Twenty-two years old.

Pretty obvious that his swing is out of whack, but fans are much too impatient for immediate results.

Just read someone calling Markakis a bust because he's struggling a bit.

I'm sure there's more than one team that'd be willing to trade a fully-developed professional hitter for the gb-hitting Delmon.

Speaking of Markakis, check out his first 2-3 months in 2006. Lots of very good players struggle in their initial months.

Yeah, but the Twins are notoriously bad at developing hitters. Ron Gardenhire's "hack away" philosophy will only enable the bad habits of young hitters like Delmon (who swung at more pitches outside the strike zone than anyone else last season) and Gomez. This is one of the reasons why the Twins are continually near the bottom of the league in runs scored every year.

Delmon Young is the starting left fielder on my 10th ranked Hacking Mass team.

Link

Young has 16 homers in 973 MLB at bats

14 in 570 AAA at bats

maybe he just doesn't have the power (at least not yet) that everyone thinks he does

Was it Rob Ducey that put on prodigious displays in BP?

What if it takes two more years of this before Delmon can give you two years of decent production?

I would call that worthless, as he's below replacement level now and no matter what he does 5 years from now, he'll be into his free agent years. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he can be sent back to the minors because of his initial major league contract.

I didn't think the Twins gave up much in him, even if some years down the road he becomes Albert Belle. Kinda like back when a high school NBA draft pick became a free agent after his 3rd or 4th season - they sure didn't give much value to the team that drafted them.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he can be sent back to the minors because of his initial major league contract.

Since he had to get plopped on the 40-man right away due to the MLB contract, he should have used options in 2004, 2005 and 2006. So it appears you're correct.

Yeah, but the Twins are notoriously bad at developing hitters.

David Ortiz has said many times that the Twins emphasize hitting ground balls and not lofting the ball. This is really what makes Morneau so surprising.

David Ortiz has said many times that the Twins emphasize hitting ground balls and not lofting the ball. This is really what makes Morneau so surprising.

I think I've heard or read that the Twins want Joe Mauer to hit more homers, but it doesn't seem like there's anybody on staff tell him how.

I think I've heard or read that the Twins want Joe Mauer to hit more homers, but it doesn't seem like there's anybody on staff tell him how.

Oh,that's easy. Hit lazy popups to short-medium CF. Visiting player loses track of the ball against the roof, it drops and bounces over his head and rolls to the wall.

David Ortiz said that the Twins tried to make him hit like a "little girl."

This is from a SI cover article:

Ortiz had felt stifled in Minnesota, an organization that so emphasizes situa­tional hitting that no Twin has hit 30 home runs in a season since 1987. The 6'4" Ortiz was the square peg who ­didn’t fit in the round hole. “They wanted me to stay inside the ball,” Ortiz says, referring to a style in which a lefthanded hitter tries to hit inside pitches to leftfield. “They were teaching that to everyone. That’s why nobody ever hits home runs there. But when you’re young in the big leagues and the coach tells you to do something and you don’t do it and you get negative results, then you’re f-----. They’re going to sit you down.”

The Twins, Ortiz says, so enthusiastically stressed small-ball tactics such as hitting behind runners that “if you moved the runner over from second base [with a groundout], you got high fives in the dugout like you just hit a home run.”

In his first at bat with the Red Sox, while batting cleanup in a spring training game, Ortiz happened to come up with a runner on second base and no outs. “I came in with that little pull, cheap-shot s---,” said Ortiz, explaining his grounder to second base on an outside sinker. “I still had the Minnesota Twins in my system.”

This time there were no high fives waiting for him in the dugout, just manager Grady Little with a word of advice. “Hey,” Little said. “Next time? Bring him in.”

Ortiz smiles at the memory. “I was like, O.K.!” he says. “I had a little more freedom than what I was used to.”

The link

The Twins, Ortiz says, so enthusiastically stressed small-ball tactics such as hitting behind runners that “if you moved the runner over from second base [with a groundout], you got high fives in the dugout like you just hit a home run.”

I've seen a lot of baseball. I'm pretty sure that almost every team does this, almost no matter the situation.