Blogging the Book

Here is the first comment I've written for the 2010 book. This one isn't too technical; many of the others will be. I've spent most of the day culling an initial list of 60 Twins prospects down to 40, the maximum I can put in the book. Note that the formatting on the stats will look much better in the book; it doesn't cut-and-paste well into this format.

Joe Benson, OF, Minnesota Twins 

Bats: R     Throws: R    HT: 6-1   WT: 205     DOB: March 5, 1988

Year   Team    LG     G   AB   R  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG   

2007  Beloit    A   122  432  73 110 18  8  5  38  49 124 18 16 .255 .347 .368

2008  Beloit    A    69  254  39  63 16  3  4  27  24  73 17 11 .248 .326 .382

2009  GCL Twins R     2    5   1   1  0  0  0   0   2   0  1  1 .200 .429 .200

      Fort Myers A   80  263  46  75 10  3  5  29  46  74 14  7 .285 .414 .403

4 Minor Lge Seasons 333 1169 191 305 55 19 19 123 142 318 60 45 .261 .356 .389

2007: Grade C+; 2008: Grade C; 2009: Grade C

 Joe Benson's tools have never been in doubt. A second round pick out of high school in Illinois in 2006, he's an exceptional athlete with good speed and strength. He was also very raw when drafted, and had significant problems with contact and strike zone judgment at the lower levels. He made progress correcting these flaws in 2009, raising his walk rate at Class A Fort Myers and boosting his power production slightly despite a park/league environment that's tough on hitters. He was just 21 last year, so he's still in a good spot on the age curve and the progress could be real rather than noise. His range and throwing arm are above average, giving him defensive value as well. I have been rather skeptical about Benson in the past, but I think he made real improvements last year. Let's see if he can maintain the enhanced walk rate in Double-A. Grade C+.