Gordon and Arraez

The Twins sent four more prospects who aren't contenders for the opening roster to the minor league side Tuesday. Two of them were infielders Nick Gordon and Luis Arraez.

Gordon is the name, the first-round pick who is the son of one All-Star player and the brother of another. Arraez is the one I think has a chance to be a useful major league player.

Rocco Baldelli, speaking about Gordon after a game this weekend in which Gordon hit a ball over the center fielder's head for a triple, said Gordon, despite his skinny frame, is "plenty strong enough/" But the rookie manager mentioned endurance as a question mark without going into details. Gordon has fallen off sharply in the second half pretty much every season as a pro -- and, of course, in the majors there's another month of play to get through.

Gordon's tools are routinely described by Baseball America as average across the board. That's not to be disparaged, but it is difficult to identify something you'd put him in the lineup to do. (Despite his slender frame and the relationship to speedster Dee Gordon, Nick is not a particularly fast runner.)

Arraez is a player with more obvious flaws. There is debate about whether Gordon can play short in the majors; nobody even asks that question about Arraez. While he gets a few games a year at third and short, he's a second baseman, and not a sensation there either. He's not fast, and he's never hit more than three homers in a minor league season.

But he can hit line drives. His minor league batting average, mostly compiled in the lower levels, is .329. He seldom strikes out. The bat is real.

It's an uphill fight, really, for both of them. The Twins signed Jorge Polanco to a multi-year deal, and my expectation is that he'll move to second when uber-prospect Royce Lewis is deemed ready for the shortstop job in Minnesota. Wander Javier, another shortstop prospect who lost last season to injury, has reportedly been wowing observers on the minor league side.

Gordon and Arraez are sandwiched between these guys, and it will probably require trade or injury for either to get a shot in a major league lineup, not that either is ready for that opportunity quite yet.