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Ben Revere needs to be on the Twins roster and starting in Right Field. Period. There....I said it.

I know, Darin Mastroianni had that cute game the other night, and Komatsu is a Rule 5 player, but honestly what do these two players bring to the table that Ben Revere doesn't? Revere has proved capable every time he has been brought up, and has even provided some moments of excitement. Outside of Wilkin Ramirez and Pedro Florimon, Revere has been the hottest hitter in the Twins minor league system. He's currently hitting .322 and hasn't made any errors in the field to date. Now, I know he's outfield version of Luis Castillo, but last time I checked singles are still considered hits - something the Twins haven't produced lately. The other knock on him is his arm, which I feel is offset by his ability to turn potential extra base hits into outs due to his speed. Considering the assisted living unit of our starting rotation almost exclusively depends on the defense making plays, Revere fits into the equation.

The corresponding move here would require the Twins making a decision on Mastroianni or Komatsu. Either one would be fine as the 4th outfielder. Sending Mastroianni down would be the easy move, as Komatsu would have to be returned to the Nationals. However, the powers that be could pick up the phone and see if there's a low level prospect the Nationals might be interested in. The Twins did the same thing last year with Scott Diamond, and at least so far it's paid a couple dividends. Basically, the Twins need to just pick one and go with it.

Based on the above analysis, my "optimal" Twins lineup would look like this:

Span (CF)

Mauer (C/DH)

Willingham (LF)

Morneau (1B)

Doumit (DH/C)

Dozier (SS)

Plouffe (3B)

Carroll (2B)

Revere (RF)

I realize that leaves a bench of Mastroianni/Komastu, Butera and Casilla, but it's not like we've been getting much out of the bench anyway. If Wilkin Ramirez continues to destroy everything thrown at him, he'll quickly become an option for the 4th OF spot.

Trevor Plouffe.....you're on the clock.

I agree. Plouffe is an enigma. We don't really want to lose him...yet...he MAY still have potential...but if he can't be a bench player and really has no set position as a regular, then maybe.........

I agree with your line-up with a couple of omments:

1. Plouffe has earned a VERY short leash.

2. I prefer Willingham in RF and Revere in LF. When Willingham said he wasn't comfortable out there, I would have told him to bring his recliner because he was going to be there for the next three years and might as well get comfortable.

"...see if there's a low level prospect the Nationals might be interested in."

After the Ramos trade, that scares me. I can picture the answer: "There are a couple of guys way down in Low-A; I think their names are Sano and Rosario..."

"...see if there's a low level prospect the Nationals might be interested in."

 

After the Ramos trade' date=' that scares me. I can picture the answer: "There are a couple of guys way down in Low-A; I think their names are Sano and Rosario..."[/quote']You are correct, Sano and Rosario are in Low-A. I'm pretty sure he meant low ceiling prospects. And no matter what your opinion of TR is, I don't think that there is anyone that would think he would be willing to trade either of those two guys for Komatsu.

Revere has the third highest batting average on the Twins so far this year. He has the 7th highest OBP, ahead of Plouffe, Doumit, Casilla, Parmelee, etc. Don't really understand why he is down in AAA. Did he find his way into Gardy's doghouse?

Different opinion here, though. I would like to see him in CF and move Span to right. His arm 'weakness' would be more than compensated by the increase in coverage in both CF and RF.

Sorry, but you simply cannot put Revere in RF. EVER. Even lumbering first basemen and catchers would go 1st to 3rd on that arm. He has to play LF or CF.

I would like to see Revere up on the team as well. He is definitely a spark plug. I haven't paid much attention to his at-bats in AAA. He certainly has a good batting average but does anyone know if he has been taking more walking, bunting, and doing the things they wanted him to work on?

Ben Revere cannot get on base. Ben Revere cannot drive the ball. Ben Revere cannot throw.

He can run fast and he has great range. There is a very specific name for a skill set that limits a player to being a defensive sub and pinch runner. It's called '5th outfielder'.

Revere may still develop. He's approaching the point in his career that's comparable to where Span was when the light came on for him. That happened for Span in AAA.

I hope it happens for Revere, too. He still may become something more than a 5th OF. And if that happens, it will probably be in Rochester.