Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect Chat (Saturday)

[Seth Stohs]

What catchers start where at minor league level?

 

 

I'll make my roster projections in a couple of week... I'll have to give it some thought. Turner to Chattanooga. Garver to Ft. Myers. Navarreto and Fernandez to CR. 

[Seth Stohs]

Overall, it seems that MLB.com puts more emphasis on players closer to the majors than Fangraphs does.  Kiley and his team at Fangraphs just look at the overall tools and don't seem to give extra credit to those closer to the majors. So it really depends on what's more important to you.  I prefer Fangraphs myself.

 

 

I try to consolidate the two thoughts. There's no 100% perfect way because we can't account perfectly for the human factor. 

[jimmer]

I try to consolidate the two thoughts. There's no 100% perfect way because we can't account perfectly for the human factor. 

exactly.  I was just trying to tell him the difference between the two and then say which one I prefer if I had to just use one.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Seth--What do you think of DJ Baxendale's chances of becoming a productive big leaguer? He started off his minor league career so well.

[Seth Stohs]

Seth--What do you think of DJ Baxendale's chances of becoming a productive big leaguer? He started off his minor league career so well.

 

They always say that the biggest jump, especially for college pitchers, is that jump to AA. He has dominated in the Florida State League (when healthy) and really struggled in his opportunities in AA. But some of that has been because of the injuries. How much is the question. 

 

Do I think he can be a productive big leaguer? Yes. I think he's got a good-enough fastball. I also think he's got a really good slider that could make him a good 7th inning guy. That said, I'm not ready to say that he can't be a back-end starter if the opportunity presents itself. 

[Zephrin]

I think some forget Plouffe is only 28 and only a year older than Dozier.  He still has some quality play in him if we believe he's turned the corner. Now that Plouffe seems to have a real feel for 3B defense, I want to make sure Sano can play 3B before we get rid of Plouffe and make our bad defense even worse. And, again, I know I'm in the minority and might emphasis defense more than most.

 

Having said that, I'm all for using pieces of a really good farm system to get established quality players.

 

If the Twins think Sano can stick at 3B for at least 3-5 years, they should trade Plouffe.  Remember, trading Pierzynski from a position of strength when Mauer was coming up was arguably the best trade we've made in a long time (and one of the best ever).  Teams have been looking for 3B at the deadline the past few years, so if Plouffe has a solid 1st half and Sano shows he's ready, I would absolutely look for the right deal.