The Resurgance Of Trevor Plouffe

Trevor Plouffe has always been a bit of an enigma for the Twins. The former first round draft pick in 2004 was drafted 20^th overall by the Twins and slated to be the team’s future short stop. Plouffe was Collegiate Baseball News’ “High School All American” in 2004 and scouts had Plouffe as high 6^th overall in minor league prospects.

Plouffe was slated to be a power hitting middle infielder, able to put up solid average while driving the ball well. Plouffe’s defensive skills were questioned when he was drafted, but it was assumed that practice and coaching could fix those mechanical errors.

The bar was set pretty high for Plouffe right out of the gate.

From 2004 to 2009, Plouffe played in every minor league level.  In May of 2010, Plouffe made his major league debut with the Twins, appearing in 22 games overall. Plouffe was hitting well in AAA during his 2010 season hitting .244/.300/.430 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI in 102 games.  That offense didn’t carry over after his promotion, however, as Plouffe only hit .146/.143/.317 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI, meaning Plouffe didn’t get a long shot at staying on the major league roster.

In 2011, the stage looked set for Plouffe to step into a starting role. The Twins signed Tsuyoshi Nishioka out of Japan with the intention of playing Plouffe, Alexi Casilla and Nishioka between shortstop and second base throughout the season. When Nishioka went down during the first few weeks of the regular season with a broken leg, Plouffe had an opportunity to become an everyday starter.

Plouffe played 62 games between shortstop and second base during the 2011 season committing 12 errors and only mustering a .238/.305/.392 split with 8 home runs and 31 RBI. While Plouffe was showing the ability to hit for power, his defense was a liability that the team could no longer endure.

When Nishioka returned from injury, Plouffe was optioned down to AAA Rochester where he played 51 games and hit .313/.384/.635 with 15 home runs and 33 RBI (I believe that’s the textbook definition of crushing the ball).

While Plouffe’s offense was developing nicely, his defense was giving the Twins headaches. Clearly this middle infielder had talent – but if he’s making multiple errors and missing throws throughout a game, is his run production worth the runs given up?

When Terry Ryan took over as Twins GM in the 2011 offseason, he formulated a new plan for the slugging prospect – a move from the infield to the outfield. The organization seemed confident that this was the ‘fix’ for Plouffe. As a result, Plouffe played much of 2012’s spring training in the outfield, attempting to master a new defensive position.

The 2012 season began with Plouffe in a poorly conceived (in hindsight) platoon with Chris Parmelee, Ben Revere, Erik Komatsu, Clete Thomas and Ryan Doumit. Plouffe’s playing time was greatly limited in the early portion of 2012, and his offensive numbers began to show the effect of this lack of play.

In March/April of this year, Plouffe hit .121 with 1 home run, 2 RBI and 1 double in 33 plate appearances. As the early season progressed, the Twins moved Plouffe to a “super utility” role, bouncing him between the outfield, 1B, 2B, SS and 3B. While this did increase Plouffe’s plate appearances in May to 65, the lack of consistency and steady playing time was obviously affecting his bat. Plouffe hit .185 in May with 1 home run, 6 RBI and 2 doubles.

By the middle of May, it was starting to look like Plouffe was in a permanent slump, his batting average was hovering at or around .120 and he simply wasn’t making good contact with the ball. Plouffe was out of minor league options, meaning Twins were faced with a tough choice. Stick with a struggling utility player with no true position? Or, designate him for assignment and hope that he passes through waivers and is able to work on his swing in the minors?

The Twins opted to stick with Plouffe, deciding to plug him in at 3B to fill in for the demoted Danny Valencia.

Then, a funny thing happened.

Plouffe got hot. Red hot.

From May 28^th to June 12^th, Plouffe is hitting .387 with 4 home runs, 9 RBI and 3 doubles – all in 31 plate appearances. Plouffe is now the Twins everyday starting third baseman and has been bumped up in the batting order to 6^th overall.

While we can’t say for certain that Plouffe’s early season struggles weren’t due to a simple slump – it sure looks like everyday playing time and a consistent defensive position have greatly helped Plouffe’s confidence. He’s absolutely crushing the ball and has turned into another offensive threat on a team stacked with dangerous hitters like Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit.

As a bonus, Plouffe has also cut down on his errors. He’s made only 3 while playing at third base this season and seems to have a better time fielding the ball and making the necessary throws.

During last Saturday’s Fox Sports North telecast, Dick & Bert speculated as to why Plouffe has seemingly instantly become a better infielder. Ron Coomer chimed in on the discussion and pointed out that third is a more consistent position than short. Simply put the fielding position and throw from third to first is almost always the same process. In contrast, a shortstop is forced to make a multitude of different throws from different positions throughout the course of a game. Coomer speculated that the simple removal of the varied throws that Plouffe had to make at short has built Plouffe’s confidence and allowed him to become a more reliable defender.

Whatever the reason for Plouffe’s resurgence, it’s coming at a great time for the Twins. The team was left without a true third baseman after demoting the struggling Danny Valencia (who has faired no better in AAA – he’s currently hitting .214). The team was also facing offensive struggles at the bottom of their order, frequently trapping the 3,4, and 5 hitters on base. Plouffe has remedied both problems – giving the Twins their starting third baseman for the foreseeable future (until Miguel Sano is ready for the majors) and adding another dangerous bat to the lineup.

It has been a tumultuous 8 years in the Twins system for Trevor Plouffe. He’s gone from top prospect, to a solid backup, to an “average” backup to a “super utility” player and back to a full time starter. Plouffe has looked like a bust at times, and then will show flashes of why he was a first round pick.

If Plouffe can keep producing consistently at the plate and is an average defender at third, his days of bouncing around the organization will likely be over.