March 21, 2010
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Friday, February 05, 2010Stanton packs the powerFew prospects posses the enormous raw power that Mike Stanton has. The Florida Marlins outfielder has hit a grand total of 67 home runs in his first two full minor league seasons before the age of 20. He was recently rated the number three prospect in all of baseball by MLB Network. The 6'5 righty was an incredible athlete in high school and had committed to play both football and baseball at USC before signing with the Marlins as a second round pick in 2007. In just over 1000 career minor league at bats Stanton has compiled a .267/.354/.593 average. Although he has shown a propensity to strikeout (31.7 percent), which is obviously a concern, he has posted a decent walk rate (10.5 percent) and the ability to work the count. The Marlins challenged Stanton during the 2009 season with a mid-season promotion to Double-A and he appeared to be slightly overmatched, which is not out of the ordinary for a 19-year old. He posted a remarkable .433 wOBA in 210 plate appearances in Advanced-A but this number dipped to .344 in 341 PA in Double-A. Despite his relative struggles after the promotion he still flashed his power by posting a .224 ISO Stanton has power to all fields and several reports have him as an 80 power on the scouting scale. You can get a sense of how far he can hit the ball from these spray charts (2008 and 2009) courtesy of minor league splits. His defense has also been improving. Although he is not a base stealer he does have pretty good speed and range in the outfield and his arm plays well in right field. Total Zone had him pegged as a +9 right fielder in '09. His frame is still thin and he could potentially add more muscle and power as he matures physically. The amazing thing about Stanton is that he is still so raw. He will become a more fluid and advanced hitter as he grows into his body. With more at bats in the minors he will be able to refine his swing and cut down his strikeouts. Florida always seems to develop young prospects nicely and I expect they will take caution in monitoring Stanton's progress. He will likely start out 2010 in Double-A again and he may reach the majors by late 2011. He projects as a solid right fielder and middle of the order run producer for the Marlins. The Twins will spend over $100 million on players in 2010The Minnesota Twins, on death's doorstop just a few years ago, will spend more on player salaries this upcoming season than the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball's attendance leader in 2009. After signing Orlando Hudson, the Twins' payroll projects to be $96 million on opening day, and that number doesn't account for whatever amount will be added to Joe Mauer's 2010 take, currently slated for $12.5 million. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Mauer's annual salary will increase by $10 million or more, which would mean a payroll of over $106 million in 2010. In 2000, the Twins' payroll was $15,700,000. A decade later, it will have increased by over $90 million. To put that number in perspective, the Yankees' payroll has increased by about $103 million over that span. It's a strange day, indeed, in which the Twins are in the Yankees' company when it comes to payroll increases. So what does the Orlando Hudson signing mean? In 2010, the Hudson signing cements the Twins as favorites to repeat as AL Central champions. Adding a 2.0-2.5 win player is never a bad thing, but it's even nicer when that player bumps an incumbent who goes a long way toward putting the R in WAR. Given that the Twins have either won or lost the division by a single game three of the last four years, it's not hard to see that a win here and there can make all the difference. This offseason's been delightful for the Twins, who retained Carl Pavano and added J.J. Hardy* and Jim Thome along with Hudson. The only real fly in the ointment is Delmon Young. While I think there's a strong case to be made for not giving up on the guy, Jason Kubel and Jim Thome really need to be playing every day against righties unless Young can turn the corner. How long the team will sacrifice Kubel/Thome plate appearances to give Young a chance will be interesting to watch. I think there's a decent chance the Hardy/Carlos Gomez swap ends up being the stealth steal of the offseason. Seriously, Milwaukee? The ghost of Tom Goodwin is the best you could do? On the broader, organizational level, the move shows we're not dealing with the same old Twins. A few weeks ago, I wrote that the Twins might be well on their way to becoming the American League's St. Louis Cardinals. Look where we are today: sparkling stadium? Check. Best player in the league? Check. Organizational stability? Check. The willingness and wherewithal to capitalize on an undervalued player? Check. The AL Central is the Twins' for the taking in 2010, and that doesn't look to change any time soon. For a state devastated by sports catasters and disastrophies (yes, that's where we're at), the Twins are a crucial beacon of hope. With a solid major league core, some interesting hitting prospects, and the system's never-ending supply of strike-throwers, the Twins are in a good spot. And you know what? One of these years, they'll knock off the Yankees. As we all know, getting to the tournament is more important than being the best team in it. And the Twins might just be in as good a position as any team in baseball to make the tournament with regularity over the next several years. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||