Sire of Fort Myers Update: Surprise Contenders Emerge

[Tom Froemming]

Hear ye, hear ye! ‘Tis time to take a look at any contenders who have emerged for the title of Sire of Fort Myers. It appears I may have cursed those I identified as the favorites entering camp, but some new names have surfaced.

Image courtesy of (photos of Jeferson Morales)

One of my favorite aspects of Sire of Fort Myers is learning more about players on the fringes of the big leagues. There are a number of players serving as depth in St. Paul who aren’t established as big leaguers but also long-passed their prospect days. These men are simultaneously just one step away from the top of their profession and the most overlooked players in all of professional baseball.

A few of these unheralded kings have established themselves as names to know in the race for 2025 Sire of Fort Myers. Before we get to those players, there are a few items to address. First, eligibility. Sire of Fort Myers has to be a player who is either 1) Not on the 40-man roster, or 2) Has never played in the majors. So this means guys like Mickey Gasper and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. aren’t eligible.

The next housekeeping item is to … gulp … check in on the players I deemed favorites. I have a poor track record of handicapping the race for Sire of Fort Myers, and this year’s disaster is looking particularly epic. Matt Canterino made one appearance before his shoulder turned to shreds. That was one more appearance than Yunior Severino has made. I assume he’s also hurt, though to be clear I haven’t seen any reporting on it. After all, if the Twins had no interest in getting Severino into spring games, they wouldn’t have made him a non-roster invitee in the first place. The final of the three favorites I picked, Anthony Misiewicz, hasn’t been quite as cursed, but he also has not put himself in contention for this year’s honor.

One last thing we need to do before getting to the few under the radar names that have surged is to acknowledge a top prospect who has continued to impress. Luke Keaschall still isn’t quite fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, but he’s not letting that slow him down. Twins Daily’s No. 3 Twins prospect has posted a .267/.421/.533 line (.954 OPS) with a home run and a stolen base. He’s walked three times and struck out once in 19 plate appearances. If you’re a regular reader here, you’ve surely already heard plenty about Keaschall (but just in case, here are a few links). Let’s shine some light upon the other candidates who’ve made an early impression.

Jeferson Morales is a 5-foot-8, right-handed hitter with experience in the outfield corners, time behind the plate and some limited looks at second base. The Twins signed Morales out of Venezuela back in 2016. He became a minor league free agent in the winter of 2023, but returned to the org. I believe that makes him the fourth most-tenured Twin behind only Byron Buxton, Griffin Jax and Jose Miranda. A line drive hitter, Morales was building momentum until a poor 2022 stopped him in his tracks.

Last year, Morales finally made it out of Cedar Rapids after spending three years with the Kernels. He not only reached Double-A for the first time, Morales even earned a late-season callup to Triple-A. It was a small sample of 17 games, but he looked very comfortable in St. Paul, hitting .359/.433/.585 (1.018 OPS). Morales has managed to carry that strong finish into spring, as he’s hit .417/.500/.750 (1.250 OPS) in 14 plate appearances so far.

Morales survived the first round of spring cuts, so it’s possible this redemption story comes adorned with a crown, cape and scepter before all is said and done.

While the Twins have solid depth, making it difficult to envision Morales making a potential run at the big league roster. If everything breaks right for him, however, it’s easy to see how he could be a valuable complementary bench player if he continues to improve. Morales has hit lefties well, is faster and more athletic than Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach and can serve as an emergency catcher. Again, the odds are very much against Morales ever cracking the MLB roster, but he’d fit in nicely around some of the other pieces the Twins have. He figures to spend plenty of time with the Saints this summer, so he’s a name to know for anyone who enjoys spending time at CHS Field.

Unlike Morales, Allan Cerda is a newcomer to the org. Originally signed by the Reds, Cerda was their No. 14 prospect in 2022 per Baseball America and made it all the way up to Double-A that season. Unfortunately, he’s basically been stuck there since. Cerda was released by Cincinnati in late May and resurfaced with the Giants before becoming a minor league free agent at the end of the season. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December. 

Cerda has a .222/.360/.453 line over more than 1,300 minor league plate appearances (.813 OPS). The 25-year-old has mashed for the Twins so far this spring, posting a 1.364 OPS in 11 plate appearances. Cerda was not among the non-roster invitees, so his path to playing time might be his biggest obstacle in building a resume for Sire of Fort Myers.

Not many Sire-eligible pitchers have had much opportunity to build their resume yet. Eiberson Castellano leads the way among that group with 4 2/3 innings pitched, but his performance has been uneven. The Twins Rule 5 pick has struck out an impressive seven batters over that stretch but also has a 7.71 ERA.

Following Castellano are Travis Adams, Andrew Morris and Darren McCaughan with four innings each. Morris is the one who has made the most of his opportunities out of that group. Twins Daily’s No. 5 prospect has surrendered just one hit over four scoreless frames. And that’s without his typical excellent control, as he’s walked a pair of batters to go with a pair of strikeouts. Like with Keaschall, if you spend time around these parts you’re probably already familiar with Morris (but here’s another group of links just in case). He’s one of my personal favorites for his aggressive approach, strike-throwing ability and animated antics on the mound.

Other standouts on the pitching side include Randy Dobnak and Jacob Bosiokovic. Dobnak has only made one appearance, but it was about as good as it gets. He dominated a lineup full of Atlanta regulars, throwing three shutout frames while striking out five.

Dobnak was among the first spring cuts for the Twins. While that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see him get into any more spring games, it seems unlikely he’ll see enough opportunities to build a case for Sire of Fort Myers.

Bosiokovic (pronounced boh-see-OH-koh-vick) is a phantom ballplayer. He managed to achieve his dream of making it to the major leagues, but he’s yet to actually play in an MLB game. The Cardinals called him up to the big leagues on June 30 last season but optioned him back to Triple-A five days later without ever getting him into a game. So it’s basically the same thing the Twins did to Drew Maggi back in 2021, though he eventually appeared in three games with the Pirates in 2023.

Bosiokovic, a right-hander, is new to the org. Selected in the 19th round of the 2016 draft, he spent the first three seasons of his professional career as a hitter. The Rockies gave him a look as a relief arm the next season. That audition went well enough that the Cardinals selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in 2019. Bosiokovic struggled to stay healthy and wound up pitching in indy ball in 2023 to keep his career afloat. The Cardinals welcomed him back last year on a minor league deal, and he landed with the Twins on a minors deal in January.

Bosiokovic is 31-years-old, has had quite the journey to this point and is still chasing his dreams. In 47 Triple-A appearances last year, Bosiokovic had a 5.56 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 55 innings. He’s thrown 2 2/3 perfect innings for the Twins this spring while striking out four of the eight batters he’s faced. Like Cerda, Bosiokovic was not a non-roster invitee, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll have many chances to further impress.

With the Twins basically at the halfway point of spring training, expect the race for Sire of Fort Myers to pick up this coming week. Will Keaschall or Morris follow in 2024 Sire of Fort Myers winner Brooks Lee’s footsteps and become another top prospect to take the crown? Or will we see another under the radar name come from nowhere like Ryan LaMarre in 2018 and Ryne Harper in 2019?

I’ll check back in next week with another update.

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[LambchoP]

Keaschal has looked good. So has France and Gasper. Does Gasper have a shot at making the team? He can play first, second and catcher in an emergency. I'm sure he'd outhit and outplay Julien.

[Guest]

Any success Dobnak has brings a smile to my face,

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Verified Member said:

Any success Dobnak has brings a smile to my face,

Indeed.   Why wouldn't it?

[Fatbat]

If keaschall or Gasper are on the opening day roster, the one that is, is certainly Thee Sire.  Not sure if Castellano deserves it just by getting a roster spot. 

[Tom Froemming]

5 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Keaschal has looked good. So has France and Gasper. Does Gasper have a shot at making the team? He can play first, second and catcher in an emergency. I'm sure he'd outhit and outplay Julien.

Yes, Gasper has a shot. That last bench spot probably comes down to him vs. Julien vs. Martin. Of course, this is viewing things through the lens of everyone being healthy ... we know how that goes, so I haven't given it a ton of thought yet. But, Gasper being a switch hitter who, as you pointed out, has some defensive versatility makes him an interesting role player option.

If they don't expect to have much time for Julien on the big club it probably makes more sense to have him playing in St. Paul than sitting on the bench. Martin may be the best fit for this spot, seeing as he could be a valuable pinch runner late in tight games, but he's having a poor spring so far.

[stringer bell]

49 minutes ago, Tom Froemming said:

Yes, Gasper has a shot. That last bench spot probably comes down to him vs. Julien vs. Martin. Of course, this is viewing things through the lens of everyone being healthy ... we know how that goes, so I haven't given it a ton of thought yet. But, Gasper being a switch hitter who, as you pointed out, has some defensive versatility makes him an interesting role player option.

If they don't expect to have much time for Julien on the big club it probably makes more sense to have him playing in St. Paul than sitting on the bench. Martin may be the best fit for this spot, seeing as he could be a valuable pinch runner late in tight games, but he's having a poor spring so far.

Rocco loves his righty -lefty balance. I think that gives the advantage to Julien or Gasper (switch hitter). 

[Eris]

Hmm!  I’m glad he’s pitching well but Dobnak has thrown 135 innings in the majors. I don’t think he meets the Sire criteria.

[Tom Froemming]

20 minutes ago, Eris said:

Hmm!  I’m glad he’s pitching well but Dobnak has thrown 135 innings in the majors. I don’t think he meets the Sire criteria.

Since he's not on the 40-man roster, he is eligible.