When Mike Radcliff returned from Arizona he was hopeful with what he had seen from Eddie Rosario.


Among the organization's prospects playing for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League was the recently rehabilitated prospect. Rosario had served fifty games away from the club due to a failed marijuana test -- his second of such offenses. In the grand scheme, with the nation heading towards increasing tolerance and two major league cities allowing use of the recreational narcotic, it appeared less of a concern then the use of performance enhancing drugs to inflate their numbers. Nevertheless, rules were rules and Rosario had broken them. Twice.

The suspension could not have come at a worse point along his development timeline. Rosario was starting to gain attention as a hitter and, after a line drive that caught him in the face and required plates to be inserted in 2012, he already needed to play catch up. Beyond the lost time due to the injury, the Twins were trying to see if his path to the major could be accelerated by moving to second base. Another hurdle in his path.

"Losing 50 games, that's a huge setback," general manager Terry Ryan told the Minneapolis Star Tribune at the time of his suspension. "That's a lot of development time, a lot of learning that he'll miss. It sets back his progression going up to the big leagues."

When he returned in 2015, based on his offensive numbers and reports from scouts, his time away from the game appeared to stunt his development. Shifted back to the outfield because of the emergence of Brian Dozier at second, Rosario struggled to square the ball as frequently as he did in the past. He finished the season with the worst line of his career, turning in a .243/.286/.387 mark between High-A and Double-A. While with the New Britain Rock Cats in June, a Baseball Prospectus' scout reported he was a "[b]at first player" and believed that he was "not likely to stick as long-term regular" after watching him for two games. They also questioned his hustle. In July another member of the Baseball Prospectus' team, Jason Parks, concluded that "[w]ith his bat control and bat speed, he could really develop into a good hitter if he works the gaps and takes advantage of his strengths instead playing into his weaknesses. He's a tweener for me right now, more a hit tool/speed type than a complete player."

Recognizing the need to get one of their more advanced prospects additional at-bats, Rosario was sent to the Arizona Fall League. In the desert -- while wearing the obsolete Twins pinstripe uniform and facing the game's top prospect talent -- he started to hit again. The same type that earned him the reputation as one of the best hitters for average.

Perhaps it was clicking at the right time or just a burst of small-sample size magic but the Twins' Vice President of Player Personnel says there may be due to finally reengaging with the game.


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