Seth Stohs

The Twins bus just left for Bradenton where they'll take on the Pirates. Here is the Twins lineup, with Tommy Milone on the mound.

FT. MYERS, Fla. - The Minnesota Twins began their Friday morning with news that nine players had been sent to minor league camp. That brings the spring training roster down to 43, so there are still about 18 more moves to make in the next two weeks. The big league club worked out at Hammond Stadium before making the drive down Daniels Parkway to jetBlue Stadium where they took on the Boston Red Sox. As is the case in most games the rest of the way through spring training, a few select (non 40-man roster) minor leaguers will dress with the big league spring training team, providing depth and sometimes getting an inning or a plate appearance late in the game. On Friday, the Twins called up OF Travis Harrison, IF Stephen Wickens, and pitchers Brandon Peterson and Jake Reed for the trip. Only Harrison got into the game, as a pinch runner. He got one at-bat as well. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs FT. MYERS, Fla. - The Minnesota Twins began their Friday morning with news that nine players had been sent to minor league camp. That brings the spring training roster down to 43, so there are still about 18 more moves to make in the next two weeks. The big league club worked out at Hammond Stadium before making the drive down Daniels Parkway to jetBlue Stadium where they took on the Boston Red Sox. As is the case in most games the rest of the way through spring training, a few select (non 40-man roster) minor leaguers will dress with the big league spring training team, providing depth and sometimes getting an inning or a plate appearance late in the game. On Friday, the Twins called up OF Travis Harrison, IF Stephen Wickens, and pitchers Brandon Peterson and Jake Reed for the trip. Only Harrison got into the game, as a pinch runner. He got one at-bat as well. Meanwhile, it was a busy day on the back fields at Hammond Stadium too. Since the High-A and Low-A teams were just traveling across Ft. Myers to play, they worked out on the back fields with the AAA and AA players. Of the nine players sent down to minor league camp, only Jose Berrios worked out on Friday. Players from the 40 man roster get a couple of days to report. Non-roster players are required to report right away but it is likely the Twins brass told them to take the day off. The pitchers did their PFPs and situations. They worked a little more today on pickoff plays. They even spent time working with the right-handed pitchers on pickoff throws to third base. They then broke off onto the three full fields for batting practice (the EST squad went back to their field as well). I also was interviewed by Neil Roberts who does a great job with SpringFeverBaseball.com. Check out his site and read and listen to his reports. He does two-minute interviews with several players and four of five have already been posted. Neil has been doing this for over 15 years. The North Dakotan provides these reports to radio stations around the state. Take a listen. He’s got interviews this year with Kyle Gibson, Adam Brett Walker, Nick Burdi and more posted. The teams were done with their batting practice a little before noon. If anyone happens to be there and need a nice place for lunch, there is a place called Panitella’s Chicken Grill just down Plantation Road in a strip mall area before getting to Daniels Parkway. I’ve gone there the last two days for lunch before coming back for the afternoon games. Ricky Nolasco made the start for the Twins in the AAA game. He was caught by Kurt Suzuki. Watching him in the bullpen, he really has a tremendous curve ball. He also throws a sinker that drops well. After a quick first inning, the second didn’t go as well for Nolasco. One batter reached on an error and the next hit a long, two-run homer. However, after that, he was very good. He went five innings and avoided hard contact. In the AA game, Glen Perkins worked the first inning. The lefty had no problems at all. He got a high-hopper back to the mound for the first out. He struck out the second batter and got the third batter to ground out to Engelb Vielma at shortstop. His fastball was in the low-90s and his slider was sharp. Offensively, there was a lot of power shown. But, Twins pitchers did not give up a home run. Meanwhile, both the AAA and the AA teams had four home runs. Adam Brett Walker crushed two long homers for the Red Wings. The first hit the back wall, well behind the fence in left-center field. The second one traveled well over the fence in right field. In the first inning, the Red Wings scored four runs. The big blow that inning was a very long home run for Daniel Palka. An inning later, Dalton Hicks hit a ball so far that the outfielders didn’t move. After a while, they did at least turn around to see how far it went. In the AA game, Joe Maloney hit a long, towering blast, probably nearly 400 feet to left field. The next batter, TJ White, hit one a little lower but nearly as far. Later in the game, Levi Michael hit a homer over the left-center field fence, and soon after, now mustache-less catcher Brett Doe hit a no-doubter as well. The final two home runs were glorious. I mean, they were given up by Glorius… Austin Glorius. Following Nolasco, Tim Shibuya and Raul Fernandez each threw two scoreless innings in the AAA game. Glen Perkins was followed by DJ Baxendale. The first batter lined one back up the middle that hit Baxendale. After the coaching and training staff came out to check on him and he threw three warm up pitches, he pitched again. However, he walked the next two batters and when checked, he was done, so the inning was done. South African Callan Pearce came in for an inning. Luke Bard pitched really well for two innings. Brian Gilbert finished things with a couple of quiet innings. The extended spring group played another simulated game. I know that Onas Farfan threw some live BP during that game. He is the New Hope High School player that the Twins drafted out of Ridgewater College in Willmar. He was known as the first player drafted out of the Minneapolis RBI program. I had the chance to chat with him the other day and he is very excited to be pitching again after missing all of last season with Tommy John surgery. LaMonte Wade played today after missing the games on Thursday after being hit by a pitch in the forearm. Nick Gordon participated fully in the morning workout. He went through fielding practice and took a full round of batting practice. However, the team kept him out of the game on Friday. Lewis Thorpe faced batters for the first time in almost a year on Friday morning. As he has the other days this week, he watched the minor league games. However, on Friday, along with watching his teammates, he closely watched one of the Red Sox minor league pitchers. Daniel McGrath pitched a couple of innings against the Twins AA team. McGrath grew up about five minutes from Thorpe in Melbourne, Australia. According to Thorpe, the two were teammates on several teams throughout their youth, including some international competitions. I chatted quite a bit with Stephen Gonsalves. He showed me the grips on his pitches. He has a very interesting chang-up grip. It’s kind of a circle change, but he’s really holding the ball with just two fingers, his middle and ring finger. As he said, “It’s good to have big hands.” Gonsalves is currently on the AA roster, but as more players are sent down from big league camp, it will be interesting to see if he heads back to Ft. Myers. That is the most likely situation, but some of it depends on what happens with Taylor Rogers. If he makes the big league roster, there would be a trickle-down effect. Again most likely he’ll start the season with the Miracle, but it’s very possible he will end the season with the Lookouts. It was nice talking with Trey Cabbage. Following a full day of practice, he worked one-on-one with Sam Perlozzo on a side field later in the afternoon. He came over to watch the minor league game. The Tennessee native said his decision to sign with the Twins instead of going to the University of Tennessee on a baseball scholarship was an easy one, yet he knew that he would have been happy with either scenario. He credits the time he spent playing in Georgia during the summers for moving up draft boards. The Twins took him in the fourth round. He played in Ft. Myers before, in a Perfect Game tournament at Hammond Stadium. I asked him if he missed football and basketball and he said not really. He enjoyed playing and spending time with his friends, but it was never something he enjoyed the way he does with baseball. Briefly chatted with LHP Corey Williams as well. He said he’s been feeling really good. This will be his first full season after Tommy John. He returned to the Miracle last June and worked his way back to AA, this time in Chattanooga. In the offseason, he has his wife moved from Atlanta to Chicago. He said he also spent some time in Minnesota. He has relatives in southwest Minnesota that he visits at least every other year. Saturday will be my last day at the ballpark. I’ll get there early and stay as long as I can. The AAA and AA teams travel to play the Red Sox. The High-A and Low-A teams will play at home, also against the Red Sox. Nick will be getting to Ft. Myers and take over Twins Daily duties on Sunday. View full article

Smith didn't get it wrong. He and I both get what happened there. We know the franchise moved. We get that. I guess I just phrased it wrong.

In the prospect handbook, I ranked him about 25 or so. He's been in most people's 20-40 range.

Completely agree... The Twins are ready to start winning now, so I don't understand the idea of trading core players at this time.

He was having some shoulder issues early and then had the flu. Good chance that he will star the season on their DL... Good chance that the Twins would be just fine taking a player back in return for him.

100% agree, and that has been the case since Twins Fest... However, it's good to see several quality options just a call away.

They didn't say. I'll see if I can find out tomorrow. He may have pitched his way up to Rochester to start.

Alrighty then...

FT. MYERS, Fla - Jose Berrios, Nick Burdi, Kennys Vargas, Jorge Polanco and Alex Meyer were among the Twins second round of cuts as they were told on Friday morning that they will be going to minor league camp. The Twins sent nine players down to minor league camp on Friday morning. With just more than two weeks until Opening Day, the Twins need to make more moves soon. They still have 43 players in big league camp. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs FT. MYERS, Fla - Jose Berrios, Nick Burdi, Kennys Vargas, Jorge Polanco and Alex Meyer were among the Twins second round of cuts as they were told on Friday morning that they will be going to minor league camp. The Twins sent nine players down to minor league camp on Friday morning. With just more than two weeks until Opening Day, the Twins need to make more moves soon. They still have 43 players in big league camp. The Twins optioned RHP Alex Meyer, IF Jorge Polanco and 1B Kennys Vargas. They reassigned six players to minor league camp including RHPs Jose Berrios and Nick Burdi, LHP Aaron Thompson, outfielder Joe Benson and catchers Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner. Jose Berrios had a tough spring, at least in games. The talented right-hander struggled with command in his first outing this spring. He pitched a great three innings against the Red Sox in his second outing. However, in a minor league outing on Tuesday, he really struggled with his command again. He will head to AAA Rochester, but we should expect to see him in 2016. Jorge Polanco was hitting .280/.357/.440 (.797) with a double and a homer this spring. However, still young, the Twins want him to play every day. With Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar and Trevor Plouffe locked into the infield, Polanco will head to Rochester where he has played just 22 games. Kennys Vargas was in a tough spot this spring. The acquisition of Byung Ho Park meant that playing time would be sparse for the large first baseman. He had just two hits in 23 plate appearances this spring and struck out seven times (with five walks). He will head to Rochester where he will get playing time. Should there be an injury to Park or Mauer, Vargas would be in line for a call up. Alex Meyer was also optioned to AAA Rochester. In 4 games, he logged 4.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three. It is still to be seen whether the Twins have him start for the Red Wings or work out of the bullpen. The Twins sent a couple of their top catching prospects to minor league camp as well. Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver are likely both headed to AA Chattanooga to start the minor league season. Turner missed time earlier in camp with some back issues, though he is 100% now. He had just three plate appearances. Garver went 1-8 in camp and spent some time at first base as well late in games. The experience for them was still very important. Left-hander Aaron Thompson was also reassigned to minor league camp. He pitched well last spring and won an Opening Day job, but that will not be the case this year. Nick Burdi was also reassigned. The hard-throwing right-hander made a strong impression at big league camp this year. After a difficult season in 2015, he rebounded strongly late and in the Arizona Fall League. He has shown much improved control this spring, still throwing 97+ and working with a good slider. He is another guy we will see this year. Outfielder Joe Benson was one of the last cuts with the Braves last year. He has been reassigned to minor league camp this morning as well. Again the Twins now have 43 men on their current spring training roster (13 non-roster). They have 20 pitchers (five non-roster), five catchers (two non-roster), nine infielders (three non-roster) and nine outfielders (three non-roster). Four guys from minor league camp will join the Twins at jetBlue Stadium this afternoon. Stephen Wickens, Travis Harrison, Jake Reed and Brandon Peterson will play in a reserve role for the Twins. Byron Buxton was back this morning, feeling better. Danny Santana will start in center field today. View full article

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Twins were on the road against Baltimore on Thursday night. Rochester and Chattanooga traveled for afternoon games against the Rays. On the back fields on Thursday afternoon, the Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids teams hosted the Rays, and the extended spring group played a simulated game. Here are some notes from the day. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Twins were on the road against Baltimore on Thursday night. Rochester and Chattanooga traveled for afternoon games against the Rays. On the back fields on Thursday afternoon, the Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids teams hosted the Rays, and the extended spring group played a simulated game. Here are some notes from the day. I actually waited to go to the ballpark until about 10. When I got there, there was a full workout going on with the Low A and High A squads, plus any pitchers who did not travel with the AAA and AA teams. I watched Ft. Myers Miracle manager Jeff Smith working with the catchers on their footwork on pitchouts to a left-handed or right-handed batter. They also worked on their footwork and timing on intentional walks. It doesn't sound complex, and yet when watching and listening in, it is clearly important. Split-seconds make the difference between a caught stealing and a stolen base. They later set up a pitching machine and had it bounce pitches before the plate so they could work on blocking. Before the games began in the afternoon, Smith came over and introduced himself to me. We chatted for about 10 minutes. It's clear that he really gets a lot of joy from coaching catching to catchers. He really understands the minute details. The Naples native said he was happy to be back with the Miracle after several years in New Britain. He mentioned to me that New Britain franchise will now be an independent league team and that Stan Cliburn (former Twins coach and brother of Rochester's pitching coach Stu) will be their manager. Being home again, Smith said that he has worked a the Twins Instructional League every fall with the exception of the year that he managed in the Arizona Fall League. He also enjoys spending time in the Dominican Republic during the offseason working with players there. He is really looking forward to going down there when the new Twins/Pirates academy will be complete. He said it will be quite similar to the academy here in Ft. Myers. It was also fun watching the infielders working on pop ups off the pitching machine on one field. For part of that segment, they had the player turn his back to home plate. When the ball went in the air he could turn around try to find the ball and make the catch. It was more challenging than you would think with such a high sky and sun. Nick Gordon was just shagging at home plate in the morning. On Wednesday, he tweaked his hamstring and didn't play on Thursday. He did take some ground balls. Probably nothing to worry about now, but something to keep an eye on. Pitchers joined the field and the teams worked on situations. Runner on 1st and 2nd, bunt plays. Runner on 1st, ground ball to the pitcher. Tom Kelly was watching and on a few occasions, he completely stopped the practice to spend time with the first basemen on the details. . There definitely is an understanding that if TK talks, people stop and listen. I watched another round of batting practice with the extended spring group. Again, the power was evident. It was also fun to see when someone behind home plate would say left field and the hitter needed to try to hit it to left. Or, they'd say second base, and the hitter would try to hit it to second base. I mentioned yesterday that a guy like Alex Perez was a professional hitter. He was able to do this with ease. But, it was definitely a challenge for some others. Talking with hitting coach Steve Singleton, he commented about it being a process. It's a process to understand the mechanics and some subtleties, but it's also a process of patience and believing in yourself and that what you're doing will pay off in time. At 1, the games began. As mentioned before, Phil Hughes, Trevor May and Kevin Jepsen pitched in the minor league games. Also, Oswaldo Arcia got four at- bats. Phil Hughes worked with Kurt Suzuki in the High-A game. He looked all right. He got hit a little bit as hitters from the Rays were being aggressive, but he was around the plate. He threw quite a few more curve balls than I think he normally does. His velocity sure looked just fine, and his fastball control was good. In the Low-A game, Trevor May started. He needed just 11 pitches to get through his inning. His fastball was good, hitting 93-94. His change-up was very impressive sitting 84. He also threw a couple of tight curve balls that came in around 76. He was followed by Kevin Jepsen who was greeted by a long triple to right- center field on the first pitch. But after that pitch, he settled in nicely. He too was sitting 93-94 with the fastball and was right around the plate. Arcia batted third each inning. The first at-bat, he seemed to just be taking pitches. He took a couple of strikes and then got jammed on a fastball in and weakly grounded to the mound. In his next at-bat, he worked the count. That's when he hit a long, line drive ball that was just to the right of the right field foul line. He walked in that at-bat. He later homered as well. Tom Brunansky watched each plate appearance intently. Kurt Suzuki had a single and a couple of walks in the High-A game. Manager Paul Molitor watched from his bird's eye view. At 1, the Extended Spring team also played a simulated game on the third full field, giving them some live batting practice and fielding. Alex Robinson, the left-hander who was drafted last year out of Maryland, pitched a couple of innings. His mechanics have been calmed down quite a bit. Daniel Kihle, an outfielder from Wichita State drafted last year, had a big triple to right-center field in the Cedar Rapids game. He’s got a nice right-handed swing and plays a decent outfield. In the Ft. Myers game, Max Murphy had a huge triple to just right of center field. There was a close play a third base, but he crushed that ball. There weren’t any home runs, but there were a lot of balls to the fence in the games. You may or may not know that I really enjoy watching good solid, fundamental defensive play, especially up the middle. Shortstop Sean Miller was drafted last year and he is very smooth with the glove. He has the soft hands and quick release. He just plays a very fundamentally sound shortstop . Tyree Davis played for the High-A team as they needed an outfielder. He played right field and played a couple of balls really well, showing a strong arm on a couple of throws to the plate. He later played a few innings in center field. I’ve said it many times, but he’s one of the better athletes in the organization. He had a really good round of batting practice in the morning too. If it all comes together, he is certainly one to watch this year, likely in Elizabethton. John Curtiss appears to have been moved full time to the bullpen. In his inning of work, he was hitting 95 with regularity on the Rays’ radar gun behind home plate. Jermaine Palacios’s defense at shortstop hasn’t looked all that bad since I’ve been here. He has made most of the plays. There was one exception on Thursday. There was a ball that he booted just a little bit and it got away from him. However, he kept his wits and threw a bullet to first base to get an out (could have been a double play). It was good to see his presence of mind as well as a strong arm. Despite all the errors last year in the rookie leagues, it is far too early to say that he can’t play shortstop. That’s it for today. The AAA and AA teams are back on the back fields. Sounds like Ricky Nolasco will pitch in a minor league game today as well. A quick reminder, I’m still taking lots of pictures. I took just shy of 300 on Wednesday. Please be sure to Follow Twins Daily on Twitter, and “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook to see those and get much more information. View full article

Trevor May threw the first inning on the Low A field.

On Wednesday, the battle for five starting pitcher spots in the Twins rotation was narrowed by one. Trevor May was told a couple of hours prior to tonight's game that he will be in the Twins bullpen. (Updated with quotes from Terry Ryan and Paul Molitor.) Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, USA Today On Wednesday, the battle for five starting pitcher spots in the Twins rotation was narrowed by one. Trevor May was told a couple of hours prior to tonight's game that he will be in the Twins bullpen. (Updated with quotes from Terry Ryan and Paul Molitor.) Prior to Wednesday night's game against the Red Sox, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan informed a group of media gathered that Trevor May would be heading to the bullpen for now. "We are going to put him in the bullpen." Ryan said that May took the news "Well". He then kind of corrected himself saying, "He took it with the respect for the manager and the pitching coach that this is the way we're going to go. I don't know that he was pleased." Following Wednesday night's game, manager Paul Molitor said, "It went really well. It was made very clear to him, both in conversation on the phone prior to spring training and when he got here, that it would take some extraordinary circumstances in terms of unexpected turns, people also competing for positions, injury." Ryan indicated that he still sees May as a good starter but understand that for this team right now, it is best that May go to the bullpen. "I envision him being a future starter. I don't know why he can't be a starter in the major leagues," He continued, "He's got the pitches. He's got the strength. He's shown he can do it. Right now, for this ball club, it seems to be a better fit coming out of the bullpen." There are still seven pitchers vying for the Opening Day starting rotation. That said, Ryan admitted, "If two guys get hurt in the next two days, what are we going to do?" Molitor said later, "The hard part is potentially he's got a nice four-pitch mix which kind of speaks to starting." The most important thing is what he can do for the team now. Molitor added, "He strengthens our bullpen. This gives us enough time to, I think we've got him scheduled for seven more appearances from now until the end of camp which should be plenty for him to make the adjustment." The envisioned back-end of the bullpen got much stronger with the decision. Being able to end games with May, Jepsen and Perkins is pretty exciting. View full article

Wednesday was a different day at Hammond Stadium, at least from what I've become accustomed to. The Twins are taking on the Boston Red Sox tonight at 7:00 local time (6:00 in Minnesota). So big league players didn't report until after noon. The Twins High-A and Low-A minor league teams took a bus north to Sarasota to take on the Orioles High-A and Low-A teams. So they left early. It was quieter than usual in the morning, but there was still plenty going on including the Orioles AAA and AA teams coming to Ft. Myers to take on those Twins squads. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Tyler Jay) Wednesday was a different day at Hammond Stadium, at least from what I've become accustomed to. The Twins are taking on the Boston Red Sox tonight at 7:00 local time (6:00 in Minnesota). So big league players didn't report until after noon. The Twins High-A and Low-A minor league teams took a bus north to Sarasota to take on the Orioles High-A and Low-A teams. So they left early. It was quieter than usual in the morning, but there was still plenty going on including the Orioles AAA and AA teams coming to Ft. Myers to take on those Twins squads. Around 9:30, things got going on the minor league side of things with some stretching for those still around. There wasn't a lot activity. A few pitchers threw scheduled bullpens. Infielders and outfielders did a round of infield. Really, they just got themselves prepared for the noon game. EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING TEAM However, back on the GCL field, the players who will be going to extended spring training were working out. It was a full practice. Pitchers did their PFPs. They worked with the infielders on situational plays. Outfielders took fly balls. They then went through a good round of batting practice. There is some serious talent and potential in that group of young players. The most high-profile prospect in the group is probably 3B Trey Cabbage who has a very nice swing from the left side of the batters box and a lot of power. Well, a lot of power potential. https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/710119828447744001 When it comes to power potential, first baseman Kolton Kendrick was drafted in the eighth round last year because of it. He hit a few home runs during batting practice. Lewin Diaz was on the field and took mark in fielding ground balls. However, he did not participate in batting practice on the field. You may or may not recognize some of the other names but we will likely hear from several of them during the short seasons of Elizabethton or the Gulf Coast League. A few of these bats will likely wind up in Cedar Rapids at some point. When it comes to power, few had showed more than Jaylin Davis. In fact, if you read his bio in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, you'll read that he hit two home runs against Carlos Rodon while at Appalachian State. He was hurt much of last season as he fell to the 24th round and then didn't play last year. A big, strong young man, he hit some balls well beyond the fence. Roberto Gonzalez was the Twins 15th round pick in 2014 out of high school in Orlando. As I wrote yesterday, he worked some with Ken Griffey Jr., in the offseason. He has been fighting a hamstring but he got on the field today. He is very intriguing. When he made contact the ball flew. He probably hit a couple of balls 380. But, he also popped a bunch into the cage. He's got a lot of work to do, but the upside is pretty high. Kamran Young was the Twins 21st round pick out of Cal State-Dominguez Hills. He has a strong left-handed swing and launched a few home runs well beyond the outfield fence. But it isn't just about the big guys on this roster. There are some little guys who can fly. Emmanuel Morel and Jorge Munoz are small. Without looking or knowing I'd say they're both around 5-10 and 150 pounds (at most). Munoz is a very talented shortstop. However, in batting practice, he can put a thump into the ball. He didn't have any home runs, but he drove the ball really well. I'm not saying he's going to put up similar numbers in the rookie leagues this year, but he has impressed me to this point more than Jermaine Palacios impressed me last year. (Note, Jermaine Palacios has been very impressive this spring). Jorge Andrade is also small. He's probably 5-9 and 155 pounds. In his final round of batting practice, he uncoiled on a ball and hit it well over the fence in right field. I wrote about Tyree Davis last year, about him being one of the best athletes in the system. Unfortunately he missed most of the 2015 season with an elbow injury. He spent his season rehabbing before heading home to Compton for his offseason. While working out, he said he gained almost 25 pounds, and it looks like it was all muscle. He's very fast, and the switch-hitter will hopefully progress with a line drive swing because he can fly. He also is strong and could develop some power. Yesterday I talked to Callan Pearce, in part about his experience in the WBC Qualifier. One of his South African teammates was outfielder Rowan Ebersohn. Though he is not tall (maybe 5-10?), he is stocky and strong. His first couple of rounds were more fundamental but he showed some real good pop in later rounds as well. Alex Perez is a smooth shortstop. He also takes a very professional round of batting practice, spraying line drives all over the field. GAME DAY A little bit about the AAA game against the Orioles AAA Team. Right-hander David Martinez started and went three innings. Another veteran Marcus Walden came on in relief. Jake Reed pitched an inning. It didn't go well. He hit a batter and walked one, He gave up a blooper and a couple more hits. The inning ended with just two outs. He was throwing hard and getting good movement though. Nothing to worry about. Brandon Peterson came on and had a clean, 1-2-3 inning. He struck out the first two batters and got a soft line out to end the inning. Lots of others get mentioned, and throw harder, but few relievers in the Twins system can match the numbers that Peterson has put up the last two years. JT Chargois got an inning at the end. The first pitch he threw went for a double to right (I would argue the hitter was just late on the pitch). He hit a batter and walked a couple. I know he got a strikeout too. Again, nothing to be concerned out. It's not unusual for guys coming back from big league camp to struggle a bit in their first outings. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/710186830612852736 Offensively, the AAA team had a couple of home runs. Later in the game, centerfielder Shannon Wilkerson hit a long home run to left field. Earlier, Travis Harrison crushed a first-pitch well beyond the fence in left-center field. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/710184914109517824 One last thing that I would point out is that Niko Goodrum played shortstop for the Twins team. He made some great plays and had many opportunities. He looks so comfortable and smooth at the position and has plenty of arm to play there. The AAA starting group, which means little at this point: C: Jairo Rodriguez 1B: Dalton Hicks 2B: Heiker Meneses SS: Niko Goodrum 3B: Stephen Wickens LF: Travis Harrison CF: Shannon Wilkerson RF: Daniel Palka DH: Adam Brett Walker Here is how the AA team started: C: Joe Maloney 1B: Bryan Haar 2B: Levi Michael SS: Engelb Vielma 3B: TJ White LF: Keury De La Cruz CF: Zach Granite RF: Alex Swim DH: Tanner Vavra In the AA game, the Twins sent lefty Tyler Jay to the mound. He was hitting 95 mph with his fastball and a sharp curve ball at times. He threw four innings. Through the first three innings, he had four strikeouts. The fourth inning started with a triple and two singles. However, he got a double play and a pop up to end the inning. Unofficially, I think he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out four and got six outs on ground balls. Offensively, TJ White and Bryan Haar had multi-RBI games and hits. White crushed a triple. In about the 2nd inning, with Jay pitching, a foul tip hit the home plate umpire in the forearm. After a minute, he finished the inning. The Twins training staff checked on him for awhile in between innings. He came back out and stood there not looking good at all. He went back to the dugout and the game was paused. His day was clearly done. Hopefully he's alright. The umpire in the field ran to his vehicle to get his home plate ump gear. In an attempt to not slow down the game, Tom Kelly stepped out of the Twins dugout and said he would umpire the game from behind the mound. The Orioles manager had no problem with that. The first pitch from the Orioles pitcher bounced, and TK yelled, "Ball! That's too low." Those in the crowd got a good chuckle, as did the pitcher. The inning went by just fine as the pitcher was close to the plate and the batters were aggressive, understanding the situation. NOTES I chatted with Brett Lee, the left-hander who pitched well in Ft. Myers and Chattanooga last season. He went to Venezuela in the offseason, but was only able to stay for a couple of weeks. He hardly pitched. Turns out that he ate something that didn't work for him and got really sick. He said that he lost over 20 pounds. However, he worked out in Jacksonville throughout the offseason and gained weight back. After reporting to spring training at 220 pounds a year ago, he was very happy about reporting at 230 this spring. He said he and his arms and legs have felt very strong. Tanner Vavra was back in action today. After missing yesterday after being hit in the helmet on Monday, he played the second half of the AA game at shortstop. TWINS GAME The minor league games finished around 2:30 and now we await the Twins-Red Sox game in 90 minutes or so. The Twins lineup was set, but there was a late change. Darin Mastroianni is replacing Byron Buxton in the lineup. Buxton apparently felt ill and was removed from the lineup. Dozier 2B Rosario LF Mauer 1B Sano RF Plouffe 3B Park DH Escobar SS Suzuki C Mastroianni CF It will be a game matching Kyle Gibson against Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox are sending a solid lineup down Daniels Parkway. Betts RF Pedroia 2B David Murphy DH Bogaerts SS Ramirez 1B Sandoval 3B Chris Young LF Swihart C Bradley CF On Thursday, the AAA and AA teams travel while the High-A and Low-A teams stay home. View full article

No. I don't know if they even keep them.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins had their first (and only) off day of the season, a much-deserved respite from the grind of spring training. They return to action on Wednesday night to face the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium. However, things were busy on the minor league side of the complex on Tuesday. I wrote here last Friday that Ervin Santana and JO Berrios were starting minor league games on Tuesday. Lots of people must have known because there were an unusual number of spectators watching. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins had their first (and only) off day of the season, a much-deserved respite from the grind of spring training. They return to action on Wednesday night to face the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium. However, things were busy on the minor league side of the complex on Tuesday. I wrote here last Friday that Ervin Santana and JO Berrios were starting minor league games on Tuesday. Lots of people must have known because there were an unusual number of spectators watching. To say that Santana's and Berrios's performances were underwhelming is probably an understatement. Berrios had a very quick first inning, but after that, he really struggled. Unusually, he struggled with command of his pitches. That's not to say he was missing by a lot, but he was missing. In the second inning, he hit two batters (Travis Harrison and Leonardo Reginatto) and walked another (Dalton Hicks). Three came around to score (two on a solid single up the middle by Stephen Wickens) before getting the third out (which can be done in spring training, intrasquad games). The third inning wasn't much better. However, Berrios got his pitches in and feels fine. Santana wasn't struggling so much with control, but he was working on things like his changeup. He got hit a little bit, particularly by 1B Trey Vavra. In his first at-bat, Vavra stayed back nicely on a change-up and doubled to left field. In his next at-bat against Santana, a change-up stayed up and Vavra crushed it well beyond the fence in left-center field. Logan Darnell also tossed an inning in the game. He was sick late last week for a couple of days, so it was an opportunity for him to get into some game action. I talked to several of the players during and after the game. They talked about how nice it is to get to see the big league guys play against them. It was neat to see how many of the minor league pitchers came over to the field when Santana and Berrios were pitching, just to watch. Even though they didn't pitch great, they could see what they threw. They could see how they warmed up, worked with their catchers, and all of that. For the hitters, many of them may never reach the big leagues. Though they don't want to think like this, it's always going to be a memory. To be able to say they faced a 10-year big league veteran, and maybe got a hit off of him. Also worth noting, the Twins front office and much of its coaching staff was there to watch. GM Terry Ryan and Player Personnel Director Mike Radcliff were there. Tom Kelly was observing while at the same time engaging fans for photos and discussion. Assistant GM Rob Antony was out there. Minor League Director Brad Steil is on the minor league fields a lot throughout the day, but his former boss, Jim Rantz also made an appearance. Joe Vavra was there to see his sons play (and watch Santana and Berrios too). Butch Davis and Tom Brunansky were there for some time as well. The nice thing is that they didn't leave when the big league pitchers were done. They stuck around which also has to mean something to the players. OTHER NOTES MInnesotan Onas Farfan pitched an inning in one of the minor league games yesterday. He had Tommy John surgery just over a year ago and was very excited to get back on the mound again. He'll stick in extended spring training, most likely, to start the season, but he's happy to see that all the hard work is starting to pay off. I spent a bit of time chatting with Callan Pearce. As you recall, the South African pitcher played for his country in the WBC-Qualifying tournament in Australia last month. He got to pitch a little bit out of their bullpen. He said that the tournament created a lot of buzz about baseball in their country. They were a pretty young team and Pearce said there is more talent coming through the pipeline. He also was astonished when I talked about how cold it could get in Minnesota in the winters. He will also likely start the season in extended spring, hoping to make it up to Elizabethton this season. Roberto Gonzalez is a very talented kid that the Twins drafted in 2014 out of Orlando. He's currently sidelined with a bum hamstring but hopes to return to the field soon. During his offseason, he spent time hitting (and being coached) by Ken Griffey, Jr. They also talked about defense as well. Gonzalez also said that he met and talked to Barry Larkin. Lewis Thorpe said that he felt real good after throwing a bigger bullpen yesterday. He had the entire day off on Tuesday from throwing, per his rehab plan. Today, he is expected to throw up to 150 feet. The regimen for returning from Tommy John surgery is very structured. Williams Ramirez was our choice last year for Twins short-season pitcher of the year. According to Steve Buhr, who arrived at camp on Tuesday, he saw that he was pretty regularly touching 97 on the radar gun behind home plate. He was more in the low-90s last year, so this is a nice surprise. Joe Maloney was the independent league's player of the year in 2015. In 97 games for Rockland of the Can-Am League, he hit .337/.432/.559 (.991) with 33 doubles, 14 homers and 83 RBI. He also stole 18 of 22 bases. Just 26, he shows a really good approach at the plate and has a ton of power. Not certain yet where he'll fit onto a roster with the catching situation fairly strong, but he has a chance to make an impression. The players that the Twins sent down to minor league camp on Sunday or Monday were at the ballpark on Tuesday. Pat Dean, Mike Strong, JT Chargois, and Jake Reed each threw bullpens and worked on PFPs and such with the AAA team. Randy Rosario threw a bullpen, and he and Yorman Landa worked in the morning with the Ft. Myers team. Alex Swim DHd for the AA team in the game against the Red Wings. Adam Brett Walker batted third and played left field for the AAA Team. Today (Wednesday), the AAA and AA Twins minor leaguers will host the AAA and AA teams of the Baltimore Orioles. The High-A and Low-A teams will travel to play the Orioles teams. View full article

In 2015, the Minnesota Twins got very little production from their catchers. Kurt Suzuki logged a lot of innings behind the plate. Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer were the backups, but it was clear that Paul Molitor had little confidence in either as they would play about once a week. The Twins acquired three new catchers by early December clearly indicating it was a position they felt they needed to improve. Image courtesy of Kim Klement, USA Today In 2015, the Minnesota Twins got very little production from their catchers. Kurt Suzuki logged a lot of innings behind the plate. Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer were the backups, but it was clear that Paul Molitor had little confidence in either as they would play about once a week. The Twins acquired three new catchers by early December clearly indicating it was a position they felt they needed to improve. According to Terry Ryan, it was something that was important to them, and he’s been generally pleased with what he’s seen from the new guys. “Yeah. I think we’ve done OK here as far as that depth and choices and so forth. Catching is always a major concern for every organization. I don’t care who you are. You can be the World Series defending champs like the Royals. We all worry about catching. It comes and goes. The injuries. When you find a catcher that’s got the total package, you’ve got something. That's nice to have. So we kept looking and trying to acquire and continue to add. We’ve added a fair amount here. We lost a fair amount. It’s encouraging.” Soon after the World Series Terry Ryan traded Chris Herrmann to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Daniel Palka. Herrmann is competing for a starting job, and regular playing time, with the team. A day later, he traded centerfielder Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees in exchange for 24-year-old catcher John Ryan Murphy. Eric Fryer was a free agent and chose early to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals where he has a good chance to be their backup. By early September, the Twins announced that they had signed 26-year-old veteran Juan Centeno. Murphy comes to the organization after spending parts of the last three years as a backup to Brian McCann in New York. He put up decent offensive numbers considering his limited playing time. Defensively, he is generally regarded as average, or a little better than average, across the board in all categories. Average offense and defense from the catcher position would be a nice improvement. John Hicks has been regarded as a potential average hitting catcher and a very good athlete with a strong arm behind the plate. Juan Centeno has been one of this spring’s fun stories. He has a .636/.667/1.182 (1.848) line on offense. Sure, he’s got just 11 a- bats, but he’s 7-11 with three doubles, a homer and six RBI. The 26-year-old from Puerto Rico has played in 24 big league games over the past three years. He has a .408 OPS in 66 plate appearances in that time. However, in three seasons of AAA - all in the Pacific Coast League - he has hit a combined .298/.335/.367 (.692). Note, however, that he’s averaging just under 58 games a year which means that despite hitting ‘alright’ for a catcher he has primarily been a backup. While he has just three home runs in over 1600 minor league at-bats in his nine seasons, he has looked good at the plate this spring. What he has done this spring is take really good at-bats. He’s driven the baseball. As Molitor said after Sunday’s game, “Good at-bats. He’s been that way since he’s been there. He’s one of those left-handed guys who can slice it out there and battle. He handles himself really well. You can tell he’s had some experience.” When asked about what kind of reports the Twins had on Centeno’s defense before signing him, Molitor indicated that they were positive. “Overall reports before came were a plus receiving. We’re watching how he calls pitches and handles pitchers. Part of that, at the beginning, he’s learning the pitchers. I would say (he has a) plus arm.” Molitor said that it was definitely an area they needed to focus upon. “It was a point of emphasis for us. Prospects that we might have are starting to climb. The urgency at this level was somewhat obvious. Between Murphy, Hicks and Centeno, I think we’ve protected ourselves well there.” That brings us to the likes of Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver. Where do they stand? There’s no doubt that the Twins really like both catchers. They feel Turner brings a little more defensively, though Garver has greatly improved the last year or two. Both have very strong arms. Last week on The Ride with Reusse on 1500 ESPN, Patrick Reusse was joined by Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz. When asked some of the players he might have in a Lookouts uniform this year, he mentioned both Garver and Turner. I’ve advocated for giving Turner another half-season (or even a full season) in the Southern League. He has the size, strength and takes decent at-bats. I think that extra time at a level he’s played at could be beneficial for a guy who skipped Low A and struggle in the first half at Ft. Myers. In acquiring Murphy, they have a 24-year-old who they can control for five more seasons. Hicks has two option years remaining and only a little over a month of service time. Centeno is still young too. Turner and Garver are guys to continue to hope for and believe in. As Ryan said, it’s hard to find catchers. It can be a position of attrition with all the foul tips, the drain of a long season and such. When you find a guy who can play good defense behind the plate and work well with pitchers there is a lot of value. If you can find that guy, and he can hit, you have something to really like. For now, The Twins have several quality young catchers who could become something as they start the season with Kurt Suzuki as the starting catcher. Depth is very important at the position and the Twins feel good about theirs. View full article

Yeah, that was really hard to watch. Ha!