Article: Twins Minor League Hitter Of The Month - August 2015

[Seth Stohs]

Yesterday, we got to know our August 2015 Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month, Brett Lee. Today, we’re going to give you the top five Twins Minor League Hitters for the month of August. This is an interesting mix of players, but there were a lot of strong performances. The minor league seasons are now less than a week from being complete. Continue reading to find out which hitters had success in the season’s final full month.Before we get to the Top 5 Twins Minor League hitters for May, here are a few hitters who are very worth of mention:

• Rochester Red Wings OF Reynaldo Rodriguez (24-92) .261/.343/.489 (.832) with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 16 RBI.
• Rochester Red Wings 2B James Beresford (39-115) .339/.368/.365 (733) with three doubles and 13 RBI
• Rochester Red Wings SS Danny Santana (29-87) .333/.352/.506 (.857) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and ten RBI.
• Ft. Myers Miracle UT Logan Wade (31-96) .323/.350/.479 (.829) with nine doubles, three triples and 13 RBI.
• Cedar Rapids Kernels SS Nick Gordon (32-103) .311/.355/.437 (.791) with six doubles, two triples, one homer and 14 RBI.
• Cedar Rapids Kernels IF Rafael Valera (28-92) .304/.379/.370 (.748) with six doubles and seven RBI.
• Cedar Rapids Kernels OF Tanner English (17-43) .395/.438/.605 (1.042) with seven doubles, a triple and six RBI.
• Elizabethton Twins C Brian Olson (17-51) .333/.414/.510 (.924) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBI

And now, let’s get to the Top 5 Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitters for August:

 

 

Number 5 - Elizabethton – SS Jermaine Palacios - (43-130) .331/.341/.492 (.833) with 14 doubles, two triples, 1 home run and 19 RBI.

 

Palacios was our choice for Twins minor league hitter of the month in July, and he had another strong month in August. He’s struggled with the glove at shortstop, but the bat is solid. As you can see, he doesn’t walk. He is not a big kid, but the 19-year-old from Venezuela has a little extra base pop. After hitting .421 with a 1.061 WHIP in 26 games in the GCL, he has now hit .336 with an .852 OPS in 31 E-Town games.

Number 4 – Chattanooga – 1B/OF Max Kepler - (31-103) .301/.405/.495 (.900) with seven doubles, two triples, three home run and 20 RBI.

 

Kepler has had an incredible 2015 season. His .900 OPS in August was a pedestrian number by his 2015 standards. He was the Twins choice for minor league hitter of the month in May, June and July. He was Twins Daily’s choice in May and runner up in June and July. On Thursday, he was named the Southern League’s MVP. He has hit .327/.415/.540 (.955) with 32 doubles, 12 triples, nine homers and 69 RBI. As remarkable, he has walked 60 times and struck out 59 times. In August he walked 19 times with just 16 strikeouts. He will lead the Lookouts into the playoffs next week and could join the Twins as a September call up after that.

Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – 3B TJ White - (33-97) .340/.431/.526 (.957) with ten doubles, one triple, two home runs and 21 RBI.

 

White had the chance to move up to Ft. Myers for almost a month, but he was returned to the Kernels at the start of August. He has been on fire since. He has a lot of multi-hit games and seemingly on base at least twice most games. In his last ten games, he has hit .400. In 102 games with the Kernels this season, White has hit .264/.354/.367 (.721) with 20 doubles, six triples and two home runs. He puts the ball in play. The 23-year-old from UNLV should jump to Ft. Myers full time in 2015.

Number 2 – Elizabethton Twins – OF LaMonte Wade – (33-101) .327/.474/.495 (.969) with three doubles, one triple, four home runs and 20 RBI.

 

The Twins were thrilled when the 21-year-old Wade was still available when the Twins made their ninth round pick. The Maryland product fell in large part due to injury in his junior season. He was a mainstay in the Elizabethton lineup and was named to the Appalachian League’s All-Star team. Overall with the E-Twins, he hit .312/.428/.506 (.934) with eight doubles, five triples and nine homers. He walked 46 times and struck out 34 times. Consider in August alone he walked 30 times with just 12 strikeouts. He also stole 12 bases.

 

The May Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is...

 

Rochester Red Wings 1B/DH Kennys Vargas (31-100) .310/.453/.580 (1.033) with five doubles, two triples, six home runs and 25 RBI.

 

 

 

Vargas was a surprise call up a year ago in August. When Josh Willingham was traded, the Twins brought in Vargas who hit .275/.316/.456 (.772) down the stretch with 10 doubles and nine home runs. A nice showing for a 24 year old.

Vargas began the 2015 season as the team’s Opening Day DH and really struggled. He hit .245/.277/.365 (.642) with four doubles and five homers in 47 games. He was sent to Rochester briefly early in the season. On June 1, he was sent down to AA Chattanooga. The move the next day was to bring up Miguel Sano. Vargas’s future was suddenly in question.

He struggled early in Chattanooga but ended up at .287/.417/.516 (.934) with 12 extra base hits (including seven homers) in 35 games there. He moved back up to Rochester and was terrific. As you see in August, he posted an OPS over 1.000.

In his time with the Twins, he struggled to control the strike zone. He had seven walks to go with 48 strikeouts. In August, Vargas struck out 29 times, but he also walked 28 times. It is definitely something to watch.

What is Vargas’s role with the Twins going forward? With Miguel Sano DHing, and with his hamstring injury right now, that is likely all he will be able to do this year, playing time for Vargas may consist of an occasional start at first base or DH. He may primarily be a strong, switch-hitting pinch hitting option for the team. Going forward, I’m sure that is all to be determined.

However, it’s important to note that he went down to the minor leagues to work on his approach at the plate and to show power, and he did both of those things. It was a terrific August for Vargas. He earned the September call up by playing well on the field.

 

There were several strong performances in August. The top hitters for the month were spread out with no affiliate having more than one representative. It was also good to see so many solid, honorable mention performances from guys in their final full month of the season.

 

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[diehardtwinsfan]

pretty sure Kepler hasn't had 32 home runs on the season.  There would be quite a bit more ferver in calling him up if he did

[Shane Wahl]

Wade is another to watch with Palacios. I would like to see what both can do at Cedar Rapids next year.

[mikelink45]

How could it hurt the Twins to have Kepler on the bench?  First no Berrios, now no Kepler.  I would add Beresford too - Plouffe is not close to last year and another 3B on the bench would not hurt. 

[HitInAPinch]

I got to watch Vargas playing 1B a couple times.  He really didn't embarrass himself.

I'm not banging on Mauer, but I'd like to seem him playing 1st more than a few times in September.

[Mike Sixel]

More great work, Seth, thanks.

 

some great performances. Some guys with real upside also, lots to look forward to.

[ashbury]

How could it hurt the Twins to have Kepler on the bench?  First no Berrios, now no Kepler.  I would add Beresford too - Plouffe is not close to last year and another 3B on the bench would not hurt. 

Kepler's on the 40-man, but adding Beresford would mean dropping someone. Not that there isn't a little dross on the roster, but Beresford will be dropped from the 40-man as soon as the season is over, so it would amount to risking losing someone for the purpose of rewarding a career man with another cup of coffee.

[Major League Ready]

 

How could it hurt the Twins to have Kepler on the bench?  First no Berrios, now no Kepler.  I would add Beresford too - Plouffe is not close to last year and another 3B on the bench would not hurt. 

One possible scenario is that they want the option to bring him up next year as soon as the super 2 date passes.  Hicks is more valuable as a CFer so the FO could very ell have determined the best way to maximize their assets would be to eventually trade Hicks.  This plan would provide the opportunity to evaluate Kepler for a period of time prior to the deadline and then deal Hicks if they are satisfied with Kepler as his replacement.

 

Hicks might even be traded in the off-season if the deal is right.  What if they do have the chance to get the right catcher?  Buxton, Rosario and Kepler could be our OF for the next several years. 

 

The point being, you don’t bring Kepler up to play 1st base or sit on the bench if you see the potential for one of these scenarios or some other similar scenario.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Major Leauge Ready

[mikelink45]

I believe there is value in just sitting on the bench and getting in the MLB atmosphere.  We have a record of trading centerfielders - would we really do another one?  We are still not sure if Buxton is ready and we have no idea if Kepler really is either.

[David HK]

So glad they called up Vargas to let him sit on the bench for the last month of the season.   How many AB's since his callup?  3?  FFS.

Just another in a long line of Twinkie management head-scratchers all season long.