| 14 April 2010
The season is still young, but these players are doing their best to draw attention. Here are a few minor-leaguers in the Twins’ system that have already turned in some very impressive performances.
Chris Parmelee, 1B/RF/DH, New Britain Rock Cats (#8)
Without a defensive position, Parmelee is attempting to advance through the minor leagues the only way he knows how: By raking opposing pitches. In his first four games in Double-A, Parmelee has two home runs and a triple-slash line of .250/.294/.688.
Historically, Parmelee is a Mark Reynolds-type: Tons of home runs, and tons of strikeouts. Parmelee has improved his strikeout rate, and has increased his walk total after two years spent in Beloit. Last season was spent with the Fort Myers Miracle, where Parmelee hit .258/.359/.441 with 16 home runs and 1.68 strikeouts for every walk.
Ideally, Parmelee would be a designated hitter in the big leagues. His value is much lower without a defensive position, though, and he will work very hard this year on improving his play in the field. Parmelee has certainly displayed his mighty bat in the first few games this season, but it will be interesting to see his defense progress, as well.
Tom Stuifbergen, RH-SP, Beloit Snappers (#20)
Stuifbergen made his first appearance on April 8, and threw just one inning, giving up one hit and striking out three.
The 6’3’’ Dutch 21-year-old made his first start for the Beloit Snappers on Monday night, where he went a total of six innings, giving up four hits and striking out five. He has yet to walk a batter this season, and has a perfect ERA through seven innings.
He is a great ground-ball pitcher, and has a 2.25 ground-out/air-out ratio in the early-goings. Stuifbergen missed the 2008 season due to shoulder surgery, and his velocity has never been high, but his control is very good. His fastball is clocked in the low 90’s, but over the course of his career, Stuifbergen has an incredible 8.9/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is certainly one to keep your eyes on this season.
Bobby Lanigan, RH-SP, Ft. Myers Miracle (#35)
Lanigan started the season on an excellent note last Saturday by pitching six shutout innings while giving up just two hits and no walks. He struck out four, while posting a 1.8 ground-out/air-out ratio.
He has an excellent slider (Baseball America ranked it as the best in the Twins’ system a few years ago), and is also very good at limiting his walks. Over his short career, Lanigan has a 4.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while averaging 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Lanigan is in the middle of a Miracle rotation that consists of some very talented pitchers. From Kyle Gibson to Michael Tarsi to Brad Tippett, Lanigan has an uphill battle ahead of him if he wants to draw attention. So far, though, he’s off to a great start.
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