Because is in center?

Since this is a Twins blog and my first post, I obviously have to post about something incredibly relevant to the Twins current state of affairs. That’s right, I’ll be talking about the Twins centerfield situation (we’ll save Santana critiques for later.)

So what are our current options in center? Well, from what I’ve seen in various stories about the Twins, we may use Carlos Gomez, Jason Pridie, Craig Monroe, Delmon Young, or Michael “I Know How to Play the Baggy” Cuddyer. (Jason Kubel’s name hasn’t surfaced in this context and we’ll simply pray that Gardenhire just puts Kubel at DH and leaves him alone.) Sugarcoating the situation would be saying that the Twins are not in an enviable short term position here. Let’s get a quick pros and cons rundown of each player in center:

Carlos Gomez:

Pros: Very fast. Gomez has a very good range, with a great arm. He’ll be the defender people thought Torii Hunter was, so the average fan will probably gripe about how “Torii could’ve gotten that ball” every time he barely misses a line drive; in reality, Torii would have either been 15 feet away or diving over the top of the ball and letting it roll to the wall. Big plus for Gomez.

Cons: Centerfield also means having to wield a bat, which Gomez isn’t to keen about yet. Bigger problem is Gomez’s speed, which means Gardenhire will likely want to lead off with Gomez and his current .288 OBP in the majors. Ouch. Even in the minors, he’s posted a .339 OBP. He’s fast, but not a good leadoff guy. Regardless, he should be in AAA working on said bat-wielding or it could severely hamper his long term development. If you disagree with me, I have Kevin Goldstein, in my corner.

Jason Pridie:

Pros: Supposedly can also play defense, though I doubt at the same level as Gomez. Remember though, defense is important in center these next few years; we aren’t going to be contending and the last thing we want is to undermine our young pitchers confidence with a lead-footed outfield (apologies, Cuddy.) Where does his defense fall? If I understand correctly, not Gomez, but better than our other options, so defense goes in Pridie’s favor.

Cons: Pridie also has a history of allergic reactions to wooden objects. He did pound out a .318/.375/.539 line in AAA last year, but that was in 245 at bats and has a career minors line of .279/.327/.432. You can get yourself all hyped up about how Pridie turned the corner last year, but I’m skeptical of single dominant years being an indicator of continued success at the plate (re: Cuddyer 2006 vs. 2007, or better example, Adrian Beltre 2004 vs. any year since.) Pridie is probably more ready for the majors than Gomez is, although not a better long term prospect.

Craig Monroe:

Pros: Um… He has veteran experience, right? That counts for something… Right?

Cons: Wow, this part is going to be easier than the pros. First off, career line of .256/.303/.446. Let that sink in for a second. Career OBP of .303. I mean, we’re not contending, but I’d still not like to hand away free outs every 9^th batter. He’s also below average defensively as a corner outfielder, so the chances of him roaming center successfully are less than slim. In my opinion, Monroe is on the roster for an emergency situation that we all pray won’t happen, like Delmon Young going insane and beating Alexi Casilla to death with a bat. Let’s hope Monroe’s just a good clubhouse guy and plays the role of a poor man’s Mike Redmond, if rich men would buy Mike Redmond. Smell ‘em!

Delmon Young:

Pros: The stud of the Garza trade has the potential to become an MVP candidate. He’s definitely going to be in the outfield. His bat is in the lineup, and this is important.

Cons: But can he play center? Reports I’ve heard essentially say “no” based on his range. Good arm, subpar range, so he’s a right fielder. That’s why we have him in left. Simply put, Young needs to be in the outfield, but not in center, which is what we’re focusing on right now.

Michael Cuddyer:

Pros: He can play that baggy in right!

Cons: The baggy doesn’t extend to center? SHIT! Cuddyer lumbers around in right to be a below average right fielder defensively, and I’m guessing (and decently sure) he has worse range than Young. He’s obviously going to be in the starting lineup, although I think all of our pitchers are praying Cuddyer stays in right. If Cuddyer gets moved to center, look for Bonser to explode up 40 pounds from binging on “comfort food” after every start.

So, where does this leave us? Gomez should start in AAA to develop; there is no question about that. Young and Cuddyer should be playing the corners, as their bats are going to be in the lineup but neither has the range to play center. Craig Monroe’s main purpose is making sure that Young’s seat on the bench stays warm when he’s fielding or batting. This leaves us with Pridie. In a perfect world, is he a starting center fielder? No, probably not. Is he the best option we have? Yeah, probably. He can play defense, he’s more ready than Gomez and provides a necessary stopgap until Gomez is ready, and (hopefully) can manage to at least be scrappy at the bottom of that lineup. Plus we need to get him out there now just to see what he has before Gomez is ready. Seriously, Bonser’s health is depending on this.

(Note:

Hopefully Pridie will get his scrappiness lessons from someone other than Nick “the piranha” Punto, who scrapped his way to a .291 OBP last year.)