hitters of the year, not a prospect ranking list (where, of course, Colabello would not crack the top 40, and where your comparisons about his OPS, age and level of competition would have merit).

Aside from being a feel-good story, keep in mind that Colabello set a Rock Cats' franchise record for RBIs.
And here's how he ranked in the entire Eastern League in some offensive categories: Hits -- 141 (7th); doubles -- 37 (1st); home runs -- 19 (T5); RBIs -- 98 (2nd); total bases -- 237 (2nd); OBP -- .358 (13th); SLG -- .478 (T5); OPS -- .836 (T5).

It's a pretty solid offensive season.

Originally Posted by SurroundedByTigers

As crazy as this sounds, I would consider trading Sano for a couple of top, AND I MEAN TOP!!!, pitching prospects. We have some really top notch hitters coming through the system, so I think we can afford to deal on some of these hitters. Sano's my choice to deal. ... One other thing, nobody's talking about Kennys Vargas, but I think he can be a stud-and-a-half player for the Twins.

good thing your not terry ryan ....or are you? sounds like a ryan move our best power hitter for a pair of soft tossing controll single A pitchers

No, Ryan has never traded a top prospect for anyone. That is one reason, imo, why they did not win the series in the early 2000s.

I hope I conveyed to Seth that I respectfully disagreed with him. And while I don't deny Colabello had a good season relative to his league, look at Kepler's.

Drawing the line at 140 AB's because I didn't know where else to draw the line and focusing only on rate stats, Kepler was 13th in BA, 7th in OBP, 1st in Slugging, 3rd in OPS and 7th in Iso P.

And why didn't Polanco get mentioned when he was Apply League MVP: 7th in BA, 6th in OBP, 6th in Slugging, and 4th in OPS as an 18-year-old shortstop.

What you are implying to me is that if the Twins would have signed Manny Ramirez to a AA contract and he would have put up better numbers than Arcia as a DH, then he would have been Hitter of the Year. I think you have to adjust for age relative to league and position. Or are you going to come up with a later list of MiLB Players of the Year.

I wouldn't exclude players just because they are in short-season ball. Would we have done that to Sano, Rosario, or Arcia.

Originally Posted by Lonestar

I hope I conveyed to Seth that I respectfully disagreed with him. And while I don't deny Colabello had a good season relative to his league, look at Kepler's.

Drawing the line at 140 AB's because I didn't know where else to draw the line and focusing only on rate stats, Kepler was 13th in BA, 7th in OBP, 1st in Slugging, 3rd in OPS and 7th in Iso P.

And why didn't Polanco get mentioned when he was Apply League MVP: 7th in BA, 6th in OBP, 6th in Slugging, and 4th in OPS as an 18-year-old shortstop.

What you are implying to me is that if the Twins would have signed Manny Ramirez to a AA contract and he would have put up better numbers than Arcia as a DH, then he would have been Hitter of the Year. I think you have to adjust for age relative to league and position. Or are you going to come up with a later list of MiLB Players of the Year.

I wouldn't exclude players just because they are in short-season ball. Would we have done that to Sano, Rosario, or Arcia.

Post more.

I have included short-season guys before. In fact, last year, I had Rosario at #2 or 3, and Sano at #6 or 7, I think.

Age doesn't really factor into these rankings, for me, but I Think position does. Last year, Brian Dozier and Joe Benson had the same (or very close) OPS, but I went with Dozier because he was a middle infielder.

The purpose of this list is to recognize players, and then to have this type of discussion. I enjoy it. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me 100%

Good stuff. I think that what Vargas did (albeit in a short season) deserves a spot in the list (heck, if Kepler can make it, so should other short season guys.) The one I do not get is how Colabello can be ahead of Pinto, even though Pinto was better in all rate categories: AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR/AB etc. The fact that he played less was manager's choice and should not penalized him. Really excited to see Pinto give the Twins a legit C prospect something they did not have since the Ramos trade.

Very interested in what they decide to do with Pinto. They'll have to make a decision quick because once the World Series is done, he can become a free agent, unless the Twins put him on the 40 man roster.