Article: Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios Promoted to Elizabethton

[Rosterman]

They had a couple of injuries at Eliz and needed some players. So, why not the two biggies.

[Celebrity Weddings!]

For all of the guys you are mentioning, their first pro season was the season after the one they were drafted, unlike Buxton and Berrios. If these two start next season in A ball (won't be Beloit, but some other place), it would be the equivalent of Revere and Hicks (or another high schooler) starting their pro seasons in A ball, which just hasn't happened with the Twins.

That's not true. Parmelee, Hicks, Revere, and Benson all had between 200 and 250 plate appearances in the year they were drafted. Buxton has 102 so far, but if it weren't for the hamstring tweak he'd probably end up in the same ballpark for plate appearances.

 

Every one of those guys started the year after they were drafted in full season A-ball, with Benson and Parmelee actually getting to that level in the year they were drafted for about two weeks at the end of the season. Buxton is being set up for the same thing - a spring debut in full-season A ball.

[Thrylos]

Jokin, I think Thrylos believes Beloit won't be the A- affiliate of the Twins. They will start (and likely finish) at A- next year. Kepler, Buxton, D-Rod, Jimenez, and Pineda in the OF for Beloit next year?

Correct on my belief that Beloit will not be a Twins' affiliate next season.

 

But A. Not A-. Just A (and I know a lot of people call the Midwest league -and the South Atlantic League- "low A" to distinguish from the "high A" Florida State and Carolina and California Leagues, but it isn't.)

 

"A-" or "low A" or "short season A" is a totally different level of competition akin to Elizabethton and the other teams of Appalachian league because their seasons start after the draft. Teams in the New York Penn League and Northwestern League are low A teams.

 

So 3 levels of "A" ball (as 3 levels of Rookie ball )

[DPJ]

Don't know if someones mentioned this cause I don't wanna read through all the posts, but IMO with the new signing deadline I think we'll see the Twins promote younger guys a bit more agressively. Not so much once they hit full-season ball, but now that you have to sign earlier and it gives kids a time to get their feet wet in the GCL or E-town. Hopefully that should lead too some kids hitting fullseason ball quickier.

[PseudoSABR]

How many games left are in E-towns season? A months worth? Still happy to see what they can do in a new league...

[maxisagod]

Don't know if someones mentioned this cause I don't wanna read through all the posts, but IMO with the new signing deadline I think we'll see the Twins promote younger guys a bit more agressively. Not so much once they hit full-season ball, but now that you have to sign earlier and it gives kids a time to get their feet wet in the GCL or E-town. Hopefully that should lead too some kids hitting fullseason ball quickier.

Good point. The twins might be working on a system of wanting players to get so many at bats or innings pitched before doing promotions. This would lead to earlier promotions for key players.

[Thrylos]

How many games left are in E-towns season? A months worth? Still happy to see what they can do in a new league...

 

The regular season ends exactly 3 weeks from today (8/28) but the will make the post-season and have a couple of makeup games as well

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Think of how good E-Town will be now!!!!! They are already dominating, lol.

[IdahoPilgrim]

The more I think on this, the more I'm not surprised. Didn't Ryan or somebody in the front office say in an interview shortly after he was drafted that they were going to do this - let him start in GCL and then move him up to Appy mid-season? And as far as his numbers, Ryan has said he doesn't put much stock in numbers at this level. He's looking at how the players are adjusting to playing professional ball and trying to gauge their emotional makeup and maturity.

[bird]

I don't put any stock whatsoever in some "Black Hand" notion that we're seeing some dramatic change in promotion policy that ought to strike fear in the hearts of the minor league players and that spells the end for the age-addled Jim Rantz. Rantz isn't tied up somewhere in a back room. Some of you may not be aware of the reality that he doesn't decide these cases on his own. It's a simple situation, and it has past precedence, as Celebrity Weddings accurately pointed out with the Hicks, Parmelee, Benson, and Revere examples. These two players, both mercurial talents, have, as kbknudson points out, satisfied the development staff's criteria of adjusting to pro ball and displaying the necessary makeup and maturity. As Ryan says, it goes beyond numbers to things they see that we don't see. If anything is instructive from this it's that a #2 pick often has loads more talent than the guy picked 28 slots later.

[Seth Stohs]

I definitely think that the earlier signing deadline is very instrumental in this. Had Hudson Boyd and Travis Harrison played last year instead of waiting until mid-August to sign, they may have spent time this year in Beloit as well.

 

I don't think indicates any shift in philosophy at all.

[Mr. Ed]

So glad Buxton got bumped up. Had zip to prove in the ground level league

[kab21]

Interesting. Add this to the list of unusual for the Twins minor league moves this season. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that I would not be surprised if Jim Rantz officially announces his retirement in September/October. These look to me like someone else's moves...

complete nonsense. Prospects have been promoted slowly for the last ten years because the Twins have had very few (if any) prospects deserving of a fast track. That's the difference with the current farm system.

[Roaddog]

I think the earlier deadline for signing is a huge help. But Berrios really didnt have anything to prove. And Buxton is simply too talented not to be challenged