Wednesday,
February 3, 2010
Twins Sign 2B!
Just a
short posting today. Maybe the
title got you excited, thinking maybe that the Twins had ponied
up and signed Orlando Hudson or Felipe Lopez, or even Adam Kennedy, but no. According to Baseball America,
the Twins have signed minor league second baseman Matt Gaski.
You may be thinking, “Oh boy!
Matt Gaski.
Who is he?”
So was I, so I looked him up.
Gaski spent two years at the University of Florida
where he got just 14 plate appearances as a freshman, and hit just .227 as a sophomore.
He transferred to UNC-Greensboro for his junior season and finally got a chance
to play consistently. He hit .291/.403/.363 with 12 doubles, one home run and
one triple. He struck out 28 times and walked 42 times. He went back for his senior
season and hit .327/.422/.440 with 11 doubles, a triple and five home runs. He
walked 38 times with just 33 strikeouts. He was the Padres’ 34th
round pick in 2008 and hit .216/.364/.261 with a double and a homer in rookie
league (playing 3B). The Padres must have let him go as he spent time in 2009
in the Mets organization. He hit .291/.371/.316 with a triple in 79 at bats for
Low-A Brooklyn. He moved up to Savannah for the final ten games and hit
.389/.421/.444 in 36 at bats. Obviously the Mets let him go, and now he is
property of the Minnesota Twins.
Based on his college and
minimal professional at bats, a few things are noteworthy. First, in those two
years at Florida, he got very few at bats per game played, which tells me that
his defense must be terrific, maybe a late inning replacement. Second, he has
great bat control as he walks more than he strikes out, and doesn’t strike out
very much. Third, he has pretty much no pop in his bat at all.
At first, I asked myself “Who?”
After looking at his career, my question now is “Why?”
If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments
section.