Article: Twins 2015 Minor League Short-Season Hitter of the Year - Jermaine Palacios

[Jeremy Nygaard]

As Twins fans we've been spoiled by Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. How many of you knew that in 2011 Sano and Rosario were fighting each other neck-and-neck for the Appy League home run title? And if you answered yes to that question, how many of you knew it was Rosario - not Miggy the Clutch Bomber - who came out on top of that friendly little competition (21-20)?

 

The reason for bringing it up is because almost every All-Star, starter or non-star made their debut in a short-season league. Today, we're going to take a closer look at the hitters that impressed in July and August.Palacios hits so well, having his eyes open is only a recommendation.

 

Honorable Mention:

• Manuel Guzman, Elizabethton Twins: 49-178, .275/.377/.337 (.714), 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14, RBI, 19-23 SB.
• Brian Olson, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 32-106, .302/.414/.415 (.829), 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI.
• Chris Paul, Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-131, .282/.343/.443 (.785), 10 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 2-2 SB .
• Lewis Diaz, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 37-159, .233/.322/.371 (.693), 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 2-2 SB.

Short-Season Hitter of the Year

 

Here are the top five places (seven vote-getters) for Twins Minor League Short-Season Hitter of the Year.

 

#5 (tie)– Luis Arraez, GCL Twins: 64-207, .309/.377/.391 (.768), 15 2B, 1 3B, 19 RBI, 8-16 SB.

 

Arraez, a second baseman, came from Venezuela. After spending the summer of 2014 in the DSL, Arraez made his US debut this season. Arraez got off to a hot start in the short month of June (.333/.407/.458) before having two very similar months in July (.306/.368/.365) and August (.306/.376/.398). The lefty had a higher batting average against RHPs (.311 to .302), but had very similar splits overall (.377 OBP vs RHP; .375 OBP vs LHP; .395 SLG vs LHP; .390 SLG vs RHP).

 

Travis Blankenhorn, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 47-193, .244/.321/.347 (.668), 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 3-3 SB.

 

This year’s 3rd rounder made his debut in the GCL before earning a promotion to the Appalachian League in Mid-July. Blankenhorn struggled both in the GCL in June and in Elizabethton in August, but sandwiched a very nice July in between. In seven games before his promotion in the GCL, Blankenhorn batted .286/.375/.429 (.804) and then continued hitting in Elizabethton, slashing .321/.387/.482 (.869) in 16 games there.

 

A.J. Murray, Elizabethton Twins: 42-159, .264/.366/.409 (.774), 11 2B, 4 HR, 0-1 CS.

 

The Twins were very happy to pop Murray in the 14th round out of Georgia Tech in this past June’s draft. He hit his first professional home run in only his second game on June 25. He hit two more in early July before cooling off, hitting only one more before the end of the season. Murray had reverse splits, faring much better against same-sided (right-handed) pitchers, slashing .288/.397/.424 (.821) and struggling against lefties (.195/.267/.366, {.633})

 

#4 – Christian Cavaness, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 21-65, .323/.421/.538 (.960), 6 2B, 4 3B, 10 RBI, 6-9 SB.

 

Cavaness joined the organization as an undrafted free agent, which is unique in that Cavaness had eligibility left. He joined the GCL Twins on the last day of July. After a three-hit game on August 14, Cavaness was enjoying the best stat line he’d have all year: .441/.537/.794 (1.331). Despite cooling off, Cavaness definitely put himself in a position to make prospect-watchers take note.

 

#3 – Daniel Kihle, Elizabethton Twins: 39-143, .273/.404/.392 (.796), 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 5-6 SB.

 

Kihle spent all season as a regular in E-town’s outfield and his presence in the lineup was much needed. After joining the organization as an 18th-round pick in the most recent draft from Wichita State, the former Shocker put up impressive numbers including an OBP of .478 in 16 July games and an OPS over .800 in August (.806).

 

#2 – LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 74-245, .302/.418/.486 (.904), 8 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 12-13 SB.

 

Wade, who was coming off a broken hamate bone suffered early this spring while at Maryland, hit the ground running as a professional. The lefty hit right-handed pitchers as well as you’d hope, slashing .289/.395/.489 (.884) in 229 at-bats. What’s even more encouraging is that in his 77 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, Wade put up a .345/.493/.473 (.966) line. All told in the regular season Wade also walked 47 times while only striking out 36 times. These are all signs that point to Wade being a pretty advanced hitter. In the inaugural Twins Draftbook, I noted that Wade had a high floor and that he’s been compared to David DeJesus. Look for frequent recognition of Wade this winter.

 

Short-Season Hitter of the Year – Jermaine Palacios, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 87-235, .370/.398/.540 (.938), 23 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 9-13 SB.

 

Nobody did more to propel himself into the prospect spotlight than short-season shortstop Jermaine Palacios. In fact, after spending only one season in the DSL, Palacios came stateside and then made a rare jump to Elizabethton after only playing 26 games in the GCL.

 

The 26 games might have been more than was necessary. Palacios absolutely destroyed the GCL. He had 40 hits in 95 at-bats (.421 batting average). He walked almost as many times as he struck out (9 vs. 12) and reached base 47% percent of the time he stepped to the plate. He had 12 extra-base hits and slugged .589. His OPS was a whopping 1.061.

 

Examining those numbers even more closely, Palacios started the season 1-for-19. So once the cold streak ended, Palacios batted over .500 for three weeks. This included a stretch of 17 games where Palacios had two or more hits in 14 of them. During that stretch, he went hitless once, but only struck out 5 times. What an amazing run!

 

Even after the multi-hit barrage ended, Palacios continued to hit, going 4-for-13 (.308) in his final four games in the GCL. On how many occasions in pro ball do we see a guy bat .308 and have his batting average drop 13 points? I’d guess none after the first week of the season… besides Palacios.

 

So how did he do after his promotion? He came out on another tear. He started his E-town career with a 12-game hitting streak. And it wasn’t a cheap streak either: Seven multi-hit games including three three-hit games and a four-hit game. He drove in 13 runs in his first six games.

 

Unfortunately, the hot-streak came to an end and Palacios, who was batting .420 with an OPS nearing 1.100 on August 11, finished the year batting 50 points lower with a still-respectable OPS of .938.

 

In a system that recently lacked any high-upside shortstop prospects, that system is now flooded with them: Jorge Polanco, Engelb Vielma and Nick Gordon are arguably all Top 15 prospects in the organization.

 

“We’ve already got three or four guys we really believe in, and Palacios has been as impressive as the rest,” Twins VP of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff told Baseball America earlier this month.

 

The Ballots

 

In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers:

• Seth Stohs – 1) LaMonte Wade, 2) Jermaine Palacios, 3) Luis Arraez, 4) Daniel Kihle, 5) Brian Olson
• Jeremy Nygaard – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Travis Blankenhorn, 4) Christian Cavaness, 5) Chris Paul
• Cody Christie – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Christian Cavaness, 4) A.J. Murray, 5) Travis Blankenhorn
• Steve Lein – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Daniel Kihle, 4) A.J. Murray, 5) Luis Arraez
• Eric Pleiss – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) Daniel Kihle, 3) Jean Carlos Arias, 4) Manuel Guzman, 5) Lewin Diaz

Feel free to discuss. How would your ballot look?

 

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[Linus]

Can't have too many prospects at SS.  Along with catchers and starting pitchers, they are the best trade currency there is.

[DocBauer]

Section 1:

 

1* rookie league or not, Wade looks tremdous. Look at his numbers again before we move along.

 

2* it IS borderline amazing how the Twins have virtually zero MI's in their entire organization...and yet...a few years later...we have the top 2B in all of baseball...arguably. No diatribe repeat necessary...Escobar ladies and gentlemen...along with the still talented and potential-filled Santana (future super utility player I think), possibly very nice utility players in Beresford and Michael, and then young studs like Polanco, Gordon and possibly Vielma. Wow. One of these days...maybe...someone should give SOMEBODY kind of credit to the Twins scouts and FO and whoever for all the milb talent in the system.

 

Section 2:

 

1* I know it's a half season league. And I'm not stupid or naive...I know it's a half season league. But come on...WOW or DAYUM should be the first word that comes to mind in regard to Palacios. I am rather concerned by the lack of BB. But am encouraged by the lack of SO's, and frankly, every other single number.

 

I guess that's where my "wonder" quotient resides. Do I worry about a lack of walks and a future lack of walks...Palacios proving to be a free swinger...and wonder about future OB numbers and possible growing SO numbers? Or do I look at all the other impressive numbers and lack of SO's to tell myself that he didn't walk much thus far simply because he didn't HAVE TO?

 

2* I absolutely DO NOT want to get in to comparisons, BUT, the Twins recent history in to the foreign FA market has been anywhere from good to outstanding. There are some talented question marks in the lower levels to be sure, as well as some nice looking early successes. But if we look at the larger contract signings the past few years...of which Palacios is one...we witness first and foremost Sano. Anything else to add? No? Good! Next is Polanco who has been on about a 3 year tear of potential for a middle infielder. The question remains, which position for sure, and which team? Ironically, he made it to the SHOW twice before Sano did.

 

Then comes Kepler. Who should have already been here a week or so ago...probably...but will be in a few days...probably...and who could open the 2016 in the Twins OF...maybe...but will be up at some point, probably early at worst...almost definitely.

 

All of the scouting reports I read on Palacios were in one camp or another: a) talented but erratic and hard to predict, might not have a sustainable bat, possibly the top talent available on the amateur FA circuit. How does he look now?

 

I don't want to put the cart before the horse...but...but...what if "b" is right, and we signed the next big amateur FA Sano-ish level talent, but in this case, a legitimate SS version?

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think we tend to forget just how much age matters in the short season leagues.  A lot of standouts in those leagues never amount to much, so something to be aware of, particularly for college age hitters.  A few years back, we were all excited about some kid named DB Romero after he posted an OPS north of .900. He was 20 (roughly league average for his age).  What was exciting about Santana and Rosario is that both were very young when they did it.  Of that list, Palacios turned 19.  Arraez is 18.  Blankenhorn was also a highschool draftee.  Those are very good signs.

 

I hope Wade can keep it up, but he was on the wrong end of that curve.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I think we tend to forget just how much age matters in the short season leagues.  A lot of standouts in those leagues never amount to much, so something to be aware of, particularly for college age hitters.  A few years back, we were all excited about some kid named DB Romero after he posted an OPS north of .900. He was 20 (roughly league average for his age).  What was exciting about Santana and Rosario is that both were very young when they did it.  Of that list, Palacios turned 19.  Arraez is 18.  Blankenhorn was also a highschool draftee.  Those are very good signs.

 

I hope Wade can keep it up, but he was on the wrong end of that curve.

 

Correct, and yet, remember that this is not a prospect list. It's a ranking of performance and age isn't really a factor (Though there were 5 voters, so I can't speak for everyone). 

[Steve Lein]

 

Section 1:

1* rookie league or not, Wade looks tremdous. Look at his numbers again before we move along.

 

....

All of the scouting reports I read on Palacios were in one camp or another: a) talented but erratic and hard to predict, might not have a sustainable bat, possibly the top talent available on the amateur FA circuit. How does he look now?

 

I wanted to give Wade the #1 spot on my ballot, he had stats across every offensive tool. Extremely good overall offensive performance. But the sheer number of hits from Palacios was too much to ignore.

 

As for Palacios at SS, he also had 20 errors in 53 games. Just something to keep an eye on.

 

Age had no bearing on my ballot.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Thinking about prospect lists... I don't know which one I'd rank higher between Wade and Palacios. I think Palacios will be higher on most, but I like Wade a lot. I also know more about Wade than Palacios. 

 

Oh, the agony!

[Dman]

Don't forget the Twins just signed Wander Javier as well.  So shortstop looks pretty stacked. for Quite a while.  

 

Palacios sure looks like the real deal to me but there is a long way to go to know for sure.  Appy league doesn't prove a player will be successful at future levels.  Very impressive season though and I hope he is future all star type player.

[Shane Wahl]

The thing about Palacios is SS long-term fit and which direction he goes if it doesn't work out--2B or 3B? The 3B route is highly preferable, even with Sano.

[Bob Sacamento]

Having seen Palacios play about 10 or so games in the GCL while on his hot streak, everything he put a bat on seemed to find a hole in the infield or bloop down in the right spot, or just inside the line.  His BABIP was an insane .464 in the GCL and .375 in Eliz meaning I don't see it holding up.  Personally, I think I might have mentioned this before but he kinda reminds me of Starlin Castro of the Cubs, swings early in counts while sitting on the fastball, he's not going to walk much, not going to strikeout much, not going to steal a bunch, makes plus contact, can play SS but is probably better off at 2B in the long run, the biggest question I have on him is power development and that should increase as he puts some weight on his frame.

[gagu]

I love these articles and appreciate the information. One request for the future: please consider adding the position and age of the players listed, especially at the lower levels. It may not be relevant to a particular story, but it's a good habit and it adds the reading experience. Not a criticism, I'm more than happy with the year-round coverage and insightful comments. Thanks.