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Minnesota Twins: Prospect slugger Brent Rooker’s bat is heating up

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Omaha, NE - JUNE 27: A general view of a baseball on the field prior to game two of the College World Series Championship Series between the Oregon State Beavers and the Arkansas Razorbacks on June 27, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
Omaha, NE - JUNE 27: A general view of a baseball on the field prior to game two of the College World Series Championship Series between the Oregon State Beavers and the Arkansas Razorbacks on June 27, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Twins are observing a very exciting month and bid for a promotion from one of their best power hitting prospects Brent Rooker

The Minnesota Twins have plenty of exciting bats across their minor league affiliates. Brent Rooker‘s bat is one that comes with some of the most unique excitement due to his advanced development and power. After being in the Twins system for only about one year now, he is starting to mash Double-A pitching.

In fact, there are probably very few baseball’s that Rooker hasn’t mashed throughout his career. After being one of the best bats in the SEC, the Twins selected Rooker for a second time (the first in the 38th round of the 2016 draft) at 35th overall in 2017. After being drafted the Twins sent Rooker to Elizabethton to compete in Rookie ball.

Rooker immediately proved he could handle the pitching there after 22 games in which he slashed .282/.364/.588 with a .952 OPS and seven home runs. That allowed the Twins to aggressively advance him by skipping a level and landing in Single-A Fort Myers. For 40 games there Rooker slashed .280/.364/.552 and a .917 OPS while launching another 11 home runs.

That set Rooker up well for his first full season of professional baseball where he began the season with Double-A Chattanooga. He finds himself a little more than a year younger than the rest of the Southern League. That may have shown a little bit as he didn’t get off to the same Rooker type start we had already come to expect out of the slugger. He slashed .240/.282/.411 with seven home run through the month of May to start his 2018.

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Since the beginning of June it looks like Rooker has really began to figure out the level of competition at Double-A. This month he is slashing a very impressive .322/.394/.678 with a 1.078 OPS. He has also added seven doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 18 RBIs. That includes most recently a Thursday, June 28th game in which Rooker went 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double.

Rooker is quickly looking like he deserves a promotion just like his teammates Nick Gordon and LaMonte Wade have earned already this season to Triple-A Rochester. Depending on the direction of the major league club he could find himself in the majors in the second half of 2018 as well.

Next: Can Jorge Polanco's return help jumpstart the Twins offense?

I have always had a hunch that the Twins front office would love for Rooker to take over for Joe Mauer at first base next season. If he keeps this type of performance up it will be hard for the Twins to keep Rooker in the minor leagues.

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