As with most AAA teams, this year's Red Wings were a collection of up-and-comers, down-and-goers, and mediocre-and-stayers. Let's take a look at some of them.
--Josmil Pinto got off to a slow start when sent to Rochester, but eventually got things going and ended up with good numbers. He caught only 34 of the 60 games in which he played, which seems odd considering that the Twins keep saying the main thing he needs to work on his defense. Frankly, I think the Twins should look to trade Pinto this off-season. I say that not because I don't like him, but because I think that unless there are injuries there is very little chance he'll ever be the regular catcher for the Twins, and the way Vargas is hitting there's not room for him at DH, either.
I know Gardy keeps saying he wants Pinto to win the catcher's job. He keeps saying Suzuki can be his mentor. I don't think Gardy's lying about that. I think he really means it. I just think that when it comes time to make out the lineup card, Gardy won't be able to help himself. He's going to keep writing Kurt Suzuki's name in at catcher.
If Suzuki keeps hitting close to .300, of course, that's obviously a good decision. But I think Gardy will do it even if Suzuki hits .220. First, we'll hear that Suzuki's just had some bad luck. Then, every time he gets a hit or two, we'll hear that he's not that far away, that he's just about to turn it around. If that turns out not to be true, either, we'll hear that Suzuki is such a good defensive player that it doesn't matter what he hits, he's saving us runs on defense every game. I think Kurt Suzuki's batting average would have to fall to Buteran levels for him to lose the starting catcher job. Given all that, I'd like to see Pinto traded now, while he's still a prospect, rather than waiting a year or two and having him turn into a suspect.
--Surprisingly, Chris Herrmann had a fine season, hitting .304 and slugging .505 in 204 Rochester at-bats. He had the best slugging percentage and OPS that he's ever had. Of course, he'll be 27 next season and has never done anything in the majors, but he's pretty much assured to be playing somewhere in 2015.
--Doug Bernier had a good year by his standards, batting .280 with an OPS of .744. Having said that, there's no reason to have him on the forty-man roster. He's perfectly acceptable AAA roster filler, but that's all he's ever going to be. It still bothers me that we lost Samuel Deduno and His Magical Zoomball and kept Bernier on the roster.
--The same could be said of Eric Farris. He's younger that Bernier, but still too old to be a prospect. It's a shame that they played him ahead of Aaron Hicks down the stretch, and I really don't understand why they did it. There's no particular evidence that Farris is a better batter than Hicks, and while I don't know anything about Farris' defense I have a hard time believing there was much gain there, either. Add to that the fact that it didn't work, as Rochester missed the playoffs anyway. I don't understand why they did that.
--This is the first time in a few years that someone came up from Rochester at mid-season and actually helped the Twins. The odd part is that Danny Santana really wasn't doing all that well as a Red Wing. In fact, there really was nothing in his minor league batting record suggest he'd do what he's done in the majors so far. His best batting average in a season was .297 last year in New Britain, and that was with an OPS of only .719. On the other hand, as they say, he's only twenty-three, so it certainly could be that what he's doing in the majors is real.
--It appears that the clock struck midnight on the Cinderella story of Chris Colabello. He still hit okay in AAA, but he'll be thirty-one next season and with the emergence of Vargas and the presence of Joe Mauer, there's really no spot for him. He'll certainly play somewhere next year--his AAA record is too good for him not to--but it's doubtful he'll ever be a regular player again other than by injury to others. It was a darn good story while it lasted, though, and he sure got some good stories to tell his grandchildren about some game-winning hits he had. It was a cool thing to see.
--The starting rotation was the strength of the Red Wings. Trevor May, Kris Johnson, Alex Meyer, and Logan Darnell were the mainstays, with Sean Gilmartin, Yohan Pino, and even Mark Hamburger making some fine starts. In fact, if the Twins had cut bait on Scott Diamond a couple of weeks earlier, Rochester would most likely have made the playoffs.
--We've already seen Trevor May, so we'll set him to the side. We've seen Yohan Pino, too, and while it's doubtful he'll ever be more than a fill-in at the major league level his performance in AAA has probably bought him a few more years of doing that someplace.
--Alex Meyer was on a pretty strict pitch count all year. That, combined with a high walk and strikeout total, meant he rarely pitched as many as six innings in a game and averaged less than five. Given that, I assume he'll probably start in AAA again next year until he gets better control and shows he can go a little deeper into games.
--Logan Darnell really didn't do a whole lot in the minors until 2013, when he went 6-6, 2.61, 1.23 WHIP in fifteen starts in New Britain. He was 7-6, 3.60, 1.37 WHIP in Rochester this year. He hasn't shown anything in the majors yet, but at age twenty-five, he's at least worth keeping an eye on.
--Mark Hamburger might be worth keeping an eye on, too. He pitched well in New Britain and continued to pitch well when moved to Rochester. He's twenty-seven, but he hasn't thrown a ton of innings, partly because he's mostly been used in relief and partly because he missed time for a variety of reasons. I don't know that he's in the Twins plans, but I wouldn't totally count him out, either.
--Nobody says much about Stephen Pryor, the guy the Twins got for Kendrys Morales, but he sure did well in his time in Rochester. In 20.1 innings, he had an ERA of 0.89 and a WHIP of 1.08. Small sample size? Sure. But at age twenty-five he has a very good record in both AA and AAA. If, as some have speculated, the Twins are ready to make some changes in their bullpen next season, Pryor is one of the guys with a chance to win a spot.
--I suppose we could go on and talk about guys like A. J. Achter and Lester Oliveros, but this article has already gone on at least long enough. The plan is to look at the New Britain Rock Cats tomorrow, assuming I have time to actually get that done.
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