Twins Minor League Report (8/28): Rooker Homers Again

In the never-ending search for bullpen arms, could Michael Kohn be a dark horse candidate? He is working his way back from injury, but has significant big-league experience. I don't know anything about his current arsenal, but he had an average fastball velocity of 95mph from 2011-2015. 

Assuming Romero is done for the year.. Will rooker be to the big leagues by next summer? If Lewis weren't blocked by Buxton at center I think it would be interesting how aggressive they'd push him is he has a big postseason.. This year's draft class has been a lot of fun to watch already

Is Rochester's playoff run going to interfere with the Twins September call-ups? It seems like they shouldn't but with every level making the playoffs, it's hard to even move guys up a level to combat the personnel losses.

IMO, Rooker appears to be ready for Chattanoonga next year. I hope he gets off to great start and makes the Twins late in 2018. Or even early would be good too. Any chances he plays in Arizona this fall?

 

P.S.  I would put him at first base whereever he plays.

If he can play a decent corner OF, they should definitely keep him there. He'd be an ideal 4th OF with Kepler/Rosario in a way that Granite (a LH) can't be. And he can also play some DH and 1B to keep his bat in the lineup.

You should almost never move a guy from OF to 1B unless you have to - or 3B to 1B. Or C to 1B.

Akil Baddoo is looking like Lamonte Wade, but with much more upside. Baddoo has a .441 OBP this year, and in his last 10 games, 14 walks and 7 strikeouts. He'll be one to watch for sure.

If he can play a decent corner OF, they should definitely keep him there. He'd be an ideal 4th OF with Kepler/Rosario in a way that Granite (a LH) can't be. And he can also play some DH and 1B to keep his bat in the lineup.

 

You should almost never move a guy from OF to 1B unless you have to - or 3B to 1B. Or C to 1B.

Absolutely, let him prove he cannot play anywhere else before relegating to first, where the offensive threshold for production is much higher.   

They wouldn.t push him through the minors to be a 4th outfielder. By definition that would be someone who plays occasionally. By the end of next year they will need a firstbaseman who can hit and referably hit with power for a change. Be a run producer. The firstbase position should be opening up. Do we really want to put someone at a position that hasn't played there much in a couple of years? I don't think so. Therefore you move him to first.

A 4th OF does not by definition play occasionally. You know how I know that? The Twins 4th OF this year was Grossman and he played almost every day.

Rooker can be the 4th OF and play DH and 1B as well. No reason he can't be playing almost every day unless the Twins go out and get a big money 1B/DH type. That seems unlikely.

Mauer will be resigned. He's going to give a hometown discount and the Twins don't have anyone who needs to play 1B every day (they have DH open and Rooker can play OF) in the pipeline.

There's also no reason that 1B needs to be a run producer. That's outdated thinking. Guys are either MLB hitters or not. You try to put a lineup of the best hitters you can without screwing your defense. Mauer is an MLB hitter - who cares if his value is OBP instead of SLG? The Twins don't have a better player that they need to slot in at 1B.*

* All of this can change if they dip into free agency at the position. I just don't see that happening - doesn't seem like a Pohlad thing or a Flavey/Lavine thing. Especially since with Garver and Vargas and Rooker and Sano they may want some flexibility to use the 1B/DH in a more committee fashion. But I could be wrong - maybe they go get someone.**

** I don't love a lot of names on the list though. Carlos Santana is interesting but in a weak group, the years may be longer than expected. Pedro Alvarez is interesting but he bats lefty and doesn't fit well. From there you're in one-year guys like Mike Napoli, Jayson Werth or Bautista. No thanks.

Absolutely, let him prove he cannot play anywhere else before relegating to first, where the offensive threshold for production is much higher.   

Agree with the first half, not the second. Positional stereotypes should be outdated. 1B can be a place where you get power production but it doesn't need to be. Production is production. A team tries to put together the best lineup they can without screwing their defense.

Outside of the Twins doing the unexpected and signing a top-end FA DH/1B, I don't see how Mauer isn't the Twins best option at 1B for the next few years. Yeah you can stick Rooker/Sano there full-time but you don't have to for either one. Plus, Mauer allows you to platoon them at 1B against lefties.

For me:

 

High strikeouts + High OBP = ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I guess I worry that the AVG and OBP are being held up by a high BABIP but agreed, the strikeouts are not as worrisome in his first professional season.

I'm excited to see what the AFL might do for him. It'd be aggressive to send him there but it might really accelerate him into AA next year.