Seth Stohs

Well, you're just going to have to check back tomorrow. :-)

Today we continue to look at the Minnesota Twins organizational depth at all of the positions. Previously, we have reviewed the Catchers, First Basemen, Middle Infielders and Third Basemen. We will learn more about some of the outfielders in the system. Because there are so many outfielders, we are going to split this into two articles, those in the big leagues and upper levels today; those in the lower levels tomorrow. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today Today we continue to look at the Minnesota Twins organizational depth at all of the positions. Previously, we have reviewed the Catchers, First Basemen, Middle Infielders and Third Basemen. We will learn more about some of the outfielders in the system. Because there are so many outfielders, we are going to split this into two articles, those in the big leagues and upper levels today; those in the lower levels tomorrow. If anything goes off of plan, who are some of the options that could get time in the big leagues in coming years. And, who are the prospects with the potential to be impact players down the line? Read on and see what you think, and then let’s discuss below in the comments. MAJOR LEAGUES It’s hard to imagine, and would have been even more difficult a year ago, Eddie Rosario enters spring training as the one player that we know with certainty will be in the Twins outfield. Rosario debuted in May, for what was supposed to be a short term, but he stuck the rest of the season and finished sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. The 24-year-old hit .267/.289/.459 (.748) with 18 doubles, 15 triples, 13 home runs, 11 stolen bases, 15 walks and 16 outfield assists. He’s a candidate for a fall off due to complete unwillingness to walk, or he could make some adjustments and continue to contribute. Miguel Sano will be in the outfield to start the 2016 season. He’s never played the position in a game before. However, he has always been one to take fly balls during batting practice. Sano could play left field or right field, depending up who you ask. He will be in the lineup because of his bat. He didn’t come up until July 1st last year, but he performed so well that he finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. He was also named the Twins top rookie and the Twins MVP. In 80 games, he hit .269/.385/.530 (.916) with 17 doubles and 18 home runs. He walked a lot and struck out even more. The question mark is the third outfielder. One would think that the ideal situation would involve Byron Buxton being ready and winning the Opening Day center field job. After an injury-plagued 2014 season, he had a remarkably inconsistent 2015 season in AA Chattanooga. In mid-June, necessity meant he was called up too early, and the struggles should have been anticipated. But he showed glimpses of what could be. What could be as soon as Opening Day 2016! Danny Santana is out of options, so he’s going to be on the team. Will he be the utility infielder who can also be the backup in center field? If Buxton isn’t quite ready, Santana could go into the season as the starting center fielder as well. It’s a position he was unfamiliar with in 2014 when he debuted and put together a remarkable rookie season. His 2015 was a disaster. The reality is likely somewhere in between, but the 25-year-old can still have a lot of value for the Twins. Speaking of disastrous 2015 seasons, Oswaldo Arcia is also out of options in 2016. The 24-year-old is just one year removed from a season with 20 big league homers. Too much talent to just give up on. He’ll have to earn back confidence, likely in a part-time role, but there’s no doubt that he can hit for a lot of power. Or, he could be trade bait if he can regain some value. MINOR LEAGUES Rochester Red Wings Max Kepler was the Twins minor league hitter of the year in 2015 when he finally had that breakout season we’ve all been hoping for. He’ll be 23-years-old shortly before spring training starts. It’ll be his third big league spring training, but it will be the first where he will get a long look and a possibly an Opening Day job. Most likely, he’ll start the season in Rochester, but don’t be surprised if he is up within a couple of months. He can play all three outfield positions as well as first base. Adam Brett Walker will go to big league spring training for the first time. He will be 24 years old through the 2016 season. He led his league in HR and RBI for the third straight season in 2016, yet he led all of minor league baseball in strikeouts as well. Moving up to AAA will be another big adjustment for Walker, but he will get to work with Chad Allen again, which will help. Defensively, he was moved from right field to left field in 2015. His defense and his arm are also in need of improvement. Joe Benson, Darin Mastroianni and Ryan Sweeney all came to the Twins this offseason on minor league deals with spring training invites. Sweeney is a one-time big prospect from Cedar Rapids. The 30-year-old spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues with the White Sox, A’s, Red Sox and Cubs. Benson was the Twins second round pick back in 2006. He was the Twins minor league hitter of the year in 2011 when he also received a September call up. One of the best athletes in the Twins organization, Benson struggled some with making contact, but more important, he struggled with handling failure. Still just 27, maturity could help him bring things together and he could be a role player in time. Darin Mastroianni was a role player for the Twins, a fourth outfielder from 2012 into 2014. The 30-year-old spent the 2015 season with Buffalo. Chattanooga Lookouts Daniel Palka came to the Twins November from the Diamondbacks in the Chris Herrmann trade. In High-A Visalia in 2015, he hit .280/.352/.532 (.884) with 36 doubles, 29 homers and 90 RBI. He also stole 24 bases. He can play the corner outfield positions and first base. Shannon Wilkerson had been playing in the independent Atlantic League until midseason when the Twins signed him and sent him to Chattanooga. In 49 games with the Lookouts, he hit .292/.355/.378 (.733) with ten extra base hits and 11 stolen bases while handling center field. The 27-year-old had spent six seasons in the Red Sox organization. He quickly re-signed with the Twins following the season. Travis Harrison was a supplemental first round pick of the Twins in 2011. He has moved up one level each season since then. He hit .240/.363/.356 (.719) with 23 doubles, four triples and five home runs. He moved from third base to left field to right field the last three seasons. At 6-1 and 215 pounds, Harrison is very strong and we keep hearing that he’ll add home run power. I personally believe that he will. I think the best thing for him would be to spend at least another half-season in AA. We’ve seen it many times. That extra time repeating a level can help slow the game down and the player can find success and learn a few things that propel him toward reaching his potential. Harrison has a ton of potential. Chad Christensen was the Twins 25th round pick in 2013. He has played first base, third base and all three outfield positions in his two full seasons in the Twins system. At Nebraska, he spent a season at shortstop and another in center field. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, he is one of the best pure athletes in the organization. He has terrific speed. He is already 25, but has potential to be a quality role player in time. Keury De La Cruz signed with the Red Sox as a 16-year-old in 2008. He remained in that organization through the 2015 season where he reached AA. He became a minor league free agent and the Twins signed him in December. He played primarily left field in 2015 and hit just .240/.282/.375 (.658) with 22 doubles and three homers in the Eastern League. Niko Goodrum and Stephen Wickens were both highlighted in the third base article. However, Goodrum started spending more and more time in center field in 2015. Wickens has received quite a bit of playing time in left field the last couple of years. SUMMARY I believe that we already know four-fifths of the Twins Opening Day outfield (pending further, surprising transactions). Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano will be in the outfield. Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia are also very likely to be on the Opening Day roster as they are both out of options and very talented. Byron Buxton will likely be given every opportunity to win the starting center field job out of spring training. But if he begins the season in Rochester, Danny Santana is the likely center fielder. That means that one of Darin Mastroianni, Ryan Sweeney or Joe Benson will be the team’s fourth outfielder to start the season. Max Kepler could also be an option in left field should Rosario be the center fielder. We know that highly-touted prospects like Buxton and Kepler will not be kept on the big league roster if they won’t be playing at least five times per week. Along with Buxton and Kepler, Adam Brett Walker will get his first opportunity to impress the coaches in spring training. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with the lower levels of the Twins farm system. There are several more prospects that are very exciting. View full article

Sure... but I think it's fine to go one year at a time with relievers. No more than two years.

It's 100% an individual thing... Joe Mauer is from Minnesota and he flew up the system. Kohl Stewart is from Texas, and so far, he's moved one level a year. Geography may affect how quickly an individual may move up, or you can make some generalizations, but overall, I don't think there would be any correlation.

Great comment!

I think this is it. The players may come to the table asking for 28 (but only 25 play), but there could be compromise with 26 all the time. I'm not as against the 28 (but just 25 playable) as I thought I would be when I opened this. It's not a horrible idea. Definitely something worth bringing to the table.

Graham Womack of The Sporting News wrote a tremendous article on Jim Kaat and the Hall of Fame. Kaat clearly doesn't want to talk about it or make his own case, but he certainly has some opinions on it and on others. He made this interesting point: In speaking for himself and for Jack Morris, he added, "“There were some games where we were getting blown out, and I’d had a bad start,” Kaat said. “I would say to the manager, ‘Save your bullpen. I’d love to go in and work a few innings and see if I can work some of my problems out.’ I might give up five or six runs in three innings. Examples like that, that inflates the numbers, but if writers don’t actually see you in person or executives, whoever’s on the committee, they don’t really have a true picture of what your career was like.”" Regarding Tony Oliva, he said: There is a ton more, so be sure to read that article.

Former Twins LHP Kris Johnson was sold to Japan a year ago after pitching minimally for the Twins a year earlier. In his debut season in Japan, his 1.85 ERA was tops in the league. Teammate Kenta Maeda got big money to come to the States. Johnson would just like another opportunity. Here is a really nice story on his time in Japan, the cultural adjustment and pitching thoughts. Very good article. Take a minute to look at it.

Torii Hunter shares his thoughts as he retires with The Players Tribune. From there, he talked about his hilarious MLB debut. He tells stories from the Twins clubhouse. It is a very well done story.

The Twins set out on Monday, as they do every year, on their Winter Caravan across the Upper Midwest. They go to schools, retirement centers and big public events. I've been to several Winter Caravan stops over the last 6-7 years. Of course, living at the top of the state (geographically only), the nearest stop this year is 90+ miles away. But, most of you reading this likely are within reasonable distance to get to an event. Of course, it all leads up to Twins Fest at the end of the 2nd week. Use this forum thread to discuss your Winter Caravan stories, either from this year or previous years. Here is little fuzzy photo of my daughter, five years ago today (per Facebook) with Jeff Manship and Drew Butera at a Winter Caravan stop in Thief River Falls.

It can't not be brought up. It's reality which is good and bad for him. But, I am a huge fan of his prospect status because of what I saw in spring training, before spring training, in Cedar Rapids, talking to him, watching him pre game, and chatting with him post game. And then it's about guessing. He's got a great approach at the plate, a sweet swing, uses the whole field, runs the bases well, great hands, strong, accurate arm. There's nothing to not like.

I would say that you're much more on a limb in saying AJ Murray will be "close" than saying Palacios could be #2... I really enjoyed the conversation-turned-article on the Twins 2017 top prospect. It should be very interesting.

Yup, the Tigers were at about $175 million last year.

It's the fun of prospect rankings... we all have our favorites. Michael isn't even in my Top 30. He most likely won't be in Berardino's/Baseball America's Top 30... but we can all hope on his talent and hope he can stay healthy, and he can be a big leaguer.

Was a very fun chat! Lots of minor league talk.

Very kind of you to say. I do appreciate that!

Agreed. He's solid in his role as 24th or 25th man on the roster. Not everyone can handle playing every 4th or 5th day. From what we saw in Molitor's first year, he didn't subscribe to the same philosophy as TK and Gardy, that bench guys need to play frequently to keep ready. Molitor isn't afraid to let Nunez go 5-8 days without playing. And that's tough. There's no way I'd let Polanco come up to play every 3rd or 4th game. Santana is already in the picture to do that. Nunez is fine. He's also a good leader for many of the young Latin players.

per Jon Heyman, Kevin Jepsen: Filed at $5.4 million Twins at $5.05 million Mid-point $5.225 million.

Casey Fien at $2.275 million, per Berardino.

Eduardo Escobar at $2.15 million, per Berardino.

When ready and when there is a need. I mean, if Fien and Tonkin are pitching great, no need to get rid of them.

Updated in the first post of this thread, but Mike Berardino reporting Eduardo Nunez agreeing to 1 year, $1.475 million.

The deadline for pre-arbitration process agreements is just 40 minutes away. At that point, numbers become public... Of course, they can still reach an agreement before going to an arbiter (or arbitrator)...

And as I've pointed out, if someone is offering Bastardo three years at this point, he'd take it. No one is... I'd be surprised if he does. At this point, he might be willing to do a one year, prove it deal. I like the idea of an option season just in case. But if he wants a prove-it deal, then he wouldn't want the option. He's want to become a free agent next winter, at 31.