Seth Stohs

curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton Peanutsfromheaven - JT Chargois JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum RollingOaks - Nick Gordon gunnarthor - Travis Harrison JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael TJG - Max Murphy scottz - Greg Peavey milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker

yes.

He was, but now you've got him.

Update: curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum gunnarthor - Travis Harrison JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael scottz - Greg Peavey milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker

Let the Adoptions Begin!! (listed alphabetically by player) curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum gunnarthor - Travis Harrison markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker

Less than ONE hour until the players can be adopted. It will open up about 5-7 minutes early, so have your list of guys ready!

Happy Minor League Opening Day!! Starting at 9 (central time), the 2015 Adopt-a-Prospect sign-up begins. It’s been a rough start to the Minnesota Twins season, with two losses at the hands of the Detroit Tigers by a combined score of 15-0. However, today, Alex Meyer will take the mound for the Rochester Red Wings. JO Berrios is expected to start for Chattanooga, and Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are expected to be in the lineup behind him. Kohl Stewart is starting for Ft. Myers. Nick Gordon is making his full-season debut with Cedar Rapids.Today, Twins Daily’s Adopt-A-Prospect 2015 will start... at 9:00 a.m. CST. It is simple to adopt a Twins prospect. Just put the player’s name in this forum. If no one has already adopted that player, he's yours. The goal of this special forum is to highlight players throughout the Twins farm system. It’s a way to get to know them while recording their successes through the 2015 season. (As a reminder, on Friday at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily members can adopt a second player. A note will be made on this forum when that can happen.) Shortly before 9:00 a.m. CST this morning, I will post a message saying "Let the adoptions begin." Once that is there, you can start. I will try to post an update from time to time of who has been adopted by whom. Remember, any Twins minor leaguer can be drafted, players at Rochester, Chattanooga, Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids, or at Extended Spring Training. Here are the Rules of Twins Daily Adopt-a-Prospect. I suppose for the literal out there, I should put out that you don't really get to Adopt them, like, legally. You just get to write about them on Twins Daily. Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2015: 1) Each Twins prospect can only be adopted once. It will be first-come, first-serve in a new thread here that will be opened at 9:00 a.m. CST on Thursday morning. On Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily readers can “adopt” a second prospect. 2) Once you have confirmed that you have that player, you can post a thread. The title of the thread you start should just be that player's name, hyphen - 2015 (example - Miguel Sano - 2015). The first post must be an introduction of the player. The format of the post is up to the individual, but please be sure to get all the important information needed on the player. For example, Name, Position, Handedness, Drafted/Signed/Acquired (out of where/what round), Previous Stats, etc. Feel free to make it as detailed as you want and feel free to find video. (There are a lot of websites you could link to such as their Baseball-Reference, The Baseball Cube, First Inning, Fan Graphs, MiLB.com, affiliate’s websites, etc.) 3) After the initial post (and throughout the season), you MUST update the thread AT LEAST once every other week. If you fail to do this, the prospect can be taken away from you. [if a player is inactive due to injury or suspension, this requirement is waived.] If you would like to update more often, we certainly encourage that. Updates should, at least, include year-to-date numbers for the player. The more information given, however, the better. Brag up your prospect! 4) Do internet searches of your player to find newspaper articles from their hometown paper, or YouTube video or anything else you can find. 5) Any major event (i.e. promotion/demotion/trade/perfect game/multi- hit or HRs in a game...) must be reflected in the thread within a day of the event. Failure to update for this purpose may result in losing your adoptee. 6) If a player is placed on the 25-man roster, this is wonderful news and you can continue that player’s thread. Reward for your player getting to the big leagues is that you can adopt another prospect at that point. Even if the first player is eventually sent back to the minor leagues, you can maintain both prospect threads. 7) All other rules which are enforced on the main board will be enforced here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here. Click here to view the article

Scroll through the forum timeline. It's first-come, first-serve, so to speak. I just say that in case a couple of people are claiming a player at the same time.

I'm sure they'd be happy to get a #3 starter or two out of college relievers. Tyler Duffey is much more valuable as a #3/#4 starting pitcher, working 180 innings a season than he is as a reliever working 65 innings. For some organizations, Duffey would have a good chance of coming up in 2015. With the Twins, they may determine that with their depth, Duffey needs to go back to the bullpen. No harm done. In fact, he's probably a better pitcher because 1.) he's worked on his pitches, and 2.) he's worked into and out of many more situations as a starter than he will ever see in the bullpen, and that's good.

He had surgery last May 15th. Expects to be back on the mound in a game by mid-May. He said it was a 12-month surgery. Everything going well so far.

You've got nearly 36 hours to think about it... and about getting a second player on Day 2!

All three were top 30 type of prospects coming into the 2014 season, with Romero being top 15 in some rankings. Landa had a shoulder injury. He could be back in a month or two. Rosario had Tommy John surgery in late April, so he'll likely start getting some innings in June or so. Romero had Tommy John surgery in late June or early July, so I'd be surprised if he pitches much in 2015.

As we have done here at Twins Daily each of the last three years, we will be hosting the Twins minor league Adopt-A-Prospect. The goal of this special forum is to highlight players throughout the Twins farm system. It’s a way to get to know them while recording their successes through the 2015 season. Starting at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday (April 9), minor league Opening Day, you will be able to “adopt” any Twins minor leaguer ( hasn't already been adopted). Those players can come from any of the four Twins full-season affiliates: Rochester, Chattanooga, Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids. You can also adopt players who begin the season at extended spring training. Then at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Friday, people can “adopt” a second Twins minor leaguer. Again, only those available.Here are the Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2015: (Note, the actual player adoption will be conducted in another thread, "SIGN UP FOR ADOPT A PROSPECT 2015", which will be located in this "Adopt a Prospect 2015" Forum.) Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2015: 1) Each Twins prospect can only be adopted once. It will be first-come, first-serve in a new thread here that will be opened at 9:00 a.m. CST on Thursday morning. On Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily readers can “adopt” a second prospect. 2) Once you have confirmed that you have that player, you can post a thread. The title of the thread you start should just be that player's name, hyphen - 2015 (example - Miguel Sano - 2015). The first post must be an introduction of the player. The format of the post is up to the individual, but please be sure to get all the important information needed on the player. For example, Name, Position, Handedness, Drafted/Signed/Acquired (out of where/what round), Previous Stats, etc. Feel free to make it as detailed as you want and feel free to find video. (There are a lot of websites you could link to such as their Baseball-Reference, The Baseball Cube, First Inning, Fan Graphs, MiLB.com, affiliate’s websites, etc.) 3) After the initial post (and throughout the season), you MUST update the thread AT LEAST once every other week. If you fail to do this, the prospect can be taken away from you. [if a player is inactive due to injury or suspension, this requirement is waived.] If you would like to update more often, we certainly encourage that. Updates should, at least, include year-to-date numbers for the player. The more information given, however, the better. Brag up your prospect! 4) Do internet searches of your player to find newspaper articles from their hometown paper, or YouTube video or anything else you can find. 5) Any major event (i.e. promotion/demotion/trade/perfect game/multi- hit or HRs in a game...) must be reflected in the thread within a day of the event. Failure to update for this purpose may result in losing your adoptee. 6) If a player is placed on the 25-man roster, this is wonderful news and you can continue that player’s thread. Reward for your player getting to the big leagues is that you can adopt another prospect at that point. Even if the first player is eventually sent back to the minor leagues, you can maintain both prospect threads. 7) All other rules which are enforced on the main board will be enforced here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here. Click here to view the article

I think that's a lot of assumptions. We don't know. I don't know that Buxton woudl be better than Schafer right now. In fact, I don't think that would be the case right away. A big K guy like Sano who is just coming off of a missed season? I don't think he'd be better than Plouffe in 2015. Berrios? Meyer? Will they be better than Pelfrey and Nolasco? Probably. But not necessarily in 2015. Double-A is a TOUGH level. AAA is tough too. Let them go through the steps. Rosario hit .237 in AA last year and he hit .230-something in the spring... I don't think he'd be better than SChafer right now. Of course, I believe they will be better, but not yet.

I don't' think so. I mean, he only moved to the bullpen last year, so he's started most of the time. There's inherent risk with any pitcher, but I don't' think they're taking extra risk.

Part of that, of course, is because they have big thumpers in AA and up. That was a focus. The last couple of years, the focus has been on pitching (other than Gordon), so that's (part of) why the pitching is a bit ahead of the hitting (in terms of current prospect status).

I personally would move him from maybe 12 to 15, just because of uncertainty. But, of course, if things go well, there's no reason he won't be a top 10 guy a year after coming back again. For me, the guys I had right behind him, particularly Walker and Gonsalves, were close enough that this might move him down slightly.

It's a good point, but I also think that guys like Garver, Kanzler, Christensen and Haar shouldn't be overlooked in their 2nd full minor league seasons after being drafted as four-year college guys. Kanzler and Christensen are incredible, elite athletes. Garver is smart, can hit, hit with some power and do a nice job behind the plate. Haar has some good power and is also a pretty good athlete. I think Vielma and Kanzler's defense is worth watching. I think that a couple of the relievers should be up in AA except they pushed a couple of guys (Reed/Gallant) past Hi-A instead of being here. Also, the big arms drafted last year are getting their feet wet in Cedar Rapids but could be up by June also. And, frankly, if Cederoth was being groomed as a reliever, he'd probably be here too... That all said, there are some really, really good baseball players on this roster.

Ha! I'll be there in plenty of time... I hope!

The 2014 Ft. Myers Miracle won the team’s first Florida State League championship. The loaded roster now primarily is in Chattanooga. Some return, and manager Jeff Smith also adds some players from a playoff team in Cedar Rapids a year ago. Like the rest of minor league baseball, the Miracle season will begin on Thursday. Kohl Stewart headlines the Miracle roster in 2015, but there are a lot of players worth watching. Who else will be on the Miracle roster on Opening Day? Check below for the complete list.Here is a look at the Opening Day roster of the Miracle in some detail: Starting Pitchers: Ryan Eades, Chih-Wei Hu, Brett Lee (LHP), Ethan Mildren, Aaron Slegers, Kohl Stewart Brett Lee had a strong first half last year with the Miracle and was named to the Florida State League All-Star team. He didn’t pitch there, and pitched only sporadically in the second half due to shoulder issues. Ryan Eades had a frustrating 2014 season in Cedar Rapids, but the former second-round pick advances to the Miracle and has the stuff to be successful. He just needs to be consistent. Chih-Wei Hu began last season in extended spring training, but after a couple of starts for Elizabethton, he became arguably the Kernels best starter down the stretch. Mildren also began at EST, but he was quickly called up to Cedar Rapids. After a dozen starts, he moved up to the Miracle and was part of the championship rotation. The lanky Slegers was the Kernels top starter early in the season. After some struggles, he figured things out again and made a few starts for the Miracle late. Kohl Stewart is a great athlete and has huge potential. Some were concerned about his lack of strikeouts in Cedar Rapids in 2014. Others said that the contact off of him was very weak. More concerning, he ended his second straight season with shoulder issues. He’s at 100% this spring which could mean big things for the Twins first-round pick from 2013. Relief Pitchers: Madison Boer, JT Chargois, Alex Muren, Brandon Peterson, Tim Shibuya, Todd Van Steensel, Luke Westphal (LHP) Boer is a former second-round pick who was moved to the bullpen full-time just last year. He returns to the Miracle. JT Chargois was also a second- round pick, but he hasn’t pitched in two years due to an elbow injury that eventually resulted in Tommy John surgery. Twins Daily readers have heard numerous times here that he was clocked at 99 at Instructional League last fall. Alex Muren quietly puts up solid numbers. Particularly, he is a ground ball machine. Brandon Peterson was our choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year in 2014. He spent a month in Cedar Rapids before advancing to the Miracle where he struck out 65 in 45 innings. Tim Shibuya is healthy again after another injury-plagued 2014 season. Australian Van Steensel is back with the Twins and last year climbed from EST to Cedar Rapids and ended up pitching for the Miracle in the playoffs. Luke Westphal, a left-hander from LaCrosse, had to go to Australia this winter to get signed by the Twins. Catchers: Mitch Garver, Michael Quesada, Alex Swim Mitch Garver was my choice for Twins minor league hitter of the year when he put up strong numbers in Cedar Rapids. He was invited to Twins spring training this year and has moved up prospect rankings quickly. Swim came up to the Kernels last year and hit almost instantly. In fact, he hit so well that Jake Mauer played him in right field just to keep his bat in the lineup. Quesada is a defense-first catcher, though he occasionally will show some good pop in his bat. Infielders: Niko Goodrum, Bryan Haar, Aderling Mejia, Tanner Vavra, Engelb Vielma Niko Goodrum returns to the Miracle to play third base, though he will likely play multiple positions. I personally think this is the best thing for his development, to repeat the level and put up some good numbers to regain his confidence. Bryan Haar put up big power numbers in Cedar Rapids last year, playing third base. He finished the season with the Miracle. Mejia began 2014 in New Britain but returned to the Miracle. Here, he will play both middle infield positions. Vavra played second base with the Kernels a year ago and does a good job with the glove. Vielma impressed last year in Cedar Rapids with his glove work at shortstop. He was named the Twins minor league defensive infielder of the year last year. Outfielders: Chad Christensen, Jason Kanzler, Marcus Knecht, Logan Wade Christensen played for his hometown Kernels last year and put up numbers across the board, some power and 35 stolen bases. He will move to the outfield after playing mostly first base for Cedar Rapids. Jason Kanzler quietly put up big numbers last year. He is another great athlete with speed and power. He also plays tremendous center field defense. His 11th inning home run in the final game of 2014 gave the Miracle the Florida State League championship. Marcus Knecht signed with the Twins just last week after the Canadian was released by the Blue Jays. He has spent the last two years playing in the Florida State League for Dunedin. Logan Wade is an Australian infielder who is being moved to the outfield for depth. He will likely also play in the infield. Disabled List: Brandon Bixler (LHP), Brian Gilbert, Steven Gruver, Chris Mazza, Ryan Walker, Corey Williams (LHP – Tommy John) Manager/Coaching Staff: Jeff Smith (MGR), Jim Dwyer (Hitting Coach), Ivan Arteaga (Pitching Coach). Jeff Smith returns to the Miracle after spending the past five seasons with the Rock Cats in New Britain. Before that, the Naples native managed the Miracle in 2008 and 2009. He also managed Beloit for two years. Jim Dwyer begins his 10th season as the Miracle’s hitting coach. Ivan Arteaga was the pitching coach in Cedar Rapids last year after being the Miracle pitching coach in 2013. WHO ARE THE TOP PROSPECTS? Twins Daily Prospects: #4 Kohl Stewart, Seth: #5 Kohl Stewart, #17 Chih-Wei Hu, #26 Mitch Garver, #27 Niko Goodrum Cody: #3 Kohl Stewart, #21 Chih-Wei Hu, #23 Niko Goodrum, #26 Engelb Vielma, #30 Brett Lee Jeremy: #4 Kohl Stewart, #19 Chih-Wei Hu, #22 Mitch Garver, #26 Engelb Vielma *** If you didn’t get your copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015, be sure to order yours today. You can order a hardcopy or order an electronic copy for immediate download. Click here to view the article

Unfortunately yes.

On Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels announced their Opening Day roster for the 2015 season. Jake Mauer returns to the helm after compiling a record of 161-117 over the last two seasons. Nick Gordon is the best prospect on the roster. However this team should have some pretty strong pitching. They have a few arms that throw very hard. The team opens their season on Thursday at Kane County, and their first home game is on Sunday night. Who else will be on the Kernels roster on Opening Day? Check below for the complete list.Here is a look at the Opening Day roster of the Kernels in some detail: Starting Pitchers: Mat Batts (LHP), Michael Cederoth, John Curtiss, Stephen Gonsalves (LHP), Felix Jorge, Zack Tillery Batts was the Twins 17th round pick in 2014 out of UNC-Wilmington. The lefty pitched for the GCL Twins, Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids after pitching over 100 innings in college. If you're looking for a guy who could jump into the Twins top ten prospects in 2015, many believe that guy can be Stephen Gonsalves. The lefty was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2013 out of high school and has put up good numbers in his two professional seasons. Cederoth was a college reliever, but the Twins gave the right-hander with the triple-digit fastball an opportunity to start at Elizabethton last year. That will continue this season. John Curtiss was the closer at Texas in last year’s college World Series, but he also was asked to start when he signed. He pitched for E-Town, but he also made one start for the Kernels in the playoffs in 2014. Felix Jorge began last season with the Kernels, but he struggled mightily and finally was sent back to Elizabethton where he was named the pitcher of the year in the Appalachian League. Zack Tillery was a 2014 draft pick from Florida Gulf Coast. Bullpen: Cameron Booser (LHP), Sam Clay (LHP), Trevor Hildenberger, CK Irby, Randy LeBlanc, Mike Theofanopoulos, Jared Wilson When I talked to Jared Wilson at spring training, he made the comment that he would get an opportunity to start at the beginning of this season. He is listed as a reliever, but the rumor has it that he and Tillery will piggyback with each other (one starting and one coming in and stretching out). Booser was rumored to be hitting 98-99 mph at Instructional League. Clay was the Twins fourth-round pick a year ago out of Georgia Tech. He struggled initially at E-Town but ended the season very strong. He throws hard and could advance quickly. Hildenberger and Theofanopoulos pitched in college together. Theofanopoulos is a crafty left-hander. Hildenberger throws hard, but he also throws from a three-quarter (or maybe five-eighths?) angle and gets a lot of movement. Irby throws hard. The 2013 draft pick struck out 51 in 33.1 innings at E-Town last year. LeBlanc was drafted out of Tulane in 2014 and struck out 34 in 37 innings at E-Town. Catchers: Jorge Fernandez, Brian Navarreto These two catchers both have the potential and the talent to eventually get to the big leagues. They have a long ways to go and much to learn, but they have the type of tools you are looking for in a catcher. Both have very strong arms. Both are very athletic behind the plate. Fernandez is more athletic, and there are always rumors of him getting time in the outfield. Navarreto is a large man, very strong. He is often compared with Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez. Fernandez has doubles power, while Navarreto could develop 25-home run power. Both are young but should be a lot of fun to watch grow in 2015. Infielders: Nick Gordon, Jonatan Hinojosa, Pat Kelly, Tyler Kuresa, Trey Vavra, TJ White The Twins used the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft on Nick Gordon, the high school shortstop from Orlando who is the son of former big leaguer Tom Gordon and the brother of Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon. Gordon has all of the tools, plus a maturity beyond his years. Hinojosa split 2014 between Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids. Pat Kelly is a Minnesota kid who the Twins drafted from Nebraska in 2014. The Twins drafted Kuresa in the 11th round in 2010 and offered him a lot of money to sign, but he chose to go to college. The Twins drafted him in the 16th round last year. He is a powerful, left-handed hitting first baseman with a good glove. Trey Vavra was selected in the 33rd round by the Twins in 2014. He is the son of Twins bench coach Joe Vavra and his brother Tanner played for the Kernels in 2014. He put up 20 doubles in Elizabethton last year. TJ White was the Twins 19th round pick a year ago out of UNLV. He signed late, but he did get into a couple of games with the E-Twins as well. Outfielders: Tanner English, Zach Granite, Zack Larson, Max Murphy This is a pretty talented group of outfielders. Zach Granite was the Opening Day leadoff hitter for the Kernels last year, but just a couple of games into the season, he was hurt. He came back in late June for a couple of weeks before getting hurt again. He has an advanced approach at the plate and might be a guy who could move up quickly if he gets off to a fast start. Larson was also on the Kernels’ Opening Day roster last season, as a 20 year old. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he hurt his hamstring and did not return until late in the season. Max Murphy was drafted from Bradley in 2014. The Minnesota native crushed Appalachian League pitching and even though he was promoted to Cedar Rapids with a month to play, he was still named the Appy League’s MVP. He struggled with the Kernels, but he has a chance to be very good. Tanner English was the team’s 11th round pick a year ago. He signed later and had a shoulder injury, so he didn’t play a lot in Elizabethton. When their season ended, English joined the Kernels for their second-round playoff series. Disabled List: Brandon Bixler (LHP), Yorman Landa, Chris Mazza, Randy Rosario, Fernando Romero, Lewis Thorpe, Suspension: Hudson Boyd (50 games) Manager/Coaching Staff: Jake Mauer (MGR), Tommy Watkins (Hitting Coach), Henry Bonilla (Pitching Coach). Mauer returns to Cedar Rapids for his third season with the Kernels. In his first two seasons, he has a record of 161-117. It is his eighth season as a manager in the Twins minor league system, having managed the GCL Twins and the Ft. Myers Miracle in the past. He has led the Kernels to the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Tommy Watkins returns to the Kernels. It is his sixth season as a coach in the Twins system. Henry Bonilla was the pitching coach at Elizabethton the last three years. SIDENOTE – I’ll be in Cedar Rapids starting Sunday night when the Kernels play their home-opening series. WHO ARE THE TOP PROSPECTS? Twins Daily Prospects: #6 Nick Gordon, #11 Lewis Thorpe, #13 Stephen Gonsalves Seth: #4 Nick Gordon, #12 Lewis Thorpe, #15 Stephen Gonsalves, #25 Fernando Romero, #28 Zack Larson, #29 Brian Navarreto Cody: #5 Nick Gordon, #11 Lewis Thorpe, #13 Stephen Gonsalves, #17 Felix Jorge, #22 Michael Cederoth, #28 Fernando Romero Jeremy: #7 Nick Gordon, #8 Lewis Thorpe, #17 Stephen Gonsalves, #20 Max Murphy, #28 Michael Cederoth, #29 Cameron Booser *** If you didn’t get your copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015, be sure to order yours today. You can order a hardcopy or order an electronic copy for immediate download. Click here to view the article