Sire of Fort Myers Update: Favorites Emerge

ON ELIGIBILITY

I always like to start these things out by reminding everybody who is eligible. Anyone not on the 40-man roster, regardless of MLB experience, is eligible along with anyone on the 40-man roster who has not appeared in an MLB game.

So that means Kyle Garlick, who leads the team in total bases and is the only hitter with multiple home runs, is not in the mix for the cape and scepter. He’s on the 40-man roster and has 42 career MLB games under his belt between the Dodgers and Phillies.

Another standout performer this spring who is not eligible for the throne is Lewis Thorpe. He’s had a great spring, pitching four no-hit innings with six strikeouts. Let’s move on to the early favorites for 2021 Sire of Fort Myers.

THE HITTERS

Keon Broxton

This guy was expected to be the favorite coming in and he’s delivered. Broxton has an eye-popping .429/.556/.714 batting line (1.270 OPS), but perhaps most importantly he’s drawn nearly as many walks (four) as he has strikeouts (five). In 376 MLB games, Broxton has struck out 396 times and drawn 107 walks.

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Broxton may not have quite as much explosiveness as he did when he was with the Brewers, but he’s still capable of manning center field. Twins fans may remember him robbing Brian Dozier of a home run with a spectacular catch in Milwaukee a few years back.

Tzu-Wei Lin

Lin has posted a similar line as Broxton’s, hitting .444/.583/.667 (1.250 OPS). He’s also been successful on both of his stolen base attempts. Lin has only appeared at third base and shortstop so far this spring, but he’s played every position but first base in his MLB career. Yes, that includes an appearance at catcher as well as an inning pitched.

Drew Maggi

This is Maggi’s third year in the system and 11th overall in professional baseball. Even with there being no minor league season last year, this guy has played in 760 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Another versatile defender, Maggi crushed a home run on Thursday and is hitting .250/.333/.625 (.958 OPS).

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Rob Refsnyder

This guy has been a tough out so far, hitting .222/.417/.444 (.861 OPS). Refsnyder has a long track record of being a plus on-base guy in the minors (.378 OBP in 2,809 plate appearances), but was never able to translate that over in the majors. You may remember him playing some second base with the Yankees a few years back, but it appears he’s strictly a corner outfielder these days.

Gilberto Celestino

This Twins prospect is off to a solid start so far, hitting .308/.308/.462 (.769 OPS). If he continues to produce at the plate and makes a couple flashy catches, which he has a knack for, Celestino could shoot up this list.

THE PITCHERS

Derek Law

In three innings pitched, Law has surrendered just one hit, has three strikeouts and one walk. By far the most accomplished major league pitcher on this list, Law has a career 4.22 ERA in 167 MLB appearances. He had a 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 5.56 K:BB ratio as a rookie back in 2016 with the Giants but never repeated that success. If the Twins could find that guy again he’d be quite the addition.

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Luke Farrell

Farrell only has 2 1/3 innings under his belt, but he’s struck out five of the nine batters he’s faced, has yet to issue a walk and has only surrendered one hit. That will certainly earn him some more looks.

Ian Hamilton

Another guy who’s impressed out of the pen, Hamilton has struck out four of the 11 batters he’s faced. In 2 2/3 innings of work, opposing hitters have mustered just one hit off Hamilton. He’s topped out at 95.8 mph so far this spring.

Matt Canterino

We’re probably not going to see too much more of Canterino, but he was very impressive in the inning he pitched against Tampa Bay. In addition to retiring all three batters he faced, two of them via strikeouts, Canterino also topped out at 98.7 mph.

https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1370856638782042116

Brandon Waddell

He’s given up some damage, but seven strikeouts in just 3 1/3 innings pitched is eye-opening enough for him to make this list. A rough outing against Atlanta in which he gave up four runs may end up being too much to overcome in terms of capturing the crown, but a lefty who can tough 95 mph is going to get plenty of opportunities to recover.

We’re 13 games into the spring schedule with 16 left to play, so while these players have made strong impressions early, there’s still plenty of time for other contenders to emerge. We’ll check back in with another update next weekend.

Which players have caught your eye so far this spring?

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