Have the Minnesota Twins found the next great MLB slugger ? It’s entirely possible they have found just that in Kenny Vargas.
Kenny Vargas isn’t your average sized individual.Vargas, who towers over the competition at a height of 6’5, and due to his massive stature has been compared to former Twins slugger David Ortiz.
He is off to a hot start in his MLB career. Through 93 at bats, Vargas owns a slash line of .329/.366/.553. He has also amassed four home runs and 22 RBI over the course of his MLB début.
Despite the great start Vargas almost never got his chance. Vargas received a 50 games suspension for violation of the MLB’s drug policy in 2011 when he tested positive for Phentermine.(The drug is commonly used to lower one’s appetite to lose weight.)
As a result, Vargas sat out the rest of the season and his future was in doubt. Unfortunately, the suspension occurred at the end of the season. This meant Vargas would have to wait a whole off-season to get back on the field.
With the threat of being buried on the Twins minor league depth chart, Vargas had to work his way back.
After his suspension ended Vargas showed he never lost a step. After, sitting out almost six months he put together a great season in 2012 hitting .318 with 11 home runs . As a result, Vargas was added to The Twins 40-man roster at the beginning of the 2013 season. Despite being on the 40 man roster, The Twins opted to send Vargas to their AA affiliate New Britain Rock Cats.
It was during the 2014 season with the Rock Cats that Vargas blossomed.
He hit 17 home runs and added 63 RBI’S for the team. He was so good during the first half of the 2014 season that he was selected to the 2014 Futures Game. The success at AA prompted Minnesota to call up Vargas to the main roster. Vargas made his debut on August 1st, and he hit his first MLB home run five days later.
Minnesota hasn’t had a player hit 40+ home runs since Herman Killebrew in 1970.
Is it possible that Vargas reaches that mark one day? Hard to say but if the comparisons are already being made to David Ortiz, then 40 doesn’t seem too far out of reach.
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