Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/6): Kirilloff Cranks, Wrong End of a No-No

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

  On 5/7/2019 at 6:02 PM, cmoss84 said:

If he is hitting .330+ by the time early June rolls around, you have to bring him up. Even if he plays 2 out of every 3 games, either at 1B or OF, he makes a nice impact. 

 

This might be the perfect situation for it. He can help the Twins make a playoff push, while not being thrown into the fire all together. With so much depth, they can pick and choose when and where to play him and keep everyone fresh.

 

Not to throw water on your expectations but I don’t think the front office thinks he’s ready, even if he’s still hitting. See link above.

 

I do agree it would be a great situation to bring him in to, just don’t think he’d be ready.

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 4:16 PM, puckstopper1 said:

The Prospect Summary has Gordon on the Injured List.   Is that a typo or did he get hurt again?

 

Edited to "No Game Scheduled." He's in the lineup tonight. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 2:31 PM, PDX Twin said:

You didn't mention that Sr. Sano was 0-5 with 2 Ks. Average is now at .091.

 

Just in case anyone is worried about this... He's had 11 at bats in AA so far... 

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 4:51 PM, cmoss84 said:

Does Kiriloff's service time come into play for this year, and if so, what is the date we can bring him up? 

 

Service Time isn't a factor at this point.

 

Another thing to remember is the whole Option situation too. If they call him up and send him down, that's an option year. He doesn't "need to" be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2020 season (though he'll almost certainly be up before then. Also, I would always contend that service time is less important during a Winning cycle. 

[jkcarew]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 2:08 PM, clutterheart said:

4 K's for Baddoo. Yikes

Why do they keep leading him off?It can't be great for Lewis to be batting behind an instant out. He needs a change, and a change of approach.

Not sure how it would impact Lewis. In fact, Baddoo is known to take a lot of pitches, which would be good for Lewis.

 

FWIW...Baddoo has been a better offensive player than Lewis so far this year. Both have under-performed, but Baddoo is hitting for extra bases, and has 4 home runs which is 4 more than Lewis, Larnach, and Miranda. Granted, OBP is exceeding low for a lead-off hitter...but I don't think the organization cares that much what that might do to the likelihood of winning A+ games.

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 5:30 PM, Darius said:

I’ve never been more convinced that a player could stroll into a major league clubhouse and yield positive results than with Kiriloff. The more time passes, the more I believe he could’ve done that from day 1. He’s a natural.

I don’t really buy that you can’t find a spot for him. Between days off in the outfield, first base, and DH, there would be plenty of at-bats to be had in place of Cave/Adrianza and in some cases Gonzalez/Garver/Astudillo. I’m fine with that upgrade across the Board (unless you believe Garver and Astudillo with continue being the bash brothers).

He could be a real game changer down the stretch, and really set this lineup over the top. Kepler, Polanco, Cruz, Rosario, Sano, Schoop, Buxton, Kiriloff, Garver (not necessarily in that order) is scary. He also adds another solid lefty to balance things out.

I’m fine keeping him down for a couple more months to maximize ABs. But, if he keeps this up, get him up in July/August and get him accustomed to big league pitching before September.

 

Kirilloff is the kind of guy that organizations make room for.

 

ie - Twins trade All star catcher after 2003 to allow Mauer to take over. Kirilloff (and Buxton and Sano and the like) are guys that you make room for. Lewis will be the same thing. 

 

But... he's played 4 games above A ball, and he was playing in Cedar Rapids 11 months ago. Let's give him a little bit of time first. 

 

All that said, he is the best all-around, pure hitter I've seen since Jason Kubel. He is one of those guys who people say can wake up Christmas morning and go 3-4. 

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 6:49 PM, jkcarew said:

Not sure how it would impact Lewis. In fact, Baddoo is known to take a lot of pitches, which would be good for Lewis.

 

FWIW...Baddoo has been a better offensive player than Lewis so far this year. Both have under-performed, but Baddoo is hitting for extra bases, and has 4 home runs which is 4 more than Lewis, Larnach, and Miranda. Granted, OBP is exceeding low for a lead-off hitter...but I don't think the organization cares that much what that might do to the likelihood of winning A+ games.

 

Yeah, that has zero affect on Lewis's at bats, or at least how he approaches them.

 

And Baddoo has always been a high on-base, high strikeout guy with power and speed potential. The lineup is based on big picture, not current stats. Baddoo is holding his own and should grow over the summer, like those other guys. 

[jkcarew]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 2:21 PM, rdehring said:

There isn't a spot for him in this outfield, this year and probably beyond.  So his position with the Twins will be first base.

You sure? After the Twins got good in the late 80's, it seemed inconceivable that the outfield of Gladden, Puckett, and Brunansky would be broken up. But the FO was able to leverage Brunansky's value to obtain Tommy Her-- No. Wait.

 

Never mind.

[Mike Sixel]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 7:51 PM, jkcarew said:

You sure? After the Twins got good in the late 80's, it seemed inconceivable that the outfield of Gladden, Puckett, and Brunansky would be broken up. But the FO was able to leverage Brunansky's value to obtain Tommy Her-- No. Wait.

 

Never mind.

 

Good one.....but really, you have to consider dealing Rosario if you can't extend him, if you believe in Kiriloff......

 

 

[SomeGuy]

Luke Raley is a much more likely 1st base option for this season than Kirilloff.  Kirilloff will likely have to wait until after next years service time date.  If he does make the AA to MLB jump he will need at least a couple more months at AA to get more 1B time.  I think the FO will find it worth while to wait until next season rather than start the clock late this season.

[jkcarew]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 8:29 PM, Mike Sixel said:

Good one.....but really, you have to consider dealing Rosario if you can't extend him, if you believe in Kiriloff......

Agree. Kirilloff being real, and Kepler taking even one more half-step in his development...would be a nice problem to have, as they say.

[Mike Sixel]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 8:33 PM, SomeGuy said:

Luke Raley is a much more likely 1st base option for this season than Kirilloff.  Kirilloff will likely have to wait until after next years service time date.  If he does make the AA to MLB jump he will need at least a couple more months at AA to get more 1B time.  I think the FO will find it worth while to wait until next season rather than start the clock late this season.

 

If the goal is to win while Rosario, Buxton, Berrios, and Sano are here, sooner is better......much better. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 8:33 PM, SomeGuy said:

Luke Raley is a much more likely 1st base option for this season than Kirilloff.  Kirilloff will likely have to wait until after next years service time date.  If he does make the AA to MLB jump he will need at least a couple more months at AA to get more 1B time.  I think the FO will find it worth while to wait until next season rather than start the clock late this season.

 

I think if they think he can hit and help the team in August and September and October, they won't even hesitate to bring up Kirilloff... 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

  On 5/7/2019 at 10:07 PM, Mike Sixel said:

If the goal is to win while Rosario, Buxton, Berrios, and Sano are here, sooner is better......much better.

 

So, the Twins aren’t winning right now? Or, Kirilloff will help this offense? I don’t feel sooner is better here. In my opinion you are overthinking this one.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

  On 5/7/2019 at 8:33 PM, SomeGuy said:

Luke Raley is a much more likely 1st base option for this season than Kirilloff.  Kirilloff will likely have to wait until after next years service time date.  If he does make the AA to MLB jump he will need at least a couple more months at AA to get more 1B time.  I think the FO will find it worth while to wait until next season rather than start the clock late this season.

Agree—I don’t think they start Kirilloff’s clock this season. And why not see what the lesser regarded prospects in the high minors can do.

[Mike Sixel]

  On 5/8/2019 at 12:23 AM, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

So, the Twins aren’t winning right now? Or, Kirilloff will help this offense? I don’t feel sooner is better here. In my opinion you are overthinking this one.

If you aren't constantly getting better, you fall behind. I'm with Seth, if he can help this year, he'll be up this year.

[drivlikejehu]

Kirilloff is a great prospect, no doubt. But it only makes sense to bring him up if he's ready to make an impact, not just hold his own. It's still very much an open question whether he will be at that point in a couple of months.

[jokin]

 

 

 

 

 

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 2:31 PM, PDX Twin said:

You didn't mention that Sr. Sano was 0-5 with 2 Ks. Average is now at .091.

 

 

And tonight Sano was 3/4 with 2 2Bs, a Sac Fly and 0 Ks, raising his average to .267 and OPS to .878 in AA. Amazing what a small amount of additional data can do to small sample performance figures.

 

I'm sure all the Twins care about is Sano demonstrating consistent quality ABs, and not so much about stats in A+, AA or AAA.

 

FYI, Falvey praised Sano for his professional approach thus far during his rehab, says he's actively helping his teammates and progressing rapidly. I would bet that a trip to AAA is soon forthcoming.

 

He should be back in 2 weeks- or maybe less.

Edited May 8, 2019 by jokin

[h2oface]

Sano's total rehab stint line is now 8/20 with 2 homers, 2 doubles, 2 walks, 8 RBI, 6Ks, hitting .400/.440/.800 with an OPS of 1.240!

 

Hey.... let's not get excited though, I know I won't     ...... it's only the minor leagues. Pesky small samples. In 3 days, it could look.........

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by h2oface

[h2oface]

 

  On 5/8/2019 at 12:23 AM, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

So, the Twins aren’t winning right now? Or, Kirilloff will help this offense? I don’t feel sooner is better here. In my opinion you are overthinking this one.

 

First base production this year.... .202/.268/.403 with an OPS of .671

AT FIRST BASE!

I hope the goal is always to get better, and that starts with tryng to perhaps identify where the help can be directed.

 

All Kirilloff does is hit, and he is 21 already.... and getting old.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/team/stats/_/name/min/season/2019/seasontype/2/split/79

Edited May 8, 2019 by h2oface

[Doctor Wu]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 5:15 AM, MikeW said:

The player at AAA that’s advancing is Luke Raley (OF/1B) with a .275 average including 5 home runs. He’s been on a tear lately.

The talent pipeline is starting to blossom at AA and AAA levels. While I like the potential Rocker provides, don’t sleep on Raley.

Another return from the Dodgers for Dozier trade is Devin Smeltzer. He just advanced to AAA after carrying a .060 ERA at AA Pensacola

Good thing we were able to trade Dozier when we did and get a couple of decent prospects. With his poor play so far this year, I doubt he'd fetch much of anything at all at this point.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 6:47 PM, Seth Stohs said:

Service Time isn't a factor at this point.

 

Another thing to remember is the whole Option situation too. If they call him up and send him down, that's an option year. He doesn't "need to" be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2020 season (though he'll almost certainly be up before then. Also, I would always contend that service time is less important during a Winning cycle. 

Option years generally aren't a factor with elite prospects. You're not going to use all of them anyway unless their performance/value plummets.

 

That said, option years are even less of an issue for Kirilloff, because according to Jeremy, Kirilloff would get 4 option years if called up in 2019, as opposed to the standard 3 option years if called up in 2020 or later:

 

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/finer-points-options-part-two-the-fourth-option-r7741

 

  Quote

 

So, you ready for the humdinger? Let’s talk briefly about Alex Kirilloff. What if he comes back, rakes like we expect him to and, due to an injury, the Twins need another outfielder? Should he be considered? The correct answer is absolutely. For one, he’s such a good hitter, he shouldn’t need three option years to begin with. But, more importantly, even if he did, he’d qualify for the fourth option. Last year was his first full professional season due to a missing a year with an elbow injury. If he’s added a year from now, he wouldn’t be afforded that luxury. So, really, it wouldn’t make sense to not add him if you think he’s ready. (Service time manipulators notwithstanding.)

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 5:15 AM, MikeW said:

The player at AAA that’s advancing is Luke Raley (OF/1B) with a .275 average including 5 home runs. He’s been on a tear lately.

 

Keep in mind the International League is going through an offensive explosion right now. Raley's raw OPS of .866 there is his highest at any minor league level above rookie league so far -- but by wRC+ (his hitting relative to league), he's actually worse in 2019 (118) than he was at any level in 2017 or 2018 (129, 123, 133).

 

A 118 wRC+ isn't bad, but from a 24 year old corner player in AAA, with a higher BABIP and mediocre K and BB rates, it's pretty marginal.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

  On 5/7/2019 at 8:33 PM, SomeGuy said:

Luke Raley is a much more likely 1st base option for this season than Kirilloff.

Perhaps, but I hope not, if Kirilloff is healthy and raking. Raley looks like a variation of Daniel Palka -- not necessarily a bad player, useful under some circumstances, but not a player you should promote ahead of an elite prospect when wins actually matter.