Steven Tolleson, I'm willing to bet Twins fans have ever even heard the name. In fact he is so unheard of that Getty Images doesn't even have a photo of the guy. However, while looking through the Twins stat lines for their minor league affiliates one day I came across an impressive line attached to this name. The killer part is, he's a shortstop.
As a Twins fan I have grown weary of watching Nick Punto getting the nod as the starting shortstop. He doesn't deserve it and he has proved he is not an everyday player. On his best day Nick Punto is a utility bench player at absolute best.
Personally, I think the Twins wasted their money on him in the hopes that he could reproduce what he did in 2007. The truth of the matter is, that year was an absolute fluke.
I believe there is a 24-year-old shortstop sitting in Triple-A Rochester right now who deserves a chance. No its not Luke Hughes or Trevor Plouffe either. It's Steve Tolleson.
When compared to Punto he looks like an MVP caliber player. Here are Punto's numbers this year.
In 49 games Punto has a whopping .224 batting average with only four, yes count them four, extra base hits. He has 15 RBI, 20 walks, 25 K's, and six stolen bases. Keep in mind this is in late June. Now I'm not doubting that he is a good player when it comes to defense, however, the Twins really can't afford to have him in the lineup everyday if they plan on winning another pennant this year.
Enter Steven Tolleson. Tolleson is currently playing for the Red Wings. His numbers at the plate there are actually pretty good. I think he deserves a chance to play shortstop at the major league level. You ask what his numbers are at Rochester, well I submit for your review this line: a .338 batting average in 20 games, eight doubles, one home run, an OPS of .907, 12 walks, 12 strike outs, and two stolen bases.
Offensive upgrade? I would say he would be. He has hit .285 throughout his short minor league career. As for his defense, its solid at worst. He's committed just one error so far this season. Personally, I think now is the perfect time for the Twins to take a little bit of a chance on a guy who they have overlooked.
Really what could it hurt? If he turns out to be a failure, at least they gave something other then Nick Punto a shot without having to trade anyone or increase their payroll any. I, however, would venture to say that the odds of this young man being a failure are actually pretty low.
Keep in mind this is just my opinion and the odds of the Twins actually making any sort of move to upgrade the shortstop or second base position are slim. Brendan Harris has been getting the starts lately but that still leaves second base wide open.
Here is the beauty of it, Tolleson also plays second. So either way he is worth a shot. Obviously Alexi Casilla hasn't exactly panned out. The only reason this won't happen in the near future, the Twins for some strange reason have a love for Nick Punto and fail to see him for what he truly is, a back up or minor league player.
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