Through the Fence: Sluggers' Gala 2/12/16

[Bob Sacamento]

It's that time of year again, where the players start to slowly shuffle in for the beginning of spring training and where all the offseason workouts start to show fruition. Even though I didn't arrive to the backfields til 9:30 am, the action was just getting started with my main concentration on the hitters. As I pulled up, Byung Ho Park was walking back from Hammond Stadium to the backfields, unlike last weekend he had his Korean translator with him. Despite the language gap, Park speaks enough English to get by with small talk himself and even with Venezuelan Arcia. Byung Ho said his wrist felt better from last week where he irritated it from swinging the bat and he said NO bat flips of any kind this year. After Park came over to the backfields, he joined the group of infielders who were covering first base from throws from the mound.

While this was going on, the adjacent field had the outfielders undergoing fielding drills with the likes of Adam Brett Walker in LF, Joe Benson and Lamonte Wade in CF, and Travis Harrison and Oswaldo Arcia in RF. The drills seemed more centered around first step and catching on the run. After the defensive drills, the hitters took their turn in the cage with the first group of Oswaldo Arcia, Byung Ho Park and Travis Harrison; the second group of Adam Brett Walker, Lamonte Wade, and Joe Benson; the third group Trey Cabbage and Buck Britton (3B w/ Dodgers MiLB in 2015).

 

 

In BP, Arcia showed off his light tower power especially to the pull side. He hit one that went over the two protective fences the Twins and bounced into the road and landed in the High School (South Fort Myers) where Twins uberprospect Max Kepler attended once moving to the states at 16yo. Oswaldo looked loose in the cage and was obviously having fun. After his BP session, Ozzy went to RF to shag flyballs and was treating BP as game situation: running down balls, taking routes, proper catching technique, etcetra. Ozzy was extremely talkative and gracious to the 20-30 fans in attendance, I caught up with Arcia later and talked about how he's more prepared then he has been for any season. He's put in a ton of work this offseason not only conditioning but also working on his outfield play and it showed. Arcia stated that he WANTS to play RF this year and is going to try and force the Twin s hand come Opening Day roster. Which is different then another Twins' prospect who has been MIA for nearly two weeks which isn't really convenient when he's trying to learn a brand new position.

 

After Arcia's turn, it was the newly acquired Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, who did not disappoint either. Park parked only one over the fence but he's got a nice fluid stroke but after watching the video one can see his mechanics that leads to extrabase hits yet also strikeouts. It's easy to envision 25-30 homeruns with ease.

 

If you have never seen Adam Brett Walker take batting practice then you are missing a show! Walker pounds the ball, hard, very hard. The sound the ball makes off his bat when he hits one square is one of beauty. When Walker is able to extend his arms, he's able to punish balls to all fields. Adam Brett hit the furtherest homer of the day a pulled ball down the left alley way which landed ~420 ft. You can hear Coach Tommy Watkins screaming like a hyena at one point because AB just destroyed the pitch.

 

The last player to hit was 2015 4th Rounder Trey Cabbage, who looks like he's added 10-15 pounds of muscle over the offseason and it looks to pay dividends. The left handed hitting Cabbage has a beautiful stroke to go with his strong work ethic and athleticism. He'll be interesting to watch this year in his first full professional season; his placement in the organizational ladder should also be of note. As the Twins also drafted a 3B in Travis Blankenhorn who made it to Short A E-town last year.

 

 

I'll be back next Friday when even more of the players will be in town. You can follow me on twitter @tturbo420, flickr, and YouTube

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

In BP, Arcia showed off his light tower power especially to the pull side. He hit one that went over the two protective fences the Twins and bounced into the road and landed in the High School (South Fort Myers) where Twins uberprospect Max Kepler attended once moving to the states at 16yo. Oswaldo looked loose in the cage and was obviously having fun. After his BP session, Ozzy went to RF to shag flyballs and was treating BP as game situation: running down balls, taking routes, proper catching technique, etcetra. Ozzy was extremely talkative and gracious to the 20-30 fans in attendance, I caught up with Arcia later and talked about how he's more prepared then he has been for any season. He's put in a ton of work this offseason not only conditioning but also working on his outfield play and it showed. Arcia stated that he WANTS to play RF this year and is going to try and force the Twin s hand come Opening Day roster. Which is different then another Twins' prospect who has been MIA for nearly two weeks which isn't really convenient when he's trying to learn a brand new position

 

This is encouraging. Let's hope Arcia takes that step forward that we had hoped he would take last year.

[HitInAPinch]

I'd like to see Arcia earn that starting RF spot.  Make him and Sano fight for it.  That would be some fun!

At the same time, I'm a little leery about Arcia.  What happened last year?  Was it an injury? I seem to remember that Arcia has has some back/hip issues.  It's really really early, but I'd like to see Arcia take the outside pitch and hit it to left.  He's gotta get over that pull everything mentality.

 

Trey Cabbage:  always nice to read about young players who get's what needs to be done.

[Bob Sacamento]

 

I'd like to see Arcia earn that starting RF spot.  Make him and Sano fight for it.  That would be some fun!

At the same time, I'm a little leery about Arcia.  What happened last year?  Was it an injury? I seem to remember that Arcia has has some back/hip issues.  It's really really early, but I'd like to see Arcia take the outside pitch and hit it to left.  He's gotta get over that pull everything mentality.

 

Trey Cabbage:  always nice to read about young players who get's what needs to be done.

Arcia had a hip flexor issue last year which is a nagging injury if not fully rehabbed properly.  He's taken the measures this offseason to combat it at least.  Chalk last year up as a "lost season" but it was enough to light a fire under Ozzy's butt to work on his shortcomings all offseason in Fort Myers under Twins' watch/care.

 

Cabbage is a guy to watch this season, I wouldn't be shocked if he leapfrogged the other 3B drafted Blankenhorn.  Kid could turn out to be a solid option at 3B down the long road, at the very least someone to keep an eye on.

[BoomBoom]

Can't wait to see the new faces in camp this week (today).

[Willihammer]

Love Arcia's swing.

Park's got a happy front foot. Will be curious to see if that's still around in 6 months.

Walker's swing, IMHO, looks like it should be torn down and rebuilt.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'd like to see Arcia earn that starting RF spot.  Make him and Sano fight for it.  That would be some fun!

Wait, if Arcia earned the starting RF spot, what exactly would happen to Sano?  LF?

[Bob Sacamento]

 

Wait, if Arcia earned the starting RF spot, what exactly would happen to Sano?  LF?

My personal guess has been IF Arcia won the RF job, Sano goes to DH where he wants to be; and Park starts off in AAA or Mauer starts off on DL.

[Thrylos]

 

My personal guess has been IF Arcia won the RF job, Sano goes to DH where he wants to be; and Park starts off in AAA or Mauer starts off on DL.

 

 

This assumes that Rosario will not be the centerfielder over Buxton or might even lose his job and get optioned to the minors and/or Plouffe will not be traded.

 

Good stuff!  Thanks for the updates.

 

[Dantes929]

 

My personal guess has been IF Arcia won the RF job, Sano goes to DH where he wants to be; and Park starts off in AAA or Mauer starts off on DL.

I've seen this stated before mostly in rumor form with no foundation but is it fact that Sano wants to be DH or just perpetuating a falsehood?

I just want Arcia striding toward the pitcher with a solid swing rather than in the bucket with   way more effort than he needs to hit it out of the stadium.    I want to see him hit .280 with 30 homers rather than .220 with 25 moon shots.    They are fun to watch but he can be so much more productive IMO.

[HitInAPinch]

 

Wait, if Arcia earned the starting RF spot, what exactly would happen to Sano?  LF?

 

Oh, man...  I started something again, didn't I. 

 

But, competition is always good!  I'd love to be down at SP and watch the slug it out.  Literally!!

[bluechipper]

Thanks for all of the great BP videos. And wow, the Park video already has over 8,000 views on YouTube.

[bluechipper]

I really like what I'm hearing about Arcia this offseason. If he can find a way to play up to his talent level (and find somewhere to play in the field), this lineup is going to have some serious power.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Thanks for all of the great BP videos. And wow, the Park video already has over 8,000 views on YouTube.

I wonder if TD has seen a similar increase in site traffic from Korea?

[TNLooky2015]

I wonder if Molitor will let these sluggers have a HR derby in BP one of these ST practices.    It would probably draw a capacity crowd if advertised early enough.    Simply put   -   "I was going to let them get after it with a HR derby on (_____ day)"

How exciting would that be:
Plouffe
Sano
Arcia
Park
Walker
Vargas
Dozier

That would be worth the price of admission.     Oh yeah   -   it's free

[Bob Sacamento]

Thanks for all of the great BP videos. And wow, the Park video already has over 8,000 views on YouTube.

No problem, I'll be back there Friday and will take some more video and pics! As for the Park video, It was at 5k in less than 24 hrs! If I knew everyone was so hungry for Park I would have followed him around with a freaking Go Pro cam lol!   Youtube analytics show that 90% is from South Korea.  Before that my top video was of BoSox phenom Anderson Espinoza but that 6k took 6 months.

 

If anyone has any suggestions or wants of pic or video of Spring Training I'll gladly oblige the best I can.

[PseudoSABR]

 

I've seen this stated before mostly in rumor form with no foundation but is it fact that Sano wants to be DH or just perpetuating a falsehood?

I think observers might be drawing the conclusion based only on observable work habits within the Fort Meyer's facility.

[071063]

I'm excited for Arcia this year.  I've always liked him but he really disappointed last year and it seems progress hasn't really been there for the last 2 years.  Hopefully last year was a wake up call and he can become the middle of the order power hitter everyone thought he could be a couple of years ago.

 

If he does, it makes perfect sense that Sano goes to DH most of the time but plays a day a week or so in RF, 3B and 1B.  His bat will be in the lineup everyday.  This would allow Byung Ho Park to start in AAA with no pressure and get comfortable.  I still think that would be a good path for him.

 

To Mauer makes or breaks the Twins lineup again this year.  If he can return the the .300+ hitter he was, then our lineup should be very solid and should score a lot of runs.  If he repeats last year, the key will be if Twins management has the courage to DL him until his vision improves.

[Platoon]

Bob, you pointed out in your opening that someone (who shall remain nameless) who is learning an entirely new position this year is MIA? Is he still MIA?

[Dantes929]

 

I think observers might be drawing the conclusion based only on observable work habits within the Fort Meyer's facility.

Well, practicing catching fly balls can be done anywhere but your point is taken and it will be interesting how it all plays out.    I would have no problem with Sano being DH, Arcia in right, Plouffe at 3rd, Mauer at first and having them all hit so well there is no spot for Park.

[Bob Sacamento]

 

Bob, you pointed out in your opening that someone (who shall remain nameless) who is learning an entirely new position this year is MIA? Is he still MIA?

Well the two people I talked to yesterday (I work M-Th, shocking I know), didn't spot him and I've heard nothing from the few "insiders" that I know so my guess is he'll show back up hopefully by this weekend with most of the guys.