Minnesota Twins: Would a Brian Dozier extension be wise?
Dozier’s Twins career
Dozier didn’t have a lot of interest coming out of high school, and even coming out of the University of Southern Mississippi, the Twins were able to draft him in the 8th round in 2009.
Dozier had a tremendous draft season in the minors, hitting .349/.414/.422 with the GCL and Appy League levels, playing primarily shortstop. He began to see more time off of the shortstop position in his first full minor league season in 2010, playing 15 or more games at both second and third, though he did play the most of his games at short.
In 2011, Dozier really established himself with the bat, hitting .320/.399/.491 between high-A and AA with 33 doubles, 12 triples, 9 home runs, and 24 stolen bases. He also hit .296/.358/.454 with 3 home runs and 4 stolen bases in the Arizona Fall League in 26 games.
Though he wasn’t hitting well, when opening day shortstop Pedro Florimon was flirting with the Mendoza Line in 2012, Dozier was called up and played shortstop, hitting .234/.271/.332 with 6 homers and 9 steals over 84 games. He was sure-handed, but he struggled with his range at the position.
Dozier took over second base in 2013, and he’s really learned the position while on the job at the major league level, improving at the position each season bit by bit to the point where he earned a Gold Glove this past season more due to his sure-handedness and lack of issues on plays he makes rather than impressive range or arm or anything like that.
Dozier has been an offensive asset from day one, able to get on base with power and speed. However, he took another step in 2016 that drastically shot him forward as an offensive performer. From 2012-2015, Dozier hit .240/.314/.411 with 75 home runs and 56 stolen bases, walking at a 9.1% rate and striking out at a 19.2% rate.
Over the past two seasons, Dozier has been incredible with the bat, hitting .269/.349/.522 with 76 home runs and 34 steals in those two seasons, walking at a 10% rate and striking out at a 20% rate.
Dozier has been an All-Star in 2015, a Gold Glove in 2017, and he received votes in the past three American League MVP votes.
So, he’s obviously a valuable piece of the franchise. Let’s start with the reasons why the team should extend him.
Next: Reasons Why