MVN - Most Valuable Network

“Twins in the Hole” MiLB Awards: Best First Base

With the Twins’ Minor League seasons virtually all wrapped up, I figured it would be a good idea to start this new column off with picking the “Twins in the Hole” top players at each position this year in the Minnesota Twins organization.

We’ll start off at catcher and make our way around the horn and finish off the list with the pitchers. Every few days I will post up a new player who excelled at their position above everyone else the Twins had to offer. Here’s a look at who I have selected so far:

• Catcher: Jose Morales

As I always say in my Twins Major League column, “Twins Killings,” comments on everything and anything are not only welcomed but encouraged.

TWINS IN THE HOLE MiLB FIRST BASEMAN OF THE YEAR:

BROCK PETERSON | 1B | BATS: R | ACQ: 49th Rd 2002 Draft

For years the Minnesota Twins have had a pitcher-first mentality when it comes to their drafts. This has worked out great for them as they have had some of the most dominant young pitchers in baseball for many years. However given the fact that they struggle to bring in big power hitters to their lineup, a change in draft strategies is needed. With too many young pitchers and not enough places to put them (if you can call that a problem) coupled with the fact that they have no desire to trade young pitching talent, the Twins farm system does not appear to have too much in the way of power coming up the pipeline.

One of the few young power hitting hopefuls the Twins have is first baseman Brock Peterson. The funny thing about Peterson is that he wasn’t a first or even second round draft pick. In fact, Peterson wasn’t even in the top ten or twenty rounds. As the Twins 49th-round draft pick in 2002, the young first baseman has been a very pleasant surprise.

With a full season under his belt in AA New Britain, Peterson ended up putting up some very nice numbers for a club in desperate need for power help. After a rough start in April (.222/.308/.356), Peterson would go on to have very strong season numbers of .285/.382/.476 with 67 runs, 21 doubles, 15 homers, and 64 RBI. While these may not be gigantic numbers, they are still on course as he has continued to improve after each level of play. Peterson also was able to post an OBP-AVG of 0.097 (higher than the 0.065 scouts like to see) as well as a BB% of 10.1% (higher than the 8.0% scouts like to see). These too were both improvements over his previous years which is a very encouraging sign for the Twins.

One would have to think that he will be part of Triple-A Rochester next season with how he performed after a full season in New Britain. Another full season in Double-A would hurt his value as he will be 24-years old next season and that is a little old to still be playing at that level. In order to advance his skills as a player, he needs to make the jump to help see what kind of a role he will play in the Twins future.

With Justin Morneau holding down first base, Peterson could be an option for the DH spot if he can continue to improve on his power numbers. The DH has been a gigantic hole for the Twins for many, many years and Brock Peterson could be an option for that down the road.

“Twins in the Hole” MiLB Awards: Best Catcher

With the Twins’ Minor League seasons virtually all wrapped up, I figured it would be a good idea to start this new column off with picking the “Twins in the Hole” top players at each position this year in the Minnesota Twins organization.

We’ll start off at catcher and make our way around the horn and finish off the list with the pitchers. Every few days I will post up a new player who excelled at their position above everyone else the Twins had to offer. As I always say in my Twins Major League column, “Twins Killings,” comments on everything and anything are not only welcomed but encouraged.

TWINS IN THE HOLE MiLB CATCHER OF THE YEAR:

JOSE MORALES | C | BATS: S | ACQ: 3rd Rd 2001 Draft

Choosing Morales to be the top catcher in the Twins Minor League organization is one of the easiest picks I will have to make. Not only was he the best in our system, he was one of the best in the Minors. This was evident when he was named to both the International League Mid and Post-Season All-Star teams. The second baseman turned catcher not only was able to turn heads with his glove, but he also did so with his bat.

Drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 2001 draft, the 24 year-old switch hitter had a great season at the plate. Morales hit .311/.366/.399 with 25 doubles and 37 RBI in 108 games for Triple-A Rochester. But it wasn’t just his overall numbers that were impressive, it was that he was able to hit in any situation thrown at him. Here’s a quick peak at how he faired in some of his split-stat categories:

• vs. Left: .289/.301/.344
• vs. Right: .318/.385/.416
• Home: .304/.343/.414
• Away: .319/.388/.384
• Day: .350/.418/.500
• Night: .301/.351/.372
• Grass: .308/.362/.401
• Turf: .345/.406/.379

Not only that but he hit over .300 in every month except August when he hit .261. In this day in age when so many hitters have weaknesses that force managers into sitting them due to their inadequacies in certain situations or match-ups, it is a great boost to Morales’ value that he can be used everyday in any situation.

With the great season Morales was able to put together, it confused me even more when the Twins elected to call-up Chris Heintz from Rochester in late August when Joe Mauer went down with his injury. Heintz really doesn’t fit into the Twins future plans given his average bat and at times below-average catching skills. So at a time the Twins needed some offensive help during their playoff chase, calling up Heintz made little sense to me.

Morales finally got the call when Mike Redmond went down with a thumb injury earlier this month. Sure it took injuries to our first and second string catchers, but hey, Morales was finally going to get a chance. Sadly that chance was cut short very quickly as Morales was hurt in a play at second base in his very first game. When Morales got hurt with what would end his season, he was 3-for-3 with a run and a double. While his Major League numbers now read 1.000/1.000/1.333, I’m sure he would have much rather played the rest of the season out.

While Morales may not fit into the Twins immediate plans, eventually there will be a spot for him when Mike Redmond either moves on or retires or if the Twins ever decide to move Mauer out from behind the plate. Whenever either of those happens, it’s good to know the Twins have a very solid catcher to step in and pick up the slack.