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Seth Stohs

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Blog Entries posted by Seth Stohs

  2. Seth Stohs
    On Sunday morning, Brian Dozier, JR Towles, Brian Dinkelman and Casey Fien were all re-assigned to minor league camp. The moves have mean that the Twins roster is essentially set.
     
    Dozier came into camp hoping to make a strong impression and it would be an understatement to say he did. He displayed strong defense that appears to give the Twins coaches and front office confidence that he can be an every day shortstop. He hit well, including three spring home runs. It's safe to say that he'll head to Rochester knowing that if needed, the Twins will not hesitate to bring him up.
     
    JR Towles appears to have won the 3rd catcher job... on a team that will start that season with two catchers. He had a nice showing in the spring, hitting two home runs.
     
    Brian Dinkelman had a rough season in Rochester a year ago, but he hit .301 in his time with the Twins and again showed well for himself with the bat in spring training. His ability to play 2B and the corner outfield spots defensively likely mean that the Twins wouldn't hesitate to promote him if needed.
     
    Casey Fien was another of the big surprises of spring training. The former Tigers' reliever put up very good numbers and made a case to be on the opening day roster. Again, the bullpen could be a revolving door in 2012, and Fien may find himself with the team at some point.
     
    The moves essentially have set the final Opening Day roster for the Twins.
     
    C: Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit
    INF: Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, Alexi Casilla, Luke Hughes, Jamey Carroll, Danny Valencia and Sean Burroughs.
    OF: Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe, Ben Revere
    SP: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Liam Hendriks, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker (DL), Jason Marquis (BL)
    BP: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak, Matt Maloney, Jared Burton, Jeff Gray, Alex Burnett
     
    Any thoughts? I'm ready for Friday against Baltimore!! Let's get this season started!!
  11. Seth Stohs
    On Thursday morning, the Twins front office performed one of their most difficult tasks. They informed six minor league players that their dream of playing in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins was coming to an end, that they had been released. I like to highlight the players released because they have all put in some quality time in the Twins organization and deserve to be recognized one more time as they exit the organization. Some of them may be able to hook on with another organization. Some may play some independent league baseball. Some may end their baseball dream all together and go another direction. In any case, I certainly wish the best to all of them.
     
    Dan Osterbrock - He was the Twins 7th round pick out of Cincinnati. He signed quickly and was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year that summer when he went 7-0 with a 3.00 ERA, eight walks and 104 strikeouts in 75 innings. He tossed a no-hitter for the Beloit Snappers in 2010 and was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week twice in a row before pitching very well in Ft. Myers the rest of that season. He fought arm injuries throughout the 2011 season and hoped to rebound in 2012.
     
    Mike Tarsi - The 6-8 left-hander was the Twins 12th round pick in 2007 out of Connecticut. After struggling as a starter in Ft. Myers in 2010, he pitched out of the bullpen in 2011 with a good level of success. He even made a couple of appearances in Rochester when needed. Although he was tall, he did not throw very hard.
     
    Kane Holbrooks - He was an All American at Texas State in 2009 when the Twins drafted him in the 21st round. In 2010, he began the season as the Beloit Snappers closer before moving up to Ft. Myers as a starter. He pitched so well that he ended the season in New Britain where he made a start. He went back to Ft. Myers to start 2011 and although he pitched well in April, he struggled the rest of the season. His season ended early and he came to camp this spring hoping to make a step forward in the eyes of the organization.
     
    Blayne Weller - The Twins drafted Weller out of his Key West high school in the 14th round of the 2008 draft. He signed in the last hour before the deadline. He teamed with Adrian Salcedo and BJ Hermsen and pitched great (5-1, 1.58 ERA) in the GCL in 2009. He struggled as a starter in 2010, and last year he struggled in the Beloit bullpen before ending the season making a couple of starts.
     
    Matt Schuld - He signed with the Twins after the 2010 season at the University of St. Thomas. He had an incredible career with the Tommies. He pitched well with the GCL Twins upon signing and held his own when he was pushed up to Ft. Myers. Last year, he quickly moved up to the Miracle and pitched well enough to be promoted to New Britain when there was a need. This one surprised me a little because he was a non-drafted free agent who got up to AA within a year of signing.
     
    Derek Christensen - This one surprise me more than any of the rest, by a lot. He was the team's 43rd round pick out of junior college in 2010. He debuted with the GCL Twins that year and posted a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. Last year, he spent half of the season in the E-Twins bullpen before moving into their rotation. He went 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA. In 57 innings, he walked 26 and struck out 61. At one point, he through 19 consecutive scoreless innings as a starter. The 22-year-old throws from a 3/4 angle. I guess I'm just really surprised based on his numbers that he woudln't at least get an opportunity to start the season in Beloit.
     
    Again, each of these pitchers put in some time in the Twins organization, and each of them experienced quite a bit of success. We certainly wish the best for them in whatever their next steps are. Unfortunately, these will not be the last of the minor league releases.
  22. Seth Stohs
    If you follow the tremendous work of 1500 ESPN's Phil Mackey, you know that every Sunday, he posts an updated 25 man roster projection. Phil is in Ft. Myers and talking to players, coaches and front office personnel, so he may have some insider information. But, I think that we can all do our own roster projections because until we get to April and the team has to announce their 25 man roster, anything can happen. I hope to post my projection updates each Friday and hope that you will leave your projections in the comments and discuss.
     
    The players in Red are players that I believe are givens to make the roster (obviously pending injury). Those in black are potentially up for grabs.
     
     
    Catchers: Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, JR Towles

    Although Towles isn't exactly an exciting prospect like he was 5 years ago, he likely is an improvement over Drew Butera. If the team insists on three catchers, I now believe Towles tops Butera.
    Infielders: Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Danny Valencia, Jamey Carroll, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Luke Hughes

    It certainly doesn't sound like the Twins really want to keep Nishioka around. I personally think that in terms of a pure utility infielder, Ray Chang would be the right choice. I think Luke Hughes is on the bench for power, if he is not placed on the disabled list.
    Outfielders: Ben Revere, Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe

    As much talk as there has been about Plouffe taking over in LF with Revere as the 4th outfielder, Plouffe will have to improve tremendously with the glove for that to happen consistently.
    Starting Pitchers: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Jason Marquis

    No changes, no surprises here, although Terry Doyle and Liam Hendriks have looked good in their couple of outings early in spring.
    Bullpen: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak, Jared Burton, Jeff Manship, Terry Doyle

    The first four appear set. Burton was the non-roster invite who garnered the most attention coming in to camp, and he's been good so far. Too many people have forgotten about Jeff Manship as a bullpen option, and he's been good. If Terry Doyle continues to pitch well, the Twins will certainly want to keep their Rule 5 investment. It is early, and we know guys like Kyle Waldrop, Alex Burnett, Lester Oliveros, Jeff Gray, Esmerling Vasquez, Matt Maloney and others will try to make an impression. I admit as well that I am intrigued by Brendan Wise as well. Those last three names are certainly debatable and subject to change over the next three or four weeks.
     
    What are your thoughts? What does your roster look like?
  23. Seth Stohs
    The Twins announced this morning that left-handed relief pitcher Glen Perkins had agreed to and signed a three year contract extension worth $10.3 million. The contract includes an option for 2016.
     
    In January, Perkins and the Twins avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.55 million contract for 2012. We do not yet have the breakdown for his annual salaries going forward, but an average annual salary of $3.43 million puts him in line with other top young bullpen arms.
     
    The contract essentially buys out his final year of arbitration and two years of free agency, with an option for a third year. The Minnesota native and former Minnesota Gopher will continue to pitch in key roles for the Twins through at least the 2015 season.
     
    Remember just one year ago today, most Twins fans would have been happy if the Twins had just released Perkins rather than offer him arbitration. However, the Twins insisted that his move to the bullpen would be fruitful, that the ball was 'really coming out of his hand well.'
     
    Perkins responded very well, posting an ERA of 2.48 and a WHIP of 1.23. In 61.2 innings, he walked 21 and struck out 65.
     
    The Twins haven't had the best of luck with long-term deals of late, but this one makes a lot of sense.
     
    What do you think of the deal and the Twins signing a long-term deal with one of its top bullpen arms?
  24. Seth Stohs
    How many times this offseason have you heard the phrase, “The Twins have some really good prospects but they don’t have any in the upper levels of their farm system?” I hear it all the time, and frankly, it kind of hits a nerve with me.
     
    In 2011, the Twins had a season in which pretty much everyone got hurt and missed significant time. That meant more playing time for Luke Hughes and Trevor Plouffe and Ben Revere which may prove valuable as early as 2012. Those guys were rushed. Ben Revere and Rene Tosoni had hardly any AAA at bats.
    Those four no longer are technically prospects, but they will still be young, inexperienced players on the 2012 Twins roster.
     
    There’s no question that the Twins top prospect is Miguel Sano, and yet, he will likely spend the 2012 season playing in Class Low-A Beloit. He will be joined there by another top prospect Eddie Rosario. Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia are top 5 prospects who ended the 2011 season in Ft. Myers and could very well start there again in 2012.
     
    Those four prospects are all high ceiling prospects that are at least three promotions from the big leagues. But that does not mean that the Twins do not have prospects in the upper levels. The Twins have several prospects at the upper levels waiting for an opportunity to contribute to the big league club.
    The Twins outfield appears to be pretty set with Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, Denard Span and Josh Willingham. At AAA, the Twins will have Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni. Both can use that AAA time, but both will also be able to contribute should the Twins have a need. Benson profiles to be a starter and an impact player. He probably is already the best defensive outfielder in the organization. Tosoni could probably be an everyday player although his splits indicate he will likely best be served as a platoon candidate and a left-handed bench bat with good power. Darin Mastroianni is also big league ready but probably profiles as a fourth or fifth outfielder.
     
    With Joe Mauer behind the plate and Ryan Doumit as his backup, the Twins top two catchers are quite solid. Drew Butera, JR Towles and (to a lesser degree) Rene Rivera are competing for a possible third catcher job. Frankly, Danny Lehmann is as good as any of them offensively and defensively. But, by season’s end, Chris Herrmann could be in the picture as a call-up at catcher. Although he would be a backup catcher to Mauer this year, he can also play in the outfield and hit and walk.
     
    Chris Parmelee put up solid numbers in 2011 in AA New Britain. It wasn’t as strong as teammates Benson, Brian Dozier or even Yangervis Solarte, but he was consistent and showed a good approach at the plate. His swing is sound and he has a good approach at the plate. If there was an injury to Justin Morneau or even Ryan Doumit, Parmelee could be brought up and be a starter and he could be a starter for years.
     
    In the middle infield, the Twins will start the season with Jamey Carroll and Alexi Casilla. Most likely Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be the team’s utility infielder. Brian Dozier is a guy who has a chance to be with the Twins at some point in the 2012 season. No, he doesn’t profile as an All-Star, but he is another guy who can be a solid starter for five or six years. Pedro Florimon has the best range and arm among middle infielders, although he may not have enough bat. Ray Chang isn’t a prospect due to his age, but he likely is a much better utility infielder option than Nishioka.
     
    The Twins have their starting five pretty well set. If there is an injury early in the season, the team may go to Terry Doyle to make some starts and see how he does. If it is a few months into the season, Liam Hendriks will likely be ready. Although he doesn’t profile as a #1 or #2 starter, he does profile very similarly to Scott Baker when he came up to the Twins. Kyle Gibson does profile as a #2 type of starter, but he will likely not pitch with the Twins in 2012. Maybe in September? Scott Diamond is a spot starter and a long reliever most likely.
     
    Then comes the question mark that is the bullpen where there are more than a dozen pitchers trying to win three open spots. Kyle Waldrop is a groundball machine, capable and ready for an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues. Carlos Gutierrez has the stuff to be a solid back of the bullpen reliever if he can be more aggressive, throw more strikes and stay healthy. Deolis Guerra has just one more year worth of options and, despite a very rough first outing of spring on Tuesday, his performance the second half of 2011 gives hope that he can be a good 7th inning guy. Tyler Robertson was terrific the second half of 2011 as the Rock Cats closer. Lester Oliveros is a hard-throwing reliever who needs a little more AAA time and is just 23 years old. He should get time in Rochester to continue to develop. Finally, Alex Burnett has been in the Twins bullpen for the past two seasons and yet he never had time to develop in Rochester. He could use that time, and he’s just 24 years old, making him younger than half of the guys in this paragraph.
     
    As you can see, the Twins do have a lot of prospects in the upper levels of the minor leagues that can contribute to some degree in the big leagues. Guys like Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson, Brian Dozier and Liam Hendriks can play very important roles as starters for the next several years. Others can fill roles as needed by the team due to injury or production. What would be great is if a couple of these guys (or others) played so well at New Britain and/or Rochester that the Twins simply had to make room for them on the roster and in the lineup.
    And then we wait for Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Tom Stuifbergen, Alex Wimmers and Adrian Salcedo.
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