Polanco Providing Poise

Polanco has been much better and consistent playing time is the key at any position, any career.  He still seems a little clunky at times.  I like him better at 2nd.  

BTW:  anyone else hate Baseball Reference's new format?  Can't figure out how to get Polanco's splits....

EDIT:  Figured it out.  Go to a different site....   

I was convinced that Polanco couldn't play short given last years effort and the off season activity by the Twins. Although he has his shortcomings, he looks very good.  If this was in the cards, I don't know why you would even consider trading Dozier.  Getting what we wanted was a pipe dream and very disruptive to the player being traded.  I really like the grit of Polanco.  

Molitor's quote is the key to the criticism Polanco received and the most important thing the new FO can do is get the minor leagues in tune with the Twins major league club.  We have had awful adjustment issues. 

Ride this as long as you can. I would even like to see Polanco near the top of the lineup more often, as he can steal bases. Having multiple shortstops in the minors gives flexibility as Sano, Dozier, and Mauer all have moving positions or moving on in their near futures

What specifically has led to his defensive improvement? Better throws? More range? Less mistakes?

Gordon at short, Polanco at 2nd, Vielma as utility infielder. Dozier gets traded at the deadline this year for pitching. 

SS is the hardest position to fill, as long as you care about defense.  The best part of having many guys that could fill it is they could change to almost any position.  As long as they can hit normally a position can be found for them.  Even more important, since they are also in high demand they fetch big returns in trade.  

As far as prediction goes, next year will be Polonco, barring any injury, trade, or great fall off of defense.  In two to three years it will be a lot more interesting.  The FO will have to decide who they think they will be best long term.  I bet eventually Sano gets moved off 3b, one of them get moved there, and Dozier gets moved to a new team with one replacing him.  I think the FO understands the importance of defense and wants to have one of the best defenses out there.  

  On 4/25/2017 at 1:58 PM, mazeville said:

Gordon at short, Polanco at 2nd, Vielma as utility infielder. Dozier gets traded at the deadline this year for pitching. 

I agree. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as we approach the All-Star break and beyond. Dozier is signed through 2018.

I hope Dozier mashes, and the Polanco-Dozier middle infield helps keep the Twins competitive past the trade deadline. Vielma and Gordon continue to swap time at 2b and SS, move up to AAA and are September call-ups.

Dozier is traded in the offseason for a #2 starter and a quality prospect. Polanco, Vielma, and Gordon shore up the middle for years to come? What if Vielma and Gordon become the Twins version of Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell until, oh, about 2035? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/237133-why-alan-trammel-and-lou-whitaker-deserve-to-be-in-the-hall-of-fame

I'm glad there's depth, but let's not forget how many MLB position players started at SS. On the current team, at least Dozier, Sano, Polanco, Santana, probably Escobar. In the past: Cuddyer, Plouffe, Joe Nathan...SS is a position "athletic types" get in A/AA and a lot changes with time.

Depth is great, but don't mistake it for ready MLB talent. I'm never a fan of trading a MLB player under the premise that there's somebody "in the pipeline" unless it's an immediate upgrade. (I'm not opposed to trading MLB talent for other reasons.)

April 4th, 2013-  The Cedar Rapids Kernels launch their first season as a Minnesota Twins Affiliate.  I was ecstatic to learn the news, as outside of top prospects (Mike Trout) rolling thru, there wasn't a real connection to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the previous affiliate) for myself, or many others around town.  Even more exciting the Kernels rostered one of the top prospects in the game at the time Byron Buxton.  There was a nice crowd at Perfect Game Field that night, given it was in competition w/ cool overcast weather and Iowa vs Baylor in the NIT finals, but many in the crowd braved the weather and showed up to see Buxton, including myself.  The future of the Minnesota Twins was right in our backyard.  

I remember Buxton having a hit or 2 and a SB, but the player that I came away incredibly impressed with was a 2B by the name of Jorge Polanco.  His 1st AB he pulled a pitch down the line for a HR.  Next AB he hit a breaking ball to left for opposite field single.  3rd AB he drilled a single right up the middle barely missing the pitcher and luckily saving the pitcher from a broken bone.  The typical cliche but the ball sounded different off his bat (it did for Buxton also). 3 plate appearances and 3 Base hits sprayed to all fields.  Ever since he has been one of my favorite prospects in the Twins organization.  It's great to see him producing for the Twins.      

*** Also, after that game I ended up doing a search for Polanco (among many others on that Kernels team) to see where he/they listed on the prospect ranks, and that is what brought me to TwinsDaily.com.  

The Twins don't like to say so explicitly, but I think Polanco had been playing 2B in the minors mostly because the club had been planning to trade Dozier all along.

He's actually looked pretty good at SS so far this season, anyway, but if Dozier is gone in the near future, I could still see the club moving Polanco to 2B while Escobar holds down SS until Gordon is ready for his chance.

  On 4/25/2017 at 3:57 PM, spycake said:

It's actually a really nice redesign at Baseball Reference, if you give it a chance!

 

You should see the Splits links in roughly their old location, under the Summary section near the top.  On desktop, you will see the "Splits" drop down link right there, and on mobile, you have to tap "More Polanco Pages" to show it (and the game logs, minors, HR log, etc.).

 

On desktop, you should see a banner under the summar

Oh, crap.  There it is!  That's what i get for posting before 3am    LOL

  On 4/25/2017 at 6:34 PM, frightwig said:

The Twins don't like to say so explicitly, but I think Polanco had been playing 2B in the minors mostly because the club had been planning to trade Dozier all along.

 

He's actually looked pretty good at SS so far this season, anyway, but if Dozier is gone in the near future, I could still see the club moving Polanco to 2B while Escobar holds down SS until Gordon is ready for his chance.

I could, too.   However, I think the better way to deal with this situation would be to leave Polanco at short and let Escobar play second.   That way, instead of 2 players at positions they haven't played recently, you'd only have one (Escobar).   Who to have as the utility guy can be debated.

Very happy with Polanco out there.  Would love to see him playing every game.  Not sure where that leaves Escobar (who I also like) but I feel like Polanco's already and every day SS and could have an All-Star season in a year or 2. 

It seems I recall that back when the Twins signed Polanco, it was thought he was signed for his glove and any offensive production would be a plus.  For the past few years, everyone talks about his bat amidst concerns for his glove.  I suspect the glove has always been there, just hampered a bit by lack of playing time at short.  I see it being pretty good by the end of the year.

  On 6/2/2017 at 6:48 PM, bluechipper said:

Jorge Polanco is 15th in the MLB in fly ball %, and he's surrounded by power hitters on the list. Is this a problem? To me, he seems to hit a really high number of pop ups and weak fly balls for a guy who isn't a HR hitter.

I've been noticing this lately also.