Puckett's Pond » Brett Jacobson http://puckettspond.com A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Mon, 20 May 2013 16:43:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Five Twins Prospects Who Need to Take the Next Step in 2012 http://puckettspond.com/2011/12/29/five-twins-prospects-who-need-to-improve-in-2012/ http://puckettspond.com/2011/12/29/five-twins-prospects-who-need-to-improve-in-2012/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:08:01 +0000 http://puckettspond.com/?p=6907 Sometimes the most exciting players to watch are minor league prospects. When you watch your team’s Big Leaguers, you usually know what to expect. But minor leaguers are blank slates. They could become superstars, or they could become nobodies. It’s a very thin line.

The Twins have quite a few players in their system who are straddling that line. For the five very talented minor leaguers listed below, 2012 is a make-or-break year. If they make some progress, they could shoot up the prospect rankings. If they regress, they might never make it to the Majors.

I’m hoping for the first option.

Aaron Hicks

Hicks was the team’s top pick in 2008, and at #14 overall, he was the highest draft pick the Twins have had since Joe Mauer in 2001. The Twins have been gushing about his tools and potential ever since, but Hicks hasn’t produced a whole lot in the minors.  Hicks can draw walks and get on base, but he’s yet to exceed eight homers in a minor league season. In 2011 at Ft. Myers, Hicks went .242/.354/.368 with five home runs and 110 strikeouts in 443 at bats. His performance in the Arizona Fall League might be cause for optimism. In 30 games, Hicks hit .294/.400/.559. He only had three homers, but his five triples were a nice accomplishment. (more…)

]]> http://puckettspond.com/2011/12/29/five-twins-prospects-who-need-to-improve-in-2012/feed/ 4 Stages of Baseball Grief http://puckettspond.com/2011/12/20/stages-of-baseball-grief/ http://puckettspond.com/2011/12/20/stages-of-baseball-grief/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:01:43 +0000 http://puckettspond.com/?p=6882 Jason Kubel is the newest ex-Minnesota Twin.  Kubel joins Michael Cuddyer, Joe Nathan, Kevin Slowey, Jose Mijares, Matt Tolbert* and Jim Hoey as members of the 2011 Twins that will not be back for 2012.  Jim Hoey was never a fan favorite, especially because the JJ Hardy trade that brought him to Minnesota worked out so poorly for the Twins.  Matt Tolbert, despite being Ron Gardenhire’s golden boy, was never the beloved utility infielder that Nick Punto was before him.  The rest of the gang, Kubel, Cuddyer, Nathan, Slowey and Mijares, however, enjoyed particularly fan friendly careers in Minnesota.

*Tolbert has yet to sign elsewhere, but with the Twins’ utility spot likely occupied by Tsuyoshi Nishioka or Luke Hughes, Tolbert’s time in Minnesota is over.

They say that everyone experiences Five Stages of Grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.  The Five Stages of Grief even have a great sabermetric acronym, DABDA, so they’re particularly well suited for baseball.  In this case, Twins fans are definitely feeling loss as the roster turns and evolves.

The Five Stages of Baseball Grief are the very same stages, just expressed differently.  (more…)

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