I've been quiet here for few days, which is unusual. But I haven't felt that I have anything useful to say here. and as long as that persists, I expect to post less frequently than has been my norm.
---
One of my colleagues asked me about the report that the Twins had interviewed Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens for the managerial job. My response: "I don't really understand what the Twins are looking for, so I don't know if he's got what they're looking for."
Besides a great nickname, Meulens' resume includes being the hitting and bench coach for the San Francisco Giants, including during their three World Series titles earlier in the decade. He wasn't a particularly successful player, not that that's a managerial imperative.
He's about a decade younger than the departed Paul Molitor, but not really young as managerial candidates go. And the Giants might be the least-analytically inclined organization in the majors right now, so he's not bringing a background steeped in sabermetrics to the table.
Conclusion: I don't think he's particularly likely to land the Minnesota job.
---
The current issue of Baseball America features the Top 10 prospects in the short-season leagues. For the Twins, that means the Fort Myers team in the Gulf Coast League -- the lowest in-the-states rung on the ladder -- and Elizabethton in the Appalachian League.
Nobody was listed from the Twins in the GCL piece. Trevor Larnach, the Twins' first-round pick in the June draft, came in at No. 5 in the Appy League; he didn't spend much time in E-Town before moving up to Cedar Rapids. Two other Twins showed up in the second 10 listing: Luis Rijo, a right-handed pitcher they got from the Yankees for Lance Lynn, and Ryan Jeffers, their second-round pick in June who also was rapidly promoted to CR.
But the Twins also have the No. 1 player in the New York-Penn League, without having an affilate in that circuit. Gilberto Celestino was that league's top prospect while playing for the Astros' affiliate, and then he was traded to the Twins for Ryan Pressly.
The NY Penn league is probably a half-step above the Appy League and a half-step below the Midwest League, and the Twins had Celestino finish the year at E-Town. They had enough outfielders to find playing time for at Cedar Rapids, and he's only 19.
Showing posts with label Gilberto Celestino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gilberto Celestino. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
The trades and the prospects
OK, let's talk the Escobar and Pressly trades.
Three outfielders, two pitchers. Unstated in Berardino's tweet: Alcala has reached Double A. Celestino was in the short-season A level NY-Penn League, a level for which the Twins have no direct equivalent; he may well be assigned to Elizabethton in the Appy League, a half-step down.
A couple broad points: None of the five must go on the 40-man roster this winter. This is a contrast to the Jamie Garcia dump trade of last summer, in which the Twins landed two Rule 5-eligible players (one of whom has since been outrighted). None of the five are particularly close to the majors.
The consensus is that four of the five go directly into the team's top-30 prospects list but none go into the top 10.
MLBpipeline.com puts Alcala as Minnesota's No. 11 prospect. His deal is velocity; he's hit 101 at times as a starting pitcher, but his secondary offerings are inconsistent. Baseball America's report on Alcala suggests that he's most likely destined for a bullpen role. He just turned 23.
Celestino is 19 and was putting up good numbers in the NY Penn League. MLBpipeline makes him the Twins No. 14 prospect. He's a centerfielder now, but the BA scouting report suggests that he may not stick there. (MLBpipeline ranks four or five outfielders ahead of him, depending on whether you regard Brant Rooker as an outfielder or a first baseman.) Good arm, good bat speed, appears to have good pitch recognition.
Marcel, also 19 and a centerfielder but a level ahead of Celestino, is a switch-hitter out of Brazil. Celestinto appears to have a broader set of quality tools; Marcel is a burner without much power. MLBpipeline makes him No. 17 on the Twins list.
Duran, 20, is a raw RHP. He projects as a mid-rotation starter, assuming he puts everything together. Mid-90s velocity with the makings of usable breaking ball and change, but he's inconsistent with command and quality of everything. MLBpipeline puts him at No. 22.
The Twins assigned De La Trinidad, who had been in the Midwest League, to Fort Myers in the higher Florida State League. He's a 22-year-old left-handed outfielder who is the one drafted player in this haul (19th round out of UNLV). Good numbers in the Midwest League, but a bit old for the level.
I haven't (yet) made my annual jaunt to Cedar Rapids, but it appears that at least three of the five will be with the Kernels the remainder of the summer, depending on what they do with Celestino.
Sources: The Twins are getting RHP Jhoan Duran, OF Ernie De La Trinidad and OF Gabriel Maciel from the Diamondbacks for Eduardo Escobar. All three are at Class A Kane County.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2018
#mntwins acquired 2 of HOU’s top 15 prospects for Pressly: RHP Jorge Alcala and OF Gilberto Celestino.— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) July 28, 2018
Three outfielders, two pitchers. Unstated in Berardino's tweet: Alcala has reached Double A. Celestino was in the short-season A level NY-Penn League, a level for which the Twins have no direct equivalent; he may well be assigned to Elizabethton in the Appy League, a half-step down.
A couple broad points: None of the five must go on the 40-man roster this winter. This is a contrast to the Jamie Garcia dump trade of last summer, in which the Twins landed two Rule 5-eligible players (one of whom has since been outrighted). None of the five are particularly close to the majors.
The consensus is that four of the five go directly into the team's top-30 prospects list but none go into the top 10.
MLBpipeline.com puts Alcala as Minnesota's No. 11 prospect. His deal is velocity; he's hit 101 at times as a starting pitcher, but his secondary offerings are inconsistent. Baseball America's report on Alcala suggests that he's most likely destined for a bullpen role. He just turned 23.
Celestino is 19 and was putting up good numbers in the NY Penn League. MLBpipeline makes him the Twins No. 14 prospect. He's a centerfielder now, but the BA scouting report suggests that he may not stick there. (MLBpipeline ranks four or five outfielders ahead of him, depending on whether you regard Brant Rooker as an outfielder or a first baseman.) Good arm, good bat speed, appears to have good pitch recognition.
Marcel, also 19 and a centerfielder but a level ahead of Celestino, is a switch-hitter out of Brazil. Celestinto appears to have a broader set of quality tools; Marcel is a burner without much power. MLBpipeline makes him No. 17 on the Twins list.
Duran, 20, is a raw RHP. He projects as a mid-rotation starter, assuming he puts everything together. Mid-90s velocity with the makings of usable breaking ball and change, but he's inconsistent with command and quality of everything. MLBpipeline puts him at No. 22.
The Twins assigned De La Trinidad, who had been in the Midwest League, to Fort Myers in the higher Florida State League. He's a 22-year-old left-handed outfielder who is the one drafted player in this haul (19th round out of UNLV). Good numbers in the Midwest League, but a bit old for the level.
I haven't (yet) made my annual jaunt to Cedar Rapids, but it appears that at least three of the five will be with the Kernels the remainder of the summer, depending on what they do with Celestino.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)