Minnesota's Revolving Door Continues At Shortstop

I'd like to see Vielma get a long look this spring. He battled injury this year but he has good speed and some have said the best glove at SS in the minors. I don't mind Escobar there but Polanco cant play SS. Either him or Dozier need to be moved this winter.

As for Gordon the next few weeks in AFL will tell a lot about where this kid is and has to go work on. His skill set should be intrigueing

  On 10/18/2016 at 8:59 PM, mazeville said:

One rather important correction to this post: Jason Bartlett was traded to the Rays in 2007. So I'm not entirely sure how he was the shortstop in 2009 ...

 

I will go to my grave believing that the Twins' problems began in 2007 in part because the team traded away Bartlett.

 

The Twins traded him away without any logical successor. That was stupid. More stupid, in fact, than assuming Delmon Young would turn into a stud corner outfielder. Young had a solid rookie season the year before and so it's only logical to assume he'd be better the next year.

 

But you never, ever trade away from a position -- especially shortstop -- when you do not have someone ready to take over the job. The Twins didn't. And Bartlett was a good fielder.

 

The team hasn't been the same since. They made a smart move in 2010 by bringing in JJ Hardy. But then traded him a year later because Gardenhire was annoyed by his injuries and apparent lack of speed. 

 

If I'm the Twins, I keep Escobar at short next year, assuming Dozier is traded and Polanco is at second. And then I hope that Vielma or Gordon can man the position in the coming years. But I most definitely keep drafting shortstops in the hopes that one of them will stick at some point. Because man, this position has been cursed ...

Bringing in JJ Hardy was a smart move.  Trading him away was pretty stupid. Was that the worst Twins trade ever?  if not, it has to be close.

2014 and 2015 I was impressed with Escobar. Very solid in the field and surprising at the plate. My thought/hope was he would be the same player in 2016, as long as he didn't get worn out being the everyday guy from day 1.

But, we all know what happened, injuries, the emergence of Nunez, etc. I'd love to bank on him for next year. And maybe I'm not being fair to him after arguing for so long he should be the starter, but I find myself drawn to the idea of using him as a utility now and acquiring a top flight defensive veteran.

But at worst, if Dozier is gone, we do need someone else brought on board for depth.

What I wonder about, in regard to Gordon, is if weight not see an offensive explosion of sorts put of him this season due to maturity and leaving the FSL. Haven't we always heard it was a tough hitters league?

From Keith Law's chat today...

Zach: Encouraged by you blurb on Nick Gordon, is there anything you can expand on regarding what looked good to you? Any chance we'll see him in MN in 2018?

Keith Law: That's probably the absolute earliest, but I'd bet 2019. He's a good player who just really knows the game - his instincts everywhere are readily apparent. I don't think he will ever be flashy like Dee, but he's a better all-around player for me.

  On 10/18/2016 at 2:19 PM, Mike Sixel said:

KLAW said yesterday that any talk of Gordon moving off SS was ridiculous. Like his opinion or not, he's seen him play, and he's scouted thousands of players.

Don't forget the great prospect handbooks published by the original poster and others.  I put more stock in what the crew here publishes than I do anything else when it comes to the minor league players.

If Polanco solidifies himself at SS at any point in the next two years, make no mistake about it:  Gordon will be blocked if this is all he can play.  Sure, the Twins way was to not make that a consideration (Sano never learned another position in the minors, nor did Polanco) but the next group isn't likely to be so rigid and show such a lack of foresight.  

I had completely forgotten that Dozier started out his major league career at SS.  And it looks like he was essentially the same player at SS that he is at 2B.  So much for all the stuff that is written about how he could never play SS....

  On 10/20/2016 at 6:19 PM, Mike Sixel said:

You put more credence in stuff by people here, than professional scouts?

First let me say that Law is a very smart guy and worthy of respect.  But this does not mean he is the biblical source for information on minor league players.  Would I trust Twins-specific writers to give the best information on Twins players?  Absolutely.  

Law, is, first and foremost, a writer.  And he is a very good writer.  However, the common notion that Law watches a lot of games in person is a myth.  The idea that he travels and watches players play is a myth.  He has access to a lot of film at ESPN, sure.  In 2007, he was denied access to the Baseball Writers Association because he does not attend enough games in person.  (They later reversed this decision based on the volume of his writing and his respect among fans and other writers).

Remember he has also turned down legitimate scouting job offers where he would actually have to travel and see players and make personnel decisions.  He has a good gig now where he can watch film.  He certainly has a huge audience which he does not want to lose.  But remember that the films he watches are likely edited to show players at their finest before he gets his eyeballs on them.  He simply cannot be trusted as a primary source since he isn't a primary source.

Law's strength is that he has access to watch film of such a huge number of minor league players, and those he can't see he can talk to scouts about.  He's a journalist on the inside and has written about nearly everybody.  He provides a lot of value and is the top secondary source out there.