December 10, 2013

Minor League Update

International Winter League Games of December 9

by Jeff Moore

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The Good

• Eddie Rosario, RF, Twins (Indios de Mayaguez, PRWL): 1-3, R, BB, K. Rosario has been mired in an awful slump for most of the winter no matter how you break it down hitting just .191 (27-for-141) between the Arizona Fall league and the PR Winter League. He’s controlled the strike zone better of late, with five walks in his last 10 games, so perhaps he’s beginning to come out of things. But you have to wonder how much his impending suspension is weighing on him at the plate.

The Bad

• Michael Taylor, CF, Nationals (Indios de Mayaguez, PRWL): 1-5, 4 K. These kinds of things happen to Taylor, who has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game. He racked up 131 strikeouts this past season and has 32 of them in 27 games this winter despite hitting .351. You don’t hit .350 with a 32-to-4 K:BB ratio for very long, but it shows both the good and bad parts of Taylor’s game. He’s got some real talent, but some real holes as well.
• Andrew Lambo, LF, Pirates (Cardenales de Lara, VWL): 1-4, K. Lambo had a resurgence this season, hitting 32 home runs between Double and Triple-A and putting himself back on the Pirates radar, as a role player at least. He hasn’t been able to carry that success over into winter ball, however, hitting just .176/.279/.275 for the Cardenales. He has easy power, especially against right-handed pitching, but likely profiles best as a platoon player. Still, he’s on the better side of the platoon and with his power could be a nice replacement for the recently departed Garrett Jones.

Random Major Leaguers

• Mike Moustakas, 3B, Royals (Cardenales de Lara, VWL): 1-4, K. Moustakas joined the Cardenales at the start of December and has played sparingly since, but in five games, he’s hit .238/.273/.429. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?
• Hector Sanchez, C, Giants (Tiburones de La Guaira, VWL): 3-3, R, BB. Buster Posey’s backup is having a nice winter hitting .325, and you read that correctly above: Sanchez did in fact draw a walk.