Top 10 Candidates for 2020 Sire of Fort Myers

Spring training stats don’t matter, right?

WRONG. That was a test. Spring training performances definitely matter for some players. The main goal of the Sire of Fort Myers is to cast a spotlight on those players. We’re out to recognize the unheralded player who has the most impressive spring.

So who’s eligible?

1. Anybody who’s not on the 40-man roster, regardless of prior MLB experience.

2. Anyone who hasn’t made their MLB debut.

That’s it, pretty simple. The honor goes to the player who had the best spring, not the one most likely to break camp with the big club. It just so happens that the past two winners — Ryne Harper and Ryan LaMarre — did end up making the Opening Day roster.

Here are the 10 players I view as the top contenders for this year’s crown.

The Frontrunners

Here are my favorites among the starters, relievers and position players. All three of these guys have time in the bigs, but are not on the 40-man roster.

Starter: Jhoulys Chacin, 32, RHP

This is the clear-cut favorite at the moment. The Twins signed Chacin, who has 255 MLB appearances under his belt, to a minor league deal on Feb. 1. Last season, Chacin went from Opening Day starter for the Brewers to released.

Prior to that, however, Chacin pitched to a 3.89 ERA over 67 starts between 2017-18. He’ll be fighting for a spot either as the fifth starter or a longman out of the bullpen, so expect to see Chacin throw plenty of innings this spring.

Reliever: Blaine Hardy, 32, LHP

Hardy’s also a familiar name, as he’s pitched 233 games for Detroit over the past six seasons. Hardy endured elbow pain much of last season, and pitched to a 4.47 ERA in 44 1/3 innings. In 2018, however, Hardy posted a 3.56 ERA in 86 innings pitched.

The Twins signed Hardy to a minors deal on Nov. 26. He’s by far the organization’s most experienced left-handed relief arm, aside from Taylor Rogers.

Position Player: Tomas Telis, 28, C

This may seem like an underdog pick, but I anticipate Telis getting plenty of work. This stocky, switch-hitting catcher has 122 MLB games to his credit, though he spent all of last season with Triple-A Rochester. Telis hit .330/.364/.490 (.854 OPS) for the Red Wings while striking out just 33 times in 327 plate appearances.

He has a familiarity with the organization, just like Ryne Harper did a year ago. He has a contact-focused approach, just like Ryan LaMarre did two years ago. Can he follow in their footsteps?

The Relievers

Starting pitchers don’t eat up many innings in spring, so bullpen guys get a ton of opportunity to shine. Aside from Hardy, here are three more names to know. This trio also has some nice looking splits during their time in the big leagues.

Cory Gearrin, 33, RHP

3.64 ERA in 336 MLB games (mostly with San Francisco)

vs. RHB .232/.315/.332 (.647 OPS) in 826 PAs

Danny Coulombe, 30, LHP

4.27 ERA in 153 MLB games (mostly with Oakland)

vs. LHB: .237/.304/.327 (.631 OPS) in 287 PAs

Ryan Garton, 30, RHP

4.90 ERA in 59 MLB games (mostly with Tampa Bay)

vs. RHB: .241/.275/.407 (.682 OPS) in 173 PAs

Cody Pirkl also recently wrote about Juan Minaya, another bullpen arm to watch. Here is a video that shows some highlights of Chacin, Hardy, Telis, Gearrin and Coulombe:

The Prospects

Here are some prospects in the system I could see getting plenty of looks this spring.

Travis Blankenhorn, 23, 2B/3B/LF

Blankenhorn made it to Double A for the first time last season and hit .298/.337/.521 (.857 OPS) in his first 70 games with the Blue Wahoos. He was primarily a second baseman, but has started to play more left field. That flexibility may afford him some more opportunities this spring.

Nick Gordon, 24, SS/2B

Gordon’s prospect stock has slipped, but he’s coming off a season in which he hit .298/.342/.459 (.801 OPS) in Triple A. The Twins have incentive to give him lots of looks this spring. They’ll likely need to make a call on Gordon one way or the other before too long.

Brent Rooker, 25, LF/1B

Unlike Blankenhorn and Gordon, Rooker isn’t on the 40-man roster yet. That didn’t stop the team from giving him an invite to big league camp. He hit .281/.398/.535 (.933 OPS) for Rochester last season. Rooker was hit by a pitch in the helmet and had to leave the opener against the Gophers, but passed the concussion protocols and is expected to be OK.

Zander Wiel, 27, 1B/LF

Another non-roster invitee, Wiel hit .254/.320/.514 (.834 OPS) with 24 home runs and 40 doubles for Rochester last season. He’s been a lefty killer down on the farm, posting an OPS of .922, .825 and .827 against southpaws the past three seasons.

There are some other big-time prospects in camp with the Twins, but I chose not to include them due to expected lack of opportunities. Guys like Royce Lewis and Jhoan Duran will get some looks early, which will be awesome, but I don’t think it’s likely they’ll have the opportunity to build a beefy enough resume to garner consideration for the scepter and cape.

This is far from a comprehensive list, and it’s worth noting that Harper didn’t crack my initial top 10 last year. I think Chacin is the obvious favorite, but you never know how things might turn out. Last year’s obvious frontrunner was Lucas Duda. He ended up being released so he could pursue opportunities elsewhere and made the Royals’ Opening Day roster.

Who’s your favorite to be crowned 2020 Sire of Fort Myers?

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