Minnesota Twins Depth Chart: Second Base
Puckett’s Pond looks at the Minnesota Twins’ Second Base depth
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This our third piece in a series on the Minnesota Twins’ depth at every position. We’ve covered their depth at first base and catcher. Today we’re taking a look at the second base depth the Twins possess—from the lowest minors to the major league level. We’ll start with mostly unfamiliar names in rookie ball and work up to the majors.
Most shortstops come up through the system able to play second as well. We won’t list those names in this piece. The assumption can be made that pretty much any shortstop can play second base if needed. The reverse can be true as well but not nearly as often. This article and the upcoming shortstop article are essentially companion pieces—there’s a large degree of overlap.
Rk:
There are three rookie levels in the Twins system: The GCL Twins, DSL Twins and the Elizabethton Twins. The following second basemen played rookie ball in 2015: Luis Arraez and Jorge Andrade. Arraez showed promise with a .309/.377/.391 slash line with the GCL Twins last year. He’s a candidate to be promoted to Cedar Rapids for 2016.
A:
Pat Kelly played for Cedar Rapids last year but his .590 OPS in 2015 shows that he should remain there for 2016. Blake Schmit played as high as A+ last year but was overmatched. Starting him out in Cedar Rapids seems wise
A+:
Rafael Valera slashed .283/.378/.338 in 2015 with Cedar Rapids and appears ready to progress to Fort Myers. Logan Wade has yet to find a well defined positional role and has played less and less at 2B. He could be in the mix for A+ or AA. Tanner Vavra tore it up in Aussie winter ball. He’ll likely return to A+ but AA is a possibility. Aderlin Mejia got a taste of AA in 2015 but should begin 2016 in Fort Myers.
Next: AA/AAA/Majors
AA:
Ryan Walker could earn a promotion to Chattanooga with Fort Myers getting crowded. Aside from him, second base duties will likely be split between three shortstop prospects (if Levi Michael does indeed make the jump to AAA) .
AAA:
Levi Michael posted an .804 OPS with Chattanooga in 2015 and has earned a shot in Rochester. James Beresford is slotted for Rochester again. He will have to take on more of a utility role to make room for Michael and a few shortstops who’ll need lots of playing time.
Majors:
Brian Dozier. If Dozier goes down, Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar don’t have much experience at second. They could fill in temporarily but for anything long term, the Twins would look to Beresford or one of their top shortstop prospects.
Next: Greatest Twins 2B Round Two
The Twins are secure and strong at second base in the near future with Dozier. Michael is their top second base prospect. The Twins do have a glut of shortstop prospects and some of them could find their way to the majors at second.