Twins Territory

[gcltwins]

Athlete of the Week: Doug Deeds

By Ken Lipshez
New Britain Herald Press

Doug Deeds' early season performance was as chilly as the weather.

Although he hit three homers in the first week of the season for the New Britain Rock Cats, he tailed off quickly and was foundering at .206 when April ended. He was only slightly more productive (.238) in May.

But when spring turned to summer, Deeds' batting average and on-base percentage climbed as steadily as the thermometer. He hit .337 in June and .318 in July. August has been even better.

In 12 games, the former Ohio State Buckeye is hitting .348. He ranks among the Eastern League's best in batting (.293), doubles (32) and on-base percentage (.393). He's also played outstanding defense at first base.

Deeds, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound left-handed hitting native of Columbus, Ohio, had a banner year with the Rock Cats in 2005, hitting a team-best .304 with 16 homers and 82 RBI. He didn't allow the slow start deter him from showing the Twins that he's ready for new challenges next year. Neither did he let a change of position deter him. After proving his worth in right field last year, Deeds has been exceptional at first base, versatility that will enhance his value when the Twins study their options for 2007. He has made just one error in 552 chances.

Deeds was the Twins' ninth-round pick in the 2002 June draft. He had a .305 career average coming into the season, averaging over .300 at three of his four minor-league stops. He holds the OSU freshman record for homers with 14.

08/14/2006

[autosave36autohit7]

sweet, keep up these updates if you could please.!

[handles1017]

If he gets called up to MLB next year where will Morneau go?

[Deviation]

Morneau isn't going anywhere. He'll be our everyday starting 1B. But I can see Deeds backing him up at first, playing a little corner OF and DHing. He wouldn't be full-time to start, but I'd see him getting at least 350-400 ABs in his first full season.

Maybe he and Kubel can switch back and forth between LF and DH at some point, depending on how well Kubel's knees heal.

[funkytownmn]

Morneau isn't going anywhere. He'll be our everyday starting 1B. But I can see Deeds backing him up at first, playing a little corner OF and DHing. He wouldn't be full-time to start, but I'd see him getting at least 350-400 ABs in his first full season.

Maybe he and Kubel can switch back and forth between LF and DH at some point, depending on how well Kubel's knees heal.

Deeds will have to get through AAA first. He's probably behind Alex Romero and Kevin West on the organizational depth chart, Probably Garrett Jones, too.

IMO, he (Deeds) should have been at AAA this year, Matienzo, too, instead of the re-treads they've tried in Jason Hart and Durazo.

It didn't make any sense to me for both Deeds and Matienzo to repeat AA. Now they're another year older without gaining some experience at a higher level.

Peterson and Winfree jump to AA this offseason, and both could rocket past Deeds and Matienzo pretty easily.

[gcltwins]

Winnie is a 3rd baseman. Believe me, if you've ever watched him play first he is NOT a first baseman. I think all but two of his errors this year have come at first base. As near as I can tell, they are only playing him there to give Hughes some time and third and to spell Brock at first.

He's more likely to rocket past Moses on the depth chart. I'm not the only one who believes the the Twins third baseman of the future.

Deeds is primarily an outfielder. They've only been spelling him at first to give Matienzo a break. I love Dougie to death but I don't see him as a power hitter at the MLB level and that's going to be troublesome to him. Remember, the AA are generally a bit smaller, when he was in High-A, which is played on MLB sized fields, the best he could do was a lot of triples.