The Twins began the season with
Shannon Stewart as their regular left
fielder. Stewart, who was troubled with a recurring foot problem, was back on
the DL by mid season with left manned by the quintet of
Jason Kubel,
Lew Ford,
Jason Tyner,
Josh Rabe and
Rondell White for the remainder of the
season with each except Tyner also dealing with various injuries. Looking to
the future, Stewart is a free agent and it is unlikely he will be brought back.
Kubel will return with Ford, Tyner, Rabe and White’s return likely, however, not
definite. During an off season when there aren’t a lot of questions
offensively, left field is one of the few positions that has questions as to who
will be the starter in 2007. Don’t look for the Twins however, to bring in
someone new as it is likely that left field will be patrolled by some
combination of this returning group, however, the recent announcement of
Hunter’s return could cause the Twins to release or trade either Ford or Tyner
who are also capable centerfielders.
The Rochester Red Wings (AAA) began
the season with **Josh Rabe, 27,
(#3/#17) manning left field. Rabe is a
veteran minor league player who has been with the Twins since he was drafted in
the eleventh round of the 2000 draft. Rabe led the International League in
hitting during the early part of the season, hitting .299Ave with 20 doubles, 1
triple, 6 home runs, 51 runs scored and 47 rbi in 355 at bats. Rabe is a
patient hitter who had nearly as many walks (35) as strikeouts (37) at Rochester
prior to his call up. Rabe played an important role for the Twins during their
drive for the championship, hitting .286Ave with 1 double, 3 home runs, 8 runs
scored and 7 rbi in 49 at bats. After Rabe was called up by the Twins,
**Alex Romero, 22, (#4/#3)
was recalled by the Red Wings. Romero, who was with the Wings for a few
games early in the season, played on a part-time basis until late in the season
when he became very productive. Romero finished his AAA season hitting .250Ave
with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 20 runs scored and 26 rbi in 236 at bats with 6
stolen bases in 8 attempts. Romero also is a patient hitter striking out only
22 times while taking 15 walks. While at New Britain, Romero hit .281Ave with
11 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 29 runs scored and 16 rbi in 167 at bats
with 15 stolen bases in 22 attempts. He also walked (26) more than he struck
out (19) while in AA. Romero, who at 22 years old, was young compared with most
AAA players while compiling a solid set of numbers that were the fourth best in
the system following a previous season when he was ranked third. Romero is a
solid player who isn’t spectacular at any aspect of the game, however, his
excellent plate discipline combined with reasonable doubles power and good
average puts him amongst the top outfield prospects in the system and perhaps
the only one who could be available to help the Twins in 2007.
Alex Romero was the regular left
fielder for the New Britain Rock Cats (AA) during the first half of the
season. When Romero moved up to Rochester, the Twins promoted
Garrett Guzman, 23, (#11/DNP)
from Ft. Myers. Guzman is both this season’s feel good story and the
system’s likely comeback player of the year following his missing all of 2005
following an auto accident in which he suffered a broken neck. Guzman hit
.275Ave with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 34 runs scored and 26 rbi in 222
at bats at New Britain. He walked 18 times while had only 27 strikeouts to go
with 4 stolen bases in 7 attempts. Earlier in the season at Ft. Myers, Guzman
hit .274Ave with 9 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs, 35 runs scored and 51 rbi in
259 at bats. He walked 15 times while striking out 31 times at Ft. Myers with 1
stolen base in 2 attempts. Guzman is another productive hitter, much like third
baseman David Winfree. His 77 rbi at New Britain and Ft. Myers were the
second most in the system, behind only Garrett Jones’ 92 rbi at Rochester.
Jason Grove, 27+, is another
outfielder who had signed with the Twins during the off season. Grove hit
.235Ave in 34 at bats prior to being released early in the season. Guzman will
probably begin next season back at New Britain and is another top prospect for a
future outfield position with the Twins, however.
The top left fielder for the Ft. Myers
Miracle (Hi-A) was Deacon Burns,
23, (#41/#14) who also played some centerfield. Burns is an exciting
small player who set Beloit’s franchise record for triples (13) in 2005,
however, struggled with his hitting this year finishing with a .228Ave with 17
doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 53 runs scored and 33 rbi in 404 at bats with
19 stolen bases in 23 attempts. Another left fielder who spent part of the
season on the disabled list was Erold Andrus,
21+, (#59/-) who was a minor league rule 5 pick up this past
off-season. Andrus hit .207Ave with 7 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 26 runs
scored and 30 rbi in 198 at bats.
One of the more unheralded players in the
system was the Beloit Snappers (A) left fielder
Dwayne White, 23, (#45/#57).
White returned to Beloit for a second season, hitting .258Ave with 17 doubles, 2
triples, 8 home runs, 43 runs scored and 43 rbi in 322 at bats. White was one
of the Snappers’ more reliable hitters late in the season after the team was
ravaged with injuries. Mark Robinson,
20, (#84/#44) struggled during his
first year with a full season team. Robinson saw limited duty hitting .178Ave
with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 14 runs scored and 7 rbi in 135 at bats.
The Elizabethton Twins (Rookie)
had two players splitting time in left field.
Richard Sojo, 21, (#67/#51)
had been one of the Twins better hitters in 2005 in the Gulf Coast League
when he hit .318Ave. He struggled at Elizabethton this year, hitting .228Ave
with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 20 runs scored and 11 rbi in 114 at bats while
stealing 3 bases in 4 attempts. Josh Land,
21, (#60/#73) was a 2004 draft
and follow who hit .211Ave with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 18 runs scored
and 15 rbi in 101 at bats.
The Gulf Coast League Twins
(Rookie) had this year’s 15th round pick
Mark Dolenc, 21, (#73/-)
as their primary left fielder. Dolenc hit .212Ave with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 1
home run, 28 runs scored and 26 rbi in 189 at bats with 10 stolen bases in 14
attempts. Jilmer Arratia, 21+,
(#70/#78) saw very limited duty, getting
1 hit in 3 at bats.
The top left fielders in the system were
Josh Rabe (#3) and Alex Romero (#4) with the eleven players playing left field
having an average ranking of #47 out of 88 position players. The top left field
prospects include:
Josh Rabe (#3) - Rochester/Twins
Alex Romero (#4) - New
Britain/Rochester
Garrett Guzman (#11) - Ft. Myers/New
Britain
The Twins will need to make some decisions regarding left field over the
winter. Terry Ryan has indicated he won’t be looking for any offensive players
this off season, therefore, left field will be manned in 2007 by one of the
players seeing playing time this past year, Jason Kubel, Rondell White, Josh
Rabe, Jason Tyner or Lew Ford. The other top candidates from the minors, Romero
and Guzman, don’t appear to be candidates to help the team out of spring
training.