Wednesday,
September 7, 2011
Hendriks,
Parmelee, Benson Debut
On Tuesday
night, the Twins lost to the White Sox 3-0. For me, it was as excited as I have
been to watch a Twins game in a long time! It was great to watch the debuts of Liam Hendriks,
Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee. It came one day after
reliever Kyle Waldrop made his
debut.
Waldrop gave up
two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Hendriks
was impressive in his start on Tuesday night. He gave up three runs on four
hits and three walks in seven innings. He showed a good fastball, good control,
good changeup, and a very good slow curveball. Joe Benson walked in his first
plate appearance before going 0-3 in his other at bats. Chris Parmelee had two hits off of Jake Peavy
in the game.
Last spring, I
released my third Minnesota
Twins Prospect Handbook. It think it’s fair to say that due to all of
the players who have made their way to the Twins this season, the prospect
handbook is a must-have for Twins fans. You can order
a book here. As a little incentive, here is what I wrote about those
four players who have made their debuts with the Twins in the last couple of
games. These are their player profiles (plus Brian Dinkelman’s), but since Benson was
the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year last year, I also have an interview
with him in the book. Also, Josh Johnson wrote a great article on Chris Parmelee called “In the Right Direction.” Josh wrote the
profiles for Parmelee and Waldrop that you will see
below.
Feel
free to ask questions or comment in the chat room.
And, while you’re
reading this, be sure to check out last
night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. I was joined by
New Britain Rock Cats outfielder and Minnesota native Mark Dolenc. We talked about his career,
the Rock Cats season, minor league life, and some of the prospects that we are
starting to see with the Twins.
·
And if you have time later, be sure to check out the 4th
episode of Gleeman and the Geek.
Joe
Benson – OF– (3/5/88)
Acquired: 2nd round draft pick in 2006 from
HS in Illinois
2010 Team(s): Ft. Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats
2010 Stats: .259/.343/.538, 31-2B, 8-3B, 27 HR, 62 RBI,
19 SB
There
has never been any question about the tools of Joe Benson. In 2010, Benson
broke out with a season in which the skills started to catch up to the tools.
It didn’t start out well for him though. He started the season in Double-A New
Britain and hit just .169 in April. Despite hitting .283/.411/.609 in 56 May
plate appearances, he was striking out 32% of the time, and on May 17, he was
demoted to Ft. Myers. He spent a month with the Miracle, working with Jim
Dwyer. In 21 games, he hit .294/.375/.588 with 11 double and four home runs and
was promoted to New Britain on June 15. In 70 June plate appearances, he hit
.292/.343/.646 with five home runs. He followed that up with seven home runs in
July and six more in his final 100 plate appearances. His strikeout rate
dropped from 30% in July to 24% in August to 18% in September. In total, he led
the organization with 27 home runs and drove in 81 runs. Along with the power,
Benson improved his speed in 2010. He stole 19 bases, but base stealing remains
an area for improvement as he was thrown out nine times too. Offensively, his
contract rate will be the area where he will need to find some improvement. He
has power. He has speed. He has an ability to draw walks. Defensively, he has
the speed to play in centerfield. He has plenty of arm strength to play right
field. Just as important, he is a natural in the outfield and gets great reads.
Following
the season, Benson was invited to play for the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona
Fall League. He was also named the recipient of the Sherry Robertson Award as
the Twins top minor league hitter. Finally, in November, the Twins added him to
the 40 man roster. Benson is a very hard worker and one of the more competitive
ball players that you will find.
Brian
Dinkelman – OF – (11/10/83)
Acquired: 8th round pick in 2006 from McKendree College
2010 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings
2010 Stats: .265/.336/.379, 32-2B, 2-3B, 8 HR, 54 RBI
Dinkelman is one of the best hitters to ever play in
the NAIA level of collegiate baseball. Drafted as a second baseman, he moved to
the outfield for the second half of the 2009 season, when Steve Singleton moved
up to New Britain. Dinkelman spent the entire 2010
season in Rochester, his first year with the Red Wings. He played 64 games in
left field, 46 games in right field, and 25 games at second base. Defensively,
he makes the plays that he gets to, but he has very little range. With the bat,
Dinkelman takes good, quality at bats. He has a good
eye and generally makes contact, although his 99 strikeouts in 2010 were a
career high by a long ways. Although he is not as athletic as many players, he
is respected for his style of play. He is the definition of a “gamer”, diving
all over the outfield, and playing with maximum effort. Expect to see Dinkelman back in Rochester in 2011, and to put up much
better numbers if he is given regular playing time. If he can play well, he
could get a cup of coffee with the Twins.
Liam
Hendriks – RHP – (2/10/89)
Acquired: Signed as F/A in Feb. 2007 from Australia
2010 Team(s): Beloit Snappers, Ft. Myers
2010 Stats: 8-4, 1.74 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 108.2 IP, 12 BB,
105 K
Hendriks was well on his way to being the Twins
minor league pitcher of the year until an emergency appendectomy abruptly cost
him six weeks out of his season. He had just been named as a participant in the
Futures Game in Anaheim, representing the Twins and Australia for the World
team. He has been representing Australia in international competition for
several years including in the World Baseball Classic and the World Cup.
Hendriks began the 2010 season where he ended the
2009 season, in Beloit with the Snappers. After making 11 starts in 2009, he
needed just six more starts in 2010 to earn his promotion to Ft. Myers. In
those six starts, he got little run support and went 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA and a
0.58 WHIP. In 34 innings, he gave up just 16 hits, walked four and struck out
39. When he got to Ft. Myers, he barely missed a step. In 13 starts, he went
6-3 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. In 74.2 innings, he gave up 63 hits, walked
eight and struck out 66. When he came back from the appendectomy, he had a 2.2
innings outing, then he ended the season by throwing
four shutout innings against St. Lucie and five shutout innings against Palm
Beach. In those two outings, he gave up just three hits, walked one and struck
out 12.
Hendriks clearly is a control pitcher, but he does
so without being hittable, and he does a tremendous job of keeping the ball in
the ballpark (2 home runs in 108.2 innings). There are few pitchers that are
smarter than Hendriks on the mound. He just knows how
to pitch. He has pinpoint control and does a great job of keeping the ball down
in the strike zone. He has control of four quality pitches and throws each of
them at different speeds. He has a four-seam fastball the can touch 93 mph. He
also has a two-seam fastball that has very good movement. He has started using
his changeup more. At times, he throws too many strikes. He is a great athlete
and fields his position well. He is also incredibly competitive. If he is able
to stay healthy, he has a chance to be a very good Major League pitcher.
Chris
Parmelee – OF/1B – (2/24/88)
Acquired: 1st round pick in 2006 from HS in
California
2010 Team(s): Ft. Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats
2010 Stats: .285/.356/.401, 27-2B, 3-3B, 8 HR, 56 RBI
Classified
as an all or nothing hitter, Parmelee has put up big
power numbers throughout his five years in the organization. Coming into 2010, Parmelee hit 53 home runs in 376 Minor League games.
Unfortunately, big power numbers meant a lot of strikeouts. In that same
period, Parmelee amassed 385 strikeouts. Because of
these numbers, Parmelee began drawing comparisons to
White Sox slugger Adam Dunn.
Following
back-to-back seasons in Beloit, Parmelee made the
jump to Ft. Myers in 2009. He hit .258/.359/.441 with 44 extra-base hits
(including 16 home runs) in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State
League. Parmelee also had a career high 65 walks in
the 422 at-bats he had that season. Parmelee arrived
in New Britain in 2010 and hit just .186/.241/.333 in his first 102 at-bats.
His poor numbers resulted in him getting demoted back to Ft. Myers. What could
have been a bad situation for a very talented player may have turned out to be
a blessing in disguise. He played in just 22 games with the Miracle, but his
.338/.440/.463 hitting line was good enough for him to be promoted back to New
Britain. From that point forward, Parmelee went on a
tear. From June 10 to the end of the season, the left-hander hit .304/.373/.408
with 24 extra-base hits and a 37/41 BB/K ratio. Parmelee
carried his momentum into the off-season and hit .339/.405/.477 in 29 in the
Arizona Fall League. The Twins needed to make a decision on whether or not to
add him to the 40-man roster, but his improvements and production made it an
easy on.
Although
he’s been known for his power, Parmelee’s on-base
skills are also very impressive. He has a .352 on-base percentage throughout
his career, thanks in part to his 247 career walks. After hitting so many home
runs in his first four seasons, his eight 2010 home runs made people alarmed
that he was experiencing a “power outage.” But expect his power numbers to
climb back up in 2011. Since being drafted, the 6-foot-1, 220 pound Parmelee has split time between first base and the corner
outfield positions. Although he is not a great defender, Parmelee
has remained steady at each position he plays. His arm is both strong and
accurate, which is why he does spend a good amount of time in the outfield. He
continues to work hard on his defense and hopes to improve in that area in
2011. (JJ)
For
more on Parmelee, see the “In the Right Direction”
article by Josh Johnson later in this book.
Kyle Waldrop – RHP – (10/27/85)
Acquired: 1st round pick in 2004 from HS in Tennessee
2010 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings
2010 Stats: 5-3, 2 Saves, 2.57 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 87.2 IP, 20 BB, 60 K
Waldrop was the Twins’ third first-round draft choice in 2004 out
of Knoxville, Tennessee. He wrapped up his high school career with a 14-0
record and 0.15 ERA in 14 starts for Farragut High School. He began his career
as a starting pitcher, amassing 25 wins over his first three seasons, but after
shoulder surgery whipped out his entire 2008 season, Waldrop has returned to
the mound in a reliever role.
In 2009, he had a 2.08 ERA in 51 appearances between Ft. Myers and
New Britain. The Twins felt comfortable enough in his progress to move him up
to Rochester for the start of the 2010 season. He got off to a great start,
hoisting a 1.01 ERA over the first three months. He then struggled in July and
August, but still finished the year with a 2.57 ERA. He was selected to play in
the Arizona Fall League, but he struggled in eight of his 10 appearances for
the Peoria Saguaros. Waldrop has a nice 6-foot-4, 205 pound frame, but he doesn’t
throw particularly hard. He has a sinking fastball that sits in the high-80’s, low-90’s and accompanies that with a slider and
change-up. He is a hard worker and a good fielder who should get his first
crack at the Major Leagues in 2011 if all goes well. (JJ)
Again, you can
pick up the 2011
Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook here. I will soon begin work on the
2012 Handbook. If you have any questions, please feel free
to ask in the Comments section.