Article: A Very Early Look at the 2014 Rochester Red Wings

[Christopher Fee]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2325-A-Very-Early-Look-at-the-2014-Rochester-Red-Wings

[Oldgoat_MN]

No question Hicks will be in AAA to start next year. Hopefully he'll follow his usual pattern of performing excellent in his second year at a level.

 

Interesting observation about Santana. Unfortunately his .333 OBP this year was the best he's ever had, but maybe you're right. He has been getting better each of the last 3 years.

 

Wondering a little bit who is playing 1B for the Twins, given you have Colabello & Parmelee in AAA.

 

Good thread. It's never too early!

[tju22]

Interesting thought IMO on Sano. Everyone has talked about the low avg at AA and that he hadnt completely figured it out, but I looked at his BABIP and it sat at .265. If he had an avg BABIP of .300 which is well below what he's shown in the minors, 5 more hits would've fallen in and his line at AA would have finished at 258/366/593 assuming they were all singles. Not that his .920'ish OPS wasn't still incredible, that would put him over .950 which in the age relative to league context is almost superhuman

 

I'm all for sending him to AAA until the Super 2 deadline passes cause we need to hang onto this kid for as long as possible. More than likely he'll force a promotion after destroying AAA for a couple months but I think he's ready.

[Thegrin]

With that lineup Rochester should be an extremely good team to start the season. However, that lineup should be in shambles by the end of the season due to ML callups.

[glunn]

Great article -- the Red Wings could be very good next year and you make some interesting points.

[beckmt]

Was interested to see that this projection had both Albers and Diamond in the Twins starting rotation. All I can say to that is I hope not, also was missing Hendriks, DeVires, Walters (etc). Many if not most of the above will be in the Rochester rotation. If they are all in the Twin Cities, it will mean Twins have struck out in trying to sign FA pitchers, or management feels the Twins are at least 1-2 years from being competitive. That would not be a good message to send to the fans.

[Zephrin]

Was interested to see that this projection had both Albers and Diamond in the Twins starting rotation. All I can say to that is I hope not, also was missing Hendriks, DeVires, Walters (etc). Many if not most of the above will be in the Rochester rotation. If they are all in the Twin Cities, it will mean Twins have struck out in trying to sign FA pitchers, or management feels the Twins are at least 1-2 years from being competitive. That would not be a good message to send to the fans.

 

I think some combination of Hendricks, DeVries, Walters and Hernandez are released (not all 4, but maybe 2 of them?). I agree that both Albers and Diamond will be in the organization, though, and if both are with the Twins that is probably not a great thing. (Correa and Gibson being "locks" for the rotation and Deduno starting the season on IR)

[Zephrin]

And yes, I threw up in my mouth a little calling Correa a "lock" for the rotation.

[big dog]

Who's playing first for the Twins if Parmalee and Colabello are both Red Wings? Are you assuming the Twins sign Morneau or another free agent? That doesn't seem likely to me, but it could happen.

[Rosterman]

At least there is jiggle room - Darnell and Dean could begin at New Britain. Hernandez may be better suited for the bullpen (and he or Albers will probably be a Twin). DeVries might be back.

 

I see them signing a few minor league free agents to fill the DH?OF, maybe 1st base role (the other 1B prospects are all AA or below). Ftyer MAY be back as a backup catcher.

 

But, yes, I think Red Wings fans could excited actually seeing Twins prospects play rather than a roster full of retreads.

[Waverley Wildcat]

Santana made 32 errors this season (26 in 2012) , maybe he would be better at DH with Beresford the much better fielder at SS.

[Craig in MN]

Just to see them all listed out, here are the Twins starters they control that aren't on that list:

 

Correia

Gibson

Deduno

Diamond

Worley

Hendriks

Albers

Walters

Devries

 

That's 9 guys. I could see 2 or 3 of those guys being released, but I expect the Twins to sign another starter too. That leaves 2 or 3 extra guys. I'd put Hernandez in the bullpen, but they still need to clear space. It's too bad none of them would be worth much in a trade to clear some space.

 

 

I think that Parmalee is out of options, so there's a fair chance that he never has a chance to play in Rochester next year. I'd say a Wilkin Ramirez type would be more likely to get that playing time.

[Winston Smith]

Who's playing first for the Twins if Parmalee and Colabello are both Red Wings? Are you assuming the Twins sign Morneau or another free agent? That doesn't seem likely to me, but it could happen.

 

Mauer should play about 150 games at first next year.

Reasons why:

1. He is taking longer than expected to recover.

2. Spending any time catching will increase his chances of getting another foul ball related concussion.

3. Another concussion could end his time as a productive player while still eating up 1/3 of the payroll for the next 5 yrs.

4. My hope is the Twins brass isn't so stupid as to take that chance!

[Seth Stohs]

Parmelee will be out of options, so he would have to clear waivers to go back to Rochester (Which is possible). I'm a big Beresford fan, but he should not be a DH, even with his solid Batting average. It'd be interesting to see the depth on this roster. Rohlfing would be the backup catcher too, so there would need to be a couple of outfielders and a couple of infielders.

 

I would anticipate Alex Meyer getting a month in New Britain to start next season, but he could move up quickly.

[Mike Sixel]

Santana made 32 errors this season (26 in 2012) , maybe he would be better at DH with Beresford the much better fielder at SS.

 

Santana's shot at being in the majors, and the Twins' at fixing things, is for him to be a SS, not a full time DH. He should be the SS next year in Rochester.....

[diehardtwinsfan]

Parmelee is in MN next year as the starting 1B. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sano started in AA, though I think they will be aggressive with him and put him in Rochester.

 

Not sure I'd DH Beresford. Kid has no power. If the Twins have 40 man spots, I could see them putting Romero there to keep him around.

[Siehbiscuit]

Just curious why Trevor May continues to be thought of as a bullpen guy in the future, due to his walk rate, when Meyer had nearly an identical BB/9 in 2013?! May improved tremendously this year and may continue on the same trajectory next year. They both are high K guys (Meyer definitely moreso), but I really like what May will be able to bring the club in the future.

[Shane Wahl]

I thought I posted a response to this last night, but maybe not. Anyway, Parmelee, Colabello, Pinto, and Hicks better be with the Twins out of the gate. Yes, I said Hicks.

 

And no one mentioned Beresford as the DH, but Santana as the DH. Santana is going to have to show that he can play SS or he is going to have to be traded (and I don't think that is such a terrible idea).

[ltwedt]

Almost makes me wish I lived in NY, . . . Pretty sure I'd see better baseball there than at Target Field in 2014!

[Shane Wahl]

Just curious why Trevor May continues to be thought of as a bullpen guy in the future, due to his walk rate, when Meyer had nearly an identical BB/9 in 2013?! May improved tremendously this year and may continue on the same trajectory next year. They both are high K guys (Meyer definitely moreso), but I really like what May will be able to bring the club in the future.

 

Where did someone say that about May. I agree that he improved this year enough to make me not worry about him as a starter. And a pretty good one too. He just needs to not get hit so much, actually.

[3up3down]

of the pitchers listed above,

 

albers,hendriks & devries probably come off the 40 man this winter & may be elibible to file free agency, almost positive albers can

 

walters is not on the 40 man & not under twins control , he will file for free agency on sept 30 when minor leaguers can file.

[Shane Wahl]

If I were the Twins, I would keep Albers, Hendriks, and Hernandez around amongst all of the AAA starters brought up. Actually I would have Albers be the long man for the Twins and then pay Hendriks and Hernandez (both are too young to simply let go away) to stay around in Rochester next year. I am basing this off of FA signings (plural) because otherwise Hendriks would just be in the rotation anyway.

[pierre75275]

A good informative article. I just have a couple questions. Who plays first for the ML club if colabello and parmalee and pinto all play AAA? And what happens to pitchers named Deduno Hendricks Albers Diamond Gibson in the offseason, especially if the twins sign a couple more in the offseason

[Thrylos]

Hopefully Pinto, Hicks and Sano are in the majors and Meyer makes the Twins' rotation out of Spring Training. I am certain that Parmelee will not be in Rochester. Add 6-7 MiLB FA to your list (signed or re-signed) and you are about right.

[cmb0252]

After how quick a lot of people soured on Hicks after struggling after being rushed to the bigs I hope they don't make the same mistake with Sano.

[MichiganTwins]

Hicks is going be alright. He just needs some time and looking at our ML roster next year. No need to rush him up because we are not going to be competitive without a drastic change, but that change is coming soon i.e. our prospects are fast approaching.