Zack Granite. Now that’s a baseball name. And this dude is kicking the crap out of pitchers at Triple-A Rochester for the Twins.
The 24-year-old lefty centerfielder is hitting a ridiculous .369 in 55 games and he’s reached base 28 games in a row. According to Baseball Prospectus’ Aaron Gleeman, Granite’s .369 batting average is the highest for any Twins Triple-A batter since Rochester joined the organization in 2003.
Re: Zack Granite. Highest batting average for Triple-A Rochester since they became the Twins' affiliate in 2003 (min. 150 PA): pic.twitter.com/AvDA1RwiaE
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 29, 2017
Some of the guys below Granite on the list, like Jason Kubel, Aaron Hicks and Denard Span, turned out to be pretty good hitters in the big leagues. Others, however, like Chris Parmelee, Jose Morales and Alexi Casilla never really panned out as hitters.
On Thursday, Granite was named a starter for the International League All-Star Game.
But it’s Granite’s speed that allows him to drop cocky quotes like this.
“I can turn a single into a double in one pitch,” Granite recently told ABC 13. “I’m gonna make his life a living hell out there. He knows it, everybody in the park knows it, the manager knows it, they’re picking off, they’re pitching out. Everyone’s on edge when I’m on the bases.”
And he backs it up. He led Double-A with 56 steals last year and he already has 17 stolen bases this season.
Zone Coverage’s Brandon Warne notes that in all likelihood Granite is simply getting attention for an incredible month of June. He’s hitting almost .500 this month after ending May with a .259 batting average. Long term, Granite doesn’t pass the eye test as a starting outfielder, Warne argues.
Declan Goff wrote more about Granite last week. Check that out right here.
