Article: Twins Minor League Report: Kernels Win Twins Debut

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1525-Twins-Minor-League-Report-Kernals-Win-Twins-Debut

[tjsyam921]

Nice article. With be nice to read game notes and results instead of just the box scores.

[Mike Sixel]

My favorite part of this site. Thanks Seth, and thanks in advance to all the writers.

[cmathewson]

When they signed Polanco (the same year as Sano), I was thinking he'd be a slick glove, marginal hit guy, like Florimon is today. But he has a potent bat. Has he filled out? Where does his power come from? Also, can he play shortstop? Some reports say he doesn't have the arm to stick there long term?

[Seth Stohs]

When they signed Polanco (the same year as Sano), I was thinking he'd be a slick glove, marginal hit guy, like Florimon is today. But he has a potent bat. Has he filled out? Where does his power come from? Also, can he play shortstop? Some reports say he doesn't have the arm to stick there long term?

 

I can't say what he looked like as a 16-year-old. All I personally have is what Mauer has said about him filling out a bit. He's still little, very skinny. He does have a quick bat, but I don't think that he'll hit a lot of home runs. I do think that he can hit a lot of doubles to the gaps, and if he has gap power, that would be great. He had an error at 2B last night, it almost looked like he was shielded by a runner, but he does look smooth over there. I had lunch yesterday with Tommy Watkins, and he did say that they will play him at short throughout the year. Goodrum has a great arm. I honestly can't speak to Polanco's arm because to this point, I've only seen him at second base and he hasn't had to air it out.

[Seth Stohs]

Nice article. With be nice to read game notes and results instead of just the box scores.

 

I appreciate that. We are trying to get some in-roads closer to the affiliates to be able to do a little more. It's a challenge, but what we hope to do is bring some additional stories and articles where our readers will get to know more of the players.

[Halsey Hall]

Oh, this is going to be great to read these reports.

 

On Buxton, and his gauging hitters, I noticed that in spring trainng. He moves some before every pitch it seemed. He can probably see the sign and know what pitch is coming. Hope he doesn't tip off the hitter, but it's great to see he's thinking all the time out there.

[jorgenswest]

My favorite part of this site. Thanks Seth, and thanks in advance to all the writers.

 

I echo these thoughts.

[roger]

Thanks Seth, this first hand report from Iowa is appreciated. Had to be fun being on hand for all the first day festivities. Are people in Cedar Rapids excited as the local media seems to imply? If they are, could be special relationship.

[righty8383]

Hey seth they show pitch speed right? Any word on how hard these guys were throwing?

[Thegrin]

Could you please include a link to the box scores for each ot the games. Thank you.

[cmb0252]

Thanks for the great write up Seth. Always my favorite articles around here.

[tmerrickkeller]

This is incredibly cool! The effort is very much appreciated. Getting that daily rundown of the minor league affiliates is great, on its own, but everyone at TD has done such a terrific job letting us get to know the prospects that it is even more interesting to see how they fare. Excited to see how Gibson does tonight. Thank you, thank you!

[Steven Buhr]

As Jim Crikket's "evil twin" I thought I'd take this opportunity for my first TD post.

 

righty, they do post the pitch speed on the board. One of the other reporters in the pressbox overheard Seth and I discussing one of the pitcher's mph and he confirmed that what's shown on the board is a couple of mph below the actual speed. Taking that in to account, Rogers was in the mid 90s and Jones low 90s, though both pitchers lost a couple of ticks by their third inning of work.

 

roger, I do believe the locals are generally pretty excited. Attendance wasn't over the top last night, but it was still the best attended Opening Day in several years. It likely would have been even higher, but Iowa's basketball team was playing in the NIT final last night, as well. That's not a big deal to most of you, but in CR Hawkeye sports are a huge deal... even if it's the NIT. I haven't heard where the Kernels ended up on season tickets, but I know they were running 15-20% above last year's total several weeks ago and I'm sure some people (like me, for instance) didn't get around to buying their season tickets until closer to Opening Day.

 

This relationship has the potential to be very good for both sides. The Angels had not been sending competitive squads lately and there's almost no local fan base for the Angels around here. Also, the players themselves have REALLY impressed the locals that have had a chance to meet them on a personal level. You might want to check out this story by one of my fellow MSR writers, Mike Condon.

[glunn]

Great job! Words cannot express how much I have missed these reports.

[h2oface]

Love it! Great report! Pretty scary day on the mound for AAA pitching depth. I am certainly not a fan of the lame moniker "Kernels". Makes me think of what it looks like......... on the way out.

[Seth Stohs]

Hey seth they show pitch speed right? Any word on how hard these guys were throwing?

 

Taylor Rogers - Fastball is 88-89, slider in the low 80s. sharp.

Tyler Jones - Touched 93, great slider at 81.

Soliman hit 92 but was all over the place velo wise.

Mazza hit 90-91.