The signing period to sign 2008 draft picks came and went on Friday and the Twins managed to lock up their sixth rounder from the state of Iowa after it was thought that he might go to college instead. With the deadline I thought it might be a good idea to see how some of the different picks have faired thus far in pro ball.
Aaron Hicks, 1st Rounder:
Hicks has played in 39 games for the Gulf Coast League Twins and while he has struggled a bit in the past ten games he has been very good overall. On the short season he is hitting .303 with three homeruns and twenty-five runs batted in. He also has eight doubles and four triples on the season and has used his speed to swipe eleven bases in twelve attempts.
As a player out of high school it’s obvious that his discipline won’t be really good, but it hasn’t been terrible. He has walked twenty-five times so far and struck out twenty-nine times. Not bad for a 19-year old player.
Shooter Hunt, Compensation Pick:
Hunt started his pro career at Elizabethton for the Twins coming out of Tulane. After manhandling the league he was quickly promoted to Beloit. While with the Elizabethton team, Hunt posted a 0.47 ERA in four starts (nineteen innings) while striking out a tremendous thirty-four batters.
Thus far at Beloit he has not been as dominant, but has still been pretty good. In nearly the same number of innings (nineteen and a third), Hunt has posted a 3.26 ERA. The walks have been up nearly double, and he has struck out twenty-three hitters -- still an impressive number.
Nicholas Romero, 5th Rounder:
Romero plays a position that has been weak for the Twins at the major league level, third base. Thus far he has shown very poor plate discipline, but a lot of power as well. In 41 games Romero is hitting .278 with forty-eight strikeouts and just fourteen walks. The walk to strikeout ratio is the bad part.
Thus far he has already driven in thirty runs mostly with his seven homeruns and eight doubles. The good news is that it looks like he is walking more and striking out less in recent games.
Dan Osterbrock, 7th Rounder:
Osterbrock signed quickly and has made eleven starts because of it. In those eleven starts he has been very solid for the Elizabethton Twins. He is 6-2 on the season with a pretty solid 3.15 ERA. In 65.2 innings pitched Osterbrock has walked just eight batters and struck out a tremendous ninety hitters.
He is also holding hitters to a very good .238 batting average and while he still has no shutout, he does have one complete game.
We’ll do our best to keep you updated on what different draft picks are doing down below, especially the team’s top choice, Aaron Hicks.
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I foresee Hunt advancing through the system rapidly (like Garza) with Hicks maybe taking one extra year. Both should definitely be up with the big club by 2012.