Thursday Minor League Report

I actually waited to go to the ballpark until about 10. When I got there, there was a full workout going on with the Low A and High A squads, plus any pitchers who did not travel with the AAA and AA teams.

I watched Ft. Myers Miracle manager Jeff Smith working with the catchers on their footwork on pitchouts to a left-handed or right-handed batter. They also worked on their footwork and timing on intentional walks. It doesn't sound complex, and yet when watching and listening in, it is clearly important. Split-seconds make the difference between a caught stealing and a stolen base. They later set up a pitching machine and had it bounce pitches before the plate so they could work on blocking.

Before the games began in the afternoon, Smith came over and introduced himself to me. We chatted for about 10 minutes. It's clear that he really gets a lot of joy from coaching catching to catchers. He really understands the minute details.

The Naples native said he was happy to be back with the Miracle after several years in New Britain. He mentioned to me that New Britain franchise will now be an independent league team and that Stan Cliburn (former Twins coach and brother of Rochester's pitching coach Stu) will be their manager.

Being home again, Smith said that he has worked a the Twins Instructional League every fall with the exception of the year that he managed in the Arizona Fall League. He also enjoys spending time in the Dominican Republic during the offseason working with players there. He is really looking forward to going down there when the new Twins/Pirates academy will be complete. He said it will be quite similar to the academy here in Ft. Myers.

It was also fun watching the infielders working on pop ups off the pitching machine on one field. For part of that segment, they had the player turn his back to home plate. When the ball went in the air he could turn around try to find the ball and make the catch. It was more challenging than you would think with such a high sky and sun.

Nick Gordon was just shagging at home plate in the morning. On Wednesday, he tweaked his hamstring and didn't play on Thursday. He did take some ground balls. Probably nothing to worry about now, but something to keep an eye on.

Pitchers joined the field and the teams worked on situations. Runner on 1st and 2nd, bunt plays. Runner on 1st, ground ball to the pitcher. Tom Kelly was watching and on a few occasions, he completely stopped the practice to spend time with the first basemen on the details. . There definitely is an understanding that if TK talks, people stop and listen.

I watched another round of batting practice with the extended spring group. Again, the power was evident. It was also fun to see when someone behind home plate would say left field and the hitter needed to try to hit it to left. Or, they'd say second base, and the hitter would try to hit it to second base. I mentioned yesterday that a guy like Alex Perez was a professional hitter. He was able to do this with ease. But, it was definitely a challenge for some others.

Talking with hitting coach Steve Singleton, he commented about it being a process. It's a process to understand the mechanics and some subtleties, but it's also a process of patience and believing in yourself and that what you're doing will pay off in time.

At 1, the games began. As mentioned before, Phil Hughes, Trevor May and Kevin Jepsen pitched in the minor league games. Also, Oswaldo Arcia got four at- bats.

Phil Hughes worked with Kurt Suzuki in the High-A game. He looked all right. He got hit a little bit as hitters from the Rays were being aggressive, but he was around the plate. He threw quite a few more curve balls than I think he normally does. His velocity sure looked just fine, and his fastball control was good.

In the Low-A game, Trevor May started. He needed just 11 pitches to get through his inning. His fastball was good, hitting 93-94. His change-up was very impressive sitting 84. He also threw a couple of tight curve balls that came in around 76.

He was followed by Kevin Jepsen who was greeted by a long triple to right- center field on the first pitch. But after that pitch, he settled in nicely. He too was sitting 93-94 with the fastball and was right around the plate.

Arcia batted third each inning. The first at-bat, he seemed to just be taking pitches. He took a couple of strikes and then got jammed on a fastball in and weakly grounded to the mound. In his next at-bat, he worked the count. That's when he hit a long, line drive ball that was just to the right of the right field foul line. He walked in that at-bat. He later homered as well. Tom Brunansky watched each plate appearance intently.

Kurt Suzuki had a single and a couple of walks in the High-A game. Manager Paul Molitor watched from his bird's eye view.

At 1, the Extended Spring team also played a simulated game on the third full field, giving them some live batting practice and fielding.

Alex Robinson, the left-hander who was drafted last year out of Maryland, pitched a couple of innings. His mechanics have been calmed down quite a bit.

Daniel Kihle, an outfielder from Wichita State drafted last year, had a big triple to right-center field in the Cedar Rapids game. He’s got a nice right-handed swing and plays a decent outfield.

In the Ft. Myers game, Max Murphy had a huge triple to just right of center field. There was a close play a third base, but he crushed that ball. There weren’t any home runs, but there were a lot of balls to the fence in the games.

You may or may not know that I really enjoy watching good solid, fundamental defensive play, especially up the middle. Shortstop Sean Miller was drafted last year and he is very smooth with the glove. He has the soft hands and quick release. He just plays a very fundamentally sound shortstop .

Tyree Davis played for the High-A team as they needed an outfielder. He played right field and played a couple of balls really well, showing a strong arm on a couple of throws to the plate. He later played a few innings in center field. I’ve said it many times, but he’s one of the better athletes in the organization. He had a really good round of batting practice in the morning too. If it all comes together, he is certainly one to watch this year, likely in Elizabethton.

John Curtiss appears to have been moved full time to the bullpen. In his inning of work, he was hitting 95 with regularity on the Rays’ radar gun behind home plate.

Jermaine Palacios’s defense at shortstop hasn’t looked all that bad since I’ve been here. He has made most of the plays. There was one exception on Thursday. There was a ball that he booted just a little bit and it got away from him. However, he kept his wits and threw a bullet to first base to get an out (could have been a double play). It was good to see his presence of mind as well as a strong arm. Despite all the errors last year in the rookie leagues, it is far too early to say that he can’t play shortstop.

That’s it for today. The AAA and AA teams are back on the back fields. Sounds like Ricky Nolasco will pitch in a minor league game today as well.

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