Article: Kepler Wins Third Ring, Gets The Call

[Seth Stohs]

right, but there will be moves made in the offseason. It'll clear itself out. 

[sane]

Maybe I missed it - who were the other six players who won championships with him last year in Fort Myers and 2012 with Elizabethton?

By MY count there are seven others, total of eight.

Nikko Goodrum, Travis Harrison, Dalton Hicks, Jorge Polanco, Adam Brett Walker, Steve Wickens, and Brett Lee. (plus Kepler)

[jokin]

 

  Given all of this, I think the Twins would be wise to (1) see if there is good value to be had for trading Plouffe, and if not, either (2) trade Vargas or Arcia and/or (3) not resign Hunter.

 

right, but there will be moves made in the offseason. It'll clear itself out. 

 

I'd be on board for all 3 of nytwins suggestions, but I'm not confident that Ryan will make the moves to "clear itself out."

 

Regarding Sano, it's obvious now that either he was completely mis-asessesed in May or the Twins had already decided that they were going to wait for the Super 2 date, regardless of his readiness.  And Seth, you missed the point in my previous post, Buxton was only called up because of both injury- and the fact that the decision to promote became easier since it was beyond the Super 2 date.

 

Unless there's a major injury, or your scenarios of the Twins making the offseason requisite roster-clearing moves, there won't be room for Kepler in the first 3 months or so of 2016. The closer the prospect for promotion gets towards the projected Super 2 date, the more likely they wait on Kepler.  

 

Seth, what do you think the chances are that the Twins re-sign Hunter? (I'm thinking better than 50-50).

And, what are the odds that Ryan finds sufficient return to pull the trigger on a Plouffe trade? (I'm thinking less than 50-50).

Sp. if Ryan does keeps them both and also looks to bring up Buxton no later than May, it becomes extremely unlikely that we see Kepler much in the first half of 2016, barring major injury.

[nytwinsfan]

I think if you had a flowchart for the Twins' offseason, whether Plouffe is traded or not is at the very top. Not to say it couldn't happen after other moves, but ideally the decision about that would come first, and help determine what happens next. If Plouffe is traded, suddenly bringing Hunter back (hopefully for less than $10 million) isn't that big of a deal. It also gives a lot more flexibility for getting people like Hunter, Kepler, Arcia, and Vargas ABs if Sano is at 3B.

[Seth Stohs]

 

 

Seth, what do you think the chances are that the Twins re-sign Hunter? (I'm thinking better than 50-50).

And, what are the odds that Ryan finds sufficient return to pull the trigger on a Plouffe trade? (I'm thinking less than 50-50).

Sp. if Ryan does keeps them both and also looks to bring up Buxton no later than May, it becomes extremely unlikely that we see Kepler much in the first half of 2016, barring major injury.

 

I would agree with you on each of those things.

 

[strumdatjaguar]

Mr. Oktoberfest!!!!!

[nytwinsfan]

Great interview with Kepler:   http://video.startribune.com/kepler-happy-with-minor-league-title-but-being-in-bigs-amazing/328720501/

 

He has basically zero accent. Kind of dissapointing. I know Europeans are generally better at foreign language, but man, how does he have no accent at all? Is he just really good at language, or did he start learning English when he was little?

Edited September 22, 2015 by nytwinsfan

[jimbo92107]

Hoch auf Max Kepler!

 

(3 cheers)

I vas a liddle dissapoinded zat he hes no Cherman aggzent, but I'll ged ober it.

 

Watched a short interview; sounded like he grew up in Ohio.

 

Velcomen to de mejor liggs, Maximus!

 

Maybe we can get him to watch some Hogan's Heroes, so he can develop a good Colonel Klink... ;-)

[Thrylos]

22 days too late...

[ken]

 

 

 

Regarding Sano, it's obvious now that either he was completely mis-asessesed in May or the Twins had already decided that they were going to wait for the Super 2 date, regardless of his readiness.  

 

 

Didn't Sano start out the year hitting below .200 in April and really didn't start to heat up until mid-May?  Considering he had missed all of last year, it's hard to fault the Twins for not bringing him up sooner.

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

I vas a liddle dissapoinded zat he hes no Cherman aggzent, but I'll ged ober it.

 

Watched a short interview; sounded like he grew up in Ohio.

 

Velcomen to de mejor liggs, Maximus!

 

Maybe we can get him to watch some Hogan's Heroes, so he can develop a good Colonel Klink... ;-)

I used Google translate. Polish dad, American mom. Where in the U.S. is his mom from? Anybody know?

 

Okay, I looked it up. She's from San Antonio, TX.

Edited September 22, 2015 by ScrapTheNickname

[ashbury]

22 days too late...

23. Molitor's starting lineup fails to make use of this golden opportunity.

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

23. Molitor's starting lineup fails to make use of this golden opportunity.

Hell yes, I'd like to see him starting tonight and batting lead off too!

Edited September 22, 2015 by ScrapTheNickname

[ashbury]

I used Google translate. Polish dad, American mom. Where in the U.S. is his mom from? Anybody know?

 

Okay, I looked it up. She's from San Antonio, TX.

Good save.

[jimbo92107]

I used Google translate. Polish dad, American mom. Where in the U.S. is his mom from? Anybody know?

 

Okay, I looked it up. She's from San Antonio, TX.

No way Max learned English in Texas. Getting rid of that accent is tougher than winning a piss fight with an ornery mule.

Tougher than a rawhide pillow.

Tougher than a bowl of rocks for breakfast.

Tougher than teethin' on a old car tire.

Tougher than findin' out yer best gal is a rodeo clown.

Tougher than a rubber burrito.

Tougher than findin' out that weren't no burrito. From yer best gal, who's a rodeo clown.

Edited September 23, 2015 by jimbo92107

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

No way Max learned English in Texas. Getting rid of that accent is tougher than winning a piss fight with an ornery mule.

Tougher than a rawhide pillow.

Tougher than a bowl of rocks for breakfast.

Tougher than teethin' on a old car tire.

Tougher than findin' out yer best gal is a rodeo clown.

Tougher than a rubber burrito.

Tougher than findin' out that weren't no burrito. From yer best gal, who's a rodeo clown.

This post is wasted in that it is temporary and will vanish into the past.

Edited September 23, 2015 by ScrapTheNickname

[jokin]

 

Didn't Sano start out the year hitting below .200 in April and really didn't start to heat up until mid-May?  Considering he had missed all of last year, it's hard to fault the Twins for not bringing him up sooner.

 

Ken, you are correct about his slow start.  I never advocated to call him up in April, and certainly the Twins made the right decision on where to start him out in 2015.  However, I had the chance to see him play in early May, Sano was in the midst of making his huge adjustment- from primarily big fly ball hitter in April, to Line Drive hitter in May.  (His April LD% was 12.2%, for May/June- 24.0%.  His OFB rate in April was 43.9%, for April June- 31.2%.)

 

Back to the Chattanooga game: 

 

He batted 6 times that game, every ball was hit on the nose- to all fields ( 1 K, 1 line drive out at the wall, 2 line drive sac flies to deep LF and RF, and a hard hit single back through the box, plus a double smacked hard, high off the left-center field wall).  I wrote up the story at the time, it obviously appeared that he had adjusted after the layoff - and would soon master AA pitching.  A little later, I started the "Sano- How soon is Now"? thread, as he continued to spray hard hit line drives and take walks at prolific rates, putting up AA-Kris Bryant-like numbers throughout all of May and all of June (.320/.403/.611).  Based on what the Twins got when Sano was finally called up, he certainly proved that he was very ready.

 

BTW-  Kepler also looked terrific in that game in May, 3/5 with 2 doubles. but even though Kepler is 3 months older than Sano, besides the obvious differences physically, Sano looked much more like the more ready prospect than Kepler, as did Buxton.

Edited September 23, 2015 by jokin

[h2oface]

 

I used Google translate. Polish dad, American mom. Where in the U.S. is his mom from? Anybody know?

 

Okay, I looked it up. She's from San Antonio, TX.

 

....... and both are/were professional dancers.  There are many that learn to talk very good english, no matter were they come from or what family they are born into.

Edited September 23, 2015 by h2oface

[h2oface]

 

23. Molitor's starting lineup fails to make use of this golden opportunity.

 

Hey....... but Dozier and his mendoza line second half performance is still batting second........

[h2oface]

I love the not ready yet camp. The only way you know if someone is ready... is to try it. Just look at the fallout of the prospect list to realize that the pundits that claim to know..... don't more often than not.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Actually Sano wasn't called up until 3 weeks after the Super 2 threshold. Might have cost us a win or two during a rough month of June.

[jokin]

 

Actually Sano wasn't called up until 3 weeks after the Super 2 threshold. Might have cost us a win or two during a rough month of June.

 

Absolutely right.

[jokin]

 

I love the not ready yet camp. The only way you know if someone is ready... is to try it. Just look at the fallout of the prospect list to realize that the pundits that claim to know..... don't more often than not.

 

Just so I'm clear, in case you were referring to me, I was in the not-ready-yet camp for Kepler in early May- given his history and relative to how Sano and Buxton were performing. As my posting history will attest, I am always in the "try it" sooner rather than later camp for the best-performing prospects. I think it would have definitely been worth a shot to have had Kepler pinch hitting in all of these important situations over a struggling Danny Santana.

[h2oface]

 

Just so I'm clear, in case you were referring to me, I was in the not-ready-yet camp for Kepler in early May- given his history and relative to how Sano and Buxton were performing. As my posting history will attest, I am always in the "try it" sooner rather than later camp for the best-performing prospects. I think it would have definitely been worth a shot to have had Kepler pinch hitting in all of these important situations over a struggling Danny Santana.

 

No..... I wasn't referring to anyone in particular. I can't say that I keep track that well of who says what, necessarily. Just a "if the shoe fits, wear it", I guess. I too would rather try it than not. Plus, with many young ball players, like Santana, some are ready for a while, and then they are not. But to just say that someone is not ready, like Berrios..... I find it is folly until you try and see. Many folks out here in LA said Corey Seager wasn't ready and needed more 'seasoning', but he is proving them all wrong for the Dodgers.

Edited September 23, 2015 by h2oface

[Seth Stohs]

It's impossible to know.

 

If a guy appears ready in the minors, gets called up and struggles in the big leagues, does that mean he wasn't ready?

 

If a guy appears to not be ready, gets called up and hits well, does that mean he was ready?

 

If a guy looks ready, gets called up, hits really well right away, does that mean he was ready weeks ago, or that the extra time in the minors made him ready?

 

No way to know. 

[sane]

There is one case that is evident.

If a guy is FAILING in the minors, he is not ready for the majors.

[dxpavelka]

 

I tried the catcher conversion question with Plouffe about a month ago.  It was purely hypothetical, but I don't think a month in Arizona will turn someone into a ML catcher.

Agree but it's a start & a route to big league at bats.  The spots he currently projects at don't appear to have many available AB's.  Not looking for him to be Johnny Bench just an upgrade over Hermanson & Fryer and good enough to share the position with Suzuki.

[dxpavelka]

 

My Goodness.  Have you looked at either's minor league stats or are you just trolling?  They are pretty dissimilar except for being a sweet swinging LH hitter with a decent eye at a plate.

 

If he has the career of Mauer Twins got amazing value for his signing bonus and the scout who brought Kepler into the org deserves to be in the HOF.  Mauer was on a HOF track before being derailed.

Actually I looked at BOTH of their minor league stats.  Neither put up huge run scored or driven in numbers.  The two combined for a total of 1 double digit home run seasons.  Both hit far more doubles than home runs.  Career minor league slugging % were within 6 points of each other.  Mauer hit for higher average and OBP.  Kepler struck out at a higher rate.  Mauer walked at a slightly higher rate.  Except for position & Mauer having a significantly higher batting average they're quite similar.  I personally would be thrilled to get Mauer type production from him and think we will except for the batting average but am not sure most Twins fans would be.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

dxpavelka, on 22 Sept 2015 - 1:27 PM, said:

Not sure some Twins fans are gonna like this but what he brings to the plate is Joe Mauer with slightly more power and speed.The speed difference is why he's an outfielder not a catcher.Won't hit for as high an average as Mauer did for most of his career.At his best he's Joe Mauer with the same warts.Like it or not.And here's a thought--If our OF is as stacked as we've been led to believe for the past few months and if a logjam exists there, and we know Mauer's not going anywhere for a few more years our biggest position of need is catcher why not send him to the AFL and make him a catcher?

 

Loosey, on 22 Sept 2015 - 1:43 PM, said:

I tried the catcher conversion question with Plouffe about a month ago.It was purely hypothetical, but I don't think a month in Arizona will turn someone into a ML catcher.

 

 

Not only that (the second comment) but Kepler throws with his left arm. I've read speculation that it should be possible for lefty throwers to play catcher, but for whatever reason, maybe just hidebound traditionalism, all pro catchers throw righty as far as I know.

[h2oface]

I look at Alex Meyer last year.... and the times he looked like he was ready, but was suppressed. That would have been the time to get him up, but with Anderson, it might not have worked, anyway. It is just as good an option as a Graham. That might have changed everything in his progression.

 

As it wasn't tried.... as Seth says..... no way to know.... it is impossible to know.

 

Edited September 23, 2015 by h2oface