Seth Stohs

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?312-Two-Twins-Minor-Leaguers-Suspended-50-Games-for-Banned-Substance

According to Hardball Talk, two Twins Minor Leaguers have been suspended 50 games for testing postive to a banned substance. Both players played in the Dominican Summer League in 2011. Yeison Florentino went 1-2 with 3 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 2011. In 25.2 innings, he gave up 22 hits, walked 15 and struck out 18. As an 18 year old in 2010, he was 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA. In 16.2 innings, he gave up nine hits, walked 22 and struck out 11. Ezequiel Zarzuela will be 21 years old throughout the 2012 season. In 2011, he went 3-2 with 3 saves and a 2.60 ERA. In 19 games and 34.2 innings, he gave up 30 hits, walked 19 and struck out 40. In 2010, he was 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA. In 53.2 innings, he gave up 50 hits, walked 20 and struck out 36. Due to their advanced age in the DSL (yes, of 20 and 21), neither was considered a big prospect. Kennys Vargas was suspended 50 games last year while playing with Elizabethton. His suspension carries into the 2012 season.

I completely agree jwestbrook that (if healthy) this lineup would have mashed in the Metrodome... see Mauer, 28 HR in 2009... Morneau, Thome, Kubel, Valencia, they would have scored a ton of runs in the metrodome.

That's a good question and I don't know if there's a good answer for it. There are many answers probably. here are some and people can add to this: 1.) Scouts/Draft people love athletes. That's why you see a ton of SS and a ton of CF drafted. Why? Because athletes can move. They're obviously not all going to play SS or CF, but SS can generally move around the infield and some outfielder, and CF should be able to play the corners. 2.) Growth - high school draft picks are 17-18 and from the time they get drafted through the 4-6 years that it takes to move up, they can grow several inches and/or several pounds. For instance, Miguel Sano signed as a SS but he's now huge and likely profiles better at 3B, so they moved him. 3.) major league need - Look at the Royals. They signed Salvador Perez to a long-term deal and he's only caught like 35 games for them. One of the Royals top prospects is Wil Myers who caught the first few years of his minor league career, but last year, he was moved to RF. The Twins are good about making sure players can play multiple positions in the minor leagues because you don't know where the big league clubs' needs will be in 2 years much less in 5-6 years when the player is drafted. Anyone else have other reasons? Obviously some get drafted as position players and that doesn't work out so they move them to the mound.

I think that Hendriks compares very similarly to Scott Baker. His velocity is the same. He has a better curveball. They have similar changeups. The difference is tha Baker is very stoic, which some really like and appreciate and others get quite frustrated with. Hendriks is known for being very competitive. So, if Baker is the comp, I think it's very fair to say that Hendriks' upside is a #2... more likely a #3. I'll take that any day. that's worth a lot of money.

Good on a minor league contract... definitely not a major league contract.

"Lots of other MLB teams bring up prospects and have them be on the bench, playing 2-3 times a week to give older guys a rest." Like who? And Thrylos - Hollimon is 4-6 this spring... he's 29... I'd be just fine with him as a utility player... Dozier isn't a utility player.. at least not yet.

Cabrera, Carroll, Ramirez, Peralta, Escobar

So far we have voted on the Preseason AL Central Catcher, First Baseman and Second Baseman choices. Now let's get the discussion going on "Which AL Central Shortstop will be the best in 2012?" Vote now and comment your rankings. The Candidates (2011 stats) Minnesota Twins - Jamey Carroll - .290/.359/.347 (.706) with 14-2B, 6-3B, 0-HR, 17 RBI Chicago White Sox - Alexei Ramirez - .269/.328/.399 (.727) with 31-2B, 2-3B, 15-HR, 70 RBI Cleveland Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera - .273/.332/.460 (.792) with 32-2B, 3-3B, 25-HR, 92 RBI Detroit Tigers - Jhonny Peralta - .299/.345/.478 (.824) with 25-2B, 3-3B, 21-HR, 86 RBI Kansas City Royals - Alcides Escobar - .254/.290/.343 (.633) with 21-2B, 8-3B, 4-HR, 46 RBI SUMMARY Looking for a settling influence for an infield that really struggled in 2011, the Twins look to Carroll in 2012. The veteran is solid with the glove. He is also terrific as a top of the order, on-base guy. Don't expect much, if any, power from him, but it is fair to expect to see him help the Twins with the glove and in the lineup. The 38 year old played 146 games for the Dodgers in 2011. Alexei Ramirez finished second in rookie of the year voting in 2008. In 2010, he won the AL Silver Slugger Award for shortstops. The 30-year-old Cuban had a down year in 2011, but he does provide some good extra-base hit power near the bottom of the lineup. Asdrubal Cabrera was a first-time All Star in 2011 and won his first Silver Slugger Award. I think many were surprised that he was not named a Gold Glove winner because he is very good with the glove. The 26-year-old has a lot of power and turned it into home run power in 2011. He also stole 17 bases. Jhonny Peralta was moved to 3B when he was traded from Cleveland to the Tigers, but last year he moved back to the middle of the diamond. He posted his best season in 2011 and played in his first All Star game. Although he has been around a long time, he will turn 30 at the end of May. When the Royals traded Zach Greinke before the 2011 season, they received several players that will impact them for several years. They wanted to improve their shortstop defense so one of the players they received from the Brewers was Alcides Escobar. He is a free swinger who occasionally gets an extra base hit, and with his great speed, he turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He turned just 25 years old in December and played in 158 games in 2011. There is your information, now it is time to vote. Who will be the best first baseman in the AL Central in 2012? My choice?

Nice article on Dozier by Brian Dozier by FSN's Tyler Mason: http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/03/13/12/Dozier-not-taking-things-for-granted-wit/landing_twins.html?blockID=686774&feedID=5930

Tosoni and Thome didn't seem to have a problem hitting HR in Target Field.

jjswol - they aren't going to let Nishioka get in Dozier's way (I don't think). Dozier is going to play whereever he goes. Ed - I'm not disagreeing with the fact that he doesn't have to play in AAA. I'm fine with him jumping to the big leagues if he's going to play every day. The difference between Dozier (and Herrmann) and Parmelee/Benson is that Dozier and Herrmann have just a 1/2 season at AA whereas Parmelee/Benson have almost 2 full years. But, as I mentioned, Mauer had just a halfseason at AA as well, and hit about .340 in it when they made room for him by trading AJ. Mauer was 20 at the time. Dozier was 24. So I'm fine with them bringing Dozier up as a starter now. The great qualities that we heard back then about Mauer are the same things we're hearing now about Dozier. No one is putting Dozier in Mauer's class, but there are some similarities. I specifically did not mention Carroll's spring training numbers because they're meaningless at this point. Dozier's hitting just .231 and that's after his 2-3 game. Casilla's hitting over .300, I think. None of that matters right now, so I didn't write that as a reason either way. Roger - I liked Dozier earlier in his career, but not as much as you. The .353 in E-Town for a four-year college guy is fairly meaningless. Where I started liking him more was with the other thing you mentioned... I like that he is a guy who walks as much or more than he strikes out.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?310-Can-Brian-Dozier-Make-the-Opening-Day-Roster

Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted him up in the big leagues last summer. Teammates praise his leadership as well as his ability to do anything and everything needed with the bat. Pitchers love when he is playing shortstop behind them. How can Brian Dozier make the Twins Opening Day Roster? There are many things going against Dozier this spring, at least in terms of making the opening day roster. The biggest thing he has going for him is his play and his personality. Let’s start with the reasons that he will not make the Opening Day Roster: Jamey Carroll and Alexi Casilla – The Twins brought in Jamey Carroll and paid him enough that he will get a starting job. He’s earned that by playing in 140+ games the last two years, being solid defensively and getting on base at a very good clip. The Twins are committed to giving Alexi Casilla another shot as a starter at second base. Even if the leash on Casilla isn’t real long, he will get a shot to start. Brian Dozier is a real prospect – In other words, they are not going to keep him on the big league roster if he isn’t going to play nearly every day. It would be best for Dozier’s development to go to Rochester and play every day. Dozier will not come up as a utility player yet. 40 man roster – Dozier is not on it. Sure, it would be easy to add him to the 40 man roster, especially with Joel Zumaya’s roster spot available when he is put on the 60 Day Disabled List. But the Twins may use that to add a reliever. Dozier doesn’t need to be added to the 40 man roster, so unless he proves himself in a short period of time to be vastly better than the other options, there is little reason to add him now. Free Agency – It’s weird to look six or seven years in advance, especially in baseball where year-to-year is often not a guarantee. However, if the Twins wait to add Dozier to the 40 man roster until after about April 20th, it would be an extra season before he could become a free agent. Is having him up two or three weeks earlier worth losing a full season of his best years? Hasn’t spent a day in AAA – This isn’t a complete deal-breaker, but it is unusual for players to be promoted directly from AA without spending time in AAA. It’s happened. The Twins did that with Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee last year in September and Ben Revere the September before that. In each of those cases, it was simply for an opportunity to see the players, and in Revere’s case, his speed could be used in late innings as a pinch runner during a pennant race. Brad Radke came up from AA. Others have, including Joe Mauer. Tsuyoshi Nishioka – What will the Twins do (or be able to do) with Nishioka and his contract? Would they send him to Rochester? They may be willing to keep him up as a utility player an not play him very much. I’m sure you can add other reasons for why the Twins would choose not to put Brian Dozier on their opening day roster. However, there are some reasons that it should not be considered completely out of the realm of possibility for Dozier to leave camp with the Twins. Offense – After putting up fairly pedestrian numbers in 2010 at Beloit and Ft. Myers, Dozier had an incredible 2011 season in which he was named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. In 49 games in Ft. Myers and 78 games in New Britain, he combined to hit .320/399/.491 with 33 doubles, 12 triples, nine home runs and 56 RBI. He stole 24 bases. He had ten sacrifice bunts. Defense – Although scouts tend to be mixed on whether or not he can be an everyday shortstop or a second baseman or a utility infielder, he makes the routine plays. That’s all that the Twins brass asks a player to do. He credited his Arizona Fall League manager Joe McEwing with helping him increase his range with just a couple of quick alterations. Versatility – He can play shortstop and second base, so if Carroll or Casilla were to be hurt, he could fill in for either of them. Carroll is also versatile, so if the Twins feel, at some point, that Alexi Casilla needs to move back to the bench, Carroll could move to second and Dozier could play shortstop. Leadership – it isn’t a measurable quality, but teammates at each level talk about his ability to lead. He isn’t a loudmouth, but he leads by example and isn’t afraid to take charge on the field. Obviously we know that is important to Ron Gardenhire. Tsuyoshi Nishioka - Because the Twins clearly are not big supporters of Nishioka at this point, it is possible that they would release the middle infielder, give Dozier a starting gig and move Carroll or Casilla to a bench role. The odds are stacked against Brian Dozier, who went 2-3 with a triple yesterday in exhibition play, to make the Twins Opening Day roster. However, the odds are definitely in favor of Brian Dozier being promoted to the Twins at some point in 2012. The odds are also very good that once he is called up, he will remain a starter with the Twins for several seasons. [ATTACH=CONFIG]307[/ATTACH]

Twins Lineup versus the Blue Jays: Darin Mastroianni CF Jamey Carroll SS Joe Mauer C Justin Morneau 1B Josh Willingham RF Danny Valencia 3B Trevor Plouffe LF Steve Pearce DH Luke Hughes 2B Francisco Liriano SP

Such as? And at this point, what would it matter?

Based on a pretty solid, extensive track record, there was a pretty good chance that, unless he was hurt, Bulger would be pretty OK.

The Twins aren't at all afraid to push college pitchers. There are many examples of college pitchers who move up three levels in on year.

This is some really interesting information direct from Hendriks on his five pitches, how long he's thrown it, velocity, movement and how he would rank it on a 20-80 scale. Hendriks is one of the smarter baseball people I've talked to and it comes through in this article. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120309&content_id=27137598&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb

"I liked last years draft but Micheal is the only one who might move quickly." I would expect Boer, Williams and Summers to move just as quickly.

Not sure how to predict if someone will get hurt or not... Revere has missed time for various injuries throughout his minor league career too.