2008 Organizational Rankings: First Basemen
This is the second in a series of posts covering every player in the Twins organization who has played at least at the Rookie League level or higher, along with a few international players who have not yet reached that level. Here are the ground rules for these posts:
1.) Each player in the organization will be listed in only one of these posts. The determination of where to place a player was made based on the position at which the player received the most playing time during the 2007 season (with very rare exceptions), and I won't be moving players around during the season.
2.) These rankings are obviously being made prior to the start of the 2008 season, and I will not be updating them during the season. As a result, no matter how well a player performs in 2008, it will not affect his ranking.
3.) As with everything else that appears on this blog, these rankings represent my own subjective impressions. If you agree or disagree, feel free to respond with your own thoughts in the comments.
4.) Speaking of comments, I'm human and therefore make mistakes. If I've missed a player, added a player who is no longer with the team, incorrectly listed biographical information, or anything else, please let me know in the comments and I will address the mistake with a correction, if necessary.
5.) Players who leave the Twins organization (whether by release, trade, or any other circumstance) will remain in the rankings, but their listing will be in red font and the method by which they left the team will be noted. Players who join the Twins organization during the season will be added to the proper post, but will not be ranked; instead, they'll appear at the bottom of the list with the ranking of "NR," standing for "Not Ranked." This will be true whether the player is a 2008 draft pick or a former All-Star traded for at the deadline.
#1 - Justin Morneau
Is any elaboration needed for why $80 million man and former MVP winner who hits in the middle of the Twins batting order is the #1 ranked first baseman in the organization? Didn't think so.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 5/15/81
Drafted: 1999 (3rd Round)
Status: 40-Man Roster
Projected 2008 Team: Minnesota Twins
Current Team: Minnesota Twins
2008 Transactions: Signed 6-year, $80 million contract extension (1/25/08)
#2 - Randy Ruiz
The Twins picked up Ruiz as a minor league free agent, and I think this could turn into a surprisingly solid signing. Ruiz played with three different organizations and on four different teams last year (three AA teams and one AAA team), and with the exception of the 79 AB's he had at the AAA level (where he hit just .215), he was rock solid -- .291 in 151 AB's with the Giants AA squad; .290 in 162 AB's with the Pirates AA squad; and .378 in 82 AB's with the Phillies AA club. He has solid power, a .300 career minor league batting average, and has steadily worked his way up from the Rookie Leagues to AAA. On the downside, he's 30-years-old, and like most power hitters he strikes out a lot. Still, with his offensive strengths, Ruiz could find himself in the Major Leagues at some point this season as a bat off the bench.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 10/19/77
Drafted: Undrafted
Status: 40-Man Roster
Projected 2008 Team: Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: Minnesota Twins
2008 Transactions: Invited to Spring Training (1/11/08); Reassigned to Minor League Camp (3/21/08); Assigned to AAA Rochester (4/03/08); Contract Purchased (8/01/08)
#3 - Brock Peterson
Peterson is a power-hitting first sacker who started strong in the Twins organization back in 2003 with the E-Twins, hitting for both average and power. In 2004 he played with the Twins then-Low A squad in Quad Cities and in 2005 he headed to High A in Ft. Myers. In both years, he continued to demonstrate a little power, but his average fell off to .253 and .250 respectively. The last two years, however, have seen Peterson's power develop more fully while his batting average has also jumped. Last season, in New Britain, Peterson hit .285 with an 858 OPS in 389 AB's, and that performance (along with the movement of a number of highly ranked first basemen into the outfield) earns Peterson this high ranking.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/20/1983
Drafted: 2002 (49th Round)
Status: 6th Season Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: New Britain Rock Cats
2008 Transactions: Assigned to AA New Britain (4/03/08)
#4 - Rene Leveret
Leveret is a 22-year-old out of St. Maarten who burst onto the Rookie League scene last season in Elizabethton, hitting .307 with an 862 OPS in 244 AB's, including 8 homers and 65 RBI's. He also showed solid plate discipline, walking 34 times and striking out 36 times. He's most definitely one of the players to pay attention to in 2008, as we see if he can back up his 2007 numbers while likely playing at a higher level. One thing that should provide a bit of caution with Leveret's numbers is the fact that he's relatively old for an international signing at the rookie league level -- but his numbers from last season can't be ignored, so we'll see how he performs moving forward.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/19/85
Drafted: International Signing
Status: 2nd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08)
#5 - David Winfree
Winfree is one of two players to move from the third base list to the first base list this year after splitting his time between the two positions with New Britain in 2007. Winfree probably would have been ranked higher had it not been for a slight drop in his offensive production -- he hit .267 with a 734 OPS in 460 AB's -- a drop from an 818 OPS with Ft. Myers in 2006. Winfree will get the chance to bring his average (and power) up again this year, and it will be interesting to see whether he gets the majority of his playing time at 1B or 3B this season.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 8/5/85
Drafted: 2003 (13th Round)
Status: 6th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: New Britain Rock Cats
2008 Transactions: Assigned to AA New Britain (4/03/08)
#6 - Whitney Robbins
Robbins is the second player to move from the third base list to the first base list this season, after playing the vast majority of his games there last season with Ft. Myers. Unfortunately, Robbins' offensive production fell off dramatically last season, as he hit just .210 with a 582 OPS in 205 AB's with the Miracle. That more than likely means a return trip to Ft. Myers in 2008, with his status as a solid prospect hanging in the balance. His goal will be to recover the form that saw him hit .304 with a 903 OPS in 112 AB's in Beloit during his first professional season in 2006.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 9/25/84
Drafted: 2006 (4th Round)
Status: 3rd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); Placed on 7-Day DL (c. 6/28/08); Activated from DL (7/12/08)
#7 - Henry Sanchez
Sanchez was once a major prospect thanks to his status as a first round draft pick back in 2005. Unfortunately, his professional career to this point has been filled with injuries and poor performances. Last season was no exception, as Sanchez picked up just 31 AB's with Elizabethton and hit .258 with an 884 OPS (thanks to 11 walks). This will probably be Sanchez's last chance to stay healthy and actually perform, but whether the Twins stick him in Elizabethton or try to give him a full season by putting him back at Beloit, where he struggled in 2006 (.202/617/168 AB's) remains to be seen.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/29/1986
Drafted: 2005 (1st Round)
Status: 4th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers/Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08); Reassigned/Rehab (6/17/08); Assigned to GCL Twins (7/23/08); 7-Day DL (c. 8/10/08); Activated from DL (c. 8/17/08); Placed on Suspended List (c. 8/17/08); Reinstated from Suspended List (c. 10/01/08)
#8 - Johnny Woodard
Last season held both good news and bad news for Woodard. After an extremely poor 2006 season in which Woodard hit just .181 in 72 AB's with Ft. Myers, he got significantly more playing time in 2007. He proved that he's capable of playing at the Low A level by hitting .276 with an 876 OPS in 203 AB's with Beloit, but Ft. Myers was a little too much for him as he hit just .201 with a 690 OPS in 164 AB's. As with Sanchez, this is probably the end of the line for Woodard as a Twin if he doesn't put things together and make significant progress this season.
Bats/Throws: L/L
Birthdate: 9/15/84
Drafted: 2003 (3rd Round)
Status: 6th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); 7-Day DL (5/19/08); Activated from DL (7/26/08)
#9 - Jonathan Waltenbury
Waltenbury is a Canadian who was drafted by the Twins back in 2006 and got his first playing time this season. In 123 AB's with the GCL Twins, Waltenbury hit .244 with a 713 OPS. Those are neither great nor terrible numbers for a player in his first professional year of baseball, so the true test of Waltenbury's potential will be this year as he looks to improve on that previous performance.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 4/1/88
Drafted: 2006 (7th Round)
Status: 2nd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08)
#10 - Daniel Berg
Welcome to the bottom of the barrel. Berg hit .214 in 323 AB's with Beloit last season, and has a career minor league batting average of .216. Perhaps he'll take a step forward this season, but amongst the players at this position who have played in the organization, Berg has shown the least and so finds himself at the bottom.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/21/84
Drafted: 2004 (30th Round)
Status: 4th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); 7-Day DL (c. 4/10/08); Activated from DL (c. 5/01/08)
#11 - Tim Atherton (RELEASED c. 6/28/08)
Atherton is an Australian player who was signed while still in high school, but he should now be finished. As a result, there's a good possibility that he'll make his debut with the GCL Twins at some point this season, although it's also possible that the Twins could decide to send him to an international academy or some other location for some additional seasoning before bringing him in.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/7/89
Drafted: International Signing
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: GCL Twins
Current Team: GCL Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to Low R GCL (6/19/08); Released (c. 6/28/08)
NR - Michael Gonzales
Gonzales was taken by the Twins in the 9th round of the 2008 draft out of Diablo Valley College in California. Gonzales hit .377 with 18 homers in 151 AB's for DVC this year (pretty impressive HR/AB ratio), so he is an interesting addition to the organization.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 6/16/1988
Drafted: 2008 (9th Round)
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: GCL Twins
Current Team: GCL Twins
2008 Transactions: Drafted (6/06/08); Signed (c. 6/15/08); Assigned to Low R GCL (6/19/08)
NR - Dominic de la Osa
De la Osa was taken by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2008 draft out of Vanderbilt University, and was listed as a second baseman. I'm listing him here, however, because he's listed as a first baseman on the Elizabethton roster. De la Osa hit .297 with 10 homers in 249 AB's for the Commodores this year, and also picked up 27 steals.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 1/13/1986
Drafted: 2008 (11th Round)
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Drafted (6/06/08); Signed (c. 6/18/08); Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/19/08)
1.) Each player in the organization will be listed in only one of these posts. The determination of where to place a player was made based on the position at which the player received the most playing time during the 2007 season (with very rare exceptions), and I won't be moving players around during the season.
2.) These rankings are obviously being made prior to the start of the 2008 season, and I will not be updating them during the season. As a result, no matter how well a player performs in 2008, it will not affect his ranking.
3.) As with everything else that appears on this blog, these rankings represent my own subjective impressions. If you agree or disagree, feel free to respond with your own thoughts in the comments.
4.) Speaking of comments, I'm human and therefore make mistakes. If I've missed a player, added a player who is no longer with the team, incorrectly listed biographical information, or anything else, please let me know in the comments and I will address the mistake with a correction, if necessary.
5.) Players who leave the Twins organization (whether by release, trade, or any other circumstance) will remain in the rankings, but their listing will be in red font and the method by which they left the team will be noted. Players who join the Twins organization during the season will be added to the proper post, but will not be ranked; instead, they'll appear at the bottom of the list with the ranking of "NR," standing for "Not Ranked." This will be true whether the player is a 2008 draft pick or a former All-Star traded for at the deadline.
#1 - Justin Morneau
Is any elaboration needed for why $80 million man and former MVP winner who hits in the middle of the Twins batting order is the #1 ranked first baseman in the organization? Didn't think so.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 5/15/81
Drafted: 1999 (3rd Round)
Status: 40-Man Roster
Projected 2008 Team: Minnesota Twins
Current Team: Minnesota Twins
2008 Transactions: Signed 6-year, $80 million contract extension (1/25/08)
#2 - Randy Ruiz
The Twins picked up Ruiz as a minor league free agent, and I think this could turn into a surprisingly solid signing. Ruiz played with three different organizations and on four different teams last year (three AA teams and one AAA team), and with the exception of the 79 AB's he had at the AAA level (where he hit just .215), he was rock solid -- .291 in 151 AB's with the Giants AA squad; .290 in 162 AB's with the Pirates AA squad; and .378 in 82 AB's with the Phillies AA club. He has solid power, a .300 career minor league batting average, and has steadily worked his way up from the Rookie Leagues to AAA. On the downside, he's 30-years-old, and like most power hitters he strikes out a lot. Still, with his offensive strengths, Ruiz could find himself in the Major Leagues at some point this season as a bat off the bench.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 10/19/77
Drafted: Undrafted
Status: 40-Man Roster
Projected 2008 Team: Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: Minnesota Twins
2008 Transactions: Invited to Spring Training (1/11/08); Reassigned to Minor League Camp (3/21/08); Assigned to AAA Rochester (4/03/08); Contract Purchased (8/01/08)
#3 - Brock Peterson
Peterson is a power-hitting first sacker who started strong in the Twins organization back in 2003 with the E-Twins, hitting for both average and power. In 2004 he played with the Twins then-Low A squad in Quad Cities and in 2005 he headed to High A in Ft. Myers. In both years, he continued to demonstrate a little power, but his average fell off to .253 and .250 respectively. The last two years, however, have seen Peterson's power develop more fully while his batting average has also jumped. Last season, in New Britain, Peterson hit .285 with an 858 OPS in 389 AB's, and that performance (along with the movement of a number of highly ranked first basemen into the outfield) earns Peterson this high ranking.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/20/1983
Drafted: 2002 (49th Round)
Status: 6th Season Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: New Britain Rock Cats
2008 Transactions: Assigned to AA New Britain (4/03/08)
#4 - Rene Leveret
Leveret is a 22-year-old out of St. Maarten who burst onto the Rookie League scene last season in Elizabethton, hitting .307 with an 862 OPS in 244 AB's, including 8 homers and 65 RBI's. He also showed solid plate discipline, walking 34 times and striking out 36 times. He's most definitely one of the players to pay attention to in 2008, as we see if he can back up his 2007 numbers while likely playing at a higher level. One thing that should provide a bit of caution with Leveret's numbers is the fact that he's relatively old for an international signing at the rookie league level -- but his numbers from last season can't be ignored, so we'll see how he performs moving forward.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/19/85
Drafted: International Signing
Status: 2nd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08)
#5 - David Winfree
Winfree is one of two players to move from the third base list to the first base list this year after splitting his time between the two positions with New Britain in 2007. Winfree probably would have been ranked higher had it not been for a slight drop in his offensive production -- he hit .267 with a 734 OPS in 460 AB's -- a drop from an 818 OPS with Ft. Myers in 2006. Winfree will get the chance to bring his average (and power) up again this year, and it will be interesting to see whether he gets the majority of his playing time at 1B or 3B this season.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 8/5/85
Drafted: 2003 (13th Round)
Status: 6th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings
Current Team: New Britain Rock Cats
2008 Transactions: Assigned to AA New Britain (4/03/08)
#6 - Whitney Robbins
Robbins is the second player to move from the third base list to the first base list this season, after playing the vast majority of his games there last season with Ft. Myers. Unfortunately, Robbins' offensive production fell off dramatically last season, as he hit just .210 with a 582 OPS in 205 AB's with the Miracle. That more than likely means a return trip to Ft. Myers in 2008, with his status as a solid prospect hanging in the balance. His goal will be to recover the form that saw him hit .304 with a 903 OPS in 112 AB's in Beloit during his first professional season in 2006.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 9/25/84
Drafted: 2006 (4th Round)
Status: 3rd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); Placed on 7-Day DL (c. 6/28/08); Activated from DL (7/12/08)
#7 - Henry Sanchez
Sanchez was once a major prospect thanks to his status as a first round draft pick back in 2005. Unfortunately, his professional career to this point has been filled with injuries and poor performances. Last season was no exception, as Sanchez picked up just 31 AB's with Elizabethton and hit .258 with an 884 OPS (thanks to 11 walks). This will probably be Sanchez's last chance to stay healthy and actually perform, but whether the Twins stick him in Elizabethton or try to give him a full season by putting him back at Beloit, where he struggled in 2006 (.202/617/168 AB's) remains to be seen.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/29/1986
Drafted: 2005 (1st Round)
Status: 4th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers/Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08); Reassigned/Rehab (6/17/08); Assigned to GCL Twins (7/23/08); 7-Day DL (c. 8/10/08); Activated from DL (c. 8/17/08); Placed on Suspended List (c. 8/17/08); Reinstated from Suspended List (c. 10/01/08)
#8 - Johnny Woodard
Last season held both good news and bad news for Woodard. After an extremely poor 2006 season in which Woodard hit just .181 in 72 AB's with Ft. Myers, he got significantly more playing time in 2007. He proved that he's capable of playing at the Low A level by hitting .276 with an 876 OPS in 203 AB's with Beloit, but Ft. Myers was a little too much for him as he hit just .201 with a 690 OPS in 164 AB's. As with Sanchez, this is probably the end of the line for Woodard as a Twin if he doesn't put things together and make significant progress this season.
Bats/Throws: L/L
Birthdate: 9/15/84
Drafted: 2003 (3rd Round)
Status: 6th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); 7-Day DL (5/19/08); Activated from DL (7/26/08)
#9 - Jonathan Waltenbury
Waltenbury is a Canadian who was drafted by the Twins back in 2006 and got his first playing time this season. In 123 AB's with the GCL Twins, Waltenbury hit .244 with a 713 OPS. Those are neither great nor terrible numbers for a player in his first professional year of baseball, so the true test of Waltenbury's potential will be this year as he looks to improve on that previous performance.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 4/1/88
Drafted: 2006 (7th Round)
Status: 2nd Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/17/08)
#10 - Daniel Berg
Welcome to the bottom of the barrel. Berg hit .214 in 323 AB's with Beloit last season, and has a career minor league batting average of .216. Perhaps he'll take a step forward this season, but amongst the players at this position who have played in the organization, Berg has shown the least and so finds himself at the bottom.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/21/84
Drafted: 2004 (30th Round)
Status: 4th Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Beloit Snappers
Current Team: Ft. Myers Miracle
2008 Transactions: Assigned to High A Ft. Myers (4/03/08); 7-Day DL (c. 4/10/08); Activated from DL (c. 5/01/08)
#11 - Tim Atherton (RELEASED c. 6/28/08)
Atherton is an Australian player who was signed while still in high school, but he should now be finished. As a result, there's a good possibility that he'll make his debut with the GCL Twins at some point this season, although it's also possible that the Twins could decide to send him to an international academy or some other location for some additional seasoning before bringing him in.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 11/7/89
Drafted: International Signing
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: GCL Twins
Current Team: GCL Twins
2008 Transactions: Assigned to Low R GCL (6/19/08); Released (c. 6/28/08)
NR - Michael Gonzales
Gonzales was taken by the Twins in the 9th round of the 2008 draft out of Diablo Valley College in California. Gonzales hit .377 with 18 homers in 151 AB's for DVC this year (pretty impressive HR/AB ratio), so he is an interesting addition to the organization.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Birthdate: 6/16/1988
Drafted: 2008 (9th Round)
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: GCL Twins
Current Team: GCL Twins
2008 Transactions: Drafted (6/06/08); Signed (c. 6/15/08); Assigned to Low R GCL (6/19/08)
NR - Dominic de la Osa
De la Osa was taken by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2008 draft out of Vanderbilt University, and was listed as a second baseman. I'm listing him here, however, because he's listed as a first baseman on the Elizabethton roster. De la Osa hit .297 with 10 homers in 249 AB's for the Commodores this year, and also picked up 27 steals.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Birthdate: 1/13/1986
Drafted: 2008 (11th Round)
Status: 1st Year Minor League Player
Projected 2008 Team: Elizabethton Twins
Current Team: Elizabethton Twins
2008 Transactions: Drafted (6/06/08); Signed (c. 6/18/08); Assigned to High R Elizabethton (6/19/08)
Labels: 2008 Organizational Rankings
posted by JST @ Wednesday, January 30, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home