Seth Stohs

People are assuming cuts will come tomorrow. Could be before the game, or they could wait until after. My spidey-senses tell me that it'll be before the game. Hildenberger and Burdi likely start in AA. Reed should start in AAA. I mean, Hildenberger should start in AAA too, but I'd guess he won't.

Twins Daily is the place to go for Twins minor league information. While I am down here, I am hoping to cover both the big league club and the minor league side of things. Nick did a great job today of covering the unfortunate Trevor May news and the Twins 13-0 win over a split Boston Red Sox club. I’m going to provide my first Minor League Report from the Fort tonight. Please feel free to ask any questions you would like, and I will answer them as I am able. I also encourage you to ask questions that you would like me to dig into while I am here. I will try to answer (or get answered) as many as I can. As a quick note, I’ll likely be doing some Live Twitter/Periscope broadcasting throughout the next week, so be sure to follow Seth and Twins Daily on Twitter. I’ll be taking a ton of photos too, so be sure to Like Twins Daily on Facebook. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs Twins Daily is the place to go for Twins minor league information. While I am down here, I am hoping to cover both the big league club and the minor league side of things. Nick did a great job today of covering the unfortunate Trevor May news and the Twins 13-0 win over a split Boston Red Sox club. I’m going to provide my first Minor League Report from the Fort tonight. Please feel free to ask any questions you would like, and I will answer them as I am able. I also encourage you to ask questions that you would like me to dig into while I am here. I will try to answer (or get answered) as many as I can. As a quick note, I’ll likely be doing some Live Twitter/Periscope broadcasting throughout the next week, so be sure to follow Seth and Twins Daily on Twitter. I’ll be taking a ton of photos too, so be sure to Like Twins Daily on Facebook. Below you will find a smorgasbord of topics regarding the Twins minor leagues. Although it is not known for sure, the assumption is that the Twins will make their first big league roster cuts on Monday. On Sunday, the Twins will play a split doubleheader so they’ll need all the players they can get. Expect the first cut to involve a lot of players. 40-man roster guys who aren’t going to compete for a big league job will likely be in that first group. Also starting pitchers who aren’t really competing for an Opening Day roster spot should also be sent down. They need to start building up their pitch count to be ready to throw 80-90 pitches in a game by Opening Day. So, who is in minor league camp will certainly change several times. Dereck Rodriguez is on the Puerto Rico WBC roster, but you may have seen pictures of him in Ft. Myers. He is an alternate on the Puerto Rico team, and so he is staying in Ft. Myers to continue to work and prepare himself for the season. If Puerto Rico advances to the second round (pretty likely, I would think) Rodriguez could join them then. Tommy Watkins saw me at the end of practice on Friday. I congratulated him on getting an opportunity to manage. He is very excited for the opportunity. He’s been working with minor league players the last couple of months. He said that almost 100 players reported before minor league report day. Again, the academy is creating an opportunity for players to put in work before they even have to. Watkins also said that they were doing community events three to four times a week. They visited hospitals and schools and conducted a couple of camps. Trey Cabbage injured his foot in minor league camp. He called it a “stupid freak accident.” He hopes to get back on the field within a couple of weeks. Trevor Hildenberger threw a bullpen today. He said it went well and his elbow is “all good” and he’s going “full bore.” Speaking of guys returning, Lewis Thorpe was back on the mound, and he is ‘full-go’ to do all spring training activities. He was a Top 10 Twins prospect before he missed two seasons with, first, Tommy John surgery and then a season-long illness. He could certainly get back to that status by the end of the year. It will be an interesting season for him. Will he start in extended spring training to avoid Cedar Rapids in April? Could he just start with the Miracle? It’ll be interesting to see his innings limit, but he’s essentially where Fernando Romero was a year ago at this time so that’s probably a good barometer. https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/840590775616450560 I met Nelson Molina last May in Cedar Rapids. The infielder had spent a month with the Kernels and was off to a good start. He ended the year hitting .300/.374/.381 (.755) and was named to the Twins Daily Minor League All-Star team as a third baseman. As I mentioned in the Twins Minor League Primer earlier this week, Molina was coming back from injury. He had a broken hamate bone. At the end of practice, Molina came over to me and we discussed the injury. It was in his right hand. He was playing in his first game in the Puerto Rico Winter League and he flew out to left field in an at-bat and felt pain in his hand. His doctor told him that the bone was already broken and he didn’t even know it. He said he is almost thankful that it happened in the winter so that he could have surgery right away. Had he not played in Puerto Rico, he would have come to spring training and it would have broken early in spring training. Instead of just now having surgery, he is 100% and ready for the season. Like so many, Molina was up late on Friday night watching Team Puerto Rico beat Venezuela in the WBC. At the Twins Academy, the WBC has become must-watch TV. https://twitter.com/HackAttackimer/status/840713479468269568 And the most important thing I’ve learned through one-plus days of minor league camp… The Twins got rid of their old rule that minor leaguers could not have beards. Young adults can be treated like adults. They can be individuals. Next up, maybe baseball will let minor leaguers get paid a fair wage. One thing at a time, right? The last three days, the minor leaguers have been working in four work groups.On Sunday, they will work out in the morning and then at noon there will be intrasquad games. Rochester will take on Chattanooga on one field, and Fort Myers will challenge Cedar Rapids on the other field. The same thing will happen on Monday, though the “GCL Twins” will take on Bethel University again this year. Bethel, as you recall, is coached by former Gopher and former Twins player Brian Raabe. Tuesday will be more afternoon intrasquad games. Starting Wednesday, the teams will start playing against other teams. It will be AAA vs AAA, and AA vs AA and so on. They will play teams of the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. On those days, two teams will travel and two teams will play on the back fields. We’ll be back with more throughout the next week. Again, feel free to use the comments section below to ask questions about this article or things you would like me to dig into on the back fields. View full article

I guess, but at the same time... it wasn't Ryan that made the September call-ups. It was the new regime that made the 40-man roster decisions and the Non-Roster invites. And, I don't think you'll find any scouts who would say that Wheeler's stuff is better than Dean's. Frankly, there is little difference between Wheeler, Dean, Albers, Hurlbut, Darnell and the like.

Following their solid showing in their Dairy Queen Classic, the Gophers have played a couple of upper-Midwest colleges the last couple of nights. They were able to add a couple more wins and have improved to 8-4 overall. They will play three more home games this coming weekend (against Missouri State) before heading on the road for a couple of weeks. Image courtesy of GopherSports.com Following their solid showing in their Dairy Queen Classic, the Gophers have played a couple of upper-Midwest colleges the last couple of nights. They were able to add a couple more wins and have improved to 8-4 overall. They will play three more home games this coming weekend (against Missouri State) before heading on the road for a couple of weeks. Today, we’ll share a few Gophers Notes. But first, let’s get to know another Gophers senior. Right-handed pitcher Toby Anderson has made a start each weekend so far for the Gophers. The Idaho native came to the Gophers and has split his time between starting and working in the bullpen. In 2016, he went 7-1 with a 3.32 ERA. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in Idaho, who was your favorite team and who were some of your favorite ballplayers? Toby Anderson (TA): I would say growing up with no pro team close to me, I was always a fan of the Giants just because I love their stadium and had always wanted to play for them. Favorite player would be Roy Halladay. He was always fun to watch. SS: What were some of the highlights of your high school career? TA: Winning the first baseball district championship in our school history and making it to the state championship. SS: What was it about the University of Minnesota that made you decide to play for the Gophers? TA: When I was in the college search and started seriously talking to teams there was never really a competition, I was drawn to this place from the first time I talked to the coaches. Also my dad played with TO (Todd Oakes) at Nebraska, so having that connection helped with the comfort level as well. SS: Have you played summer ball through your college years? TA: I played one full summer for the Duluth Huskies, and about 2 weeks of another summer just on a temporary contract. SS: Which pitches do you throw, and what makes you successful on the mound? TA: Fastball, Changeup, slider. I think what makes me successful is the ability to go at people with my fastball and command that pitch consistently. SS: What have been some of the highlights of your time with the Gophers? TA: Starting against the Twins my sophomore year was a big highlight, and then really all of last season. The whole process of us winning the Big Ten and making a regional was something I will never forget. SS: What are your goals for the 2017 season? TA: Being in that Sunday role again, I want to make sure no matter what the stats say or how I'm pitching I always give my team a good chance to win the series at the end of the day. We obviously want to repeat as Big Ten champs and also take it a step farther and possibly make a push to Omaha. SS: What is your major, and what are your career goals going forward? (How does baseball fit into that equation?) TA: Sports management, and I grew up in a family of coaches so it has always been a dream of mine to coach either baseball or basketball at the college level. Hoping to get a shot at pro ball and to play this game as long it will allow me too before telling me to hang it up.Thank you to Toby Anderson for taking time out of his busy schedule of school and baseball to answer our questions. GOPHERS NOTES On Tuesday night, the Gophers hosted South Dakota State at US Bank Stadium. Minnesota got off to a quick start with three runs in the first inning. They added four more in the third inning and then held on for the win. Terrin Vavra went 2-4 with a double. Alex Boxwell was also 2-4. Toby Hanson went 1-3 with a walk. Matt Stemper was 1-3 with a double and three RBI. Nolan Burchill, the freshman from Sioux Falls, started. He gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. Jackson Rose came in and gave up two runs on a hit and a walk in 2.1 innings. Jeff Fasching struck out two in two scoreless innings. Tim Shannon got the final three outs. On Wednesday, UW-Milwaukee came to town. The Gophers needed a walkoff to win it. Sophomore Reggie Meyer made the start. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk in five innings. Jake Stevenson gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Tim Shannon came on and gave up a run (on a homer) in 1.1 innings. Brian Glowicki threw a perfect ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Luke Pettersen led off with a single. Terrin Vavra was hit by a pitch. The next two batters got out which brought Toby Hanson to the plate. The first baseman hit a double to score Pettersen and end the game. Alex Boxwell went 3-4. Vavra went 2-3 with a triple. Pettersen went 2-5. Micah Coffey drove in two runs. What’s next? The Gophers will host Missouri State at US Bank Stadium Friday through Sunday. On Friday, the teams play at 6:30. Saturday, the game will begin at 2:00. Sunday’s finale has a start time of 1:00. The Gophers will spend the next week in California, and then the following weekend, they will start Big 10 play with a series at Ohio State. Their next home game is scheduled for April 4th at Siebert Field against North Dakota State. Please feel free to discuss the Anderson Q&A or any goings on with the Gophers baseball program. View full article

Also true... I would probably be in that group too.

I can't imagine there is anyone in the Twins or Red Wings or Lookouts coaching staff, or in the front office who would think that Wheeler should be starting in the big leagues ahead of Tyler Duffey.

There are so many minor league stories to follow in 2017. Yesterday we talked about what could be a very intriguing starting staff in Chattanooga throughout the season. Today’s article is more about the business of baseball. A player can become a minor league free agent after he has played six full seasons of minor league ball, unless added to the 40-man roster. So it is fair to say that this is a big year for a handful of Twins minor leaguers. Image courtesy of Linwood Ferguson (photo of Dereck Rodriguez) There are so many minor league stories to follow in 2017. Yesterday we talked about what could be a very intriguing starting staff in Chattanooga throughout the season. Today’s article is more about the business of baseball. A player can become a minor league free agent after he has played six full seasons of minor league ball, unless added to the 40-man roster. So it is fair to say that this is a big year for a handful of Twins minor leaguers. There are five Twins minor league players who were drafted by the Twins in 2011 who have yet to reach the big leagues. Could they be called up sometime during the 2017 season? Could they be added to the 40-man roster following the season, before the World Series is complete and become free agents? 2010 draft pick Niko Goodrum spent the first half of the 2016 season on the disabled list. Following the season he could have become a minor league free agent, but instead, he quickly re-signed with the Twins. Fellow 2010 draft pick Alex Wimmers could have become a free agent after the Twins took him off of their 40-man roster following the season. Instead, he quickly returned to the Twins on a minor league contract. Both are playing well in spring training. So while it would be great for these five players to have big seasons in 2017 and force the Twins hand, doors could open up for them after the season via free agency, or they could choose to stay in the Twins organization. LEVI MICHAEL The Twins had the 30th overall pick in the 2011 draft. The Twins selected North Carolina shortstop Levi Michael. In his three years with the Tar Heels, he spent a season at each of three infield positions. Many scouting sources had Michael ranked higher than 30th, and the Twins needed middle infielders in the system. The pick made sense. Unfortunately, he missed the rest of that season with injury, and he has fought a variety of injuries throughout his career. He has spent parts of the last three seasons at AA. In 2016, he played in 95 games and hit just .215/.293/.291 (.584) and lost playing time as the season went on. He recently turned 26, and it would be nice to see him get some AAA time in 2017. TRAVIS HARRISON The Twins took Harrison with the 50th overall pick in 2011 out of high school in California. He quickly moved up one level each year until 2016 when he returned for a second season in AA Chattanooga. In 120 games, he hit .230 but had a .338 on-base percentage and a .339 slugging percentage. He had 22 doubles, seven homers and stole 15 bases. He has been in the outfield the last three seasons, though he has moved from left to right and back and forth a couple of times. No one questions Harrison’s work ethic, and anyone who has watched him knows that he has tremendous power potential and strength. He will still be just 24 years old through the 2017 season. DERECK RODRIGUEZ Dereck Rodriguez, as you know, is the son of recently-named Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez. The Twins drafted him in the sixth round in 2011 out of high school in Florida. They drafted him as a potential five-tool outfielder, but when he was unable to hit in the rookie leagues for three seasons, the decision was pretty easy to give him the option of pitching. He’s progressed slowly up the ladder as a pitcher. In 2015, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. He began 2016 really struggling in Cedar Rapids, but in the middle of June, he started pitching much better. He earned a promotion to Ft. Myers where he pitched well too. He pitched very well this winter in Puerto Rico and helped the team win the Caribbean Series. He now is part of Team Puerto Rico in the WBC. He’ll continue to start as the season begins, but the 24-year-old could be a solid bullpen arm. JASON WHEELER Wheeler is the one player on this list who has been on the Twins 40-man roster. Two years ago, he was added to the roster and went to spring training with the big club. He really struggled in 2015 and by season’s end, he was removed from the 40-man roster. After that point, he went on to lead the Chattanooga Lookouts to the 2015 Southern League championship (he was named MVP, won a game and recorded a four-inning save). 2016 was a very good year for Wheeler. He began in Chattanooga again, but he moved up to Rochester quickly. And, he put up terrific numbers, good enough to be named the starting pitcher for the International League team in the AAA All-Star game. The left-hander doesn’t throw real hard, but he is generally around the plate and uses his defense. The 26-year-old was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount. DAVID HURLBUT The Twins liked Hurlbut enough to draft him twice. He was the team’s 35th-round pick in 2009 out of junior college. Two years later, the Twins took him in the 28th round out of Cal State-Fullerton. He missed some time at the start of 2016 with a shoulder issue, but he pitched well once he got on the mound. He went 7-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 23 starts in AA. He finished the season with five starts in Rochester. The 27-year-old is a soft-throwing left-hander, occasionally touching 90, but he has pinpoint control and a good changeup. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously all five of these guys are “prospects’ as they have yet to play in the big leagues. The two 24-year-olds are the two that would fit into the “prospect” category meaning there is still a lot of potential with them. It’s a big year for each of them. Not only are they working for a big league opportunity with the Twins, but they will have another season to be monitored by scouts and coaching staffs from the other 29 organizations too. So what are your hopes or expectations for these five? Will any of them get to the big leagues in 2017? Could any be found on the 40-man roster after the 2017 season? View full article

Yeah, that news came out about an hour or so before the game started. Berardino updated his article to include it.

While I think that makes sense, and I'd love to see Romero in the big leagues, it has to make sense. With his innings limit (Whatever they put it at this year - maybe 130 or 140?), they'll be cautious. I hope they have him skip some starts early, maybe start the season a little later, so that he can be strong late in the season. In the minor leagues, you can do more creative things to help protect a player. If he's ready, they'll bring him up but they'll be cautious, especially in a non-playoff team season.

I don't think the "options" situation is reason enough to push anyone more quickly. Rosario is on his second option in 2017, and he's at AA, so he's just fine. Romero and Jorge will be on their first years of options. They don't run out of options until the 2020 season. They're fine. Stewart and Gonsalves will need to be added after this season, Jay the year after that. Some may get up quicker, but options should not be what is pushing any of them. I've said that I think Mauer is the best manager in the organization. I don't know if others think that. Obviously they have a big trust for him. They chose him to go to Cedar Rapids in 2013, knowing all the prospects that would be there. And they're trusting him with this group of pitchers. I did roster projections a couple of weeks ago, and they're linked in the Minor League primer, so you can check those out for guesses. Dalton Hicks has retired.

On Tuesday, the Twins held their first full-squad practice of the 2017 season. At Twins Daily, we put together a quick Minor League Primer, full of stories and notes for fans to know as their spring training begins. Today, I’m going to start posting some Minor League Storylines. Trust me. There are more than I’ll write about, and when I get to Ft. Myers, I’ll hopefully find some more. Today I want to write about one of the things that I know I’ll be watching intently throughout the 2017 season, the starting rotation at Chattanooga. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Felix Jorge) On Tuesday, the Twins held their first full-squad practice of the 2017 season. At Twins Daily, we put together a quick Minor League Primer, full of stories and notes for fans to know as their spring training begins. Today, I’m going to start posting some Minor League Storylines. Trust me. There are more than I’ll write about, and when I get to Ft. Myers, I’ll hopefully find some more. Today I want to write about one of the things that I know I’ll be watching intently throughout the 2017 season, the starting rotation at Chattanooga. Last year as the minor league season began, one of the top stories was the Ft. Myers starting rotation. As the season began, the Miracle had a rotation of Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay, Felix Jorge, Randy Rosario and Keaton Steele. And they didn’t disappoint. That group, potentially even with the addition of another top pitching prospect, should be starting the season in Chattanooga. That will make the rotation and that team very interesting to follow, but the individual stories are also quite interesting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ With the success that Stephen Gonsalves had over the final three months of the 2016 season, it is certainly possible that he will start the 2017 season in AAA Rochester. My guess, however, is he’ll spend a couple of months back in the Southern League. The Twins (and Twins Daily’s) Minor League Pitcher of the Year, he went 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 13 starts for the Lookouts. While he struck out 10.8 per nine innings, he also walked 4.5 per nine innings. That’s obviously a number that will have to come down, and command of that fastball is a reason to have him start in AA. He’s been good in his 3.2 scoreless, hitless spring training innings. It will be an interesting season. Could Gonsalves reach the Twins? Kohl Stewart moved up to the Lookouts a few weeks before Gonsalves did, and he did a nice job. He went 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA in 16 starts for the Lookouts. While he saw an uptick in strikeouts in the season’s first half, a return to the Miracle, he struck out just 4.6 per nine innings for Chattanooga. That is the one number surrounding Stewart that really scares a lot of prospect people. We’ll see how it goes, but if Stewart spends the entire 2017 season as a 22-year-old in AA, he will still be an easy decision to add to the 40-man-roster in November. Tyler Jay pitched in his first full season as a professional. The 2015 top pick from Illinois finished that season in the Miracle bullpen, but the organization was committed to giving him an opportunity to start. He certainly had his ups and downs, but with his four-pitch mix makes giving him an opportunity to become a starter a worthy choice. In five May starts, he posted a 0.84 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. In 32.1 innings, he walked seven and struck out 38. In 13 starts for the Miracle, he went 5-5 with a 2.84 ERA and struck out 68 in 69.2 innings. He moved up to AA late in the season and made two starts and three relief appearances before his season came to an early end with a neck injury. He will begin the season starting for the Lookouts. By the end of the year, we will likely have a much better sense of where Jay’s future might be. If he can be a solid #3 starter (with #2 upside) and work 170-180 innings a year, starting is the right call. If not, he and his pitch-mix have a chance to be an elite reliever. Since he was demoted from Cedar Rapids to Elizabethton in early 2014, Felix Jorge has been remarkable. He was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He was 6-7 but had a 2.79 ERA in Cedar Rapids in 2015. He was the starting pitcher in the Florida State League and went 9-3 with a 1.55 ERA in 14 starts for the Miracle. There were several key observers who said he was the Miracle’s top starting pitcher. He finished the season with 11 starts in Chattanooga where he went 3-5 with a 4.12 ERA. However, he continued to aggressively attack the bottom of the strike zone and work a lot of innings. He’s been as consistent as any starting pitcher in the organization, and the Twins added him to the 40-man roster after last season. He’ll have to show that he can continue to throw strikes and miss some more bats. Randy Rosario pitched in his first full season since his Tommy John surgery. He spent half of the 2015 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He showed enough, including an upper-90s fastball, to be added to the Twins 40-man roster after that season. He went 6-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 16 starts (and five relief appearances) for the Miracle. He also didn’t strike out a lot, but has the stuff that he should. When he moved up to Chattanooga late in the season, he worked out of the bullpen. Like Jay, there are questions of whether the southpaw will wind up starting or in the bullpen, but it is wise to keep him starting as long as he can. Keaton Steele was the one Miracle Opening rotation member to spend the full season at Ft. Myers. He’s 25 and went 8-11 with a 3.60 ERA for the Miracle. He pitched much better in the second half and warrants the promotion to AA in 2017. Of course the name to watch might be Fernando Romero. After missing two seasons with injuries, he returned in May and after just five starts in Cedar Rapids (and went 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA), he moved up to Ft. Myers where he continued to dominate. With the Miracle, he made 11 starts and went 5-2 with a 1.88 ERA. His season ended one start early due to his innings limit. He was added to the 40-man roster and has been impressive this spring. Will he start the season in the Lookouts, or will he be making starts in Chattanooga starting in May or June? Randy LeBlanc, Dereck Rodriguez and Cody Stashak are all guys who should make starts for the Lookouts sometime in 2017 as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jake Mauer gets to manage this group, and Ivan Arteaga will be charged with working with this talent, helping them prepare for big league readiness. The pitching talent should make the Lookouts a contender again in the Southern League. Could one of two of these guys pitch in the big leagues in 2017? How many of these guys will be added to the 40-man roster after the season? What would you say are the keys to each one's 2017 success or failure? There are so many questions throughout the minor league system. The Twins need pitching. I can’t imagine anyone reading this (especially if you’ve made it this far) would disagree with that comment. And help isn’t too far away. Youngsters like Jose Berrios and Adalberto Mejia are very close. This group of prospects are not very far away from being in the big leagues too. And to that point, 2017 is a big year. That makes the 2017 Chattanooga starting pitcher rotation something exciting to watch! View full article

I'll echo what Steve said about Mientkiewicz. He's happily back in Florida. Only job he'd like outside of FM would be in Minnesota, I'm sure. As for predicting rosters, I included links to my roster projections in the article. It's not perfect, and it's from a month ago, and I didn't predict the releases (cuz I hate doing that), but it's something.

I happen to know that at least a couple of the hirings, despite being former Twins were hired (at least in part) because they were willing to talk ways that they thought the current system could be made better. Wayyyyy too much concern about this kind of stuff. They're all individuals and able to think on their own. Vasquez came up with the Tigers and Pirates before a couple of years with the Twins. He pitches in Australia in the winters and he doesn't think like most people (from stories and such). JP Martinez did other coaching in between. Mientkiewicz played for a bunch of organizations and he coached in the Dodgers system. Jeff Reed spent a dozen years in the big leagues AFTER leaving the Twins. Javy Valentin played for a long time after leaving the Twins. Steve Singleton spent time with the Phillies, and he's done other coaching since retiring.

Good news on Travis Harrison.

On Tuesday morning, Minnesota Twins minor league spring training officially begins with the first full-squad workouts. Granted, a majority of the minor leaguers have taken advantage of the Twins academy and arrived anywhere from a week to a month ago. But on Tuesday just over 140 players will be working out on the back fields, not counting the six Twins minor leaguers participating in the World Baseball Classic. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs On Tuesday morning, Minnesota Twins minor league spring training officially begins with the first full-squad workouts. Granted, a majority of the minor leaguers have taken advantage of the Twins academy and arrived anywhere from a week to a month ago. But on Tuesday just over 140 players will be working out on the back fields, not counting the six Twins minor leaguers participating in the World Baseball Classic. Today, I thought it would be fun to put together a bit of a primer for some things to look for as minor league camp starts. COACHING STAFFS There were several changes in the coaching ranks within the organizations. With Jeff Smith getting the Twins first base coaching job, there was an opening. Here are the 2017 Twins Minor League coaches, including some very familiar names. Rochester Red Wings: Manager - Mike Quade, Hitting Coach - Chad Allen, Pitching Coach - Stu Cliburn Chattanooga Lookouts: Manager - Jake Mauer, Hitting Coach - Javier Valentin, Pitching Coach - Ivan Arteaga Ft. Myers Miracle: Manager - Doug Mientkiewicz, Hitting Coach - Steve Singleton, Pitching Coach - Henry Bonilla Cedar Rapids Kernels: Manager - Tommy Watkins, Hitting Coach - Brian Dinkelman, Pitching Coach - JP Martinez Elizabethton Twins: Manager - Ray Smith, Hitting Coach - Jeff Reed, Pitching Coach - Luis Ramirez GCL Twins: Manager - Ramon Borrega, Hitting Coaches - Toby Gardenhire & Jose Marzan, Pitching Coach - Virgil Vasquez, Cibney Bello WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC The World Baseball Classic is beginning in various places around the globe. While four players (Eddie Rosario, Kennys Vargas, Hector Santiago and Jose Berrios) left Twins big league camp to head to Mexico and play for Team Puerto Rico, they aren’t the only WBC participants in the organization. (Here is a list of current, former and future Twins in the WBC.) Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez is also a member of that Puerto Rican team. As you would expect, the Australian team is full of current and former Twins members. Lefty Lachlan Wells, righty Todd Van Steensel and outfielder Aaron Whitefield represent the Twins on Team Australia this spring. Reynaldo Rodriguez and Yohan Pino (who re-signed with the Twins for his third stint with the team) will play for Team Colombia. RETURNING FROM INJURY Injuries happen in baseball. We all know that. However, there are several players this year returning from injury. We’ll want to watch each. Trevor Hildenberger missed the final month of the season with soreness in his elbow. He’s been full-go for a while now. Nick Burdi missed most of last season with a bone bruise in his elbow. Alex Muren had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery early last season and missed the full year. Lewis Thorpe has missed the last two years after having Tommy John surgery. Jovani Moran had bone chips removed last year. LaMonte Wade had two stints on the disabled list including one stint at the end of the season. He’s been in Ft. Myers since early January and is ready to go. Jermaine Palacios’s season came to an end early when he was hit by a pitch and broke a bone in his hand. Nelson Molina broke his hamate bone in his hand early in the Puerto Rico Winter League. He had surgery and is healthy for spring training. Matt Albanese is excited to get on the field after a fractured wrist and some tendon injuries cost him most of his junior season and all of the Twins short season. Joe Cronin’s pro debut ended early with a hamstring injury. Brusdar Graterol is likely to start the season in extended spring training. He missed all of 2016 with Tommy John surgery and pitched in the Instructional League (hitting 100 with the fastball). Vadim Balan missed all of 2016 with a stress fracture in his back. He also will start in extended spring before pitching in real games, likely in Elizabethton. As we learned last week, Alex Kirilloff will be having Tommy John surgery on Wednesday and will miss the 2017 season. Tyler Benninghoff had Tommy John right after the June draft. He might see some time in the GCL late in the year. Andro Cutura had Tommy John surgery in August and will miss the 2017 season as well. Zack Jones had shoulder surgery last September and is likely to miss most, if not all, of 2017. Kerby Camacho missed the 2016 season due to his PED suspension. He has served his time and will be eligible to play right away in 2017. MINNESOTANS IN A TWINS UNIFORM There are several Minnesotans in the Twins system. Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins are two on the big league roster. The following players from Minnesota will be in minor league camp. Recently, the Twins signed former Gophers reliever Seth Rosin (Arden Hills, Mounds View HS). He pitched in four big league games between 2014 and 2015, with Texas and Philadelphia. Brandon Peterson (Savage, Burnsville HS) split the season between Chattanooga and Ft. Myers. Nick Anderson (Crosby, Brainerd HS) was signed by the Twins in August of 2015 and spent last year between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. Bo Hellquist (Edina, Burnsville HS) signed with the Twins last year after a strong career at Minnesota-Duluth. The one hitter on this list is Max Murphy (Robbinsdale, Robbinsdale Cooper HS). POSITION CHANGES It seems as though every year there are a few pitchers who switch positions for whatever reason. Maybe it’s just to accentuate their tools, or just to try something different. Sam Clay is going to be moved to the bullpen. The other noteworthy changes involve players moving behind the plate. Rafael Valera went to Instructional League the last couple of years and spent some time catching. However, he didn’t do any catching last year before his season-ending injury. Caleb Hamilton was drafted last year out of Oregon State. For Elizabethton, he played all over the diamond, mostly around the infield. He will add a catcher’s mitt to his bag of gloves this year. Mitch Kranson was a slugging third baseman/DH type for California. He worked a lot behind the plate and hopes to be catching throughout the season. He’ll need to work on it and will likely have the bat to keep him in the lineup even when he isn’t catching. TWINS MINOR LEAGUE SIGNINGS WITH MLB SPRING TRAINING INVITE You know these names already. These guys were signed to minor league deals, but they have been in big league spring training. Catchers: Chris Gimenez, Eddy Rodriguez, Dan Rohlfing Infielders: Matt Hague, Ben Paulsen, Benji Gonzalez Outfielders: JB Shuck, Drew Stubbs Pitchers: Ryan Vogelsong, Nick Tepesch, Craig Breslow, Drew Rucinski TWINS MINOR LEAGUE SIGNINGS WITHOUT MLB SPRING TRAINING INVITE Catchers: Jose Gonzalez Infielders: Jonathan Rodriguez, Dan Gamache, Tom Belza, Shane Kennedy Outfielders: Quintin Berry, Leandro Castro, Josh Romanski, Ryan Strausborger Starting Pitchers: Matt Tracy, Nik Turley, Yohan Pino, Henry Centeno Relief Pitchers: Jim Miller Seth Rosin, Jonny Drozd, David Fischer, Evan Sanders Here are a few more links you can use as you get excited about the Twins minor league camp open. 2016 TWINS MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS Here is a quick rundown of the 2016 Minor League Award winners: 2016 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year - Daniel Palka Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year - Stephen Gonsalves Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year - Trevor Hildenberger Twins Daily short-season Minor League Hitter of the Year - Lewin Diaz Twins Daily short-season Minor League Pitcher of the Year - Huascar Ynoa 2017 Twins Daily Top Prospects 20. Justin Haley, RHP 19. Ben Rortvedt, C 18. Engelb Vielma, SS 17. Nick Burdi, RHP 16. Zack Granite, OF 15. LaMonte Wade, OF 14. Daniel Palka, OF 13. JT Chargois, RHP 12. Felix Jorge, RHP 11. Mitch Garver, C 10. Lewin Diaz, 1B 9. Travis Blankenhorn, 2B 8. Kohl Stewart, RHP 7. Adalberto Mejia, LHP 6. Wander Javier, SS 5. Tyler Jay, LHP 4. Nick Gordon, SS 3. Alex Kirilloff, OF 2. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP 1. Fernando Romero, RHP 2017 Roster Projections Recently, I made my 2017 Roster Projections for the start of the season. The Twins have signed a couple of minor league deals since then, but you can read them here: The Catchers The Outfielders The Middle Infielders The Corner Infielders The Starting Pitchers The Relief Pitchers The minor league seasons will begin just days after the MLB Opening Day. There are plenty of story lines, as you would expect, when there are 200 players in the organization all hanging out around the Century Link Sports Complex. We’ll be sure to cover them, starting this weekend when Seth travels to Ft. Myers. For now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this 2017 Twins minor league primer and feel free to ask any questions you might have. View full article

Ervin Santana can have an outing where he throws nothing but changeups for an inning, and then throws nothing but curveballs the next innings, and then only works on fastball location the next inning. His results don't matter. Kyle Gibson is working on his mechanics. He can focus on fastballs and see how much movement he gets, or he can try different pitch sequences... or whatever. For those competing for a job (May, Berrios, Mejia, Vogelsong, whoever), they probably need to put up some numbers. They likely need to 'win' a job, so they have not not only prepare their pitches and increase their work loads, but they need to beat someone out.

But aside from injury updates, what's the point in not pointing it out?

So guys can focus on doing what they need to do to be ready April 5th (or whenever Opening Day is).

Based on his salary, sure... but also when he's been healthy, he's been a decent starting pitcher. I think we have to give a veteran the benefit of the doubt that some of the issues last year (and maybe going back further) were injury related.

That's been a given since the beginning of camp, assuming health. Here is Derek's story on it... http://www.1500espn.com/twins-2/2017/03/molitor-leaning-toward-veteran-rotation-5th-spot-still-grabs/