Josmil Pinto

[Monkeypaws]

Pinto hasn't received the attention that Ramos did moving through the system, and he has been older at each level, as John pointed out. Still, his numbers have been better than Ramos' were and he has been considerably healthier. For all the complaints about trading Ramos, the Nationals haven't seen much of him on the field.

 

I am a bit excited about Pinto as well. The Twins system is fairly well balanced in position players right now, with at least a good prospect at every position. Shortstop is possibly the weakest, and there at least some interesting talents there as well. If Pinto can be an average defensive catcher, and I really don't know that, he becomes a pretty good prospect given his offensive numbers the the last 2 years.

 

He is only 25 - plenty of years left to regret this trade

[Keenan]

Pinto returned to form this weekend after a rocky one game start to his triple A career when he went 3 for 4 Friday night and 2 for 5 Saturday also mashing 2 doubles. He also was hit by a pitch and drove in 1 run. On the defensive side of the ball, Pinto caught both games making 1 put out at home and had a throwing error on a ground ball. He was out of the line up Sunday but had a pinch hit ground out in the 9th. The line up is not out for Monday night as of press time.

 

Overall he is "leading the team" with a .357 average in 14 at bats. He has 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 SO and 1 BB.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think he stays in AAA until Doumit is hurt or traded (though I think he gets a callup this September). Worst case, he's Mauer's 2015 platoon partner and occasional DH. He should be a very nice piece for the next run.

[Keenan]

The trend of great holiday weekends continued for Josmil as he got his first call up to the Majors over Labor Day weekend. After just 1 month at AAA, Pinto will help fill the catching gap until Mauer returns from injury and hopefully stick it out the rest of the season.

 

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's recap his month at Rochester. Pinto batted .314 in 19 games for the Red Wings, collecting 22 hits, including 9 doubles and a home run. His excellent hitting continued at AAA but his production was not as impressive after making the jump. While he collected hits, he only walked twice in 70 at bats while striking out 12 times. His slugging was a more than respectable .486 but his OBP slumped to a meager .333. He scored only 6 runs and drove in just 6 himself. The production numbers are also very dependant on his team around him so I'm not concerned with the lack of runs but his 12 to 2 K to BB ratio is could spell trouble on his ascent to Minneapolis.

 

As for his month in the Majors, it couldn't be starting much better. He's collected 6 hits in his first 9 at bats including 2 doubles and a walk. His slash line high a top the Twins leaderboard (granted just 2 games of work) looks a little funny at .667/.700/.889. And his 1.589 OPS is obviously unsustainable but fun to see nearly doubling Joe Mauers OPS (the actual Twins leader). He went 4 for 5 in the game last night including a 12th inning double and later came in to score to secure the win.

 

It's very exciting to have followed Pinto all year and to now see him reach the Majors. Hopefully he can continue to turn some heads and give himself a real chance to make the squad out of Spring Training next year.

[Keenan]

Pinto clobbered his first big league home run Friday night, leading off the bottom of the 9th inning against the Blue Jays. His solo shot brought the Twins within one against Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen. The ball was crushed right over the 411 sign in center field sailing out to the deepest part of the park. Pinto conitues his hot big league start at the dish still batting .526 in 6 games.