Eddie Rosario is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week after hitting five home runs and driving in 12 runs from June 25-July 1 for Elizabethton in the Appalachian League. Rosario is an intriguing part of the Twins’ organization outfield depth, a story to follow regarding how that talent might impact personnel decisions in the weeks, months and years to come.
Rosario, 20, was a fourth round draft choice last year and he’s one of five worth watching center fielders in the organization. The others are Denard Span and Ben Revere with the big league club, and Joe Benson at New Britain and Aaron Hicks with Fort Myers. All five are young and fast, with Span the oldest of the group at 27.
Rosario, Benson and Hicks are among the franchise’s better prospects, although none of them has yet to play a season in Triple A baseball. Revere, 23, replaced Span last month when the Twins’ regular center fielder went on the disabled list.
Revere wasn’t even on the roster at the start of the season but he’s impressed so much he might become more valuable than Span, a four year Twins veteran with a .289 career batting average who has been an okay center fielder. Revere’s speed is superior and he can be a highlight maker in the field.
Revere puts extraordinary pressure on infielders when he’s batting, using his speed to contest throws to first base. In the outfield he seems to have better range than Span and moves back on fly balls more effectively.
Revere was AL co-rookie of the month for June with Oakland’s Jemile Weeks. In 25 games, Revere batted .294 with four doubles, one triple, nine RBI, 14 runs scored and seven stolen bases.
Revere is hitting .279 with 11 stolen bases in 47 games. His performance at the plate, in the field and on the bases makes for speculation that Span might move to the head of the line among Twins to be traded soon, or after the season.
Span has proven his worth as a lead off man and fielder. Other clubs could be interested, particularly if they’re not worried about the concussion that has been a past problem.
The Twins are intrigued with speed but an outfield that included both Revere and Span, along with light hitting middle infielders Alexi Casilla and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, would give the lineup a foursome producing something like 16 home runs annually. Moving Span in a deal that brought pitching or power hitting might be appealing to the club’s decision makers.