Twins Minor League Report (7/15): Moves and Wins

Jesus that was a lot to digest. Bad about Jorge Fernandez! Also, Vargas is on a downward spiral.

FWIW, LEN3 predicted he's likely done as a Twins major leaguer.

Short memories on Vargas? He wasn't much of a prospect. He was called up last year in an emergency. I think the short memory is of his success last year being a bit of a fluke, personally.

Wow- where did you see that?  That's a wild call.  I wonder what's going on with him (KV, I mean).

On the radio, and he said it before Sano got off to his great start. I'm guessing his source(s) on the Twins being so down on Vargas are from the inside and that there's more to that May demotion and his time in AAA (why bounced all the way down to AA?) that hasn't been made public.  Granted, they may have wanted to keep him separated from Arcia, but it didn't sound like Neal was just making something up out of whole cloth.  It appears that the onus is now on Vargas to make something happen, only now he's behind both Sano and Arcia on the DH depth chart, and he's currently treading water in Chattanooga, at best.

I need to step in here... Vargas not running out a double play was purely speculation. If it is also fact, it does not make him an attitude-issue guy. It's a mistake and a correctable mistake.

 

Who knows? He may have been hustling so much and popped his hamstring lunging to 1B. We don't know (unless it's been reported somewhere).

 

I've never been real high on Vargas, but his performance last year, power potential and the fact that he's not 25 yet means he should be given some time and patience.

I would hope they give him time and patience, as well.  But given the obvious philosophical discord on his hitting approach, I fear the Twins reach the conclusion that, given the upcoming offseason roster crunch and redundant DH options, that his spot needs to be taken by someone else- and they try to trade him.

What "philosophical discord" are you referring to? It's not like he is David Arias; he seems to use the whole field. And I don't recall the Twins being down on him for lack of contact; and his SO and W:SO rates in the minors weren't ABWII-like.

 

Did I miss something?

Yes.   

On the day of the demotion... here's this tweet from Molitor:

"Paul Molitor on Kennys Vargas' mentality before demotion to AAA: "Right now, it’s cluttered." Says its patient one at-bat, aggressive next."

And this tweet from Vargas:

"Vargas, after being sent down: 'We’re looking for [me to] produce. Produce means runs & RBIs. You don’t want me to hit a lot of [singles].'"

And he obviously hadn't been doing that since the start of May... this tweet from Berardino:

"Over past 13 games, Vargas had lifted his batting average by 89 points, his OBP by 67 points and his SLUG by 133 points.

Rochester-bound."

Aaron Gleeman recaps the month of May leading up to his first demotion, and the lack of an obvious rationale on behalf of the Twins for doing so:

 

 

He got off to a brutal start this year, hitting .172 in April, but the Twins stuck with Vargas and he hit .366 with two homers, two doubles, and a .956 OPS through a dozen May games ... at which point they demoted him to Triple-A.

There was some writing on the wall, as manager Paul Molitor repeatedly benched Vargas during his hot streak, but demoting a player in the midst of a productive stretch following an extended slump is odd timing to say the least. Odder yet, Vargas' good stretch came immediately after the Twins worked with him to adjust his swing mechanics. It paid off, as Vargas notched 14 hits in 10 starts this month and also delivered a pinch-hit homer. And now he's in Rochester.

Vargas' strike zone control absolutely needs improvement after striking out 93 times compared to just 17 non-intentional walks in 82 games for the Twins and further developing that skill against minor-league competition could be a good idea. Which is why it was surprising when the Twins promoted Vargas from Double-A to majors last year and why the timing of this year's demotion, rather than the demotion itself, is what stands out now.

What also stands out now is the Twins' lack of other appealing designated hitter options. Several times Molitor benched Vargas in favor of Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar, a pair of utility infielders who each have a career OPS below .700 in the majors and the minors. Now that Vargas is out of the mix Nunez and Escobar figure to see even more action as left fielders and designated hitters, which is a weird thing to do intentionally.

Here's how Vargas, Nunez, and Escobar have hit in their respective Twins careers:

                    AVG      OBP      SLG      OPS
Kennys Vargas      .266     .309     .425     .734
Eduardo Nunez      .265     .291     .403     .694
Eduardo Escobar    .260     .300     .379     .679
In performing poorly enough to get demoted back to the minors Vargas still easily out-produced Nunez and Escobar. And unlike either Nunez or Escobar, there's actually evidence within Vargas' track record as a minor leaguer to suggest he's capable of producing more. 

It'd be one thing if the Twins demoted Vargas and replaced him with another young hitter with DH-caliber potential like Josmil Pinto or if Oswaldo Arcia was due to return from the disabled list shortly and they wanted to work him back into the lineup at DH. But to demote Vargas now, when he was seemingly getting on track, and to give his at-bats to a pair of utility infielders is a thought process begging to be questioned.

I am sorry, I thought the 'philosophical discord' you were speaking of had to do with Vargas and the Twins. I have not seen any quotes attributed to the 'Big Spoon' objecting to his handling by the Twins.

 

Now that I see the 'philosophical discord' is between you/Aaron Gleeman and the Twins I understand completely (#asexpected)!

What in the world are you talking about?  

Did you notice and comprehend any of the facts presented?  

And that virtually every journalist covering the Twins has discussed this curious situation in detail, from the beat writers at both newspapers, the radio commentators, all the way to the bloggers, and to TD writers, as well?

You didn't notice any of the disconnect starting in Spring Training on what Molitor and Brunansky publicly stated that they wanted from Vargas regarding both his ongoing approach at the plate, as well as treating batting practice less as Home Run Derby and more as the place to prepare for what they were asking from him in game situations?  

And what Vargas was doing instead?

And the curiously contradictory tweet with the quote from Vargas about hitting singles too often, even though his power production had in fact, gone way up in May?

And being continually benched in May in favor of utility players frequently DHing, even as he was clearly emerging from his slump and making the type of contact that the coaching staff was supposedly looking for from him?

And playing sporadically yet again after his second call-up?

And that LaVelle E Neal reported after his second demotion that it was very likely that this was the last time that Vargas would ever be called up to the Twins?

No reason to get personal.