Puckett's Pond » Michael Longoria http://puckettspond.com A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Wed, 22 May 2013 20:29:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Bright Futures: #3 – Aaron Hicks http://puckettspond.com/2013/02/05/bright-futures-3-aaron-hicks/ http://puckettspond.com/2013/02/05/bright-futures-3-aaron-hicks/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:12:48 +0000 Michael Longoria http://puckettspond.com/?p=8920 My “Bright Futures” series is nearing an end, and as we wind down to the top spot in the Twins farm system, who will it be? While anticipating who will be revealed as the top dog in the Twins system, check out the other top prospects listed below!

Ever since I can remember, the Minnesota Twins have had an outfielder patrolling the turf/grass of the Metrodome/Target Field that possessed skills their counterparts envied, a work ethic rivaling none other, and most importantly, a personality that represented the organization, city, and fan base adequately and efficiently. Players like Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter, and Denard Span have brought smiles to fans’ faces, launched a few souvenirs into the bleachers, and played harder than any player on the field day in and day out. As Twins fans, we have been spoiled to be able to watch players such as Puckett, Hunter and Span nightly and our expectations will, and should, remain high as the 2013 season creeps up around the corner.

Over the last few seasons, Twins fans have grown accustomed to watching Span hawk over center field and I’m sure many fans believed he would be a Twin for the rest of his playing days. But once Span was traded to the Washington Nationals in late November, the next logical player to fill in the void was going to be the speedster with an infectious personality, Ben Revere. Revere seemed like a great fit: a lead-off type hitter with speed to burn, a web gem seemingly every night, and the type of hustle Twins fans have learned to expect from their favorite team’s players. Whelp, Revere, the answer to Span’s departure, was traded as well in December but to the Philadelphia Phillies. So now what? Who is left to play center field for the Twins in 2013? No worries Twins fans, there is a young man who has the necessary requirements needed to fit in with the names of Puckett, Hunter and Span.

 

 

This tweet above was re-tweeted by who could potentially be the starting center fielder for the Twins this upcoming season, and his name is Aaron Hicks. Clearly, anyone could simply hit the “re-tweet” button on Twitter and accept this as a new life mantra, but for Hicks, this might be something he could look at and own it… yes, he could be that good.

Hicks has always been expected to take over the center field position early in his career, even from being drafted 14th overall by the Twins in the 2008 MLB Draft. MLB.com‘s prospect guru, Johnathan Mayo, detailed why Hicks is a name to look for in the coming years back in his 2008 draft report (link to article). Noting his plus, plus arm, fluid athleticism which allows for effortless tracking of fly balls, and his raw hitting tools, Mayo broke down why he was worth a first round choice but also explained what sometimes happens to “toolsy” athletic players:

Hicks is one of the more athletic outfielders in the high school ranks and perhaps in the Draft class. How high he gets drafted depends on how highly people project what he can become. He’s got a ton of tools, but will he learn how to use them? Someone is sure to take that chance.

Regardless of some “toolsy” player tendencies, the Twins still selected him in the first round in 2008 with hopes of taking over for Torii Hunter when his time was up in Minnesota. At first, many believed he could be a “fast track” kind of prospect who flies through the levels of professional ball and inevitably lands himself as a mainstay on the Major League roster early on in his career. However, some of the fears of his raw hitting skills were showing up in the stat sheet as he began his career. In his first season in Low-A Beloit in 2009, Hicks started out the gate slow, and never really picked up steam while posting a slash of .251/.353/.382. Those numbers were not awful by any means, but for a speedster with gap-to-gap power, his on-base percentage was quite low and needed to be raised before warranting a promotion to the next level. In fact, that promotion did not come until 2011 when the former first round draft pick was 21-years-old.

Once making the jump to High-A Ft. Myers, Hicks’ offensive numbers sank even further, resulting in a slash of .242/.354/.368. Generally, numbers that low would not motivate a team to push the player onward to the next level, but coming up on 22-years-old and still playing in High-A was not a good scenario for the organization or Hicks to be in. Despite the low 2011 numbers, the Twins indeed promoted Hicks to Double-A New Britain in hopes that his offense would catch up to his defensive prowess.

After a few regrettable seasons in the Single-A leagues, Hicks took advantage of the promotion to Double-A by posting his most impressive numbers yet as a professional. In a season hiccuped by a broken hamate bone, he was still able to hit .286, with 13 home runs, 11 triples and 31 stolen bases, in 129 games in New Britain. Hicks’ success was immediate and in an interview with Ben Goessling of the Pioneer Press newspaper in the Twin Cities (link to article), he attributed much of his success to conversations he had with his friend, Denard Span. Span answered any question young Hicks had, especially on how to stay back on the changeup which was exceptionally troubling for the young outfielder:

I could pretty much ask him whatever I was struggling with, and he’d tell me what the answer was… I never really just stayed back (on the changeup) to hit it to left, (Denard) talked to me about staying on the ball, staying back (in my stance), and it really helped out.

The relationship between Hicks and Span was pretty well documented as the veteran, Span, passed down any information he could to the unseasoned California native. But now that the mentor has been dealt elsewhere, it is time for the apprentice to step up and be the player he and the Twins believe he can be. I’m looking forward to watching Hicks play in Minnesota; he’s super athletic, has a cannon of an arm, and provides just enough pop to make others respect his power. Even if he struggles at times his rookie season, Hicks’ defense and speed will never slump, and those attributes alone could be enough to punch his one-way ticket to the show.

Projection: Aaron Hicks is an athletic specimen. His speed and arm have and still are rated plus plus, which will be quite entertaining to watch as he throws out guys on the bases as well as make long runs to track down seemingly unreachable fly balls. At one point his arm was clocked at 95 MPH which had some considering drafting him as a pitcher rather than an outfielder, but his athleticism seems more valuable in the field and on the base-paths. Hicks’ approach at the plate is quite advanced for someone his age, but sometimes he will take too many pitches and dig himself in a hole. Span was notorious for being a great 2-strike hitter, perhaps with his teachings, Hicks will be the same. Being a switch-hitter with gap power and the potential for more, his importance in the lineup will depend on his on-base percentage. Eventually I foresee Hicks being a lead-off hitter with some pop to boot, but if he cracks the Twins starting roster, he may start lower in the lineup to ease him into things. Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire have both mentioned Hicks being a viable option to take over in center field this season, bypassing Triple-A altogether, but his Spring Training has yet to be seen. I can see him being the starter on Opening Day though, considering the Twins are in no position to legitimately contend in the AL Central this season, so if Hicks gets knocked around a bit, it will only help him teach him lessons for next year when more young guns are ready to make a bona fide run to the playoffs. So, look forward to watching the Twins center fielder for the next decade (hopefully) in your Opening Day lineup this season if he can impress enough in Spring Training… it will be nice to see that arm in action this season, lord have mercy am I excited to watch him play.

Twitter: You can follow Aaron Hicks on Twitter here! twitter.com/AaronHicks31. Pictures courtesy of Steve Lein, follow him on Twitter as well! twitter.com/MNTwinsGUFS

 

 

]]> http://puckettspond.com/2013/02/05/bright-futures-3-aaron-hicks/feed/ 0 Bright Futures: #4 – Alex Meyer http://puckettspond.com/2013/01/29/bright-futures-4-alex-meyer/ http://puckettspond.com/2013/01/29/bright-futures-4-alex-meyer/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:44:30 +0000 Michael Longoria http://puckettspond.com/?p=8865 To keep up on who has been featured so far in my “Bright Futures” series, click on the word “link” next to each name which will take you to the full article for every player.

Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships.

There has been some debate over who actually said this unforgettable phrase first, but to sports fans, it is an iconic saying which tends to hold true throughout sports.

  • Football – The team who wins the Super Bowl has scored on average 25.59 points per game throughout the season and given up 15.86 points per game, whereas the Super Bowl loser has averaged 25.67 points per game and given up 17 points per game during the season (stats per Kenneth Arthur’s article). If so facto, defense wins championships.
  • Hockey – Last year, the Los Angeles Kings won Lord Stanley’s Cup despite being the 8th seed from the Western Conference. Clearly, the Kings were not the most dominant regular season team, but throughout the playoffs the Kings were far and away the most unstoppable defensive team. The King’s goaltender, Johnathan Quick, was given the Conn Smythe Trophy which is given to the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. Considering the goalie in hockey is the last and most important line of defense, Quick helped prove that defense wins championships.
  • Baseball – Baseball teams have always emphasized the importance of a strong pitching staff, solid defense, and clutch hitting as being key cogs in turning the championship wheel. What some people forget, is that pitchers are similar to a hockey goaltender – striking out a guy for the third out with bases loaded is like a goalie not allowing a goal during a 5-on-3 penalty kill. Pitchers are the first, most important, and sometimes the last line of defense in baseball. Goalies in hockey get the credit for a team’s shutout and pitchers get the credit for complete game shutouts/no-hitters/perfect games. Last year, 7 of the 10 playoff teams were in the top 10 for lowest team ERA throughout the regular season and the San Francisco Giants had the most complete pitching staff up and down their lineup throughout the playoffs which landed them the World Series title. Defense wins championships.

July 9, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA pitcher Alex Meyer (17) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The proof is obvious throughout history, defense is the biggest component in winning championships and the Minnesota Twins are not ignorant to this ideology. The Twins have been near the bottom of team ERA in all of baseball the last two seasons, and they have not been remotely close to a playoff birth in either of those seasons. In order to regain a competitive edge in the American League Central, the Twins had to make some changes to their pitching staff which would not only allow an immediate bounce back from ineptitude, but one that would act as spring board back into playoff regularity. Through trades and free agency, the Twins brought in pitchers Vance Worley, Trevor May, Kevin Correia, and Mike Pelfrey, but the most intriguing arm brought in is flame-thrower Alex Meyer.

Alex Meyer is a 23-year-old right handed pitcher from Greensburg, Indiana. He played his college ball at the University of Kentucky and was drafted 23rd overall in the 2011 MLB Draft to the Washington Nationals. After a successful season in his first full year of professional ball, Meyer was rated by MLB.com as the Nationals No. 2 prospect.  He posted impressive numbers of 10-6, 2.86 ERA 139 SO 45 BB in 2012 which definitely garnered the interest of many teams in baseball, but especially the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have been without a true ace since Johan Santana was traded to the New York Mets in 2008, and were in desperate need for an upgrade. To fix this issue, the Twins sent outfielder Denard Span over to the Nationals in a trade for the 6’9″ 220 lb. right-handed power pitcher, Meyer. MLB.com‘s 2012 Top 100 Prospects list had Meyer ranked No. 50 out of all minor leaguers last year, and for good reason. He is capable of throwing a heavily sinking fastball comfortably in the mid-90s and another straight fastball that will be cranked up close to 100 mph. Couple those two versions of his fastball with an 87-91 mph devastating slider and an up-and-coming change up, and the Twins definitely have their ace waiting in the wings. He projects out to be a good No. 2 pitcher in the rotation and potentially a No. 1 as he matures. The expectations are high for Meyer and the Twins future rotation, if he can live up to these expectations then he will make Opening Day starts for years to come.

July 9, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA pitcher Alex Meyer (17) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Projection: I am a huge fan of Alex Meyer, and although other Twins fans were peeved to see a fan favorite in Denard Span be traded, I was elated knowing the organization acted when the bidding was hot for a player of Span’s ability. Who knows what other offers were on the table, but to get a power pitcher with as high a ceiling as Meyer’s is a job well done for the organization. Meyer’s frame is still a little lanky, being only 220 pounds in a 6’9″ frame, but he has room to grow into that frame and could fill out to be an absolute workhorse on the mound, a la Justin Verlander. Verlander is one of a kind, but if Meyer fills out then he could be similar to the back-to-back AL Cy Young award winner by cranking fastballs in upper-90s regularly with punch out off-speed pitches as well. One knock on Meyer though, is his sporadic control. Some games he will be on point, striking out 10+ in 6+ innings and other games walk 4 or 5 guys in 4+ innings. Some seasoning this year in the minors will greatly help his command and hopefully will help him get ready for the majors sooner rather than later. I hope he starts the year in Double-A New Britain coming out of Spring Training, but there’s a good chance he will begin where he left off last year, in High-A ball. The Twins have been known to baby prospects along in their quest for the majors, but Meyer is a big, strong-bodied starting pitcher and the Twins need for top-tier starting pitching is insurmountable without him. 2013 will be a big year for him and the organization, I can see Meyer starting in High-A Ft. Myers but ending the year in Triple-A Rochester, which would be a big jump. Not only will he be blowing away better competition, but if he ends the year in Triple-A then it would be almost impossible to not see him in the 2014 starting rotation for the Minnesota Twins. My fingers are crossed for this scenario to come to fruition, it will be fun watching this flame-thrower hurl 100 mph fastballs and spin 90 mph sliders towards the dish for years to come.

Twitter: Also, follow Alex Meyer on twitter! @Meyer17A

]]> http://puckettspond.com/2013/01/29/bright-futures-4-alex-meyer/feed/ 0 Bright Futures: # 5 – Oswaldo Arcia http://puckettspond.com/2013/01/16/bright-futures-5-oswaldo-arcia/ http://puckettspond.com/2013/01/16/bright-futures-5-oswaldo-arcia/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 07:30:09 +0000 Michael Longoria http://puckettspond.com/?p=8783 Interested to see who could be patrolling your favorite team’s field in the next few years? You can read up on “Bright Futures” prospects 6-10 by clicking on the links below. 

We are halfway through the series “Bright Futures” and the competition is getting tighter as we begin winding our way down through the Top 5. Coming in at No. 5, is a six-foot, 210 pounder from Anaco, Venezuela. Imagine, as John Sickels suggests in his article where he grades the top – in his opinion – Twins prospects, a “Venezuelan Jason Kubel“. This “Venezuelan Kubel” is none other than Oswaldo Arcia.

Arcia is a smooth-swinging outfielder who most recently played his professional ball in Double-A New Britain in the Twins minor league system. Originally signed as a free agent at age 16 by the Twins, he made his organizational debut in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) in 2008. It was while playing for the DSL Twins which put Arcia on the map and allowed scouts to project an early high-ceiling for the powerful, left-handed hitting Venezuelan outfielder. He posted an impressive slash line of .298/.343/.432 in his first season within the organization which caught the eye of Twins scouts, prompting his arrival the following year in the Gulf Coast League (GCL).

In the GCL, Arcia’s batting average slipped a bit, down to .275, but his on-base percentage (.337) and slugging percentage (.455) remained true to his DSL form. However, the following season playing for the Elizabethton Twins was his coming out party. In 2010, Arcia tore up the Appalachian League with an incredible slash line of .375/.424/.672 to go along with 14 home runs, 7 triples and 51 RBI’s in 64 games played. His season was so monstrous, those numbers put him only three home runs shy of earning the Triple Crown in the league. Appalachian League officials recognized Arcia’s amazing season by naming him the league Player of the Year, Player of the Postseason, as well as honoring him with a spot on the Appy-League All-Star Team.

Because of his successes in 2010, MLB.com garnered Arcia as the Minnesota Twins 4th best prospect in the organization heading into the 2011 season. The scouting report MLB.com tabbed on Arcia affirmed his strengths and exposed a weakness of chasing pitches:

The Appalachian League MVP, Arcia led the rookie-level circuit in a host of offensive categories in 2010. He’s got power to all fields, though he’ll have to swing and miss less if he wants to keep putting up those kinds of numbers as he moves up. He should hit enough to handle the outfield corner he’ll man in the future.

Having power to all fields is a trait not many baseball players possess, and when a credited baseball site, such as MLB.com, slaps that ability in their description of your skills, then you must be doing something right. And Oswaldo Arcia is doing something right, well, he is actually doing just about everything right as a young professional. In 2011, he started off hot in Low-A Beloit but was hampered by an elbow injury which required surgery and forced him to miss time. However, his play still warranted a promotion to High-A Ft. Myers where he competed strongly but was not able to duplicate previous successes at lower levels. Even though his numbers were a little low in his first action in High-A, Arcia was still one of the youngest players in the league which proved he was on the fast track through the system.

Jul 06, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Baseballs sit in a bin during batting practice prior to the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves defeated the Phillies 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Then 2012 rolled around and Arcia’s bat exploded. Playing in 51 games in Ft. Myers, Arcia compiled a very good slash of .309/.376/.517 which prompted a sooner than expected bump to Double-A New Britain. When a player makes the jump to a higher league, expectations are usually subtle at first as the player acclimates himself to the better competition, but Arcia actually improved his numbers after the promotion from Ft. Myers. A slash of .328/.398./.557 back up this claim as his bat became the talk of the Twins system. What was really impressive though, was his slugging percentage of .557, which would have tied him for 6th in all of baseball last year with Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays. Only sluggers Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout and Adrian Beltre had higher slugging percentages than Arcia in 2012.

Projection: Oswaldo Arcia can absolutely rake with a bat in his hands. He has put on some solid weight and is able to throw is frame around the bases as well to stretch singles to doubles when need be; in fact, he was once fast enough for center field but because of his build he has been regulated and projected out well to be a right fielder. His arm is strong and accurate despite the elbow surgery he had in 2011 so do not think the surgery restricted his progress defensively. Arcia does have a tendency to chase ball four, especially if pitches are down in the zone, so this season will be geared to stymie that habit. Regardless of K/BB rates, the main attraction here is his bat and power to all fields. Arcia has the opportunity to be a rare player that does not suffer contact loss with added power, a la Ryan Braun – not a fair comparison in overall ability, but both are double/gap hitters with extra oomph. Arcia is on the 40-man roster and will be able to showcase his abilities at Spring Training this season. Given the fact of how he dominated Double-A last year, with an outstanding spring against Major League talent, there is a chance he could start the year in Triple-A Rochester, but with all likelihood heading to New Britain to season the young masher. He will only be 21 at the start of this 2013 campaign and there is no rush to need his services in Minnesota. With that said, I believe we will see the Venezuelan right fielder in Minnesota in 2014, whether it is at the start of the season or a mid-season call-up is yet to be known, but rest assured we should all know the answer at the end of this campaign.

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