Kenny Vargas

[minnymadness]

The guy hasnt missed a beat going from single A to AA. He is hitting .320 with with 12 HR's and 51 RBI's. Any chance he is called up to AAA this season or even a september call up?

[bulldozier14]

I certainly hope so. I've been following him this year and he has been consistently crushing the ball, as well as hitting for average and perhaps most encouragingly has had tremendous plate discipline. He has 29 walks and only 40 strikeouts in 229 ABs.

 

He's soon to turn 24, so while he's certainly not old, he isn't exactly young for his level. I don't see what else he has to prove or any reason why they wouldn't promote him for the second half. The only problem with bringing him up this year is Morales is stuck at DH and reports are Vargas lives up to his name "Little Papi" on the defensive side of the ball as well as offensively. Unless the Twins fall out of contention and Morales gets traded I think the best we can hope for is him starting at DH out of spring training next year.

[DocBauer]

I think AAA within the next few weeks. If he can maintain anywhere close to where he's been producing the past season and a half, a September call up wouldn't be out of the question.

 

Id pull the reigns a bit for 2015 though. It's not that I don't believe in the kid or that I don't want him to be a fixture at DH/occassional 1B. But until you prove you can hit ML pitching, you haven't proven you can hit ML pitching. By that, simply, it's a long way from high A last season, to a year split between AA and AAA to being an every day player on a big league club. I'd actually be strongly in favor of bringing Morales back again if possible. At least initially.

[jokin]

Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino · 1m

Mauer 0 for 2 with a K vs. Koji.

 

Hammer 0 for 5 with 4 Ks. A

 

Ah, but Kendrys: 3 for 5, 3B (really?), HR, 3 RBI.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Morales pretty much ended Vargas chances in the majors (sans a Mauer injury) for the time being. I would expect him to get called up to AAA shortly.

[TRex]

He could still get a promotion after rosters expand in September.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Well, Vargas is already on the 40-man roster, so it costs nothing roster- or transaction-wise to call him up in September. Barring injury or uncharacteristic struggles at AAA, I have to imagine that is almost guaranteed. Could be sooner if he keeps raking and there is an opening/injury on the 25-man roster.

[KirbyHawk75]

What is Vargas's ceiling? What type of player can he be in the Majors?

[jokin]

What is Vargas's ceiling? What type of player can he be in the Majors?

 

Poor man's David Ortiz.

[KirbyHawk75]

Poor man's David Ortiz.

 

What does that mean though? A 20 HR hitter? .500 slugging percentage?

[nicksaviking]

Poor man's David Ortiz.

 

Clearly you haven't seen these MLB salaries lately.

[jokin]

What does that mean though? A 20 HR hitter? .500 slugging percentage?

 

At the same age, Ortiz was mashing AAA PCL pitching with similar K/BB ratios. Interestingly, another potential comp is Kendrys Morales (both Kendrys and Kennys are switch hitters), who also played at Salt Lake City at age 23, and put up an OPS 100 points lower than Ortiz and 50 points lower in SLG. Morales in AA @ 22, a year younger than Vargas, put up numbers very, very similar to Vargas in SLG, but 44 points worse in OBP.

 

Logically then, it follows that Vargas has a BB% inbetween the two at the same age, with a better K% than both. Yes, he is a year behind them developmentally, and its actually more than that, as he's only played one full season of pro ball before this year, so that might reflect well on the possibility that Vargas' full potential ceiling has yet to be tapped.

 

Having said all that, it seems fair to say that Vargas has a chance to catch up with his two peers, and hit numbers somewhere around or slightly above Morales. 20 HR and a Morales-like career .478 SLG average doesn't seem to be an overly optimistic target.

[mnsports255]

Kenny's Vargas with 2 more hits tonight, plus a 2-run homer! Hitting .327, 15 HR, 57 RBI on the year at New Britain I believe.

[Thegrin]

When Sano and Rosario were moved to NB and Vargas stayed in FtM, one wondered how Vargas would fare without those hitters batting around him. It looks like he doesn't need them and he hits just fine on his own.

[mikecgrimes]

The guy hasnt missed a beat going from single A to AA. He is hitting .320 with with 12 HR's and 51 RBI's. Any chance he is called up to AAA this season or even a september call up?

 

I came here to post the exact same thing, now .327 and 14 HR's, looks like Rochester could use an upgrade at 1st as they currently are playing 31 year old Ben Nelson who is hitting .243 with 3 HR's.

[Larsbars08]

I think he's got to be on the verge of a promotion to Rochester. Of course I find that I'm much more optimistic about player's promotions than is warranted considering the Twins history. I'm not sure there's much more he needs to prove at AA. He's doesn't really need to learn a position, considering he's a DH/1B (probably more the former than the latter).

[071063]

I agree that it seems Vargas should be nearing a promotion to Rochester. However, I also always try to remember that for every promotion, there needs to be a subsequent move. While it is easy to say cut this guy or that guy, it isn't always an easy thing to do. If Vargas goes to AAA, who at Rochester goes back to AA or gets cut? Remember, it needs to be someone at a similar position or a position that has too many guys already.

[jokin]

I agree that it seems Vargas should be nearing a promotion to Rochester. However, I also always try to remember that for every promotion, there needs to be a subsequent move. While it is easy to say cut this guy or that guy, it isn't always an easy thing to do. If Vargas goes to AAA, who at Rochester goes back to AA or gets cut? Remember, it needs to be someone at a similar position or a position that has too many guys already.

 

 

This one is easy, and it's a head-scratcher as to why it hasn't happened all ready- Brad Nelson- who should be sent packing, either to another organization, or flipped with Vargas.