Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Half-Ass scouting report on Twins Arizona Fall League players

Today the Twins announced their Arizona Fall league assignees. This is a great group of players, guys that will make an impact in the majors. Since I have seen or met 6 of the players I figured I'd post my half-assed scouting reports instead of digging deep into stats.


Joe Benson is my favorite prospect in the Twins system. He has hit .249/.335/.516 with 24 HRs, 18 SB/9 CS in High A Fort Myers and AA New Britain this season I saw him in June and wrote this: He's 22 and Neal thinks he'll arrive in 2012. For some reason, he was sent back to Fort Myers this year. I personally think he is a better player than Revere right now. He certainly looks to have more upside. He is almost as fast as Revere but also has power. He went 2-5 with a 2B and a walk on Wednesday and 1-4 with a HR in Thursday's game. He leads New Britain with 9 HRs. The bounce in power is great especially since he is considered more of a speed guy. He already has 13 HRs in 2010 between Fort Myers/New Britain. He's never had more than 5 HRs in a season. If Micheal Cuddyer were traded in the off-season, Benson may be better equipped then Revere to replace some of his offense by next season.


I also saw him in AugustHe went 0-5 and some of his swings were really hard. Carlos Gomez hard. He is certainly the best prospect in AA for the Twins currently, but he has some work to do. I love watching him in the field and he has legitimate power. He also might be wound to tight. He got mad a couple times during the game, tossing his helmet hard into the dugout and also on the field after just missing his pitch and flying out. The kind of reaction usually reserved for strikeouts. Benson has a ton of tools and potential that is starting to show. I hope he is able to keep his emotions in check and just enjoy the game a little more. He has enough ability to go a long way someday soon.

Here is video of Benson's first at-bat.



Ben Revere recently came back from getting hit in the face with a pitch. He is batting .295/.363/.350 with 34 SB/13 CS in AA New Britain this season. He has some upside as a Juan Pierre type. I saw him in June and wrote in reference to LaVelle E. Neal ranking him as the Twins #4 prospect: He's also (as is Joe Benson) 22 and Neal also predicts he will be with the Twins in 2011. He played yesterday after missing some time with injury. He went 1-4 with a strikeout. While he didn't do much in the game, it was great to see him play. I saw his speed trying to beat out ground balls. 

Chris Parmelee could be a future power hitter for the Twins. He is batting .289/.360/.407 in High A Fort Myers and AA New Britain this season. I saw him in June and wrote this: Chris Parmelee also had 3 hits and hit a very hard foul ball right by us. Dude has scary power, if he can ever put it all together. I saw Parmelee in August, he had a hit, walk, RBI, and a couple runs scored. 


I have seen Carlos Gutierrez many times. He is 5-8 with a 4.57 ERA as a starter and reliever in AA New Britain this season. I saw him in 2009, before I was blogging, he looked good, topping out at 94. He signed a ball for us in 2009. I wrote this in June, La Velle E. Neal had him as his #5 prospect: He's 23 and Neal predicts he could be on the MLB club in late 2010. I don't see him with the club this year but maybe next year, probably as a reliever. He started the game Wednesday. He got the win, going 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3. He looked very confident on the mound. His sinker was working for him, topping out at 95 MPH and sitting around 91-93. Some of the hits could have been outs with better defense. (Jair Fernandez, a catcher played a few innings at 3rd base when Chris Cates was thrown out of the game) His off speed pitches looked ok but I'm not sure if they are swing and miss pitches right now.


I saw Kyle Waldrop in 2009. He has since become a dominating reliever and will make an impact soon. He is 5-3 with a 2.57 ERA for Rochester this year. I didn't have much to say about him when I saw him, but here it is: Kyle Waldrop, former #1 pick was next, he went 3.2 giving up 1 earned on 3 hits and a walk with a strikeout. He looks to be adjusting nicely after an injury derailed 2008 His fast ball topped out at 91.


I have not seen Tyler Robertson pitch but I met him this year. He is having a tough year, going 3-13 with a 5.47 ERA in AA/AAA but he is still only 22 and has been fairly decent in the past. He did take a pic.  for me and was a good guy. He didn't hesitate, even though I pestered him while he was texting. Someone needs to get him a "Viva La Stache" shirt as well. He was a Big Fan of mine.
David Bromberg also made the team. I wasn't lucky enough to see him pitch this year but he went 6-9 with a 3.75 ERA for AA New Britain and AAA Rochester this season.


That's all I got. Congratulations to the guys. Check out Seth Stohs much better take on the AFL.

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