Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Article: 2017 Twins Daily Minnesota Twins Award Finalists Announced

Seth Stohs

By Seth Stohs
in Twins Daily Front Page News

 Share

Recommended Posts

Seth Stohs GOAT

Seth Stohs

Owner
Posted
Posted

The Minnesota Twins 2017 season is done. 162 games down and somewhere between one and 14 postseason games left to play.

 

As the BBWAA does, our Twins Daily writers were asked to vote by the end of the regular season (Sunday) for our annual postseason awards. As we have in recent years, we vote for four Twins awards; Most Valuable Player, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Most Improved.

 

Our winners will be announced in the days following the Twins postseason run, right here at TwinsDaily.com.

 

Twins Daily founders and regular writers vote for the award.Today, we would like to announce our finalists for the Twins Daily awards. We would appreciate it if you would give each of the awards some thought and vote for who you think should win the award. Of course, the results of the Twins Daily Twitter awards vote may or may not match up with the results of the Twins Daily vote.

 

Be sure to follow Twins Daily on Twitterthroughout the season as well as to vote in our polls.

 

The finalists are the players who finished in the top three or four in the voting. As we did with the minor league awards, we vote our choices for the Top 3-5 Twins players (depending on the award) and a very basic point system is used to tabulate the results.

 

For instance, for the Rookie of the Year, voters were asked to submit their rankings for the top 3 rookies in 2017 for the Twins. For each ballot, the player with a first place vote got three points. Two points for the second place choice, and one point for the third place choice.

 

Nine people voted for the award. Twins Daily founders Seth Stohs, Nick Nelson, John Bonnes and Parker Hageman all voted. Twins Daily writers Tom Froemming, Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard, Steve Lien and Ted Schwerzler also cast their votes.

 

With that as the background, here are the finalists for the 2017 Twins Daily Awards:

 

MOST IMPROVED

 

How do we go about judging improvement? Is it improvement from 2016 to 2017? Is it improvement from first half to second half? Is it some combination of the two?

 

Like an MVP vote, we choose to make it a thinker for our voters. The nine voters were asked to vote for their top three selections. A total of eight players received votes. That speaks to a roster of two types of players. There are some veterans who either have had some struggles in recent years and succeeded again in 2017. There were also young players who took their fair share of knocks in 2016, or even early in 2017, and came on to put up surprising numbers.

 

The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

 

JOSE BERRIOS: While fans wanted him up late in 2015, Berrios really struggled in his MLB debut in 2016. He began 2017 back in Rochester, but he soon came up and established himself as a regular and sometimes dominant starting pitcher for the Twins.

 

BYRON BUXTON: Buxton had been up and down from the minors to the big leagues in 2015 and 2016. His 2017 started out rough as well, but he continued to work with James Rowson and ended the season with some solid numbers, especially considering where he started. His defense deserves a Gold Glove, but his bat became a threat at times.

 

JOE MAUER: Since the day his 2013 season came to an abrupt end in 2013, Joe Mauer has struggled to return to form. After a disappointing April, Joe Mauer went on to put up Mauer-esque numbers again, topping the .300 mark again and leading the Twins in doubles. He also improved his defense and should be considered for a Gold Glove.

 

EDDIE ROSARIO: Rosario can be fun or frustrating to watch at times, and that was again the case. However, he improved his strike zone judgment in 2017, not to Mauer-like numbers but better, and became a force in the middle of the Twins lineup. Easily put up his best offensive season and carried the Twins lineup at various times throughout the season.

 

Vote for your choice in our Twitter Poll, and also comment how you would rank these players.

 

 

 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

 

The Twins had a whole bunch of players make their major league debut in 2017. Several of them became key contributors to the Twins. Like Most Improved, this is a category that can include pitchers and hitters, which can make it difficult. But which Twins rookie has had the biggest impact on the Twins this season?

 

Voters were asked to rank their top three, and only four players received votes.

 

Here are the four finalists (in alphabetical order):

 

ALAN BUSENITZ: The hard-throwing right-hander came to the Twins at the trade deadline a year ago from the Angels. He pitched well in Rochester to start the season and earned a promotion to the Twins in June. He moved up and down a couple of times, but in the final two months of the season, he became a reliable bullpen option for Paul Molitor.

 

ZACK GRANITE: He hit over .450 in Rochester in June, and he came up to the Twins before the All Star break. When Byron Buxton went on the disabled list, Granite played a solid center field and was an instigator in the Twins lineup for a month. He returned to the Red Wings but he added his first MLB homer in September.

 

TREVOR HILDENBERGER: The right-handed reliever has been the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year the last two seasons as he quickly rose through the Twins system. He made his MLB debut in late June. After spending a month pitching periodically in lower-leverage situations, he became the go-to reliever for the Twins in high-leverage, late-innings situations for the season's final two months.

 

ADALBERTO MEJIA: Many were surprised when Mejia made the Opening Day starting rotation, but the left-hander remained in the starting rotation throughout the year, until a scare with his arm later in the season. Fortunately, he was able to use an extended DL stint and some rehab starts in the minor leagues and returned to the rotation for a couple of starts at season's end.

 

Again, please vote for your choice for Twins Rookie of the Year in our Twitter poll below, and in the comments, rank the four finalists and discuss.

 

 

 

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

 

Our voters were asked to vote for their top four Twins pitchers in 2017. Nine players received votes. There were starters, closers and middle innings guys who got votes. Here are the four finalists.

 

JOSE BERRIOS: Given another shot in the Twins rotation before May, Berrios took off. He was dominant for most of the first half. He slowed some in the second half, but he remains a potentially dominant starting pitcher for years to come. Unlike most Twins starters, Berrios has (and shows) the ability to miss bats.

 

TREVOR HILDENBERGER: As mentioned above, Hildenberger came up in late May. It wasn't long before he started getting high-leverage, late-inning outings for Paul Molitor, often coming in three or four games in a row.

 

BRANDON KINTZLER: While fans often questioned his ability to be a closer, his career took off the moment he was given that role halfway through the 2016 season. He carried his success through the Twins first half and earned a spot and pitched in the 2017 All-Star Game. He was traded at July trade deadline to the Nationals.

 

ERVIN SANTANA: Early in the season, not only was he the Twins top starter, but he was one of the best starting pitchers in the league. For a while, there were some asking if he should start the All-Star Game. While he had a tough June, Santana earned his All-Star spot. He's led the league in complete games.

 

So, of the four finalists, who gets your vote for Twins Pitcher of the Year, and again, discuss how you would vote for the Top 4 Twins pitchers in 2017, whether they were a finalist of not.

 

 

 

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

 

The term "valuable" always sparks debate. That is especially true when talking about the league awards, but it also comes to play with the Twins MVP vote. Is it about stats, or specifically a stat like WAR, or do other things factor in like leadership or carrying a team for an extended period.

 

Voters were asked to rank their top five for MVP. You might expect more variability, but just seven players received votes. Here are the top 4 finalists for Twins MVP (in alphabetical order). Be sure to vote on our Twitter poll, and then discuss in the comments what your vote would look like and why.

 

 

BYRON BUXTON: After a slow start, Byron Buxton started putting up some numbers offensively. Combined with his defensive abilities and stats, he put up surprisingly good Wins Above Replacement numbers. Add in his base running and base stealing, as well as some power, and you can see how Buck can accumulate value.

 

BRIAN DOZIER: He had a slow-ish first two months of the season (though nowhere near as slow as his 2016 start), but he took off again offensively after the All-Star break. While he didn't hit 42 homers, he did add 34 home runs to his resume. He also scored over 100 runs for the fourth straight season. He played most days. He was clearly the leader of the clubhouse.

 

JOE MAUER: His returned, or at least got closer, to his old self with the bat. His patience at the plate should be lauded for his on-base skills and allowing the rest of the lineup to see a pitcher's pitch mix. He led the team in doubles. He was still a good base runner. And he greatly improved his defense at first base. More and more, we are hearing about his leadership in the clubhouse, particularly with the younger players.

 

ERVIN SANTANA: The right-hander got the Twins off to a good start early in the season by pitching as well as he has at any time in his career. He provided innings throughout the season. His limited his short starts. He also was a leader to the young pitchers on the starting staff.

 

So who would your vote one-through-five for Twins MVP? First, vote in our Twitter poll, and then discuss your vote in the comments section.

 

 

 

So there you have it. Congratulations to the finalists in each of these four categories on terrific seasons. Congratulations to all that received votes. The nice thing about this 2017 season is that there are a lot of players deserving of recognition, even more than are on these lists.

 

 

Please vote in our Twitter polls and discuss in the comments. Again, our awards will be handed out when the Twins postseason run ends, so be sure to stop back and see how our votes lined up with yours.

 

Click here to view the article

Link to comment
Share on other sites
diehardtwinsfan Minnesota Twins

diehardtwinsfan

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted

 

I voted:

Most improved: Buxton

Rookie: Hildenberger (nobody else is close)

POY: Berrios (currently it's Erv in a landslide)

MVP: Dozier (close race)

 

Got to say Erv deserves POY more than Berrios. Should be in MVP consideration.  I'm with you on the rest of these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Monkeypaws GCL Twins

Monkeypaws

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

Most improved: Berrios. He was worse than awful last season. 

 

Berrios 2016: 3-7, ERA 8.02, 74 hits in 58 innings

Berrios 2017: 14-8, ERA 3.89, 131 hits in 145 innings. 

 

That is a complete turnaround.

 

Buxton's numbers are better, but not to that degree:

 

Buxton 2016: .225 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBI, .714 ops.

Buxton 2017: .253 BA, 16 HR, 51 RBI, .728 ops, in about 160 more at bats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Blake All-Star

Blake

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

 

I voted:

Most improved: Buxton

Rookie: Hildenberger (nobody else is close)

POY: Berrios (currently it's Erv in a landslide)

MVP: Dozier (close race)

What he said. Except Santana. When it comes to Berrios over Santana, not sure what Vanimal is thinking. Unless he's looking for Whine Line fodder. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Don Walcott GCL Twins

Don Walcott

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

 

 

The season turned when Buxton stepped up.  For that reason he is the most valuable. 

Even before he stepped up at the plate, he was among the most valuable just because of what he did in the field -- not to mention what he does on the base paths.  Just all around the best (and most valuable) player on the team, IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tvagle GCL Twins

tvagle

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

Can we be sure that these 9 people are really that nice? ;-)

 

"Nice people voted for the award. Twins Daily founders Seth Stohs, Nick Nelson, John Bonnes and Parker Hageman all voted. Twins Daily writers Tom Froemming, Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard, Steve Lien and Ted Schwerzler also cast their votes."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EddieMatthews College Ball

EddieMatthews

Provisional Member
Posted
Posted

Most Improved: Mauer, coming back from a career threatening concussion.  Others were dealing with learning and growing up.

 

Rookie: Hildenberger, no contest.

 

Pitcher: Santana, no contest.

 

MVP: Buxton, he held the pitching staff up all by himself.  When others make a spectacular catch it saves a single, but when Buxton makes a catch it saves runs.  He became a threat at bat and on the bases.  The game changes when he is in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kevin Prep Ball

Kevin

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

 

Can we be sure that these 9 people are really that nice? ;-)

 

"Nice people voted for the award. Twins Daily founders Seth Stohs, Nick Nelson, John Bonnes and Parker Hageman all voted. Twins Daily writers Tom Froemming, Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard, Steve Lien and Ted Schwerzler also cast their votes."

 

Yes, but there were nine of them.--editor

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Doomtints GCL Twins

Doomtints

Verified Member
Posted
Posted (edited)

I use Twitter but I freely acknowledge that it has become a dumping ground for automated messages (bots). If Twitter added a CAPTCHA, traffic would drop by at least 80% (and investors and advertisers would flee). Twitter can still be good for connecting to others with similar interests.

 

Having said all that, I completely agree with the polling results.  

Edited by Doomtints
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
 Share
Go to topic listing
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund

You all care about this site. The next step is caring for it. We’re asking you to caretake this site so it can remain the premier Twins community on the internet.

Become a Caretaker
×
×
  • Create New...