Mid Season Grades: Offense

With a series of bad loses to the Tigers and Rangers, the Twins closed out the first half of 2012 on a low note. The team currently sits at 36-49, and is last place in the AL Central, 11 games back of the first place White Sox.

On a whole, we could easily grade this squad as a ‘D’. The 2012 Twins are underachieving their true potential. We’ve seen flashes of a talented baseball team, but most games this season have seen a team that simply can’t put all the pieces together to earn a win.

Since this is the half way point of the 2012 MLB season, I thought we’d take a moment to look back at the opening day roster and grade how each player’s season has gone so far.

Position Players:

C: Joe Mauer

Season Stats: .326 AVG / .865 OPS / 5 HR / 41 RBI

Mauer has bounced back from a disastrous 2011 campaign that saw him miss half of the season. Outside of a brief 5 game stretch where he sat out due to a strained hamstring and knee bruise, Mauer has remained healthy in 2012. As such, he’s appeared in 77 games and is only 11 plate appearances shy of his 2011 total. Mauer has been the player the Twins expect him to be – he gets on base, drives in runs and is a solid defensive player at both 1B and C.

Mid-Season Grade: A

1B: Chris Parmelee

Season Stats: .194 AVG / .443 OBP / 2HR / 14 RBI

Parmelee hit the ball well in spring training and forced his way on to the roster due to his great early season play. With the jury still out on Justin Morneau, Parmelee was tabbed to be the full time 1B while Morneau was set to DH. Morneau found that he was more comfortable at 1B and Doumit was a better DH. After a trial in the outfield, Parmelee was relegated to the bench. After being sent to AAA in May, Parmelee crushed the ball and earned another promotion. Ron Gardenhire rewarded him by…letting him rot on the bench. Parmelee was sent back to AAA prior to the Rangers series, supposedly to gain more playing time. Parmelee has potential, but he’s not getting opportunities with the club as of yet.

Mid-Season Grade: C-

2B: Alexi Casilla

Season Stats: .236 AVG / .273 OBP / 0 HR / 14 RBI

Casilla was tabbed to be the starting 2B by default coming into the regular season. After a slow start, the Twins decided to give Brian Dozier, who had played well in spring training, a chance at playing everyday in the big leagues. Dozier has been shaky, but solid enough to keep the SS job. Meanwhile, Jamey Carroll has been reliable and relatively error free – relegating Casilla to a platoon / bench job. With numbers like Casilla currently has, and given that he’s no longer an everyday starter, you’d have to think Casilla is disappointed with how this season has progressed.

Mid-Season Grade: D

3B: Danny Valencia

Season Stats:  .190 AVG / .204 OBP / 1 HR / 11 RBI

Valencia was given the starting 3B gig out of desperation. The Twins didn’t have anyone else who could cover that position and Valencia’s shaky defense was tolerable so long as he kept swinging a decent bat. That decent bat never came around, however, as Valencia struggled at the plate so mightily that the Twins sent him down to AAA in May so he could work on his swing. At the time, it looked like Valencia would get a week or two in AAA before being recalled. The team worked with a platoon of Jamey Carroll, Alexi Casilla and Brian Dozier at 3B as a temporary fix. It wasn’t until Trevor Plouffe was moved to 3B that Valencia’s fate was sealed. Plouffe’s bat became red hot and his defense was solid, relegating Valencia to AAA purgatory.

Mid-Season Grade: F

SS: Jamey Carroll

Season Stats: .234 AVG / .318 OBP / 0 HR / 25 RBI

Carroll was signed as a solution to the Tsuyoshi Nishioka problem. Essentially, Carroll was a short term solution at shortstop until the team could trade for / sign / develop their own SS. Funny thing is – Carroll has been outstanding holding down the middle infield for the Twins. His great plate disciple allows him to reach base on a regular basis and his solid defense has fixed one of the most glaring errors of the 2011 Twins. While he’s more of a 2B now than a SS, Carroll has been a bright spot for the Twins this season.

Mid-Season Grade: B

LF: Josh Willingham

Season Stats: .261 AVG / .376 OBP / 19 HR / 60 RBI

Willingham had a tough task coming into 2012. He had to fill the shoes of the fan favorite Michael Cuddyer – a task that he has lived up to and possibly even surpassed. Willingham is built to hit at Target Field, with a short porch in left field giving Willingham a frequent opportunity to smash home runs into the seats.  Willingham’s defense is nothing to write home about, but it certainly is better than anything Delmon Young was putting out there last season. With a reasonable, team friendly contract and a likeable attitude, Twins fans have adopted Willingham as an instant fan favorite.

Mid-Season Grade: A

CF: Denard Span

Season Stats: .270 AVG / .334 OBP / 3 HR / 24 RBI

Span, much like Mauer, has had a much improved 2012 in comparison to 2011. Span only appeared in 70 games in 2011, a mark he has already surpassed by the mid point of 2012. As far as table setters go, the Twins have a valuable one in Span. He hits for average, draws walks and is a threat to steal once he’s on the base path. In fact, his value is so high that he could be one of the pieces the Twins trade away in the coming weeks. As a Twin, Span has been solid this season.

Mid-Season Grade: B

RF: Trevor Ploufee

Season Stats: .253 AVG / .325 OBP / 19 HR / 36 RBI

It’s almost comical to look back now and see the Twins trying Plouffe in the outfield. You can understand their thought process, but it was one of those ideas that simply make you shake your head. Plouffe struggled mightily in the outfield, barely hitting his weight in the first few months of the season. At one point, Plouffe looked like he was headed for the DFA list. He was given one last chance, a fill in position for Danny Valencia at 3B. That’s when everything changed. From mid June through the All-Star break, Plouffe has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He’s tied for the team lead in home runs, has played very solid defense at 3B and is one of the more dangerous batters in the Twins lineup. From off the team, to one of the best bats on the team – Plouffe’s 2012 has been eventful.

Mid-Season Grade: B

DH: Justin Morneau

Season Stats: .246 AVG / .312 OBP / 11 HR / 38 RBI

Morneau’s health was a large concern entering 2012 given that he had only been able to play in 81 games in 2010 and 69 in 2011 due to concussion and wrist / back problems. So far, Morneau’s 2012 has been major injury free. He’s played in 65 games and has quickly regained the power that he was famous for in his prime. While he has struggled against left handed pitching this season, Morneau had made some adjustments in the final two weeks of the season that saw him hitting southpaws slightly better. He’s a possible trade candidate for the Twins – and that’s only because of the solid season he’s had so far.

Mid-Season Grade: B-

Bench:

Ryan Doumit

Season Stats: .286 AVG / .343 OBP / 7 HR / 36 RBI

Doumit was signed to a 1 year deal and look to be emergency depth for Mauer while (hopefully) putting up numbers similar to the departing Jason Kubel’s. Doumit has flourished with the Twins, acting as a respectable catcher and reliable DH. He’s also stayed healthy, appearing in 67 games so far this season, which is only 10 shy of his total for 2011 with Pittsburgh. The Twins have resigned Doumit to a 2 year extension, so it looks like the man some fans have lovingly nicknamed “The Butcher” is here to stay.

Mid-Season Grade: B

Ben Revere:

Season Stats: .316 AVG / .350 OBP / 0 HR / 11 RBI / 18 Steals

Revere looked to be the odd man out at the beginning of 2012. He didn’t see much playing time before being sent to AAA. He was called up briefly in May, played well, and then was immediately demoted once again. When he was called up a second time, and given a chance to start everyday in RF, he made sure the opportunity was going to stick. Revere has been one of the best and most consistent hitters on the team. When he does reach base, Revere becomes a stealing machine. He’s swiped 18 bags so far this season and his defensive range is something to behold. He might have a weak arm, and he’ll never hit for power, but with his other intangibles, Revere is a solid player.

Mid-Season Grade: B+

Luke Hughes

Designated for assignment in May. No longer in the Twins system.

Mid-Season Grade: F

Sean Burroughs

Designated for assignment in May. In AAA Rochester.

Mid-Season Grade: F

In Season Promotions:

While these players were not on the opening day roster, they have been called up or on the current roster long enough to earn a mid-season grade.

Brian Dozier

Season Stats: .242 AVG / .267 OBP / 3 HR / 22 RBI

Dozier looks like the Twins’ future shortstop and has played relatively well since being called up in May. His bat has cooled since being promoted, which is to be expected with any young player, but he still has the potential to be a scrappy singles hitter. His defense needs work, but will likely improve with experience. With very few better options, the Twins are simply letting Dozier learn on the job. He’s not perfect now, but there’s potential there for the coming seasons.

Mid-Season Grade: C

Darin Mastroianni

Season Stats: .269 AVG / .355 OBP / 1 HR / 8 RBI / 9 Steals

Mastroianni has been an ideal 4^th outfielder for the Twins this season. His offense is solid and his defense is above average. His speed, however, is what makes him truly dangerous. Once Mastroianni reaches base, teams have to be careful not to ignore him or he’ll quickly steal his way to third. If trade deadline moves see Denard Span or Josh Willingham depart Minnesota, Mastroianni will step into an everyday starting role. It’s only because the Twins’ outfield is so loaded that he is not an everyday starter already. Because of his 4^th outfielder status, you have to drop his grade slightly – but expect big things from Mastroianni in the future.

Mid-Season Grade: C+

When you break it down, the Twins’ roster has:

2 A’s

6 B’s

3 C’s

1 D

3 F’s

It’s pretty clear, it’s a roster with two nice pieces, 9 solid players and 4 disastrous players. All things considered, this offense isn’t too bad. Most teams would kill to 11 ‘solid’ guys on their offense. So, why is this team struggling along on the bottom of the AL Central?

The pitching.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the pitching grades – and you can imagine just how those are going to look. Somebody’s parents are gonna get a phone call after tomorrow’s report card…