what kind of future does jason pridie have?

by ralu25 on Jan 20, 2006 4:11 PM EST

Rule 5 guy from the rays to the twins. What kind of future do u think he has? Will he stick in minny? If so, will he get any playing time? If he goes back to tampa, what kind of future does he have? Will he ever be a regular? Will he be blocked in both minny and tampa? Nice numbers in limited ab's in double a.

regards

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Pridie

I'd say there's just about no chance he'll stick. Being with the Rays it'll be really hard for him to break team with all their OFers.

After being drafted and looking stellar in rookie ball, he hasn't played well. He broke his leg or something on the 1st or second game last year at AA. He still has time to develop, but I'm not holding my breath.

by ultxmxpx on Jan 20, 2006 4:28 PM EST 0 recs

Ne

it was some sort of knee injury
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:9zf-dDuVHEUJ:www.bdtonline.com/cnhi/bdtonline/localsports/local _story_345223702.html+jason+pridie+injury&hl=en

by ultxmxpx on Jan 20, 2006 4:33 PM EST up 0 recs

Pridie

He's a tools player who hasn't really graduated to AA-level performance yet. He's 22 years old, shows some pop, but not great on-base skills. I think his possible future is somewhere between Torii Hunter and Gary Pettis. Probably closer to Hunter

Sticking with Minnesota will depend if they want to keep a 6th OF on the roster all year who will be hopeless against any sort of major league pitching. If they're smart, Minnesota will use that 25th spot for an offensive player who can actually help them. We've allready got Lew, Kubel, Cuddyer, Hunter, and Stewart slated for spots on the OF next season and the only way I see Pridie staying on the roster for the season is if Kubel spends the entire season at AAA until Sept 1, or one is traded. I think the Pridie aquisition was part of a contengency that never came about (think: 4th/5th OF if Torii or Lew were dealt)

by steve johnson on Jan 20, 2006 4:35 PM EST 0 recs

I haven't seen Pridie play, but ...

Does he really merit comparisons to two of the handful of best defensive center fielders in the past 25 years or so? If so, I would think it would be difficult to let go of such a player, unless he proves to be utterly incompetent with the stick.

If your comparison is just based on offense, Pettis seems like a completely different animal from him. Pettis drew a LOT of walks (over 12% of PA) and stole a LOT of bases (1 per 10 AB). But then again, you did say "closer to Hunter". Maybe he'll "inherit" the low BA and high K rate from Gary. :>

by BobbyMac on Jan 20, 2006 10:29 PM EST up 0 recs

caught me

yeah, the pettis comp was pretty silly. I did underestimate his (pettis'es) patience and speed. I intended to come up with someone absolutely useless in that. sorry!

by steve johnson on Jan 20, 2006 10:41 PM EST up 0 recs

Ryan's comments

On a recent chat at MLB.com, Ryan said "If he's any good, we'll keep him." But I just don't see that happening. I agree with Steve, he'll probably be the seventh or eighth best outfielder in camp (in addition to the ones Steve mentioned, I would put him behind Tyner, Rabe, and Romero).

And the chances the Twins keep 6 outfielders are slim considering they have major league contracts for six infielders, two catchers, and a DH. If, they decided to send out one of those six infielders (say, Punto), I'd rather they keep Glenn Williams than a 6th outfielder considering the questions surrounding Batista.

I think he was drafted as insurance against trade or injury and to help fill out rosters in all the split squad games when guys are in the WBC. There's a slight chance the Twins could send someone like Angel Garcia to the Rays for Pridie. The Rays acquired Garcia from the Diamond Backs (number 1) during last year's Rule 5 draft for three times the draft price and returned him to the Twins at the end of spring. If such a trade happened, I'd project him to go back to AA, were he would be stuck behind Denard Span.

cmathewson

by cmathewson on Jan 20, 2006 5:10 PM EST 0 recs

Re: Ryan's Comments

-------------------------------------------
On a recent chat at MLB.com, Ryan said "If he's any good, we'll keep him." But I just don't see that happening. I agree with Steve, he'll probably be the seventh or eighth best outfielder in camp (in addition to the ones Steve mentioned, I would put him behind Tyner, Rabe, and Romero).
------------------------------------------

That's a good point too, in addition to Span, Pridie is behind the development curve of all those guys. Span and Romero need a hard look this next season for after the expected departure of Torii Hunter. Having a roster spot held hostage by someone less projectable than Romero or Span is not really a good idea. However: Maybe Ryan is to be taken at his word, I mean, do you really expect that Ryan thought to find a guy who hasn't done much in AA to be a ML solution? or perhaps he just paid basically $25000 to get a first hand view of a former top prospect to better judge his value in a trade?

by steve johnson on Jan 20, 2006 10:38 PM EST up 0 recs

Doug Deeds

I would also put Pridie behind Deeds, who was not invited to spring training and is not on the 40-man roster but arguably had a better year at New Britain than Romero.

If Pridie's anywhere near Hunter defensively, then of course they would keep him. But I have a hard time believeing that anyone is in the class of the best center fielder in the majors defensively for some time (perhaps any time) would not be protected. My guess is he's not at Span's level defensively or in OBP but he has a chance to be better from a SLG perspective. If that's the case, I would prefer Romero and Deeds.

For all these reasons, I was puzzled at the choice when it was made. I expected the Twins to take a left-handed pitcher who could contend for a LOOGY spot, as they did last year. In hindsight, I wish the Twins had kept Ryan Rowland-Smith last year instead of Mulholland. At least they would have another candidate for the weakest position on the roster going into spring training. Oh well.

cmathewson

by cmathewson on Jan 20, 2006 11:45 PM EST up 0 recs

Deeds and Romero

Deeds is an organization player. I think his ceiling is a AAAA guy who makes some appearances in the major leagues. I know people look at his numbers and think he might be better than that, but I think it is an illusion.

Romero is also likely a corner outfielder, but he doesn't really the power to start there. He still may be able to play center well enough to have some value as a fourth outfielder at the major league level. If not, he ends up in the same boat as Deeds.

They both may be "better" than Pridie, but Ryan described Pridie as a "pure centerfielder". That means his bat doesn't need to carry him. If he is good enough, I don't think he needs to help the Twins this year to hold a roster spot. At least that is what Ryan seemed to be saying.

by TT on Jan 21, 2006 12:29 AM EST up 0 recs

Romero

I think you're not doing justice to Romero's chances. After he's settled in as a major leaguer, you don't think he will be better than Stewart is right now? To be more clear on the argument, does Stewart have corner OF power, an OF arm, or really even OF coverage that's well above avg?

If Romero continues to progress, the Twins will have great use for him. I watched him play in low A two years ago, and he was a man among boys. He looked it in more ways than one, and I wouldn't be shocked if he were older than his listed age.

Further, I've watched his progression, and he's not that dissimilar to Kubel, except he didn't explode once he reached AA. He mildly detonated, though, and I saw a lot of similarities in the box scores.

by tmelander on Jan 21, 2006 7:06 AM EST up 0 recs

Stewart, Kubel versus Romero

If you are talking about Stewarts number's last year, then I think Romero can probably reach that level. But that doesn't win you a job in the major leagues as a corner outfielder. It won't keep Stewart in the major leagues for much longer either, but to win a job, as opposed to keep one, requires something more than the ability to put up a marginally productive season like Stewart's last year.

he's not that dissimilar to Kubel, except he didn't explode once he reached AA.

Isn't that enough? But you need to look at Kubel's number in the GCL and A ball, Romero's aren't even remotely comparable there either. For instance, Kubel hit 17 HR at Quad Cities compared to Romero's 4.

I'm not totally down on Romero, he's young and his power may develop. But I am not sure he really has the bat for a regular corner outfield spot or the glove to play center. He appear's just a bit short of both which would make him a fourth outfielder/AAAA guy.

by TT on Jan 21, 2006 10:09 AM EST up 0 recs

Who goes?

The Twins have major league contracts for 14 position players. The following players are expected to make the team:

Mauer
Morneau
Castillo
Batista
Bartlett
Stewart
Hunter
Kubel
White
Redmond
Castro
Ford
Cuddyer
Punto

Only Bartlett and Kubel have options. But I can't believe the Twins would send down one of two self-procclaimed core players for an extra year just to keep a AA guy who's like Span with a lower OBP and a higher sluggging percentage.

Assuming they do keep Pridie, whom do they get rid of?

cmathewson

by cmathewson on Jan 23, 2006 10:58 AM EST up 0 recs

Who Goes

I think the most likely way Pridie makes the team is if Kubel isn't ready. In that case he is the sixth outfielder. If Bartlett loses the starting shortstop job to Castro or Punto I would expect him to be back at AAA as well.

I agree, its hard to see a spot for Pridie if both those guys are on the roster. But its possible they would trade either Cuddyer, Ford or Punto in that case as well. There really aren't enough at bats for all of them.

by TT on Jan 23, 2006 11:31 AM EST up 0 recs

Although I feel there is a rule prohibiting it...

might Pridie find himself on the 60 day DL?

by cooper7d7 on Jan 20, 2006 5:43 PM EST 0 recs

DLing a Rule V guy

My guess is no, but a 15 day DL with a 20 day rehab assignment seems logical. Of course, if it's not legit, the player can file a complaint, and the player's union could put the Twins in deep doo-doo.

by tmelander on Jan 21, 2006 7:10 AM EST up 0 recs

OK but

he has to actually be hurt (or the union will object).

If he spends too much time on the DL, the obligation carries over into a new year. I think the Sox still have an obligation to carry Adam Stern for part of the year or offer him back because he spent too much time on the DL last year.

by cdamon on Jan 21, 2006 9:08 PM EST up 0 recs

Roster Spot

If Pridie is a future Hunter, or anywhere close, the Twins will find a spot for him. They are likely to have everyday players at every position including all three outfield spots. So they can probably afford to carry a guy. The difficulty, as cm points out, may be finding a roster spot. If Bartlett wins the shortstop position and Kubel is in right field, they have Redmond, Castro, Punto, Ford and Cuddyer already set for the bench. They might try to deal Ford or Cuddyer in that situation and keep Pridie, assuming they can't work out a deal with Tampa.

by TT on Jan 20, 2006 7:46 PM EST 0 recs

Comps

When he was with the Rays, Steve Finley was the name I always heard comps to for Pridie, on a tools level. Of course, he's never really had that kind of production, but he could stick if Minny decides they need a pinch-runner and late-innings defensive replacement. He plays good defense, but it's not so great that he'll be able to stick on a roster on defense alone. I'm not sure that he'd be much of a better option than Span if that's what they're looking for this year. Unless he has a true breakout season in the next year or two, he's probably a 4th outfielder down the line, but the hope is probably that he can turn the tools into production somewhere down the line.

by Brickhaus on Jan 23, 2006 7:56 AM EST 0 recs