Seth Stohs

Correct. The Twins have not formally announced Sano being sent down, though there are reports that he has... There's timing and things like that (that are beyond my understanding). There are as many as 5 guys that have already been told that they will be sent down. That may officially be announced tomorrow, but it could wait until Tuesday as the Twins have a complete off day tomorrow.

There are so many interesting stories in minor league baseball. The Twins are well-known for scouring the furthermost reaches of the globe to find players that have some potential. Last offseason, they signed another kid who was playing in Australia, but this one was a little different. He is actually from Wisconsin. Get to know the story of left-handed pitcher Luke Westphal below.Luke Westphal was born and raised is the town of Clintonville, Wisconsin. Clintonville has a population just over 4,500 residents. It is located about 45 miles north of Oshkosh in northeast Wisconsin. He pitched for four years at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, a school that was a huge Division III powerhouse for decades. However, following his four seasons of college baseball, Westphal wasn’t drafted. Following his 2013 graduation, he received an opportunity to pitch in the independent Frontier League, for the Gateway Grizzlies. The team is located in the St. Louis area. He posted a 1.59 ERA and struck out 21 batters in 17 innings coming out of the bullpen. He returned to the Grizzlies in 2014 for the full season. He went 3-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 52.2 innings over 35 games. He struck out 68 and walked 39 batters. So how did he wind up playing in Australia? Westphal recalled, “I had a teammate out at Gateway who was actually from Australia. One day, he was just talking to a couple of my other teammates who had played over in Australia also. He was talking about guys heading back. I thought it sounded like a great plan and a good idea. I approached him and asked if there was any way there would be any interest in me playing over there. He said he’d make a couple of phone calls. I got an e-mail within the next couple of days asking if I’d like to come over and play.” He jumped at the opportunity and went to Australia for the winter. Now, he didn’t play in the Australian Baseball League. Instead he played for a team in Doncaster, in Victoria. Westphal was excited for the opportunity in baseball, but also for an opportunity to see something new. “That was my first time out of the country, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. I went over there. Friendliest people you’ll ever meet.” He continued, “My teammates were terrific.” He had been a starter in college, but with the Grizzlies he had pitched out of the bullpen. He wanted another opportunity to start. “I had been in the bullpen in independent ball but I’d like to start. So, I had the opportunity to start over there. They let me build back up as slow as I wanted. It was four innings the first two outings. Five innings the next two. Six. Seven. They let me build my pitch count up. They were great with me, and I had an unbelievable experience. It was awesome.” Though we don’t have final statistics, at one point right before the end of the season, Westphal had 136 strikeouts in just 74 innings. That’s 16.5 strikeouts per nine innings! It wasn’t the Australian Baseball League, so the competition wasn’t quite as high, but there was still some really good talent. According to the left-hander, “It was a very wide range of talent. Every team had a couple of terrific hitters. Every team had a couple of guys with affiliated experience, whether it was High-A or AA. Then every team had a couple of guys that were 18, 19 years old, looking to go to college or to sign with somebody. It was a big gap. It was a wide range. It was different.” The Twins had scouted Doncaster before. In fact, Lewis Thorpe was signed after playing for Doncaster. Matz Schutte was signed as a 16-year-old from The Netherlands, but the Twins sent him to Australia to play with Doncaster as well. Twins scout Howard Norsetter who is responsible for so many of the Twins international signings, particularly in Australia, got the chance to see Westphal pitch, probably by accident. Westphal said, “The club that I played with is where Lewis Thorpe had signed out of, Doncaster. Actually Daniel McGrath, who is with the Red Sox, he signed out of Doncaster as well. And then Matz is with the Twins. He was over there to get innings. So I think Howard probably showed up to see Matz, and I was starting and then Matz would come in after me most games. He watched me the first time he saw Matz.” Doncaster, he said, typically played on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Westphal usually was the team’s pitcher on Saturday, but late in the year, he was asked to make a couple of starts on Tuesday instead. It can be a little more difficult, you see, because Westphal had to work Monday through Friday. In his second-to-last start, his first Tuesday start, he had his worst outing of the year, by far. In about the fourth inning, one of his teammates pointed to the stands and told him that there was a Twins scout (Norsetter) there. Understandably, Westphal was quite disappointed. He said, “Oh great, that’s the game he came here to watch. Went home, wasn’t in a great mood and was watching some ESPN. Ended up finding a voice mail on my phone. He had actually called me after the game and said he wanted to talk to me. I couldn’t believe it. He liked what he saw and wasn’t too worried about the results. He’d seen me previously as well, and he gave me the opportunity.” Westphal is a left-handed pitcher, listed at 6-3 and 240 pounds. He throws fairly hard. Asked what his pitches were, he said, “Right now I’m throwing a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball that sinks a little bit. Curve ball, slider, change-up. So, four pitches with a little two-seam variation off my fastball. I’d probably say that I like to go to the slider, especially to the lefties. I like my two-seam versus lefties or righties. I like my curve ball as well. The change-up is probably the pitch I use least.” As for his hopes for 2015, Westphal is keeping it simple and enjoying the ride. “I’m just super thankful for the opportunity, and I’m really hoping to come in to spring training, throw as well as I can, show them everything I have, and when we break camp, I just hope I’m with a team and whatever level they decide they want to put me at, I’ll be happy with that as long as I have the opportunity to make it out of spring and try to move up from there.” Westphal is another guy you can’t help rooting for. Just seeking an opportunity, the 25-year-old southpaw from Wisconsin traveled halfway across the globe to sign with the team from Minnesota. Baseball can be a funny game. Click here to view the article

On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins announced that nine players had been cut from big league spring training. Byron Buxton and JO Berrios were among the first round of cuts. UPDATE - Following Sunday's game, the Minnesota Twins announced that LHP Logan Darnell was optioned to Rochester, and infielder Jorge Polanco was optioned to Chattanooga. RHP Adrian Salcedo and infielder Argenis Diaz were reassigned to minor league camp.40-Man Roster These players get a couple of days to report to minor league camp. Max Kepler - 1B, OFNon-Roster Invites These players are expected to head across the parking lot. In fact, several of them went right to work after learning the news, fitting into the minor league drills. Jose Berrios - RH SPByron Buxton - OutfielderTyler Duffey – RH SPTaylor Rogers – LH SPRyan O’Rourke – LH RPHeiker Meneses – InfielderMitcher Garver - CatcherStuart Turner - CatcherThe Twins spring training roster is now at 52 players. UPDATE - With the four additional moves, the Twins roster is now at 48 and just 11 of them are non-roster players. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins farm system is full of really good relief pitchers. Alex Muren was one of the better minor league relievers in 2014, and it’s very possible that you’ve never heard of him. He’s just fine with that. While some prospects have reporters surrounding them and autograph hounds begging for their signature, Muren is fully comfortable lurking in the shadows.Alex Muren was the Twins 12th round draft pick in 2012 out of Cal State-Northridge. Despite a 5-8 record and a 5.30 ERA, and just 47 strikeouts in 91.2 innings for the Matadors, the Twins obviously saw something that they liked. After signing, he was assigned to the GCL Twins where he worked out of the bullpen and posted a 1.46 ERA. In 2013, he pitched in relief at Cedar Rapids most of the season. He went 6-1 and posted a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings. He returned to the Kernels to start the 2014 season. In 33 games, he went 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA. He earned a promotion to the Ft. Myers Miracle for the final months and had a 2.45 ERA in 18.1 innings. In his professional career, he has a strikeout rate of just 4.8 K/9. However, he hasn’t posted an ERA above 2.89 at any level. Why? In 2014, Alex Muren posted an incredible 2.8 groundouts to flyouts. Coupled with dropping his walk rate in half, to a miniscule 1.5 BB/9 in 2014, and you can understand why Muren posted the kinds of numbers that he has. In Cedar Rapids, Manager Jake Mauer would often go to Muren in tight situations with runners on, knowing there was a good chance that he would coax a ground ball and maybe they could get a double play. Most often, that’s exactly what happened. I caught up with the right-hander on Saturday, and he said he was much more comfortable now that he is in his third spring training. “The more you’re here, the more you know the guys and the routines. It makes it easier.” He is a ground ball pitcher for a couple of reasons. First, he works with a low-90s, four-seam fastball. “I get a little bit of late run on it which helps.” He has also, as mentioned above, worked to gain better control. He credits his pitching coaches with a great plan of attack. He understands what makes him so successful. “I think just working with the pitching coaches and focusing on staying at the knees and below the knees. And hopefully they’ll hit it on the ground.” Muren reported to Twins minor league spring training earlier this week. He threw a bullpen a couple of days ago and, on Friday, threw his first live batting practice of the year. Asked if there are certain statistics that he looks at and finds most important, he had an interesting response. “I try not to look at stats at all throughout the year, for superstition reasons. I just go based on the outing, how the outing went. I’ll look at the game chart to look at ground balls, strikes to balls ratio. Those are the ones I care about.” Muren took a couple of months off after the season before starting his throwing program again. He worked during the day as a middle school substitute teacher. It was an ideal situation for him as he could earn money, but he also has another reason that he does it. “I just do that because it helps scheduling-wise. I can pick which days I work.” Do the kids that he teaches know that he plays professional baseball? “I try not to bring it up at all, but if they ask what I do, I’ll tell them.” Muren is married, and his wife is currently finishing up her student teaching. If her schedule permits, she may come and visit him in Ft. Myers during spring training. So, as he looks to 2015, what are his goals? Will he be able to back up his terrific 2014 season in which he finished sixth in the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year balloting? “Just keep building off of last year. Go out there and do better, get more groundballs. Throw more strikes. Getting the velo up higher earlier.” Of course, if as he moves up he continues to post the kinds of numbers he did in 2014, more and more people will know his name. Click here to view the article

He's here. He's working with Group 4 which is the group that likely starts in Extended Spring Training. He didn't pitch last year at all, so I'm guessing he'll start in extended at least.

The Twins were on the road again on Saturday. They made the trip to Bradenton to play the Pirates and got a win. I spent the full day over at the minor league practice. In fact, if you follow Twins Daily on Twitter or “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook, you can see that a LOT of pictures (probably 500) were taken of minor league players whom you have seen in box scores or the Twins Daily minor league reports each day through the season, but now you can put a face to them. I’ve been asked on numerous occasions what happens in a day at minor league camp. They definitely put in some work. Here is an approximation of a daily schedule as well as some of my observations. I included a few minor league notes at the end as well.There are 55 rooms in the new dormitory at the Twins complex, with two players in each room. Most of the younger players stay there. Some of the more veteran players or some of the guys who think they’ll play for the Miracle this season will find a place to live off-site. At the dorms, they are able to eat breakfast. At about 9 a.m., they will generally have a meeting to discuss the day’s practice. Before Friday’s first official practice, all of the minor leaguers and staff met in the new auditorium to go through things they would need to know. At around 9:30, the players will come out onto the fields. The pitchers will all go to one field and the hitters will go to the area that includes Perry’s Hill. The strength and conditioning coordinators go through a series of stretching exercises as well as some short jogging, just to loosen up. They have weights and stretchy bands as well as some devices that are essentially shake weights. They definitely get a full body stretch and a small workout to get everything ready for a full day of practice. When they’re done, the players split into four work groups. Work Group 1 is the most veteran group with a lot of players who will spend the season at AA or AAA. Work Group 4 is a lot of the guy who will likely begin the season in extended spring training. The hitters go to a field and usually start with some base running work. They’ll run from home to first, through the bag. They’ll start at first and work on their cross-over steps to steal second. They’ll go first to third. Finally they’ll go second to home. They’ll maybe do each thing a couple of times. At that point, the infielders break into ground ball drills. They put them through every situation imaginable, throwing to first and throwing to second. They’ll spend 10 minutes just working on backhands. The middle infielders will work with each other on flips, or giving each other a good target for a double play. You will see a coach with a fungo standing by third base, hitting line drives and one or two hoppers at the first basemen so that they can work on stretching and scooping baseballs. Pitchers will get ground balls shot out of a pitching machine to work on their reactions and hands. They make it a competition to keep it enjoyable. On their days, pitchers will throw their bullpens. They’ll work from the windup and from the stretch. As the spring wears on, those bullpen sessions will likely become more intense and pitchers will be working on more things. At the end of each pitcher’s bullpen, he and his catcher will meet in the middle, shake hands and talk for a minute about what they saw. Outfielders may be in the batting cages taking swings. At some point in the morning, they get that pitching machine and launch fly balls from it positioned near the left field line to the outfielders who are standing in centerfield. They will make them come forward or go backwards. It’s all about repetition and getting to see the ball in the air. Pitchers fielding practice (PFP) is something that we hear about all of the time. On Friday, the pitchers worked on it on all three fields. Infielders will help with it as well. The pitchers need to do a variety of things in preparation for what could happen during the season: Covering first base on a grounder to the first baseman.Fielding a bunt to each the first or third base line.Fielding grounders straight back to them.Communicating with the first baseman on grounders that way that maybe the pitcher can field.Finding a ball that is near the mound and calmly throwing to first base.Getting a ground ball and throwing to second base for a force out, or maybe even a double play.Fielding a bunt down the third base line and throwing to third.Pick off throws to first, second or even third base. I’m certain that I left out some of the scenarios. They go through some I hadn’t even thought of and yet that scenario may come up during the course of the season. In fact, on Saturday, they worked on where to go to back up a play if they have picked off a runner from one of the bases, starting with how to run toward them and make the runner commit to a base. It’s really amazing to watch the precision of a minor league practice with four work groups on five fields. They have stations. They have certain things that they need to do and they get them done. On Saturday before lunch, all of the pitchers had to do the shuttle run. Mini-cones were placed 25 yards from each other. A group of six to eight pitchers will get on the line and do six down and backs, about 300 yards. They are timed and the times are recorded. Most finish between 53 and 60 seconds. A few get between 61 and 65. And then after each of the groups does it once, they get to do it a second time. A few of them maintain their mid-50s time, but most are closer to 60 the second time and a few more trickle to just above 60 seconds. It’s actually kind of impressive. The players generally have lunch for about 30 to 45 minutes. At that point, the hitters come out and they take batting practice on three fields. They get a lot of swings. There was even a bunting station on each field where three or four guys would rotate just to work on bunting. It is an impressive showing of efficient use of the field. Pitchers generally will be shagging fly balls throughout this time. On Friday, they hit until about 2:00. At that point, the hitters went over to the area to do their two shuttle runs. You can tell the catchers, but again, the times were typically between 55 and 60 seconds. There were several that trickled over 60 seconds, but for the most part, they did well. When you watch it, the players are generally doing something. However, in the Florida heat, I also think they do a good job of mixing coaching with executing. In other words, not only do they take ground balls or work on different plays, but they will spend a lot of time huddling in a group to discuss what they will be doing and why. If a coach sees something that a guy should work on, he'll work with him right away, or hit him another ground ball so that he can continue to learn. They are encouraged to get water frequently. The players are on the field from basically 9:30 until 2:30 with a 30 to 45 minute lunch, but they are well taken care of and each field has one athletic trainer around in case there is a need. If you get a chance to spend a day watching a full Twins minor league practice during spring training, I would encourage it. Again, I am amazed by the efficiency. They are able to keep somewhere around 140 baseball players busy, but more important, they are coaching them up at every opportunity. I'm certain that I didn't cover it all. There is so much going on. Here are a couple of quick notes: I talked to Luke Bard for a little while. As you know, he had surgery last May and it is expected to be a 12 month recovery. As I’ve written before, once they found the issue, they were amazed that he was able to throw at all. As he said, a lot of really good doctors missed it. Bard said he feels good and is on track to this point. He’s such a good person that you want to see him get healthy and see what he can do. Reports from teammates when he was able to pitch were that he had some really nasty stuff.I also talked to David Hurlbut, a left-handed starting pitcher who was named to the Florida State League All-Star team in 2014. He didn’t pitch from that point forward and was rehabbing throughout the offseason. He told me that he kept having bullpens and thinking he was good and then he wouldn’t be able to pitch again for a couple of weeks. He did say that the last couple of weeks, he has felt very good. He’s now doing bullpens and involved in all activities with the hope to be ready for opening day.Jason Kanzler shaved the mustache for photo day. I actually felt bad. I was chatting with outfielder Zach Granite between fields, and Kanzler walked by on his way to another field. I had to do a double take. We chatted later and Kanzler said, “Yeah, didn’t think you knew it was me.” I agreed and said that I had to do a double-take just to believe that it was him.There is a belief that flame-thrower Brandon Poulson has a chance to be really good, dominating someday as a pitcher. Though he is 25 years old, he hasn’t played a lot of baseball. He’s 6-4, 240 pounds and as Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press wrote today, he has just 8% body fat. Right now, he has trouble with this control, and the Twins will be patient with him. Why? Because he has little problem hitting 98 mph with his fastball. If it takes him a couple of years to gather his control and maybe a second or third pitch, and he could get to the big leagues at 28 years old with a 98 to 101 mph fastball, then it’s all worth it. I know you were wondering the same thing I was, but they were able to get THEOFANOPOULUS on the back of a Twins jersey. Three guys to keep an eye on for years down the road, possibly, are outfielders Roberto Gonzalez, Tyree Davis and Edgar Corcino. All three fit the profile of athlete. They are all very fast. They all have good strength and they’re all baseball guys. Obviously they’re all young and a long way from big league ready, but if you’re looking for some names of sleepers in the low levels, those guys could be very interesting.One thing I’ve noticed in watching so many bullpens the last couple of days: The Twins have a lot of pitchers that throw pretty hard. I know they’re not completely airing it out in the first bullpen sessions, and I’m not necessarily seeing their best secondary pitches either, but it’s very clear that there is more velocity.On Saturday, the Twins are on the road again, this time across the state in Jupiter, so I’ll be at the minor league facilities again. As you can see, I really enjoy this and I hope that passion comes through when you read me write about the Twins minor league system and the players in it. There really is a lot of talent. Then consider that some of their top prospects are still over in the major league camp and that talent pool just continues to grow. Nick Nelson will be arriving in Ft. Myers later this afternoon, so look forward to his terrific writing the next week or so. He and I will both cover the Twins on Sunday, so be sure to check back often. Click here to view the article

And he was a criminal justice major at Wichita State, so he probably wouldn't do that either.

Great point... thank you. I updated it a bit.

Thielbar's a given. Tonkin isn't yet. There aren't a lot of spots open out there.

Batting average has become an almost controversial statistic in the past several years. It used to be pretty much the only statistic that some people looked at (along with homers), and now there are some who seem to find it almost meaningless. The reality is that it is somewhere in between. When some fans talk about Brian Dozier, they would like to see his batting average increase. But what does Dozier think? And what do his manager and the general manager think about it?If one believes that the minor league track record is useful in determining future success, most believe that Dozier can increase his batting average beyond the .240s that he’s hit the last two seasons. Obviously rookie league stats mean little, but Dozier hit .349 in 58 games there. He began his first full season at Beloit and in 39 games he hit .278. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he finished the 2010 season and started the 2011 season. In 142 games, he hit .291. He finished that 2011 season in New Britain here he hit .318 in 78 games. He didn’t have much success in his 48 games in Rochester (early and then late in the season) in the 2012 season, hitting just .232. As we recall, Dozier struggled in his initial taste in big league ball. In 84 games, he hit just .232 and got on base just 27% of the time. He took over second base in 2013 and in 147 games, he hit .244/.312/.414 (.726) with 33 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs. The overall numbers don’t jump out at you, but a closer look shows that he made some adjustments right before June and took off after that, especially in the power department. 2014 was his best season. He hit just .242, but he got on base at a .345 clip and slugged .416 with 33 doubles and 23 home runs. He became an instigator at the top of the lineup. He was terrific in terms of getting on base, and he hit for as much power as any second baseman in the game. However, the question remains, can he increase his batting average without it affecting his on-base skills or his power production? Isolated Discipline (IsoD) is an interesting statistic for me, especially for a top of the order type of hitter. It is simply on-base percentage minus batting average. It shows how often a batter walks or gets hit by pitches. In other words, how often can he get on base when he doesn’t get a hit. His 2014 IsoD jumped to an impressive .103 which is tremendous. I always figure anything over .080 is pretty good. Isolated Power (IsoP) is a very similar statistic. It doesn’t take advanced mathematical capabilities to compute either. It is simply the slugging percentage minus the batting average. It is a rough number to show how much extra-base power a guy has. Dozier’s 2014 IsoP of .174 is very good for a middle infielder and a top of the order guy. That’s no surprise since he has hit so many doubles and home runs. Dozier hit .242/345/.416 in 2014. Let’s just say that he increased his batting average to .275, something his minor league statistics indicate isn’t out of the realm of possibility, and maintains his 2014 levels. That would give a season stat line of .275/.378/.449, and give him an OPS of .827. That would be a very strong statistical season. So there is the background for this article, but I go back to my initial question. Can Brian Dozier increase his batting average without it affecting his on-base skills or his power production. The general manager, Terry Ryan, is certain that he can. “I’m sure he can. There’s no reason he isn’t going to hit for a higher batting average, in our opinion. I don’t think it’s going to affect his power or his on-base. He’s had two decent years, but he can be better.” Dozier seems to believe that he can as well. He said, “Absolutely. That’s what I go back to. At the end of the year, me and Bruno sat down and talk about that. One way, if you look at the minor leagues, I averaged probably 15-20 base hit bunts. The past two years (it) is probably about three or four, total. I’ve got to start implementing that more. You look at that, it’s a way to kind of increase it.” But in addition to being able to increase his batting average, when asked about his approach or strategy, Dozier said that it really shouldn’t change too significantly. “As far as approach, I don’t really think if you hit for high average the power needs to come down. I’m going to keep my aggressiveness. There are certain thinks that I’ve been working on, in situations, and I think that’s come with being my fourth year in now.” Experience can and usually does help with the development of overall game. Terry Ryan believed that Brian Dozier is pretty good now, but that there is no reason that he can’t and won’t continue to get better. “He’s shown the power. He’s shown the base stealing ability. He’s been one of those guys that has those streaks, and his consistency can increase. There’s no question that he can become a better player.” One way for Dozier to do that is to do what he did on Wednesday when he went 3-3. Not so much the results, though anyone would happily take three hits no matter how they come, but with his approach. Ryan said, “He took at-bats and he squared up balls (Wednesday). He didn’t do the dead pull stuff. We know he can do it. Now, whether or not you want to trade off with the power. But on base percentage and his ability to drive the baseball and his strength, I would say that’s conducive to him raising the average somewhere along the line.” Using the whole field and getting on base is a terrific thing, but Dozier thinks that the situation in the game will always dictate what he can or should do, and what his approach at the plate will be. With his increased power production, third basemen aren’t playing him in as much anymore. He could probably get more bunt hits and want to do that, but not every day. Not in every circumstance. “It’s a good thing that they aren’t playing me in because I’m a “pull” hitter. I get a lot of hits down the line and in the hole. A lot of times last year, I had a lot of situations where I could drop one down if he was playing me back. The game dictates the game itself. For instance, a runner at first base, we’re down by a couple runs and you’ve got a chance to tie it up. You know you can walk into first for a single (if you bunt it), but I think my job was kind of different last year, trying to be that RBI guy, and trying to hit the two-run homer, or have second and third with Joe coming up.” Paul Molitor really likes Dozier’s approach at the plate. Following Dozier’s three-hit game the manager was asked about it. “He stayed on a couple of pitches back up the middle. He’s a guy that most of his power is pull, but obviously when we can use more of the field especially deeper in the count, it’s going to be advantageous for him to increase opportunities to get on base. It was good to see. And even in his last at-bat, taking the ball out to right center. Yeah, we all know he can hit a fastball. We all know he’s got real good pop. Just looking for ways to find ways to get to the next level. He’s learned the strike zone much better. Now he’s just going to figure out how to be a little better deep in the count, cut down on the strikeouts and give himself a chance.” Speaking of his power, after his home run on Thursday, he was asked if he was going to start showing off his power to right centerfield. Dozier chuckled and said, “I had a smart guy once tell me, Josh Willingham, the shortest distance usually is always to left field. Why would I try to hit them to right?” It’s strange at this stage in baseball’s statistical evolution to talk about batting average being "One Stat To Watch" for a player, but it sems that increasing his batting average is something that will show that Brian Dozier is taking that next step as a ballplayer. I thought Molitor summed it up the best when he said that he needs to use the whole field and find a way to cut down on the strikeouts. Yes, it’s a fine line and the next sentence will sound funny. As Dozier says, he doesn’t want to lose his aggressiveness while at the same time continuing to show the patience that has allowed him to walk so much. Click here to view the article

We're mostly talking about guys who are not yet minor league free agents and are not on the 40 man roster. Those players get more money than the others. I once figured that if you say that number is 100. And the average of those 100 is about $1500 per month (that might be a bit high for lower levels and a little low for higher levels. That would be about $150,000. If that number was doubled, then you're up to $300,000. Someone can check my math or feel free to disagree. But when 3rd starters are signing for $12 million, an extra $150K does'nt seem like much.

On Thursday, the Twins got a 7-6 wins over the Miami Marlins at Hammond Stadium. Brian Dozier homered. Mike Pelfrey pitched well. Chris Herrmann delivered a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th to give the Twins a lead. Mark Hamburger came in and looked great in the ninth for the save. Below, find many notes from Thursday at Hammond Stadium and the Lee County Sports Complex. Some notes are regarding the game. Others regarding the first minor league practice. Enjoy!Before the game, I chatted with a couple of players. This afternoon, I posted an article on the very interesting story of Tyler Grimes. JR GRAHAM I also spent some time chatting with Rule 5 pick JR Graham. He says he’s really enjoyed his spring with the Twins, but he pointed out that it is quite a bit different from what he was accustomed to with the Braves. He knows he’ll get his innings this spring. With the Braves, he said that they had the spring pitching scale mapped out for the entire six weeks of games. Down to the inning. He said that he has a few friends with the Braves yet, but some of his best friends have been traded. Atlanta’s roster for 2015 is completely different from last year. Two members of the bullpen were traded to the Rockies. Two others were traded elsewhere. Justin Upton and Graham’s good friend Jason Heyward were traded. If he were to go back to the Braves, he’d be going back to a team full of change. Graham experienced shoulder pain in 2013. He said the pain was in the back of his shoulder. “There were times when I couldn’t raise my arm. I’d not pick up a ball for three weeks and just rehab, and when I tried to throw, I just couldn’t.” Graham spent the first half of 2014 as a starter with a strict pitch count, generally five innings or 50 pitches, whichever came first. In the season’s second half, he pitched out of the bullpen. The Braves’ goal for him in 2014 was to get him through the season healthy. He said, “I just wanted to pitch, but I struggled with consistency. I would hit 98 one pitch, and then I couldn’t get it again.” Watching Graham pitch out of the bullpen is interesting. He doesn’t bring the ball way back, but when he lets the ball go, he gets great velocity. He’s certainly someone that I would think the Twins would want to keep around if at all possible. As you know, as a Rule 5 pick, if he does not remain on the Twins active roster (or DL) throughout the 2015 season, he will need to be offered back to the Braves. KYLE GIBSON Kyle Gibson was really happy with his outing on Wednesday in Dunedin. He was hitting 94, but he was happiest that his sinker was working well. Last spring training, Gibson had a lot on his mind. The Gibson family celebrated their daughter's first birthday last week. He also was in a competition for the fifth starter job with Vance Worley, Sam Deduno and Scott Diamond, each out of options. Gibson won that competition and remained in the Twins rotation throughout the 2014 season. Asked if his mindset was any different this spring, he said, “It is in some ways. I always feel like I need to prove myself and have to pitch well to earn the position. At the same time, it’s nice to be able to work on some things.” He does want to pick up more strikeouts, but with his sinker, he will always be a groundball pitcher. His goal for the season is to be more consistent than 2014. It isn’t about the statistics. He said, “At the end of the year, I hope to have made 33 starts and given my teammates a chance to win each one of them.” PHIL HUGHES Phil Hughes had an interesting game. In the first inning, he struck out the side in order. He then didn’t get out of the second inning. He issued a (GASP!) walk and later allowed a three-run homer. In all, he gave up four runs in the inning, and Jason Wheeler had to get the final out. Hughes said the innings were “like night and day.” In the second inning, he felt that he was trying to do a little too much, be a little too perfect and then he got upset. “To lead off the second, I made some good pitches and then I tried to be too fine as the at-bat progressed. I felt like I could do no wrong in the first, locating cutters to my arm side. Then I missed on a couple and I started getting frustrated and tried to throw the pitch over and over again until I got it right. That ended up working against me.” He continued, “I felt good overall with my stuff. I felt like I was locating my fastball really well. It was there, I just got into my own head there in the second trying to make a perfect pitch instead of just going down and away with fastballs and getting outs.” MIKE PELFREY Mike Pelfrey threw well, working three scoreless innings and giving up just two hits. However, the story of his performance was a wild play. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a fast one-hopper back toward Pelfrey. The ball went in his glove and stuck. He ran toward first base and underhanded the glove to Joe Mauer for an interesting out (video). Let’s let Pelfrey tell you what happened. “He hit the ball back to me, and I thought I made a good play. I’m like ‘Sweet!’ I’m reaching, and I’m reaching, and it’s not coming. I looked at him. I guarantee, if you play this game, you’re faster than me. It’s going to be a foot race so I just took off. Luckily I got over there and beat him to it.” He continued, “I know my actions were good. I think I did what I was supposed to. We got the guy out, so I’ll take it.” Manager Paul Molitor has been around the game a long time, and he wasn’t sure what to think either. He called it “a little free entertainment” and joked that it may have to be part of the PFP package tomorrow. He was a little worried though. “I’ve seen replay, but I’ve never seen it live. I’m sure we’ve all seen it see it happen on replays, but that was entertaining. I don’t know who was more panicked about it, Joe (Mauer) or Mike. When he started flipping it, I envisioned the ball coming out. I couldn’t tell how well it was in there from my angle.” The strange play may have overshadowed Pelfrey’s strong performance. He felt very good about it. Pelfrey was happy at the conclusion of his outing. “I did a better job of getting ahead and throwing strikes. I got good movement, and good sink on it. I think obviously by the ground balls. I did a good job of locating it. I think when you do that everything gets a little bit better, your split or slider or curve. But fastball command is where it all started. I thought it was pretty good today.” Pelfrey is in a fight for a starting rotation spot for the first time in six or seven years. He’s put in the work. “I busted my tail this offseason for the kind of position I’m in. I owe it to the Twins and I also owe it to myself to go out there and give it everything I have. I busted my tail. The best thing for me is that I’m healthy. When I’m healthy, I feel like I can get people out and I can be successful.” Paul Molitor certainly took notice. “Strong outing for him. The first three hitters hit the ball straight in the dirt. It tells you he’s getting his movement back.” Following yesterday’s strong performance by Tommy Milone, another fifth starter candidate, “We’d much rather, as we’ve said with some other spots around here, you want hard decisions. That’s a good thing. Sometimes they work themselves out and sometimes they make it tough. I’ll choose tough. That means people are performing.” BRIAN DOZIER Brian Dozier got things started with a bang. On the ninth pitch of his first at-bat, Dozier lined a homer over the left field fence off of Marlins right-hander Jarred Cosart. “Cosart. That guy is nasty, man. I saw every pitch. Saw the breaking ball he tried to throw me a couple of times. Fouled off a couple of good pitches I thought I could hit, and then he made another mistake right over the middle. I put good wood on it.” EDDIE ROSARIO The outfielder entered the game late, but he had a big impact. He went 2-2 during his time in the game. Molitor has played him more in left field than centerfield. The manager talked about his performance following the game starting with who those hits came against. “Off two lefties, in two big situations. He had good at-bats the other day in Dunedin. We’ve always said this guy is going to hit wherever he’s at. I like how he’s gone about his work. I’ve been around him enough to know that it wasn’t one of his strong suits when he was coming through the system. The ability to hit. I think a lot of people believed that would come up and hit eventually. He stays in there against lefties really well. Molitor also recalled Rosario’s ability in the minor leagues to play up in big spots. “If you saw him play in the minor leagues, he liked the big situations. We sometimes had to challenge him to take all of his at-bats seriously, but you knew if it was a big situation, he was going to bring his A game. Today he stepped up with a couple of big hits for us. The first time he got a hit to go ahead. The second time, he got the three-hole, so I think he’s got a plan.” MARK HAMBURGER Mark Hamburger has big league service. He has a big-time arm. He needs an opportunity. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record the save, and frankly, he made it look pretty easy. I asked the manager if he’s shown enough to enter the race for a big league bullpen spot. “I would have to say he’s in the race. He’s had three outings, and he’s been effective. He’s different. He’s got different release points. He’s got pitches. He’s a confident young man. He’s done a lot of things to put himself in this position. Yeah, we’re somewhat opened-minded, and I think we’d be foolish not to give certain people an opportunity to get looks throughout the spring.” GORDON FAMILY REUNION On Wednesday morning, the Twins minor leaguers had their first official workout. With the Marlins being in town to play the Twins, it was very neat to see All-Star Dee Gordon make the trip. Even more, he came over to the minor league area just to watch his younger brother, Twins first-round pick Nick Gordon. Dee Gordon stood outside the practice field with his father, Tom Gordon, watching Nick go through some base-running drills and take a lot of ground balls. Dee went 1-3 with an RBI in the big league game. Click here to view the article

Definitely on the players' union. They should look out for them a little bit. Tyler's such a good kid, and I know that this ate him up. It's good to see him enjoying this spring so much and getting into games.

Last summer while playing minimally with the Ft. Myers Miracle, Tyler Grimes contemplated his future in baseball. He also contemplated his future outside of baseball. His manager, Doug Mientkiewicz, talked him into sticking it out through the rest of the season. He started playing almost every day, and he was a huge part of the their Florida State League Championship run. Now he’s in the Minnesota Twins Major League Spring Training.In December, Grimes got a phone call from Twins General Manager Terry Ryan. Ryan talked to Grimes and invited him to big league spring training as a non-roster player. The response, according to Ryan, “caught me off guard, I can tell you that.” Grimes said he told Ryan, “Thanks Terry, but it’s time to move on.” Grimes had spent his offseason doing a lot of thinking. “It was probably the toughest offseason I’ve ever had. This is all I’ve known, the game of baseball. I was ready. I was ready to go out in the real world and start my life and move on.” --------------------------------- Grimes was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 2011 out of Wichita State. He was drafted as a shortstop and played middle infield his first two seasons, both at Beloit. At the Instructional League after the 2012 season, the Twins moved him from the middle infield to behind the plate.There was an adjustment. He had to learn a new position, and learn how to work with pitchers. He also had to learn that he wasn’t going to play every day the way a position player would.He returned to the Midwest League in 2013, this time to Cedar Rapids. In 2014, he moved up to the Ft. Myers Miracle. Again, he played in about half of the team’s games and rarely caught. He would DH, play some in the outfield and some in the infield. He was wondering a lot about things already then. In June, he went to manager Doug Mientkiewicz and told him that he was thinking that he would be done with his professional baseball career. He gives a ton of credit to the former Twins first baseman for keeping him playing and more. “Doug Mientkiewicz helped me a lot. I mean, he’s basically been my mentor since last year got started. We built a close bond with one another, and I kept in touch with him throughout the offseason. He’s always been positive to me. He’s definitely helped me big time in my career. And, it’s only been a year that he’s been with me. But last year, he played a big role in a lot of things. To be able to play for a guy like that, and his mentality, I was blessed to have him.” Mientkiewicz told him to be patient and stick with it. Soon after, Eddie Rosario moved up to New Britain, and Grimes found himself starting most games in center field. He played there until Byron Buxton, and later Jason Kanzler, were in Ft. Myers. He had never played the outfield before, but he didn’t mind. “It didn’t matter where I played. Give me a glove and hit me nine. I want to be a part of these guys and be a part of this team. I want to help us win. You get humbled in this game in a lot of ways. Last year was good for me. I loved showing up to the field every day knowing I was going to play. As long as I was in the lineup, I didn’t care. From one to nine, I didn’t care. I was excited and I was going to make the most of it. It was different at first playing outfield. I’d never played outfield. I kind of taught myself as it went.” His philosophy in the outfield was pretty simple really. “If I saw a ball in the air, I was running after it. I was kind of like a dog trying to catch a Frisbee.” As the playoffs approached, Levi Michael was promoted to New Britain. Tyler Grimes became the Miracle’s starting second baseman. He had at least played quite a bit at that position in the past and took ground balls there frequently. His Miracle team went to the playoffs and kept on winning. Grimes certainly enjoyed that playoff atmosphere. “It was fun. Doug’s a real intense guy, but when we got to the playoffs, he was the calmest one out of everyone. We had a lot of fun. We had a good group of guys. It was special to win the first championship in Miracle history. We were all pretty excited as a team, but even more for him because he gets the most out of his players. To get that with him and the group of guys that we had was a pretty special moment.” He said the players on that team all had each other’s back. “Everybody was contributing. I think I popped up a bunt and Jason Kanzler came up and hit a big home run. That’s what this game is about and everybody picking each other up and that’s what we did. It’s tough to win a championship, but with those guys and the way we picked one another up, it was a good feeling.” The toughest part about leaving the game of baseball (or any sport) is the changing of relationships that were built. “Being away from your family, these guys are all you’ve got. We’re brothers. We spend more time with each other than we do with our own families.” ------------------------------------- Back to that day when Terry Ryan called Grimes and invited him to big league camp. Grimes had a lot of good reasons to consider his post-baseball options. As he said, “It was tough. The season is a different monster. Not a lot of people get what we go through. The money? You’re making under the poverty level. I mean, I could go to McDonald's and flip burgers and make more than what we make. I have to be realistic with myself. You have to come to reality sometime. You can’t play this game forever.” When Grimes got the call from Ryan, he was surprised as well. “At that time, I was kind of on the ropes of if I was going to come back or not. So, we had a long talk about that. He gave me a night to sleep on it. I called him back an hour later and let him know that I was coming down.” Ryan said that it wasn’t the response he expected. A lot of players will go back and forth on whether to keep playing, but typically not when they get invited to big league camp. Ryan said, “He was questioning whether or not he had enough ability, and that bothered me because I believe he’s got some ability, otherwise we wouldn’t have invited him. He’s got a bit more ability than he gives himself credit for.” Ryan is glad that Grimes quickly changed his mind. “It was a little different, but everything’s alright now. We’re glad he’s here, and so is he, I believe.” Grimes would agree. “He had more confidence in me than I had in myself probably. Just to hear that from our GM and for him to let me sleep on it, it showed me a lot from Terry Ryan. I’m so happy that I’m here and he’s given me this opportunity.” It was definitely the right choice for him, and he has enjoyed his time in big league camp. “It’s been good. I grew up watching Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, and now I’m in the same clubhouse as them. It’s pretty cool. It’s a good experience. I’m just trying to take in everything that I can. It’s a good experience and I’m just trying to take in everything I can. There’s never enough learning in this game. Everything’s new. You can learn something new every day. I’m enjoying it. Getting this atmosphere, big league atmosphere. Being with some of my teammates that I’ve played with, it’s been comfortable. They’ve made us comfortable, all of us young guys. These are all great guys. Veteran leadership, it’s awesome.” Who knows what the future holds for Grimes. He hopes to move up to Chattanooga. “I’d love to be in Chattanooga. It’d be nice to be with Doug and a bunch of my former teammates from last year. We had a good camaraderie in the clubhouse and had a lot of fun. Other than that, enjoying it while I can and letting everything take care of itself.” He seems happy and content. “I’m just trying to take one day at a time and let God take care of everything.” Click here to view the article

I was surprised when someone asked about Plouffe not hitting. It took Molitor aback a bit. He said a bit and answered nicely, but he ended up saying basically, it's only 10-15 at bats. He'll be fine.

Yeah, I wasn't as worried about the order, I guess... but 3 shutout innings from a 5th starter candidate is pretty noteworthy.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I think these shorter, get-to-know-em kind of things are fun.

Buxton and Sano both missed so much developinent time in 2014, they should start somewhere they're comfortable so that they can take off running. Berrios only has 8 starts in AA. He could use a few more.