Twins Minor League Report (7/14): Big Games from Miranda, Jeffers on Uneven Evening Across the System

  On 7/15/2018 at 3:50 AM, slash129 said:

Miranda sure answered the call in the 3-hole after the Lewis promotion.

Is Michael Davis the first draft pick to graduate past rookie ball? That's some early success for a 24th round pick, and he had the big shoes of Lewis to fill at SS.

Davis is the first 2018 pick to move out of the rookie leagues. He really didn't sign early either, but he was playing SS and they had Michael Helman (11th round pick) play 2B . Now they both can play SS. 

  On 7/15/2018 at 3:56 AM, D.C Twins said:

E-Twins seem to bring it every year. Kudos to the manager and coaches there. Good Lord is Jefferes making a mockery of that league. I know his is old for the competition but still fun to see!

Jeffers is playing well so far. As I've stated many times, I think the Twins do the right thing and put their college guys in E-Town and let them move up from there. Jeffers will likely get up to Cedar Rapids relatively soon.

Earlier today, I went through the Twins affiliate's rosters and found the 8 youngest players. Then I noted the league's average age. Here is the E-Town roster, and Jeffers is the 6th youngest, and he's almost a year older than the league average. For instance, I think it's the Royals that don't have a GCL/AZL team, so their kids come from the DSL at 18 and play in the Appy League. 

  On 7/15/2018 at 12:17 PM, benji21 said:

Do you suppose Grz will eventually get prospect love, or be the type to just slowly work his way up without much fanfare? I know it’s a lot to ask for an I drafted guy, but it would be cool for him to succeed.
Also, Badoo seems to be on a second half tear! Anyone want to research a “he’s been hitting ___ since x date”?

Most likely won't turn up on prospect reports due to age, draft status and stuff. Unfair, but probably real... But, because of his ability to play LF, 1B, hit and maybe most important, catch, he definitely has a chance to keep on moving up and see what happens. 

  On 7/15/2018 at 1:51 PM, BJames said:

is it not time to move Sano to AA-AAA?  Seem the guys at A+ don't want to pitch to him and I don't blame them.  I know he's working on other things before the game, but can't he do that at a higher level.

 

Also, Vargas has been hitting better over the last months time.  If Morrison ends up at AAA for rehab, will he have to outplay Vargas to get promoted?  He should, also Molitor loves Grossman and he's been hitting of late, so he wouldn't play Vargas.  Myself, I'd just as soon see Vargas on the Bench as Astudillo.  

Re: Sano, I'm sure he is purposely trying to take a ton of pitches to work on his strike zone judgment. That can probably happen elsewhere, but doesn't really matter either way. They're not going to rush it. 

As for Morrison needing to do something in his rehab, that's not really how it works. I'm sure he'll get activated as soon as possible and back in the Twins lineup, and then they hope he has a hot week and some team is willing to give up a "C" prospect for him. 

  On 7/15/2018 at 2:56 PM, rdehring said:

Same thought I had about Sano, Bjames.

 

I have been more critical of Stewart than most here for the last couple years.  Wanted to see him get it done on the field before getting excited about him again.  When I saw his performance yesterday, thought maybe he is turning it around.  Checked his last ten starts, saw that he gave up 5 or more runs in four of them.  Guess that time isn't yet here.

 

And there still is room on the Miranda bandwagon for those who haven't jumped on board yet.  But speaking of Kernels third basemen, what about Bechtold.  Hasn't gotten the hype that Miranda has, but has hit for about a .300 average since June 1.  And Seth and others tell us that his defense at third base is awesome.  Certainly should keep his name on the list of those we need to watch closely.

 

And what a nice day for two 19-year old starters, Balazovic and Benninghoff.  Has to be especially encouraging for Benninghoff after missing all of his draft year and almost all of last year following surgery.  Could turn out to be another real smart move for this front office.  That 2016 draft could turn out to be real special and may put them over the top four or five years from now.  Why can't baseball be like all those other sports where you can get a return on draft picks the year they are drafted?

Stewart's only made a few starts at AAA... Give him a little time and see what happens. Reality is they can always move him to the bullpen if needed and he could be good there because the stuff is good.

I don't think I've ever said Miranda's defense at 2B or third base is "awesome." Average, maybe at best. But not bad. He is intriguing though. I probably rank him higher than many. I think he's got talent and size to potentially add a lot of power.

Because those high upside guys are 18 and 3-5 years away from being as good as they need to be to compete. But yes, I did talk to Deron Johnson this spring and they were incredibly excited about his last draft class. Kirilloff, Rortvedt, Baddoo, Miranda, Balazovic, Benninghoff. Upsides on each of them. Plus college guys like Jax, Hackimer, Kranson, Mason, Wells and Poppen. Not that they'll all become stars (they won't all), they all have a chance to get there. 

  On 7/15/2018 at 4:43 PM, spycake said:

Isn't that what they said about Tyler Jay too?

Sure, but the differences are fairly big. High School pitcher who has been starting for each of his six minor league seasons. Jay was in his second full season when they moved him to the bullpen since he had so few innings. So similar but plenty different situations.