--Most of you probably realize this, but the point of “Chris Parmelee and Liam Hendriks have nothing to learn in Rochester” was never that they were going to be instant major league stars. I don’t even know if they’ll be good players, although Parmelee has done quite well in the majors when he’s been given regular playing time. The point was that, whatever they needed to learn to become major league players, they weren’t going to learn it playing in AAA. They already knew everything they needed to know to dominate AAA.
The thing is that, when you leave a player in the minors after he’s established that he doesn’t belong there, the best you can hope for is that they remain the same. It’s not that they won’t keep trying to improve, it’s that they won’t know what they should work on, because everything they’re doing is working where they are right now. The worst thing that can happen is that they’ll get discouraged or they’ll develop bad habits, because they can get away with bad habits where they are right now. When it’s time for a player to move up, he needs to move up.
--Matt Carson had a fine year in Rochester, and I’m happy that he’s gotten at least a small chance in the majors. He’s been hitting well in AAA for five years. He’s 31, so he’s clearly not a prospect, but he might be able to stick as a fifth outfielder or something. At any rate, at least they gave him a chance.
--They did not give Anthony Slama a chance, and they’re clearly not going to. Slama was hurt part of they year, but when he was healthy he had as good a year as a relief pitcher can have, and he didn’t even get a September call-up. There’s really no excuse for that. Obviously, the Twins have decided that they don’t like him, and they’re not going to give him a chance to prove them wrong no matter what he does.
In four seasons of AAA, Slama has an ERA of 2.27, a WHIP of 1.16, and has struck out 191 batters in 154.1 innings. In those four years, the following pitchers have been in the Twins bullpen: Luis Ayala, Matt Capps, Phil Dumatrait, Randy Flores, Armando Gabino, Jeff Gray, Eric Hacker, Sean Henn, Jim Hoey, Dusty Hughes, Ron Mahay, Matt Maloney, Juan Morillo, Lester Oliveros. Regardless of how many planes you think Slama’s fastball operates on, can anyone seriously contend that he’d be substantially worse than all of those guys? I hope someone in the Twins’ organization has at least been honest with Slama and told him he is never ever going to pitch for the Twins ever, although he’s probably figured that out on his own by now.
--It’s a shame things didn’t work out with Tsuyoshi Nishioka. A lot of have bashed Bill Smith’s tenure as GM, and I’ve been right there with you, but I really can’t blame him for this. Lots of people thought Nishioka could play in the majors, and lots of us were enthusiastic about him when he was signed. Translating Japanese numbers and talents into the major leagues is a pretty tricky business. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This time it didn’t, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad decision at the time. I hope he can get himself straightened out and be a good player for somebody, either in the United States or in Japan.
--The Twins middle infielders in Rochester were awful. Pedro Florimon was probably the best, but he hit a robust .251/.308/.344. The others were Nishioka, Brian Dozier (.232/.286./.337), Michael Hollimon (.223/.305/.380), Eduardo Escobar (.217/.259/.304), and Joe Thurston (.139/.267/.236). At least Florimon seems to play defense well.
--Joe Benson had a lost year. After hitting .179 in Rochester, he got hurt, went to New Britain, and hit .184 there. He’s only 24, so I’m not saying give up on him, but obviously he can’t have another year like this one.
--Any AAA pitcher who was worth anything you’ve already seen in Minnesota.
--Caleb Thielbar made a pretty fast rise, going from A to AAA in one year. That’s very unusual, especially in the Twins’ organization. He ran into some trouble in Rochester, but did not appear to be totally overmatched. He’s going to the Arizona Fall League, and one would assume he’ll start in Rochester next year.
--Oswaldo Arcia had a pretty awesome half-season in New Britain: .328/.398/.557. He’s 21 years old. I’d have given him a September call-up, but that’s not the Twins Way. I hope they’ll at least start him in Rochester next season, because he really has nothing more to prove in AA.
--Aaron Hicks has gotten kind of lost in the hype over guys like Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and Byron Buxton, but he had a pretty good year for the Rock Cats: .286/.384/.460 with 32 steals (in 43 attempts) and a hundred runs scored. He turned 23 October 2. Presumably he’ll start next year in Rochester as well.
--Chris Colabello turns 29 this month, so he’s not really a prospect, but he still had a pretty good year in New Britain: .284/.358/.478. He’s a guy who played in independent ball for seven years before finally getting a shot with a big league organization. He obviously loves playing baseball, and is going to do it as long as he can. I hope he gets a shot at the majors sometime, just as a reward for his persistence. If nothing else, though, he can probably continue to be roster filler for someone’s minor league organization.
--Deibinson Romero is another guy who quietly had a pretty decent year for New Britain: .267/.356/.441. He’s 26, so I don’t know that he’s a prospect, but I wouldn’t say it’s out of the question that he could make the majors at some point.
--B. J. Hermsen had a fine year:11-6, 3.22, 1.22 WHIP. The worrisome thing is that he doesn’t strike many guys out: 4.8 per nine innings. On the other hand, he’s not been a big strikeout guy since he got out of rookie ball, and so far it’s still working. We’ll see how he does in Rochester, too.
--One thing I don’t understand is why the Twins released Jairo Perez. I don’t think he’s a hot prospect or anything; he was 24 and still playing in Fort Myers. On the other hand, he was hitting .265/.350/.403, which made him one of the best players on the team. It’s not like he was standing in the way of a hot prospect, either: most of the third basing after he was released went to Andy Leer, who hit .186. I assume his release was personality and/or substance related, simply because there seems no reason to have released him otherwise. I should note, though, that no other organization picked him up, and he finished the season in the American Association.
--Fort Myers really had no good hitters other than Perez and Josmil Pinto. No one else had an OPS higher than .750. What that means is that some guys I had hopes for— Daniel Santana, Daniel Ortiz, Michael Gonzales, Angel Morales, Daniel Rams—didn’t do much. That does not bode well for the New Britain Rock Cats next season. I’d look for the Twins to pick up some roster filler for that team next year.
--A. J. Achter had a fine season, going 5-2, 1.70, 0.93 WHIP with 86 strikeouts in 74.1 innings in a season split between Beloit and Fort Myers. The problem, of course, is that it’s 74.1 innings, which is a problem in evaluating all minor league relief pitchers. Still, I hope he starts next year at New Britain and can keep moving up the ladder.
--Two guys I had hopes for, Tom Stuifbergen and Madison Boer, really had disappointing seasons in Fort Myers. Boer will turn 23 next month and Stuifbergen just turned 24. If they’re going to be anything, they’d better do it soon.
--Kennys Vargas tore up the Midwest League in 154 at-bats. I hope they at least move him to Fort Myers, and I don’t think New Britain is out of the question. He’s 22 and his numbers have improved as he’s gone up the ladder.
--It’s hard to know what Miguel Sano’s going to be yet. He hit 28 homers and drove in 100 runs, which is really good. On the other hand, he struck out 144 times and made 42 errors. Maybe they can do a makeover on him the way they did with Chris Parmelee, cutting down the strikeouts while retaining decent power. The Twins say they’re still committed to him as a third baseman, and that’s probably okay for now. He’s still 19, so he has time to improve. I assume he’ll start next year in Fort Myers, so we’ll see how he does there.
--Eddie Rosario had a fine year in Beloit: .296/.345/.490. Not many walks, but if he continues to hit, you’ll live with it. The question, of course, is whether he will continue to hit, but that’s true with any Class A player. He just turned 21, so he has time to improve, too.
--Beloit had some intriguing relief pitchers. D. J. Baxendale, Cole Johnson, and Mason Melotakis all did very well there, although none was there a terribly long time. They’ll be interesting to keep an eye on next season.
--Romy Jimenez is 21 and still in rookie ball, so I understand why no one’s making a fuss about him, but he had a pretty awesome year in Elizabethton: .347/.439/.669. There also seems to be some confusion about his name. Last year, he was referred to as Romy Trinidad. In the milb.com box scores, he’s Romy Jimenez, but if he hits a home run or something to get his name listed below the box, he’s Romy Trinidad. B-r.com lists him as Romy (Trinidad) Jimenez.
--Max Kepler went .297/.387/.539 with 10 homers as a 19-year-old at Elizabethton. Granted that Bryce Harper was in the big leagues at 19, but it’s enough to make me anxious to see what Kepler does in Cedar Rapids next season.
--It still seems strange to say “Cedar Rapids” rather than Beloit. I assume I’ll get used to it. I’ll miss Snappy D. Turtle, though. I somehow don’t think having “Mr. Shucks” as a mascot will be quite the same.
--After a slow start, Byron Buxton did okay in his first season. Combined between the GCL and Elizabethton, he hit .248/.344/.448, but his numbers in Elizabethton were significantly better, especially in batting average. He’s only 18, as his birthday is in December.
--Candido Pimentel quietly took a step forward this season. Again, 21 and in rookie ball, but after two years of an OPS in the .600s in the GCL, he put up .824 in Elizabethton this year. We’ll see if he can continue the improvement next year.
--Jose Berrios was pretty awesome in limited duty. He pitched 30.2 innings combined in the GCL and Appalachian League, but went 3-0, 1.17, 0.62 WHIP. He struck out 49 and walked 4. He allowed 15 hits. He’s 18. I would think they’ll start him at least in Cedar Rapids next season, if not higher.
--Other than that, I really don’t have anything to say about the rookie league pitchers. They all pitch so few innings that it’s hard to get much of a read on them just looking at stats.
--Jeremias Pineda put up an OPS of .981 in 133 at-bats for the GCL Red Sox. Then he was traded to the Twins and put up an OPS of .640 in 59 at-bats.
--Adonis Pacheco had an outstanding year in the DSL: .322/.408/.536 with 12 triples. Again, 21 and still in the DSL. Plus, he’s not very big (5’11’, 175). Sometimes, though, you just have to appreciate a season for what it is. As with many other players, the Twins presumably will move him up next year, and then we’ll see.
--I guess I do have one more thing to say about a rookie league pitcher, which is just to point out the outstanding year Junior Subero had. 53, 1.43, 0.94 WHIP in 63 innings. He struck out 54 and walked 9. Now, he was really good in the DSL last year, too, and the Twins left him there, so there’s obviously something about him they’re not too impressed with. So, I guess this last note is like the first one—you accomplish nothing by leaving a player at a level after he’s already established that he doesn’t belong there. When it’s time for a player to move up, he needs to move up.
I could go on, but I already have, and this article is, in Ring Lardner’s phrase, at least long enough. I’ll just close by thanking you for letting me indulge myself in these minor league reports all year. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. The Arizona Fall League starts next week. The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, which seems unlikely given the drought, I’ll be here to report on it.
