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  • Twins Minor League Hitter Leaderboard (Though July 15)

    Seth Stohs

    By Seth Stohs

    After reviewing the pitchers leader board on Friday, today we turn our attention to the hitters. Since the minor league season is about 2/3 complete, there are a lot of names that are consistent at or near the tops of these lists. There have been a lot of strong offensive performances throughout the system.

    Before we get to the hitters leader board, let’s take a quick look at how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Winning, and learning how to win, is and should be part of the development process. Obviously hitting, fielding, base runner and the like are the key, but there's nothing wrong with players getting accustomed to winning and playing in a winning environment.

    Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photos of Jermaine Palacios, Max Murphy, Nick Gordon)

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    Did you know that the Twins and Yankees are battling for the best overall record in the minor leagues? Three of the Twins affiliates have half-season playoff berths. Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids already clinched playoff spots in their league’s first half. Three affiliates are working toward making second-half berths. The short-season leagues are going full bore too.

    • Rochester is 51-40. The Red Wings are 6.5 games back of the International League North Division-leading Scranton/Wilkes Barre, and two games behind Lehigh Valley for the wild card. They’re in third place in the International League North Division. In their last 34 games, the Red Wings are 24-10.
    • In the second half, Chattanooga is 18-5. That puts them in first place, four games ahead of Tennessee in the Southern League’s North division. Jake Mauer’s got this team playing some very good baseball.
    • Doug Mientkiewicz’s Ft. Myers Miracle team has been playing very well too in the second half. They are 16-5 in the second half. They are in first place in the Florida State League’s South division, three games ahead of Bradenton.
    • Cedar Rapids is 10-13 in the second half after their current five-game losing streak. That puts them a seven games back of Quad Cities and Peoria in the Midwest League’s Western Division.
    • Elizabethton is 15-8 to start their season. That is half a game better than Greeneville, whom they are playing this weekend. The E-Twins are used to being near the top of the Appalachian League’s Western Division.
    • The GCL Twins are 11-7, which puts them one game ahead of the GCL Red Sox at the top of the GCL’s South Division.

    With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leader board (through games on Saturday, July 15).

    THE HITTERS

    (Rate numbers- minimum 255 plate appearances)

    Plate Appearances - Max Murphy (380), Nick Gordon (374), Matt Hague (371), Travis Blankenhorn (369), Jermaine Palacios (361), LaMonte Wade (358), Lewin Diaz (357).

    Batting Average - Zack Granite (.361), Jermaine Palacios (.321), Jonathan Rodriguez (.310), Max Murphy (.303), Nick Gordon (.299), Matt Hague (.296).

    On-Base Percentage - Zack Granite (.414), LaMonte Wade (.406), Jonathan Rodriguez (.404), Mitch Garver (.386), Max Murphy (.379), Matt Hague (.377), Nick Gordon (.369)..

    Slugging Percentage - Mitch G arver (.529), Jermaine Palacios (.515), Jonathan Rodriguez (.495), Zack Granite (.494), Jaylin Davis/Aaron Whitefield (.460), Nick Gordon (.455), Lewin Diaz (.451).

    OPS - Mitch Garver (.915), Zack Granite (.908), Jonathan Rodriguez (.899), Jermaine Palacios (.875), Nick Gordon (.824), Max Murphy (.814).

    Hits - Jermaine Palacios (108), Max Murphy (101), Nick Gordon (100), Matt Hague (94), Zack Granite (92), Lewin Diaz (90).

    Doubles - Lewin Diaz (26), Tommy Field (23), Nick Gordon (22), Jonathan Rodriguez/Zander Wiel (20), Four with 19.

    Triples - Travis Blankenhorn (8), Nick Gordon/Jermaine Palacios/Christian Cavaness (6), Seven with 5.

    Home Runs - Jaylin Davis (13), Jermaine Palacios/Mitch Garver (12), Jonathan Rodriguez (11), Aaron Whitefield/Lewin Diaz (10)

    Runs Scored - Jermaine Palacios (65), Max Murphy (58), Jonathan Rodriguez (54), Nick Gordon (53), LaMonte Wade (48), Aaron Whitefield/Travis Blankenhorn (46).

    RBI - Jaylin Davis (53), Lewin Diaz (50), Jermaine Palacios (49), Travis Blankenhorn/Nick Gordon (47), Jonathan Rodriguez (46), Zander Wiel (44).

    SB - Tanner English (22), Aaron Whitefield (19), Zack Granite (18), Jermaine Palacios (14), Ryan Walker (10).

    Seth Stohs has been blogging about the Minnesota Twins since May 2003. A founder and owner of Twins Daily, Seth has been a Twins fan for 40 years and has a passion for covering the minor leagues and prospects.
    Follow Seth Stohs on Twitter: sethtweets

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    Featured Comments

    mikelink45

    mikelink45 10,958

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    The obvious question that Garver must be asking himself is what more does he have to prove in the minor leagues?  Get him up or trade him, a lot of teams need catching and he might prove more valuable in a trade than some of our expected chips.  As a person who feels our current catchers are over rated I would welcome him to the Twins too. 

     

     

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    nytwinsfan

    nytwinsfan 2,611

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    The obvious question that Garver must be asking himself is what more does he have to prove in the minor leagues?  Get him up or trade him, a lot of teams need catching and he might prove more valuable in a trade than some of our expected chips.  As a person who feels our current catchers are over rated I would welcome him to the Twins too. 

    I think he'll be up in the second half, if not before September, then in September. I think he'll be on the starting roster in 2018. He deserves to be up now, no doubt, but I think Falvine wants to mostly stick with Giminez for the rest of this year.

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    Seth Stohs

    Seth Stohs 23,732

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

    The obvious question that Garver must be asking himself is what more does he have to prove in the minor leagues?  Get him up or trade him, a lot of teams need catching and he might prove more valuable in a trade than some of our expected chips.  As a person who feels our current catchers are over rated I would welcome him to the Twins too. 

     

    As I wrote last week, I believe he's the best overall (offense and defense combo) in the system, so I agree with you, to an extent. I don't think you trade him. Catcher depth is hugely valuable. So I wouldn't put "trade him" on the table. 

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    gman

    gman 894

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    It's great to see the power/speed combo numbers from Jermaine Palacios, as well as all the other categories he pops up in. I would like to see a few more walks in his numbers as he gets closer. Next summer hopefully he and Arreaz will be the double play combo pounding the ball at Chattanooga, although since injured this year, it may take Arreaz a little longer to get there.

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    rdehring

    rdehring 3,816

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Thanks for doing this, Seth, as I found it to be very interesting. Sure looks to me that Palacios is on track to be the Minor League Player of the Year as you find his name amongst the leaders in almost every category. Most surprising to me is his 12 home runs.

     

    Another surprise was to see Blankenhorn leading with 8 triples. Wasn't aware that he was that fast?

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    Rosterman

    Rosterman 3,922

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Garver's time will come. Hopefully he is getting more behind-the-plate moments than just being a bat. Interesting that the Reds are hanging on tight to Stu Turner, who is getting minimal play in Cincinnati.

     

    Castro is here for the long haul. I doubt that with his contract/salary he would be a pick-up sought by other teams. Gimenez is on a one-year contract, so we are stuck with him, unless someone really wants a backup catcher and the Twins deal him. Look at it this way...would we rather have had Murphy up all year and not able to pitch in those emergency situations?

     

    Speaking of Murphy, would be interesting to see what would happen if someone got injured on the offense. Would he be called up first over Garver?

     

    The Twins have been pretty lucky this season with so few injuries to the non-pitchers. Or maybe unlucky...they haven't had to cycle anyone else thru the team except the up-and-down of Vargas.

     

    But Garver's time will come. Just don't get injured, Mitch.

     

    And, gang, would you take Stu Turner back? Or maybe his time has passed and he can't be returned?

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    Seth Stohs

    Seth Stohs 23,732

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

    Thanks for doing this, Seth, as I found it to be very interesting. Sure looks to me that Palacios is on track to be the Minor League Player of the Year as you find his name amongst the leaders in almost every category. Most surprising to me is his 12 home runs.

    Another surprise was to see Blankenhorn leading with 8 triples. Wasn't aware that he was that fast?

     

    Blankenhorn is a great athlete. I think he'll add power too, but he's got good speed. He's not as fast as like Kepler, but he's in the same speed range as Wade maybe. 

     

    and yeah, I would say Palacios is definitely in the top handful of hitter of the year candidates.

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    PDX Twin

    PDX Twin 4,474

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    The obvious question that Garver must be asking himself is what more does he have to prove in the minor leagues?  Get him up or trade him, a lot of teams need catching and he might prove more valuable in a trade than some of our expected chips.  As a person who feels our current catchers are over rated I would welcome him to the Twins too. 

     

    I wouldn't trade him unless the return was outstanding. Remember Wilson Ramos? At that time we even had an all-star behind the plate and we still regretted losing him (not to mention the paltry return).

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    diehardtwinsfan

    diehardtwinsfan 14,830

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

    I would guess Garver is the 2 catcher going north with the Twins next spring. I figured he'd get call if/when someone went down but our catchers have been healthy. Not the end of the world as Garver wasn't ready to start the year, but he sure looks ready now.

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    mlhouse

    mlhouse 826

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I would guess Garver is the 2 catcher going north with the Twins next spring. I figured he'd get call if/when someone went down but our catchers have been healthy. Not the end of the world as Garver wasn't ready to start the year, but he sure looks ready now.

     

     

    So why not give him the opportunity to play now, rather than having to work out the MLB transition next season?   

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    I'd like Garver up soon. You don't really learn much in September. I'd like him to the backup next year, so I'd like him to get ready for that this year. I doubt it happens before Sept, barring an injury.

     

    Gordon's name is all over the place, in AA, and there are still people who don't think he's a good prospect. Hurts my brain.

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    drjim

    drjim 7,100

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    I wouldn't trade him unless the return was outstanding. Remember Wilson Ramos? At that time we even had an all-star behind the plate and we still regretted losing him (not to mention the paltry return).

     

    Garver is a fine prospect, but he's no Ramos. Garver will likely settle in as a high quality backup, but he also has great value as a catcher with options. I'm not convinced he starts next season as the backup, wouldn't be all that surprised if it was Murphy.

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