Seth Stohs

You’ve heard of the Mendoza Line. Named after Mario Mendoza, a shortstop for the Pirates, Mariners and Rangers in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was a career .215 hitter. To this day, when a hitter has a batting average hovering around .200, it is known as the “Mendoza Line.” In his era, that wasn’t good, but shortstop did not become an offensive position until the mid-1990s. So today, I have to ask one question for Twins Daily readers to consider. What is the “Limbo Line” as it relates to offense from a shortstop? How Low Can They (the offensive numbers) Go?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] No one is going to dispute the importance of the shortstop position defensively. The shortstop is the leader of the infield. It is important for a good defensive shortstop to have great range, going left or right. It is important for a good defensive shortstop to have a strong, accurate arm, particularly to make the long throw from the 5.5 hole. He must make the routine plays. The Twins shortstop, Pedro Florimon, is among baseball’s best on defense. OFFENSIVE NUMBERS However, although defense is immensely important for a shortstop, offense is also part of the game. It is the part that Pedro Florimon has not been able to do well. In his minor league career, he hit .249/.321/.354 (.675) over seven seasons. In AA, his OPS was .678. At the AAA level, he posted an OPS of .652. So when Florimon hit .221/.281/.330 (.611) in his first full season last year with the Twins, it is what should have been expected. The fact that he added nine home runs and 15 stolen bases was respectable, though certainly not as good as his 70 OPS+ would indicate. Florimon is obviously off to a bad start in the first two weeks of 2014. Through 35 plate appearances in 11 games, he enters Tuesday’s game hitting just .067/.176/.067 (.243) with just two hits. Of course, being extremely worked up about his .067 batting average is akin to getting really excited about the possibility of a hitter with a .450 batting average at this point in the season becoming the first player since Ted Williams over 70 years ago to hit .400. The sample is just too small. How much of that is due to missing about a month of spring training after his emergency appendectomy? There is no way to know that. Over the final two weeks of spring training, Florimon was playing daily, and as the season started, he was at 100% What is realistic to expect is that 2014 should be a little bit better than 2013. Nothing dramatic. Maybe an OPS above .630. What is the batting average, on base percentage of OPS line that you would find acceptable as it relates to Pedro Florimon at the shortstop position? DEFENDING DEFENSE As a reminder, Pedro Florimon’s defense is among the best in baseball. Any look at the 2013 defensive metrics will back that up. Looking at Baseball-Reference, Florimon’s defensive WAR was 2.2. That was second among all shortstops to the Braves’ Andrelton Simmons and his remarkable 5.4. Florimon’s 5.29 Range Factor per Nine led MLB, ahead of Simmons who came in at 4.92. One of the most important things about Florimon has been his ability to not take his struggles at the plate into the field. If you don’t want to buy the defensive metrics, Florimon certainly passed the eye test. He has the range in both directions and comes in on the slow rollers well. He has a very strong arm. Finally, when you consider the pitchers on the Twins staff, middle infield defense becomes pretty valuable. Phil Hughes has struck out a batter per inning through his first two starts. However, none of the five starters classifies as a strikeout pitcher. They will all likely give up a hit per inning. The ball will be put in play and defense does matter. SUMMARY I have been a proponent of Pedro Florimon through the offseason because of the defense. For me, the “Limbo Line” with Florimon is probably an OPS about where he was in 2013. Maybe a .610-.620 OPS. I’d love to see a .250 batting average or a .300 on-base percentage. I don’t think either of those is realistic. Danny Santana is at AAA. He’s hitting about .250 this young season. He is not ready, but he could be a possibility by September or more likely mid-2015. Last week, the Twins acquired Eduardo Nunez from the Yankees. Although he is more of a utility player, he could work his way from #2 utility man to starting shortstop at some point this season. His defense at shortstop is statistically horrific, but he could post a .700 OPS. Jorge Polanco is getting a chance to play shortstop consistently at the start of the 2014 season. He has six errors in 10 games. He is hitting very well. He has a long ways to go. So, for you, what is the value of great defense? I’m curious what your thoughts are for where the Limbo Line should be for the Twins shortstop. In your opinion, how low can Pedro Florimon’s batting average, on-base percentage or OPS go?

For the third straight game, the Minnesota Twins got a quality start, and for the third straight game, they got a win. Still, it took some late-inning dramatics, but the team goes into a Monday off-day with a .500 record (6-6). Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Just 150 games to go! The four minor league affiliates played afternoon games. They also went .500 on the day. Two affiliates won, two lost. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So, why follow the Twins Minor League affiliates? Well, there are many reasons, however, here is a big one. Two weeks into the season and we have already seen the Twins make a half-dozen transactions. The Twins are not afraid to call people up, so get to know them early! Monday, the Twins have a day off but all four Twins affiliates will be in action. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score Kris Johnson gave up two runs in the first inning and another in the second before settling down. Those would be the only runs the IronPigs scored, but on this day it was enough for a win. Johnson went five innings. He gave up the three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two. Deolis Guerra gave up just one hit over the next two innings. AJ Achter made his first appearance with the Red Wings this year. He had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. Eric Farris went 2-3 in the game. Wilkin Ramirez went 2-4. Dan Rohlfing added a double and an RBI. Clete Thomas went 2-2 with two walks and a double for Lehigh Valley. The loss ended a six game winning streak for the Red Wings. Deibinson Romero extended his hitting streak to eight games. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 6, Portland 3 Box Score This was just a good game for the Rock Cats. They didn’t have a big inning. Instead, they scored in five of the nine innings. They got good pitching as well and came away with their fourth win of the year. Nate Hanson led the way. He went 3-5 with two doubles (5 on season) and two RBI. Danny Ortiz was also 2-5 with his third double and he also stole two bases. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his third and fourth doubles in five at-bats. Corey Wimberly had two hits. He added a stolen base. Sean Gilmartin recorded his first win in the Twins organization. The lefty gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three. Cole Johnson came in and gave up one run on one hit and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Ryan O’Rourke struck out the one batter he was asked to face. Lester Oliveros got his second save with another 1-2-3 ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 5 Box Score The Miracle drove across the state of Florida on Friday with a 6-1 record. After falling to the Mets for the third straight game on Sunday, they are now 6-4. Things just started out on the wrong foot for Mason Melotakis. He gave up three runs in the first, two in the third and another in the fourth. In all, he gave up six runs (4 earned) on eight hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out four. Two more Jorge Polanco errors created the two unearned runs. He now has six errors in the team’s ten games. David Hurlbut came on in the fifth inning and gave up two hits and a walk in three shutout innings. Madison Boer gave up one hit in his inning. Like last Sunday, it took some time for the Miracle bats to get a hit. In the sixth inning, Jorge Polanco singled to left for the team’s first hit. Later in the same inning, Michael Gonzales drove him in with a single of his own. Those were the team’s lone hits in the game. The second run scored that inning on an error. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Lansing 2 Box Score Felix Jorge made the start for the Kernels on Sunday. He gave up two runs on three hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three. Yorman Landa came in and gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Alex Muren then gave up one hit in two shutout innings. Christian Powell ended the game with a perfect inning. Zack Larson got things going in the first inning with an RBI double, his sixth double of the year. He later added an RBI single and also stole a base. Chad Christensen was also 2-4 with his first triple. Bryan Haar went 1-3 with a walk and his third home run. It was a series sweep for the Kernels on the road. They return home for a six-game series in which they will play games Monday through Saturday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sean Gilmartin, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nate Hanson, New Britain Rock Cats MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire (5:35 CST) – Pat Dean (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) – Alex Wimmers (Listen) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 CST) – Aaron Slegers (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over the Royals on Sunday, it means that on Monday you can get 50% off a Large or Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

The weather on Friday meant that the Red Wings needed to play their second double-header of the week. For the second time this week, the now 6-2 Red Wings swept a double-header. Australian James Beresford led the way, continuing to be the most consistent hitter at the start of this season. Mitch Garver had hit two home runs on Friday to take over the organizational lead in home runs this season with four. In the Twins 7-1 win over the Royals on Saturday, Brian Dozier led off with his fourth homer. Then later in the afternoon, Adam Walker hit his fourth homer of the year. Of course, with the Twins three top pitching prospects starting on Saturday, there’s plenty of pitching to talk about as well.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] TRANSACTIONS The Twins put Josh Willingham on the disabled list officially on Saturday and recalled Michael Tonkin. AJ Achter was promoted to the Red Wings. Virgil Vasquez came off of the Red Wings disabled list and was sent to New Britain. Stephen Wickens, who has not yet played for the Rock Cats, was placed on the 7-day DL. He has a strained rotator cuff. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 – Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score Alex Meyer made his second start; he was not helped by his defense at all. A couple errors caused him to allow two unearned runs. In his 5.1 innings, he gave up three runs (1 earned) on six hits. He walked none, hit one and struck out five. Aaron Thompson came on and got the final five outs. He gave up just one hit and is credited with the win. Offensively, James Beresford led the way. He went 4-4 with his second and third doubles, a stolen base and two RBI. His 7th inning double scored Chris Rahl with what proved to be the winning run. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his second double. For the IronPigs, Clete Thomas went 2-4. Game 2 – Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score The Red Wings got pitching and power in this game to win again. Eight Red Wings players had one hit. Five of those hits went for extra bases. In the second inning, Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run homer, his first in the Twins organization. In the third inning, Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer, his first of the year. Wilkin Ramirez had a triple. Doug Bernier and Chris Rahl hit a double each. Yohan Pino started game two and went four innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five. Matt Hoffman made his first appearance of the season and struck one out in a perfect inning. Ryan Pressly walked one in his two innings. He struck out two. James Beresford went 1-3 in the second game. He is now hitting .500, 14-28 on the season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Portland 10 Box Score On a day when the Twins top three starting pitching prospects took the mound for their team, a former Top 10 Twins prospect had a rough go of it out of the Rock Cats bullpen. Matt Summers made his second start for the Rock Cats this season. The right-hander gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Then Adrian Salcedo entered the game in the sixth inning and was only able to record one out, on a strikeout. The flame-thrower gave up four hits, walked one, hit one and threw two wild pitched and was charged with six runs. Virgil Vasquez came on for his first outing of the season. He went 1.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits, walked one and struck out three. Lester Oliveros came on for one inning and gave up only one hit. He struck one out. Nate Hanson is hitting .314 after going 2-4 in this game. Brad Boyer and Danny Ortiz each had an RBI double. Mike Kvasnicka also added his first double of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Miracle got a huge, late-inning hit, but it was all for naught as the team lost in extra innings. Down 3-1 going into the 8th frame, Adam Walker came up with two on and two outs. He launched his fourth home run of the season to give the Miracle a 4-3 lead. However, the Mets tied the game in the 8th and won it in the 10th. JO Berrios started and gave up three runs in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Steven Gruver gave up an unearned run in the seventh inning. However, he pitched to two batters in the 8th inning and one of them came on to score the tying run. Brian Gilbert got three outs in the eighth and ninth innings. He hit one batter and gave up one hit. He struck out two. Tim Shibuya came in for the 10th inning. He got one out, but gave up the winning run on two hits and a walk. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with two walks in the game (he is hitting .419). Walker went 2-5, and stole his first base of the season. Michael Gonzales got the Miracle on the scoreboard with a 2nd inning solo home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lansing 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart made his second start for the Kernels. He threw three perfect innings, the first, the second and the fourth. However, in the third inning, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. His day was done after the fourth inning with two strikeouts. In that third inning, three of the hits were on ground balls that touched an infielder’s glove. Josue Montanez came on and struck out three in two shutout innings. Brandon Bixler threw a scoreless seventh inning, but the Kernels were still down 3-1 going into the 8th frame. With two on and two out, Tanner Vavra singled in both runners to tie the game at three. (Vavra had driven in the team’s first run with a groundout earlier.) Zach Larson hit the next pitch down the left field line. His fifth double scored Vavra all the way from first base and gave the Kernels their first lead. Bixler began the bottom of the eighth inning, but the first batter walked. Brandon Peterson came on and got the next three batters out to maintain the one-run lead. In the top of the 9th, Bryan Haar led off with a triple off the top of the wall in left field, a throwing error allowed Haar to score the team’s fifth run. Peterson gave up two base runners in the 9th but got out of it without allowing a run for his first save of the year. Joel Licon went 2-4 with a double. Vavra went 1-4 with his three RBI. He is hitting .417 on the year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Rochester Red Wings Sunday's probable starters: Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (12:35 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (12:00 CST) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (12:00 CST) – Mason Melotakis (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (1:05 CST) – Felix Jorge (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Remember: Thanks to the Twins win over the Royals on Saturday, it means that on Sunday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

Weather was again a factor in the Twins farm system. Of course, it appears that the Red Wings get rained out whenever Alex Meyer is scheduled to pitch. His first start was pushed back twice by weather, and he was supposed to start on Friday night for Rochester but it was rained out as well. As Rochester Democrat and Chronicle writer Jim Mandelaro noted on twitter, “Nine days into the season, the Red Wings have as many wins (4) as games postponed.” Of course, that lines up a replay of last Sunday’s pitching matchups highlighting the Twins top pitching prospects. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Matt Summers will get the start in New Britain, and in the second Red Wings game Yohan Pino will throw. Top prospect Alex Meyer will start in game one for the Red Wings. JO Berrios will pitch in St. Lucie. Kohl Stewart will make the start in Lansing for the Kernels. In the matchups below, I will include the links where you can listen to these games live. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Lehigh Valley Alex Meyer is scheduled to pitch, so of course weather has become a factor and his start will move to Saturday after Friday’s game was postponed. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 2, Portland 11 Box Score Taylor Rogers was back on the mound for the Rock Cats in this game. He had another rough first inning but settled down. He gave up five runs in the first, but just one more over the next three innings. In four innings, he gave up six runs (5 earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven. Cole Johnson and Ryan O’Rourke each threw a scoreless inning. BJ Hermsen pitched the seventh inning and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. Jim Fuller was perfect in the eighth. Tony Thomas led the offense. He was 2-4 with two doubles. Kennys Vargas hit his second home run of the season, a solo homer in the ninth frame. Corey Wimberly walked twice. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 6 Box Score Lefty Brett Lee made his second Miracle start. In his first game, he was one out from a quality start. In this game, he got the final out of the sixth inning and gets the quality start. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits and two walks. He struck out four. Matt Tomshaw pitched a scoreless seventh inning but was charged with three runs (2 earned) in the eighth to take the loss. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with his fourth double. He also drove in two runs. He now has 10 RBI in eight games. Jorge Polanco was 1-1 with two walks and was also hit by a pitch. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Great Lakes 7 Box Score This game went back and forth through the night. Lansing scored three in the bottom of the 8th inning to take a one-run lead, but Mitch Garver hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at seven. Zach Larson singled in the go-ahead run and Chad Christensen singled in two insurance runs. Hudson Boyd came on for the ninth and struck out two in a perfect inning for his second save. The hitting hero again for the Kernels was Mitch Garver who, besides the game-tying sacrifice fly, hit two solo home runs, his third and fourth of the year. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3 with a walk and a triple. Chad Christensen went 2-4. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 with a triple after going 3-5 in his first Kernels game. Lefty Randy Rosario was very good in his second outing. He threw four shutout innings before giving up two in the fifth inning. In total, he gave up four hits, walked one and struck out two. Ethan Mildren made his first appearance with the Kernels since his call up on Monday. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Yorman Landa pitched the eighth inning, and it didn’t go so well. He gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in the inning. He did strike out one. Again, Boyd got the save with his two-strikeout ninth. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Rosario, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (4:35 CST) – Alex Meyer, Yohan Pino (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (12:00 CST) – Matt Summers (Listen) Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) – JO Berrios (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (1:05 CST) – Kohl Stewart (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over Kansas City on Friday, it means that on Saturday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

Wins and losses are far from the most important thing in the minor leagues. Player development matters above all else. That said, winning is always fun. And, to be fair, part of a player’s development is learning how to win, and learning how to play team baseball. When a team is able to develop players while also finding ways to win, it is a perfect collision. On Wednesday, the Twins four affiliates played five games, and the result was five wins. Call it a good day. Of course, winning at the big league level does matter, and the Twins lost their second straight game to the Oakland A’s.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Aaron Slegers In other news, the Minnesota Twins placed Oswaldo Arcia on the disabled list and added Darin Mastroianni to both the 40 and 25 man rosters. Be sure to look at the Twins Rosters & Payrolls page for current rosters, salary information and much more. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score For Scott Diamond, it was an improvement from Opening Day. However, it was still a rough one. The lefty gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in just three innings. He was replaced by Yohan Pino who worked 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Aaron Thompson was charged with two unearned runs in 2.1 innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Deolis Guerra came on and gave up a hit, but recorded two outs. Brooks Raley struck out the final two batters of the game to record the save. The Red Wings bats got plenty of offense. Only Brad Nelson, who will be traveling home in the morning to be with his pregnant, overdue wife, went hitless. Chris Parmelee went 3-5 with a double. Danny Santana, James Beresford, Wilkin Ramirez and Chris Rahl all had two hits including a double. Also with two hits was Eric Farris. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Harrisburg 4 Box Score It’s been a tough go in the early season for Kennys Vargas. Coming into this game, he was batting just .100 (2-20). However, in this game, he went 2-3 with a walk (and is now hitting .174). In his first at bat, in the first inning, he launched his first home run of the year, a three-run shot. Nate Hanson continues his strong start. He was 3-4 in the game and is hitting .318. Aderlin Mejia was 3-3 in the game and is hitting .364. Of course, that’s the beauty of the early season statistics; he was hitting just .125 (1-8) coming into the game. Pat Dean improves to 2-0 and just missed a quality start. The lefty gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. BJ Hermsen and Jim Fuller each worked a scoreless inning. AJ Achter gets the save. He struck out two in a scoreless inning. That means he has pitched 6.2 innings and given up three hits, walked one and struck out 11 with the Rock Cats. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 2 Box Score After getting rained out on Tuesday night, the Miracle and Stone Crabs played two on Wednesday. In Game 1, Mason Melotakis got the start. The lefty gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He walked two and struck out two. Alex Wimmers came on for his first appearance of the year. He threw three shutout innings. In the 7th inning, he got two outs but gave up three hits and a run. He left with two on and a two-run lead. Brian Gilbert came on and struck out the one batter he faced for the save. Dalton Hicks went 2-3 and drove in three of the Miracle’s runs. Niko Goodrum drove in the other run with a bases loaded walk. Jorge Polanco added a double. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 2 - Ft. Myers 10, Charlotte 6 Box Score The offense showed up in Game , 2 taking an 8-0 lead after just three innings, but the Stone Crabs made a game of it. Jorge Polanco led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk, a double and a triple. Niko Goodrum continues his hot start. He went 2-4 with a triple. Adam Walker hit his second homer of the season, a long, opposite field blast. Jason Wheeler had given up just one run through the first four innings, but he was unable to get the final out of the fifth inning. In total, he gave up six runs (just one earned due to Polanco’s fourth error of the year) on five hits and a walk. He struck out three. Tim Shibuya came in and got the final out of the fifth and worked scoreless sixth and seventh innings as well for the win. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Great Lakes 3 Box Score Without question, the story in this game was about Aaron Slegers, and no, it’s not a tall tale. The 6-10 right-hander made his second start for Cedar Rapids and went six innings. He gave up just one run on four hits. He walked none and struck out four. Lefty Brandon Bixler, a 5-11 lefty, gave the Loons a completely different look. He went two shutout innings, allowing no hits, two walks and striking out two. Hudson Boyd came in for the ninth. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk but kept the lead. Mitch Garver got the scoring going in the second inning with a two-run homer, his second of the season. In the fourth inning, he hit his second double of the year and scored on a single by Tanner Vavra. Vavra went 2-3 with a walk and is now 3-5 in his limited playing time. Logan Wade was 2-5 with a triple. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, New Britain Rock Cats THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – Logan Darnell New Britain @ Portland (5:00 CST) – DJ Baxendale Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (11:05 a.m. CST) – Ryan Eades

I promised last week we would have a minor league update each day from last Thursday through Labor Day. In a way, I have to go back on that promise. Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids both had a scheduled off day. Rochester and New Britain both had games rained out. So, none of the four full-season affiliates played a game. That said, I thought it would still make sense to post a couple of minor league updates. With the transactions of the last couple of days, there is plenty of good information to pass along. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] CHRIS HERRMANN PROMOTED It was posted here on Sunday afternoon, but the Twins made it official on Monday morning. Chris Herrmann had been promoted to the Minnesota Twins. However, whose roster spot would he take? Would it be Oswaldo Arcia who has a wrist issue that still could put him on the disabled list on Wednesday? Could it be Josh Willingham who was hit on the wrist/hand with a Justin Masterson pitch? No, the Twins put Jason Bartlett on the disabled list with an ankle injury. Herrmann has played nearly everywhere in his career. Obviously he has been a catcher and seen a lot of time in recent years. However, as recently as three years ago, in the Florida State League, he played more outfield than catcher. In fact, he spent a couple weeks playing centerfield before Jhon Goncalves came over to the Miracle. At that time, a source near the Miracle told me Herrmann was arguably the best defensive left fielder in the league. In his college days, at Miami, he played primarily third base, but also some at second base. As you know, this spring, he played some first base. So, he can literally get time at eight positions for the Twins if needed. TWINS ACQUIRE EDUARDO NUNEZ FOR MIGUEL SULBARAN Just a couple of hours later, the Twins announced that they had acquired shortstop Eduardo Nunez from the Yankees in exchange for Cedar Rapids lefty Miguel Sulbaran. This means that the Twins have 39 men on their 40 man roster. The Yankees had DFAd Nunez in recent days and were able to work out a deal with the Twins. Nunez was always thought highly of as a future shortstop, but his performance, and reportedly his attitude, never allowed that to happen. Nunez could compete, in time, to be the Twins starting shortstop, although he will first head to Rochester to get some at bats. Sulbaran came to the Twins in the Drew Butera trade last August. The diminutive left-hander came to Twins spring training out of shape which is a big reason he was sent to Cedar Rapids to start the season. He had pitched in one inning for the Kernels this season. FOLLOW UP TRANSACTIONS I was informed last night that there would not be any follow-up transaction in Rochester. You see, no one was added to the Red Wings roster when Chris Herrmann was promoted, so the team doesn’t need to make any additional room. What will be interesting is to see how Gene Glynn is able to mold his roster and his lineups from day to day. One would assume that the organization will want to continue playing Danny Santana at shortstop. Deibinson Romero has been playing third base with James Beresford at second base. Doug Bernier can play all three infield positions. Eric Farris can play outfield to go along with playing second base. Nunez will likely play all three infield positions as well. WHO TAKES SULBARAN’S SPOT in CEDAR RAPIDS? There was quite a bit of speculation about who would take Miguel Sulbaran’s spot with the Kernels. Of course, the big names are Stephen Gonsalves, Lewis Thorpe and Fernando Romero. I expect Gonsalves to move up to Cedar Rapids sometime before the short-season starts, but Thorpe and Romero will most likely pitch in the Appy League in 2013. However, the easy choice for replacing Sulbaran is the one who was promoted. The Twins decided to send RHP Ethan Mildren to the Kernels where he is expected to start in the next few days. Mildren was the Twins 12th round pick a year ago out of the University of Pittsburgh. He pitched in 12 games for the Elizabethton Twins last year following the draft. POLANCO AT SHORTSTOP Through the offseason, the Twins remained consistent that they wanted to give Jorge Polanco a real opportunity at shortstop. When he was in big league camp, he only played games at second base. However, in the workouts and on the back fields, he took a ton of ground balls at shortstop. When he went to minor league camp, he spent all his time at shortstop. Last year in Cedar Rapids, Polanco played second base 57 times and shortstop 49 times. Most of that time at shortstop was when Niko Goodrum was hurt (concussion in first half, groin injury in second half). However, as this season begins, the Miracle have trotted out a lineup that has had Jorge Polanco at shortstop in all four games. Niko Goodrum has played at third base all four games. I admit, I am a bit surprised. But now that I’ve been able to give it some thought, the Twins are giving him this opportunity, knowing that he is just fine at second base but needing to determine if he can play shortstop. My personal opinion is he will be at second base by the second half of the season with Goodrum returning to shortstop. That said, there has long been talk about Goodrum eventually moving to third base as he continues to grow and mature. So, in the long run, this time of playing a second position is likely a good thing for both players as well as the organization. ACHTER’S ACT When I first looked at all the minor league Opening Day rosters, one name jumped out to me more than any other as a guy who was a level lower than he should have been. It takes a lock to shock me anymore, but that was the biggest surprise for me. AJ Achter returning to New Britain shocked me. In 2012, Achter was my choice for Twins minor league reliever of the year for his performance between Beloit and Ft. Myers. Last year, he began the season in New Britain where he posted a 2.21 ERA in 25 games. He moved up to Rochester where he posted a 3.04 ERA in 16 more games. He walked too many, but he showed he was ready for the level. He also pitched in the Arizona Fall League. Over nearly a decade of watching minor league box scores, I have seen quite a few players who started back at a level I didn’t think they should be. One of two things happen. Sometimes, they get frustrated and end up not playing well at all. That’s obviously not ideal. Others overcome their frustration and dominate the level before quickly getting a promotion. To this point, which is a very small sample size, Achter fits in the latter category. In two outings for the Rock Cats, he has given up just three hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine. INJURY UPDATES Lefty Corey Williams had his Tommy John surgery last Tuesday (April 1, 2014). He is back in Ft. Myers where his rehab will take place. The surgery was deemed successful. We certainly wish him well in his recovery. RHP Tyler Jones, my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year in 2013, is getting closer to his return. He had a sore flexor-pronator, which is the same injury that cost him several weeks last season. He pitched two innings in an extended spring training today as part of the rehab. He’ll get two days off before going back-to-back days. At that point, he will be assigned, most likely to the Miracle. It’s been a tough month for Zack Jones. As we reported here first, he had surgery to remove an aneurysm from his shoulder. After that, doctors found that he also had a blood clot in his leg. He recently informed me that he is making very good progress and should be flying to Ft. Myers in about a week to begin rehabbing. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (DH at 3:35 CST) – Kris Johnson, Trevor May Harrisburg @ New Britain (5:35 CST) – Sean Gilmartin Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Mason Melotakis Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (5:05 CST) – Felix Jorge

There are certain days where you can’t help but get a little bit excited about the day’s games. Sunday was one of those days. The top three Minnesota Twins pitching prospects were making their 2014 debuts. Alex Meyer (Twins Daily’s #3 Twins Prospect) made his first AAA start. JO Berrios (#6 Twins Prospect) made his Florida State League debut for the Miracle. 2014 top pick Kohl Stewart (#4 Twins Prospect) made his first Cedar Rapids start. All three of them pitched well in their season debuts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Following the Rochester game, the team announced that Chris Herrmann had been promoted to Minnesota. What is the other half of the transaction? According to Twins Daily’s reporter in Rochester Chris Fee, Red Wings manager Gene Glynn said he “hadn’t heard about a move other than Herrmann so far.” RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 8 (13 innings) Box Score It took a couple of days, but the Red Wings were finally able to play their second game of the season. Alex Meyer did not disappoint in his much-anticipated AAA debut. He began his day by striking out the first batter he faced, Anthony Gose. On the day, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on two hits in his innings. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but gave up a run on three hits and a walk in the eighth. Edgar Ibarra got the final two outs of that inning, one on a strikeout. Michael Tonkin came on and gave up just one hit over the next two innings. Deolis Guerra came on and threw two perfect innings. However, in the 13th, Guerra gave up a leadoff single to Matt Tuiasosopo. Brooks Raley came on to face Juan Francisco, and Francisco launched his second very long home run of the game. Doug Bernier provided the big hit for the Red Wings, a long three-run homer early in the game. He was 2-6 on the day. James Beresford went 3-6. Eric Farris and Chris Parmelee each had two hits. Interesting note from Josh Whetzel, play-by-play man for the Red Wings: the two winning pitchers for Buffalo in the two games they've played have been former Twins Liam Hendriks and Bobby Korecky. Today, Korecky threw four shutout innings of relief. Additionally, the save in both games went to Neil Wagner, a Minnesota native who pitched in college at NDSU. Here were some of Meyer's post-game thoughts (courtesy Chris Fee): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c-HIpA7R1A&feature=youtu.be ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Richmond 13 Box Score For the second straight game, the Rock Cats fell behind early. Matt Summers was charged with three runs in the second, two in the third and three more in the fourth. He gave up eight runs (though just five were earned) on nine hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four. AJ Achter came on and gave up just one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out four. Adrian Salcedo then threw two scoreless innings and struck out one. Three former Minnesota Gophers players were in the lineup for the Rock Cats on this day. Kyle Knudson led the way, going 3-4 and driving in both the team’s runs. Nate Hanson had a double and Mike Kvasnicka added a single and a walk. The trio had five of the team’s seven hits in this game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Jupiter 2 Box Score Well, the Miracle won’t go undefeated this season. That’s no surprise, right? What is surprising was that the potent offense could be shut out. Hammerhead starter did not allow a base runner until the 14th batter of the game, when Max Kepler walked. Two batters later, Niko Goodrum walked. However, they were unable to score in the fifth inning. John Murphy led off the 6th inning with a single to break up the no-hitter. AJ Pettersen followed with a single, but the Miracle were again unable to score. They didn’t have another runner until Adam Walker singled with two out in the ninth. JO Berrios made the start for the Miracle. The right-hander gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out four. Radio man Brice Zimmerman reported that he was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun. Steven Gruver gave up three hits but no runs in two innings. Madison Boer came on for the ninth inning and walked one in a scoreless inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 2 Box Score Certainly the excitement of this game was that it was the first start for 2013 first-round pick Kohl Stewart. The talented right-handed did not disappoint, though things did not start out well. After a groundout, Stewart gave up a single, followed by a triple and a run-scoring ground ball and the Kernels were down 2-0. However, Stewart gave up only those two runs over five innings. He gave up just one walk and hit one batter. In the third inning, he was hit by a line drive in the back of the leg. He made the play and obviously stayed in the game. Reports from Cedar Rapids, including from Steve Buhr, reported that the radar gun showed 94 a couple times, which means he hit 96 a couple times. Yorman Landa gave up one hit and walked one over his two innings. He struck out two. Josue Montanez gave up two hits, but no runs, in an inning. Hudson Boyd came on for the save and pitched a one, two, three ninth. The Kernels scrapped. They scored one in the first inning on a Bryan Haar double scoring Joel Licon. In the second, they tied the score on Mitch Garver’s first home run. In the seventh, Logan Wade broke the tie with his first homer of the season. The team added an insurance run in the eighth when Engelb Vielma blooped in a single to score Jeremias Pineda and give the team a 4-2 lead. Mitch Garver went 2-2 with two walks and the home run. Logan Wade was 2-4 including his homer. Zach Granite went 2-5. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Kris Johnson Harrisburg @ New Britain (5:35 CST) – Sean Gilmartin Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Cedar Rapids – No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over Cleveland on Sunday, it means that on Monday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

The big news in the Minnesota Twins organization on Saturday was the 1,000th career win of manager Ron Gardenhire. He is the 60th manager in MLB history to reach that milestone. Of those 60, only ten have done it with just one team. Kyle Gibson got the victory, and Jason Kubel had three hits. Following the game, the Twins wore shirts (made last year) that said, “1,000 Wins… 67 Ejections” on the front and “And Counting” on the back. Congratulations! The Red Wings are still looking to play their second game. The Kernels played two games to make up for a postponed game on Friday night. Their bats stayed pretty cold on Saturday too. However, the Miracle bats were out in full force on Saturday night. Continue on to see who starred in the Twins farm system on Saturday. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Buffalo Bison (Postponed) Just a warning… this may sound vaguely familiar… This game was lost due to cold and wet conditions in Rochester. The two teams will be in Rochester where Alex Meyer will start on Sunday in the Red Wings home opener. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Richmond 13 Box Score Welcome to AA, Taylor Rogers. The lefty who was my choice for Twins minor league starting pitcher of the year in 2013, struggled in his Rock Cats debut. He was charged with nine runs (7 earned) on eight hits. He walked none and struck out three. He also hit a batter. Two of the hits were home runs. BJ Hermsen came on and gave up three runs (just one earned) on four hits and a walk in two innings. Jim Fuller made his Twins organization debut. The minor league Rule 5 pick gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Cole Johnson got the final two outs. Not much offense for the Rock Cats either in the game. They managed just six hits. Corey Wimberly went 2-4. Nate Hanson hit his second double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 13, Jupiter 4 Box Score The Miracle bats showed up early in this game and didn’t let up. Two big innings were all that they needed to take this game. All nine Miracle batters had at least one hit as the team improved to 3-0 on the season. In the bottom of the first, the team scored eight runs. Levi Michael led off with a single. Jorge Polanco and Dalton Hicks walked to load the bases. Adam Walker walked to score the first run. Max Kepler singled to drive in the second. After Stuart Turner lined out, Mike Gonzales singled in a run. Travis Harrison followed with a run-scoring single. It was station-to-station until Niko Goodrum cleared the bases with a double. Goodrum stole third and scored the eighth run of the inning on a Michael ground out. Fast-forward to the fifth inning. Jorge Polanco led off with a walk. Dalton Hicks singled. After Walker struck out, Kepler reached on an error to load the bases. Stuart Turner drove in a run by being hit by a pitch. Mike Gonzales followed with a long grand slam home run. Gonzales led the way, going 2-5 with five RBI. Dalton Hicks, Levi Michael, Max Kepler and Levi Michael each had two hits as well. Jorge Polanco went 1-3 with two walks. Lost in the offensive barrage was a pretty solid pitching performance as well. Brett Lee made the start. He went the first 5.2 innings and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits in 5.2 innings. He walked one and struck out three. Matt Tomshaw recorded the final out of the sixth inning and worked two more frames. He gave up one run on two hits. Brian Gilbert gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Cedar Rapids 1, Clinton 4 Box Score The 2014 Kernels team will not be like it was in 2013. This year’s team will have some serious pitching talent. However, that talent will be making their first appearances in a new league and in a full-season league. There will be a big learning curve. Randy Rosario is a hard-throwing left hander. He started and went 3.2 innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits and two walks. Two of the hits were home runs. Brandon Bixler replaced him and gave up a single and a walk over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Felix Jorge worked a perfect inning and struck out one. The bats did very little. Thursday night’s hero, Bryan Haar, went 1-2 with a walk. Michael Quesada went 1-2 with a walk, and a double that drove in the team’s lone run in this. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids 0, Clinton 6 Box Score The Kernels’ bats had a rough day. You wouldn’t know it from reading the final score, but this was actually a very good game, a pitcher’s duel through four innings. Ryan Eades started and he threw four shutout innings. However, in the fifth, he was charged with three runs. In all, he gave up those three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck three out. Brandon Peterson came on with the bases loaded and two outs. He gave up a line drive hit to right field which scored the inherited run, but Zach Larson threw out the runner trying to score from second to stop the damage. Peterson worked a scoreless sixth inning. Alex Muren came on for the seventh. He was charged with three runs on four hits. The Kernels managed just four hits in this game including doubles from Mitch Garver and Tanner Vavra. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mike Gonzales, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (1:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (vs Ricky Romero) Richmond @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Matt Summers Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – JO Berrios Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – Kohl Stewart Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games of Saturday night. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over Cleveland on Saturday, it means that on Sunday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Finally, check out the Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino's Tout video of Brian Dozier. Mike asked if he was aware that in Gardy's first managerial win, Jacque Jones led off with a home run. Dozier's response is terrific. http://www.tout.com/m/dwmobv?ref=tw5170gw[/media]

On Friday, weather wreaked havoc and led to half the minor league games being postponed. New Britain played a morning game, but Rochester and Cedar Rapids were unable to play. Of course, the weather is always lovely in Florida. On Opening Night, we got a walk-off from Bryan Haar of the Kernels. On Friday, there were a couple of late-inning homers that helped propel their teams to victory. On Saturday, the Twins play their second game in Cleveland and all four affiliates are scheduled to play. As always, your comments and questions are welcomed in the forum, so ask away. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Buffalo Bison (Postponed) This game was lost due to cold and wet conditions in Buffalo. The two teams will shift over to Rochester where Alex Meyer will start on Saturday in the Red Wings home opener. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Richmond 3 Box Score The Eastern League knows Brandon Waring, and Brandon Waring knows the Eastern League. He has played in the AA league each season since 2009, each year for Bowie, the Orioles affiliate. After an 0-fer on opening night, Waring had a strong game Friday morning. In this game, he went 2-3 with a walk, a double and his first home run of the season. It was his 79th home run in the Eastern League. More important to the day, it was a home run in the bottom of the 8th inning of a tie game, giving the Rock Cats a 4-3 win. Another Eastern League veteran, Reynaldo Rodriguez, in his fourth year in the league, went 2-4 with a double. Nate Hanson went 1-3 with a walk. Brad Boyer walked twice. DJ Baxendale started and gave up two runs on six hits in 4.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two batters. He left the game with two on and two out in the fifth inning, but Adrian Salcedo ended the inning with a strikeout. Salcedo gave up a run in the sixth before he was replaced by Ryan O’Rourke in the seventh. O’Rourke recorded five outs and gave up one hit while striking out one. After Waring’s home run, he was credited with the win. Lester Oliveros pitched a perfect ninth to get the save. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 11, Jupiter 6 Box Score On Friday night, the Miracle got a second straight road win thanks to a couple big innings. The team had a five run second inning. The big hit was a two-run double by Levi Michael. In the seventh inning, it was an Adam Walker three-run home run, his first of the season. Niko Goodrum led the offense going 3-4 with a double and two RBI. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with a double. Stuart Turner was also 2-5. Tyler Duffey made the start and gave up three runs in six innings for a quality start and the win. He gave up eight hits, walked none and struck out two. David Hurlbut gave up a run on three hits over his two innings of work. Mason Melotakis got some work in, pitching one inning. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Clinton (Postponed) Weather was the winner on Friday in Cedar Rapids as well. The two teams are scheduled to play on Saturday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Duffey, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brandon Waring, New Britain Rock Cats SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (1:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (vs Ricky Romero) - POSTPONED Richmond @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Taylor Rogers Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:05 CST) – Brett Lee Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (DH at 2:05 CST) – Randy Rosario, Ryan Eades

Welcome to another season of Minnesota Twins Minor League game reports. Can you believe that on the first night, we already had a walk-off home run?! In this series, you will find are the scores and highlights of each Twins minor league game throughout the season. We will write about who pitched for the Twins affiliate and how well they did. We’ll mention home runs and multi-hit games by hitters. As the season goes along, we’ll keep you updated on where the team stands in their divisions.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] We will also be around the take any questions you may have about the teams and players so be sure to review this report each and every day from now until Labor Day (and hopefully beyond that as it would mean a team made the playoffs). Let's get to the Opening Night action... The minor league schedule was full and all four teams were able to play their games despite chilly temperatures throughout the north. There was even a walk-off win for one of the affiliates. However, before we get started with the report, the Minnesota Twins recorded their first win of the 2014 season with a 10-9 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was an ugly win, but I think the Twins and their fans would be really happy with any and all ugly wins that the team is able to record. The win was the 999th of manager Ron Gardenhire’s managerial career with the Twins. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Buffalo Bison 6 Box Score The Red Wings played the first game of the 2014 minor league season. It began when Blue Jays top pitching prospect Marcus Stroman threw his first pitch to Darin Mastroianni. Scott Diamond got the start for the Red Wings, and it’s fair to say he didn’t get the results he likely wanted. The southpaw gave up four first innings runs and then another in the second before his day was complete. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits and an uncharacteristic four walks. He struck out just one batter. Diamond continues a run that no Red Wings starting pitcher has completed five innings on Opening Day since Boof Bonser in 2006. He was replaced by veteran Yohan Pino who struck out one in two perfect innings. Brooks Raley came in for the fifth inning. He went 1.2 innings and gave up only an unearned run despite yielding three hits and walking two. Deolis Guerra got the final out of the sixth inning and pitched a 1, 2, 3 seventh frame. Matt Hoffman pitched a quiet eighth inning. Mastroianni led the offense. He went 2-5 with two RBI. James Beresford was 2-4 with an RBI. Deibinson Romero went 1-3 with a walk. The winning pitcher for the Bison was former Red Wings and Twins starter Liam Hendriks who pitched the fifth and sixth innings without allowing a base runner. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 10, Richmond 2 Box Score The Rock Cats scored ten runs, but it was the pitching that kept them in the game early. Pat Dean made the Opening Day start and went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out seven. He was replaced by AJ Achter who struck out five (and walked one) in 2.2 hitless innings. Cole Johnson got through his first appearance of 2014. He gave up two hits, but no runs to end the game. The offense started quickly. Corey Wimberly led off the first inning with a double which was followed by a Danny Ortiz single. Nate Hanson came up and drilled a two-run double. The Rock Cats scored single runs in the second and fourth inning. In the sixth inning Kennys Vargas singled. He went to third on a Reynaldo Rodriguez single. Rodriguez advanced to second on the throw to third. That allowed both runs to score on a Tony Thomas single. Matt Koch followed with a double to score Thomas and extend the lead to 7-2. They added another three runs in the 8th inning. Tony Thomas led the way. He went 3-4 with a double and two RBI. Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with a walk. Reynaldo Rodriguez, playing left field, scored four runs in the game. He was 2-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 Box Score Jason Wheeler provided an early-season quality start and Max Kepler provided the offense. Wheeler, who went 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA for the Miracle last year, got the nod to start the opener. The lanky lefty went the first 5.2 innings and gave up just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out four. Lefty Steven Gruver got the final out of the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless seventh as well. Tim Shibuya was perfect over the final two innings, including two strikeouts. What should be a potent Miracle offense got off to a quick start on Opening Night in Jupiter. Leadoff man Levi Michael led off with a double. It was followed by a single by Jorge Polanco. Dalton Hicks singled off the pitcher which scored Michael from third. Polanco advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Max Kepler. However, the Miracle bats were quiet until the 8th inning when Jorge Polanco and Adam Walker singled. They both scored on a triple down the right field line by Max Kepler. Kepler scored later on an infield single by Michael Gonzales. Eight of the nine Miracle hitters had at least one hit. Jorge Polanco, 2-5, was the only player with more than one hit. We certainly won’t discuss the lineup or the defensive alignment, but the Opening Night alignment was interesting, especially in the infield. Levi Michael started at second base. Jorge Polanco was at shortstop. Niko Goodrum played at third base. Goodrum made some nice plays at the hot corner. Polanco made one diving play, but he also committed two errors in the game. Travis Harrison started in left field with Max Kepler in center and Adam Walker in right. I’m certain many of these players will be gaining some versatility by playing several positions throughout the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 3 (10 innings) Box Score With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Bryan Haar stepped to the plate with no one on base. Last year, he led the Appalachian League in extra base hits. He came up with a timely one on this night. Haar hit a long home run to deep left field to give the Kernels a walk-off win on Opening Night. Aaron Slegers made the Opening Night start for the Kernels. The 6-10 righty gave up two runs on five hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out five. He also hit two batters. Christian Powell came on and threw two scoreless innings. Miguel Sulbaran, who will be starting at the back end of the rotation, got an inning and was charged with an unearned run. Hudson Boyd came in for the ninth inning and worked two scoreless innings to get the win. Haar’s home run was his first hit of the season. He had earlier walked and driven in a run. Zach Larson went 2-4 with a pair of doubles. Joel Licon went 2-3 with two walks in the game. If you feel the need to post one negative thing in this game, how about the defense on the left side of the infield. Engelb Vielma had two errors at shortstop. Logan Wade, playing third base, had three errors. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Bryan Haar, Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (1:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (vs Ricky Romero) Richmond @ New Britain (10:30 a.m. CST) – DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:35 CST) – Tyler Duffey Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Randy Rosario Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games of Friday night. ~~~ Thanks to the Twins come back win over the White Sox on Thursday, you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza on Friday when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

Three days after MLB’s Opening Day, I wish you all a very Happy Minor League Opening Day! I may be in the minority, but I think I get as excited, if not more so, about minor league opening day as the big league version. For me, instead of just watching the Minnesota Twins games, I can now follow as many as five box scores each day. All four Twins minor league affiliates are scheduled to play their opening day games on Thursday. Hopefully weather will cooperate so they can get their games in. On Tuesday, I posted the Twins minor league opening day rosters. Today, I’ll provide a primer on the four affiliates. Please feel free to ask questions.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER RED WINGS The Red Wings are scheduled to open their season at Buffalo. Scott Diamond decided to stay with the Twins organization. He will make the opening night start for the Red Wings opposite Blue Jays pitching prospect Marcus Stroman. The schedule has them playing their first two games in Buffalo before the teams move to Frontier Field in Rochester for two games to open up the Red Wings home schedule. Top Pitching Prospect – Alex Meyer Top Hitting Prospect – Danny Santana First Pitcher Promoted – Kris Johnson First Hitter Promoted – Chris Herrmann Most Underrated Pitcher – Deolis Guerra Most Underrated Hitter – James Beresford Radio Voice – Josh Whetzel (Listen Live here) NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS The Rock Cats will open their season at home against Richmond. Pat Dean returns to the team to start this season after getting a handful of starts in Rochester a year ago. The Rock Cats will play their first seven games at home at New Britain Stadium, four against Richmond followed by three against Harrisburg. Top Pitching Prospect – Flip a Coin (DJ Baxendale, Sean Gilmartin or Taylor Rogers) Top Hitting Prospect – Kennys Vargas (since Miguel Sano is on the DL and Eddie Rosario on the Restricted List) First Pitcher Promoted – AJ Achter First Hitter Promoted – Danny Ortiz Most Underrated Pitcher – Adrian Salcedo Most Underrated Hitter – Mike Kvasnicka Radio Voice – Jeff Dooley (Listen Live here) FT. MYERS MIRACLE Ft. Myers starts out on the road in Jupiter for two games before returning to Hammond Stadium for two games against the Hammerheads. Jason Wheeler returns to the Miracle despite a solid season with the team a year ago. The Miracle made it to the playoffs a year ago and this year will have a mix of guys who played with the Miracle or with that offensive juggernaut from Cedar Rapids last year. Top Pitching Prospect – JO Berrios Top Hitting Prospect – Jorge Polanco (or some might say Adam Walker, Travis Harrison, or Max Kepler… with Byron Buxton on the DL) First Pitcher Promoted – Jason Wheeler First Hitter Promoted – Lance Ray (if/when healthy) Most Underrated Pitcher – Mason Melotakis Most Underrated Hitter – Travis Harrison Radio Voice – Brice Zimmerman (Listen Live here) CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS The Kernels had a hugely successful inaugural season as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. The offense was remarkable. This season’s team will not hit anywhere near those prolific numbers, but the pitching staff certainly has a lot of talent. 2014 fifth round pick Aaron Slegers will make the Opening Day start for the Kernels when they host Clinton at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Top Pitching Prospect – Kohl Stewart Top Hitting Prospect – Zach Larson or Engelb Vielma First Pitcher Promoted – Miguel Sulbaran First Hitter Promoted – Michael Quesada Most Underrated Pitcher – Brandon Peterson Most Underrated Hitter – Zach Granite Radio Voice – Morgan Hawk (Listen Live here) PLANNING A TRIP TO CEDAR RAPIDS Last season, I had the opportunity to go to Cedar Rapids on two separate occasions. I was there for their opening weekend and then again around the Fourth of July. For me, it is about 11-12 hours each direction. If you live in the Twin Cities, the drive to Cedar Rapids is about four-and-a-half hours. Just check mapquest and you’ll see you only have to know about three or four road names/numbers to get there. On the way home, consider going up to Decorah and then to Rochester. There are a couple of places to stop and some incredible scenery. Driving that way and seeing all of the corn is actually a pretty incredible site. As you get further north and are driving along the Mississippi River, there are some breathtaking views. Of course, along that path is Dyersville, IA, which of course is the home of the Field of Dreams movie site. My brother and I made a stop there on our way home and although we were only there for about an hour, maybe 90 minutes, it was a pretty neat experience. It is incredible in its simplicity. Walk in the corn, play catch, take some pictures in front of the house, or sit on the bleachers where James Earl Jones gave the memorable "They Will Come, Ray" speech. For any baseball fan, Dyersville should be on your bucket list. And, it is about one hour north and east of Cedar Rapids. Also along that way, if you’re as cool as me (and I wouldn’t wish that on many people), Burr Oak, Iowa is on the way. Of course, that is one of the many places where author Laura Ingalls Wilder lived. Maybe you’ve got a goal to visit many midwestern-type, small town museums. You can cross this one off the list! The Amana Colonies are about 15 to 20 miles southwest of Cedar Rapids. There are several cultural options as well such as the NewBo City Market, the Czech and Slovak Museum, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts and around the Fourth of July is the Freedom Festival. Depending upon your interests, Cedar Rapids has many options so you (and your family) have something to do between Kernels ball games! That’s right, back to the Kernels… They play at Perfect Game Field. Another interesting thing is that the Perfect Game facilities are basically right across the street from the ballpark. Each of the six Kernels games that I went to I had at least one (and usually two or three) people come up and tell me they had driven down from the Twin Cities. Generally speaking they would leave work at noon on Friday or Saturday, spend a night and go to a second game the next day before driving back. I had one or two people say they drove down that afternoon and were driving back after the game. I couldn’t do that, but it is an option. The atmosphere at the stadium is tremendous, especially after school lets out and the weather warms. You will most likely see GM Doug Nelson roaming the huge concourse, talking with fans and making sure they’re enjoying the experience. The Kernels players do a ton in the community and before each game two players are up in the concourse signing autographs. The field is really terrific and they continue to make improvements each year. This offseason, the put in new grass on the field which was a huge undertaking. The year before, they put in a huge 30x48 LED scoreboard in the outfield that shows replays and provides a ton of statistical information. They also have a pregame show before each game on the board that includes the daily Minnesota Twins Organizational Report which is sponsored by Twins Daily. You'll also want to check out their Hall of Fame. Cedar Rapids has a long, rich history of minor league baseball going back over 100 years. There is a ton of information on that history. There are also a lot of plaques on the wall of contributors, but also of a lot of players you will recognize from the Reds and the Angels organizations. They also have a really neat feature, a Walk of Fame with players getting stars around the concourse. It was a very neat thing to see all those big league stars who spent time with the Kernels, such as the new $144.5 million man, Mike Trout. And after the games, be sure to head over to Bushwood Sports Bar & Grill for lots of sports on big screen TVs, beverages and great food. Most likely, you will also find Steve Buhr (aka Jim Crikket) sitting at a table top. You can thank him for all his great writing and reporting of the Kernels by buying him a beer and some corn nuggets (which are actually not too bad!). I can’t emphasize enough that if you enjoy reading about the minor leaguers, and Twins Daily is certainly the best place online to do that every day, it’s so satisfying to get to a couple games and see for yourself. The Twins have an affiliate within reasonable travel distance. Take advantage. Check out their schedule and their promotions and book some tickets if you’re interested. And, if you do make a trip to Cedar Rapids to see the Kernels (or see the Miracle, Rock Cats or Red Wings as well), be sure to report for us what your observations were about the facilities, the experience, the players and anything else you found interesting in the forums of Twins Daily. Again, Happy Minor League Opening Day to everyone! It’s great to be able to talk about five teams, especially when the big league club struggles. Good luck to each of the teams and all the players.

Opening Day in the big leagues is a big deal. I might even agree with those who say it should be a national holiday. As important to about 100 minor leaguers is minor league Opening Day which will be on Thursday. Minor leaguers reported to Ft. Myers on March 7 and after four days of practice, they’ve been playing games and practicing almost every day since. On Monday, those players headed to Rochester, New Britain and Cedar Rapids flew to their destinations. Obviously those who will be with the Ft. Myers Miracle didn’t have to travel far. Below, you will find the Opening Day rosters of the Minnesota Twins full-season minor league affiliates.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings Gene Glynn returns to manage the Red Wings after leading the team to the playoffs a year ago. Tim Doherty is his hitting coach with Marty Mason as the pitching coach. This year’s roster is an interesting mix of veterans and prospects. 15 of these players have spent time in the big leagues. Starting Pitchers: Logan Darnell, Scott Diamond, Kris Johnson, Trevor May, Alex Meyer The big league roster may not have a lefty in the starting rotation, but the Red Wings have three. Scott Diamond decided to remain with the organization where he joins 40-man roster lefties Logan Darnell and Kris Johnson. Trevor May made one appearance in the playoffs a year ago for the Red Wings. Alex Meyer is the organization’s top pitching prospect and despite missing two months last season, he moves up to AAA. Relievers: Deolis Guerra, Matt Hoffman, Edgar Ibarra, Yohan Pino, Ryan Pressly, Brooks Raley, Aaron Thompson, Virgil Vasquez (DL), Kevin Thomas (DL), Matt Guerrier (DL) Now if the Twins do have any needs in the bullpen, they should have some better options. Tonkin starts the season with the Twins due to Brian Duensing’s paternity leave, but he will most likely be back with the Red Wings for their Opening Day. He is the big prospect in the group and he had a strong showing in spring. Deolis Guerra and his changeup were very impressive. He will be up at some point. Lefties Hoffman and Thompson were both very solid and could come up as well. Ibarra had a very strong 2013 season and was added to the 40 man roster. Unfortunately, he missed much time in spring training due to contracting Hepatitis B. However, he’s a lefty who can hit 94 and has a sharp slider. Catchers: Eric Fryer, Chris Herrmann, Dan Rohlfing All three of these catchers also provide depth and versatility in the outfield. Herrmann had a very good spring training. Infielders: James Beresford (2B), Doug Bernier, Eric Farris, Brad Nelson (1B), Deibinson Romero (3B), Danny Santana (SS) There are certainly numbers here. Santana is the big prospect and as much as he was discussed in his time in big league camp, the same questions that were there then are still there now. Can he make routine plays and can he take an occasional walk? DJ Romero hit everything hard at big league camp. Outfielders: Darin Mastroianni (CF), Chris Parmelee (RF), Chris Rahl, Wilkin Ramirez (LF) Three of these four outfielders were on the Opening Day roster for the Twins in 2013, and yet they find themselves in Rochester to start 2014. New Britain Rock Cats Jeff Smith returns to the New Britain Rock Cats as their manager, with Chad Allen as the hitting coach and Stu Cliburn as the pitching coach. Starting Pitchers: DJ Baxendale, Pat Dean, Sean Gilmartin, Taylor Rogers, Matt Summers When Scott Diamond accepted his outright to Rochester, it meant Gilmartin would start his season in New Britain. Dean returns to New Britain after ending 2013 with the Red Wings. Baxendale struggled in 2013 with the Rock Cats after dominating the Florida State League the first two months. Summers led the FSL is ERA last season, and Rogers was my choice for Starting Pitcher of the Year. Relievers: AJ Achter, Jim Fuller, BJ Hermsen, Cole Johnson, Ryan O’Rourke, Lester Oliveros, Adrian Salcedo, Dan Turpen (DL), Chad Rodgers (DL) Lester Oliveros returns from his Tommy John surgery with the Rock Cats, though he should move up quickly. I have no idea why Achter is headed back to New Britain. Like Achter, Johnson is a late-round draft pick who has moved up the ladder really quickly. Adrian Salcedo was hitting 97 MPH in his first year back from injury in 2013. Hopefully he will remain healthy. Catchers: Kyle Knudson, Matt Koch These two catchers complement each other quite well. Koch is more of an offensive threat with extra base power who can hold his own behind the plate. Knudson is an incredible defensive catcher who hit well in 2013. Both were at big league camp. Infielders: Brad Boyer, Nate Hanson, Aderlin Mejia (SS), Tony Thomas (2B), Kennys Vargas (1B), Brandon Waring (3B), Stephen Wickens, CJ Ziegler, Miguel Sano (DL) Kennys Vargas was added to the 40 man roster and the masses got to see what an enormous specimen he is and his immense power. (He will miss the opener - most likely - as he is in Puerto Rico where his wife is having the couple's first child.) Aderlin Mejia was supposed to play for Elizabethton last year, but a need with the Miracle gave him an opportunity that he took full advantage of. He spent the rest of the year in Ft. Myers and will now begin 2014 in New Britain. Waring tied for the team leader in home runs this spring, though it was just two. Boyer signed last year from the St. Paul Saints. Tony Thomas signed late, right before spring training. Nate Hanson is a Minnesotan who can play anywhere on the field. Wickens had a nice season as a utility guy in Ft. Myers in 2013. Obviously the big news of spring training was that Miguel Sano had Tommy John surgery and will miss all, or at least most, of the season. Outfielders: Mike Kvasnicka, Danny Ortiz, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Corey Wimberly Rodriguez is making the move to the outfield after playing first base last year. Kvasnicka can also catch, if needed, but will primarily play right field. Ortiz shouldn’t spend the whole season in New Britain. The Twins had Ben Revere. Last year, they added Antoine Richardson. This year, the diminutive speedster in the organization is Corey Wimberly. Ft. Myers Miracle Doug Mientkiewicz returns for his second season as the manager of the Miracle. Jim Dwyer remains the hitting coach. Gary Lucas moves from Cedar Rapids to the Florida State League and will be able to work with the pitchers he has worked with the last year or two. This should be another exciting year for the Miracle as much of the 2013 Cedar Rapids team will make the move up to the Florida State League. Starting Pitchers: JO Berrios, Tyler Duffey, Brett Lee, Mason Melotakis, Jason Wheeler, Alex Wimmers It sounds as though the Miracle will go to a six-man rotation in 2014. JO Berrios is the top prospect on this list, but this is a pretty intriguing rotation. Former first-round pick Wimmers is finally healthy and looking forward to getting on the mound. Jason Wheeler altered some mechanical things last year with the Miracle and is now throwing harder. He’s certainly one to watch. Duffey and Melotakis are two of the college relievers turned starters who will again start the season in the rotation. Lee has been my choice for breakout pitcher of the year in the Twins farm system. Relievers: Madison Boer, Brian Gilbert, Steven Gruver, David Hurlbut, Tim Shibuya, Matt Tomshaw, Tyler Jones (DL), Luke Bard (DL), Zack Jones (DL), Corey Williams (DL) This is an interesting group. Hurlbut and Tomshaw are both lefties who have succeeded in the bullpen and as starters when needed. Shibuya is fully healthy this year and pitching well. He could start. Brian Gilbert was drafted a year ago out of Seton Hall and is being pushed quickly. But that disabled list has some serious talent. Tyler Jones was my choice for minor league reliever of the year last year, and Zack Jones was also very good showing off his 95+ mph fastball. Luke Bard is getting closer to being ready and when healthy he can really dominate hitters out of the bullpen. Corey Williams will have his Tommy John surgery early in April. Catchers: Tyler Grimes, Jairo Rodriguez, Stuart Turner Grimes has really come a long way in the one season that he has been a catcher. Stuart Turner is another 2013 draft pick who will move quickly. He impressed in his time in big league camp and really knows how to work with pitchers. Infielders: Michael Gonzales, Niko Goodrum (SS), Travis Harrison (3B), DJ Hicks (1B), Levi Michael, AJ Pettersen, Jorge Polanco (2B) Jorge Polanco and Niko Goodrum will play up the middle defense, and Michael and Pettersen will give them some days off. Travis Harrison is making the move to left field, but he will also still play quite a bit at third base. Pettersen could find himself starting at third base quite a bit early in the season as well as playing all three outfield positions. Gonzales and Hicks will both spend time at first base and as the designated hitter. Outfielders: Max Kepler (LF), John Murphy (CF), Adam Walker (RF), JD Williams (DL), Nate Roberts (DL), Byron Buxton (DL), Lance Ray (DL) Adam Walker and his immense power will primarily play right field. Max Kepler will play all three outfield positions as well at first base. Roberts missed all but one game in 2013, so hopefully his knees will hold up and he can get back on the field. Williams and his OBP skills had a solid 2013 season and will get time in left field, center field and at DH. Buxton is baseball’s best prospect. Unfortunately, he is going to miss the first couple weeks with his wrist injury and it’s possible that he will get a handful of games with the Miracle before joining the Rock Cats. Cedar Rapids Kernels Jake Mauer is in his second season as the Kernels manager. He’s joined again by hitting coach Tommy Watkins. Ivan Arteaga was the Miracle pitching coach last year, but he joins the Kernels and will work with this talented group of arms. Starting Pitchers: Ryan Eades, Felix Jorge, Randy Rosario, Aaron Slegers, Kohl Stewart, Miguel Sulbaran Although there are some pretty intriguing names not on this list who could get to Iowa later in the season, this is still an area of strength and some good prospects. Eades was the Twins 2nd round pick a year ago and could move quickly. Slegers was the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year a year ago and the Twins fifth round pick a year ago. Jorge and Rosario are two of the Big Three who have moved up together through the short season teams. Sulbaran came over from the Dodgers last year for Drew Butera and pitched well in the Midwest League last year. He came to camp out of shape, so he could move up quickly too. Of course, the big name on this list is that of 2013 top pick Kohl Stewart who has remarkable talent and remarkable stuff. He’s young, and they’ll watch his innings, but he is certainly exciting to watch. Relievers: Brandon Bixler, Hudson Boyd, Yorman Landa, Chris Mazza, Josue Montanez, Alex Muren, Brandon Peterson, Christian Powell, JT Chargois (DL), Hein Robb (DL) Lefty Brandon Bixler was drafted just last year and pitched some for the Kernels last year. Boyd was in the Kernels opening day rotation but really struggled and there was always thought that his stuff might work better in the bullpen. Montanez and Powell made starts for the team a year ago too. Yorman Landa was another of the Big Three. He throws really, really hard, though he doesn’t always know where it is going to go. Brandon Peterson is a 2013 draft pick who is from Burnsville high school. Catchers: Bo Altobelli, Mitch Garver, Michael Quesada Garver was the Twins 9th round pick a year ago. Altobelli and Quesada both spent some time with the Kernels in 2013. Garver will likely get plenty of time at first base. Infielders: Chad Christensen (1B), Bryan Haar, Joel Licon (3B), Tanner Vavra, Engelb Vielma (SS), Logan Wade (2B), Ryan Walker (DL) It has to be exciting for Chad Christensen, a late-round pick in 2013, to start the season with the Kernels. He is from Cedar Rapids and still makes it his home. He can play both corner infield positions and both corner outfield positions as well. Engelb Vielma became someone to watch when ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him in his Top 15 Twins prospects. He is very fast and looks to be tremendous defensively with great range, good hands and a strong arm. Not sure he’ll hit much. Australian Logan Wade participated in the MLB series in Australia and can play second base. Vavra is the son of Twins coach Joe and is a tremendous story, and a pretty good hitter at second base. Licon was with the team in the second half of 2013 and will get a lot of time at third base. Haar was one of the better (and older) hitters in the Appy League last year. When healthy, I think Walker will take over at shortstop with Vielma going back to extended spring. Outfielders: Zach Granite (CF), Zack Larson (RF), Jeremias Pineda (LF) Granite was the lone Twins prospect who was an all-star in the Appy League last year. He’ll play center field and lead off for the Kernels. Larson opened eyes last year hitting well in the GCL, and when promoted to Elizabethton, he became one of their top hitters. Pineda came to the Twins for Danny Valencia and spent much of 2013 getting minimal time with the Kernels. Extended Spring Training Starting Pitchers: Stephen Gonsalves, Chih-Wei Hu, Fernando Romero, Lewis Thorpe I think it’s safe to say there are a few prospects in this group that Twins fans can be pretty excited about seeing either at Elizabethton, or possibly with the Kernels if there is a need. Relievers: Cameron Booser, Brandon Easton, Andrew Ferreira, Sam Gibbons, Josh Guyer, CK Irby, Kuo Hua Lo, Austin Malinowski, Andre Martinez, Tanner Mendonca, Ethan Mildren, Derrick Penilla, Dereck Rodriguez, Todd Van Steensel, Jared Wilson, Seth Wagner, Josh Burris (DL), Carson Goldsmith (DL), Zach Hayden (DL), Tyler Stirewalt (DL) A lot of big arms here. There are a few who certainly could get an opportunity to start at some point as well. Catchers/First Base: Jorge Fernandez, Brian Navaretto, Joel Polanco, Bryan Santy, Rainis Silva, Alex Swim Navarreto and Fernandez provide a lot of excitement at this position. Infielders: Carlos Avila, Manuel Guzman, Jonatan Hinojosa, Will Hurt, Nelson Molina, Ariel Montesino, Joel Ramirez, Javier Pimentel (DL), Amaurys Minier (DL) Minier will hopefully be ready by the time the short-season leagues start. There is a lot of speed in this category. Outfielders: Jason Kanzler, Jake Proctor, Ivory Thomas, Ryan Tufts This is certainly not a very young group of outfielders as all were four-year college guys. RESTRICTED LIST A quick reminder that the Twins will have three players begin the season with 50 game suspensions. We're all aware of Eddie Rosario's. Shortly after the end of the 2013 season, Cedar Rapids pitcher Dallas Gallant was suspended for 50 games. Two years ago, Mark Hamburger was suspended 50 games. Last year, he pitched for the St. Paul Saints. Following the season, the Twins signed him to a minor league deal. The suspension still needs to be enforced. So there you have it, a look at who will be starting the season at each of the Twins four, full-season affiliates. It’s also a list that you can use in determining which prospect(s) you would like to Adopt. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss.

Adopt-A-Prospect 2014 will start right here... at 9:00 a.m. CST. Again, to adopt a Twins prospect, just put their name in the forum. If no one has already adopted that player, he's yours. As a reminder, on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily members can adopt a second player. A note will be made on this forum when that can happen. AT 9:00 a.m. CST this morning, I will post a message saying "Let the adoptions begin." Once that is there, you can start. I will try to post an update from time to time of who has been adopted by whom. Remember, any Twins minor leaguer can be drafted, players at Rochester, New Britain, Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids, or at Extended Spring Training.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Here are the Rules of Twins Daily Adopt-a-Prospect, and a Note that you don't really get to Adopt them, just get to write about them on Twins Daily. As we have done here at Twins Daily the last two years, we will be hosting a Twins minor league Adopt-A-Prospect. With a couple alterations, the rules should make for more information shared about more of the minor league teams throughout the farm system. Starting at 9:00 Central Time on Tuesday (April 1), you will be able to adopt any Twins minor leaguer (who hasn't already been adopted). Those players can come from either of the four Twins full-season affiliates (Rochester, New Britain, Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids) or players who will begin the season at Extended Spring Training. At 9:00 Central Time on Wednesday, people can adopt a second Twins minor leaguer (Again, only those available). Here are the Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2014: (Note, the actual player adoption will be conducted in another thread "SIGN UP FOR ADOPT A PROSPECT 2014" which will be located in this "Adopt a Prospect 2014" Forum.) Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2014: 1) Each Twins prospect can only be adopted once. It will be first-come, first-serve in a new thread here that will be opened at 9:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily readers can adopt a second prospect. 2) Once you have confirmed that you have that player, you can post a thread. The title of the thread you start should just be that player's name, hyphen - 2014 (example - Miguel Sano - 2014). The first post must be an introduction of the player. The format of the post is up to the individual, but please be sure to get all the important information needed on the player. For Example, Name, Position, Handedness, Drafted/Signed/Acquired (out of where/what round), Previous Stats, etc. Feel free to make it as detailed as you want and feel free to find video. (There are a lot of websites you could link to such as their Baseball-Reference, The Baseball Cube, First Inning, Fan Graphs, MiLB.com, affiliate’s websites, etc.) 3) After the initial post (and throughout the season), you MUST update the thread AT LEAST once every other week. If you fail to do this, the prospect can be taken away from you. [if a player is inactive due to injury or suspension, this requirement is waived, as appropriate.] If you would like to update more often, please feel free. Updates should, at least, include year-to-date numbers for the player. The more information given, however, the better. Brag up your prospect! 4) Any major event (i.e. Promotion/Demotion/Trade/Perfect Game/multi- hit or HRs in a game...) must be reflected in the thread within a day of the event. Failure to update for this purpose may result in losing your adoptee. 5) If a player is placed on the 25-man roster, this is wonderful news and you cancontinue that player’s thread. Reward for your player getting to the big leagues is that you can adopt another prospect at that point. Even if the first player is eventually sent back to the minor leagues, you can maintain both prospect threads. 6) All other rules which are enforced on the main board will be enforced here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here.

As we have done here at Twins Daily the last two years, we will be hosting a Twins minor league Adopt-A-Prospect. With a couple alterations, the rules should make for more information shared about more of the minor league teams throughout the farm system. Starting at 9:00 Central Time on Tuesday (April 1), you will be able to adopt any Twins minor leaguer (who hasn't already been adopted). Those players can come from either of the four Twins full-season affiliates (Rochester, New Britain, Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids) or players who will begin the season at Extended Spring Training. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] At 9:00 Central Time on Wednesday, people can adopt a second Twins minor leaguer (Again, only those available). Here are the Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2014: (Note, the actual player adoption will be conducted in another thread "SIGN UP FOR ADOPT A PROSPECT 2014" which will be located in this "Adopt a Prospect 2014" Forum.) Rules of Adopt-A-Prospect 2014: 1) Each Twins prospect can only be adopted once. It will be first-come, first-serve in a new thread here that will be opened at 9:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. CST, Twins Daily readers can adopt a second prospect. 2) Once you have confirmed that you have that player, you can post a thread. The title of the thread you start should just be that player's name, hyphen - 2014 (example - Miguel Sano - 2014). The first post must be an introduction of the player. The format of the post is up to the individual, but please be sure to get all the important information needed on the player. For Example, Name, Position, Handedness, Drafted/Signed/Acquired (out of where/what round), Previous Stats, etc. Feel free to make it as detailed as you want and feel free to find video. (There are a lot of websites you could link to such as their Baseball-Reference, The Baseball Cube, First Inning, Fan Graphs, MiLB.com, affiliate’s websites, etc.) 3) After the initial post (and throughout the season), you MUST update the thread AT LEAST once every other week. If you fail to do this, the prospect can be taken away from you. [if a player is inactive due to injury or suspension, this requirement is waived, as appropriate.] If you would like to update more often, please feel free. Updates should, at least, include year-to-date numbers for the player. The more information given, however, the better. Brag up your prospect! 4) Any major event (i.e. Promotion/Demotion/Trade/Perfect Game/multi- hit or HRs in a game...) must be reflected in the thread within a day of the event. Failure to update for this purpose may result in losing your adoptee. 5) If a player is placed on the 25-man roster, this is wonderful news and you can continue that player’s thread. Reward for your player getting to the big leagues is that you can adopt another prospect at that point. Even if the first player is eventually sent back to the minor leagues, you can maintain both prospect threads. 6) All other rules which are enforced on the main board will be enforced here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here.

On Saturday night I ventured a guess as to when the optimism (or the better word may have been ‘excitement’) disappeared. As we anticipate this afternoon’s Twins opener in Chicago, I thought it only fair to take a look at several reasons for people to continue watch and enjoying Twins baseball. Yes, there really are several things that are worth watching in 2014. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If you listened to Sunday morning’s inaugural “This is Twins Territory” on KTWIN with Rod Simons, Lindsay Guentzel and Jack Morris, you heard the 1991 World Series hero remind us of an important tidbit. Prior to that season, the “experts” predicted the Twins would finish in last place, as they had the year before… just like their World Series counterpart from Atlanta had. I think we’d be even more shocked if that happened in 2014, however, “You Never Know” is a big part of the national pastime. I’ll ask you, the Twins Daily readers, to add more to this list of reasons why "You never know". I’m sure there are many. Photo by Steve Mitchell The Greatness of Joe Mauer Now that he is out from behind the plate, the goal is for Joe Mauer to be in the lineup most every day, hitting either second or third. More games will mean more plate appearances. The veteran will turn 31 in three weeks. He is continuing to climb his way up the Twins all-time lists. Here are some milestones he could reach in 2014: His 86th hit of the season will be the 1,500th of his career. He is currently in 6th place on the Twins all-time list, 299 behind Harmon Killebrew. His 18th double of the season will give him 300 for his career. His eighth double will move him past Justin Morneau, into fifth place on the all-time Twins list. His 24th double of the year would move him past Rod Carew into fourth place. His 31st double of the year would move him past Kent Hrbek into third place. He would need 48 doubles to pass Tony Oliva for #2 on the all-time list. Sounds like a lot, but he did have 43 doubles in 137 games in 2010. If Joe Mauer were to drive in 100 runs for the first time in his career, he would pass Bob Allison, Torii Hunter and Rod Carew and move into seventh place on the all-time list. When he scores his 26th run of the year, he’ll move past Chuck Knoblauch into 6th place in that category. On his 26th walk, he will move past Bob Allison into third place on the all-time walks list. What Will Aaron Hicks Do? A year ago, Aaron Hicks had a remarkable spring training to win the starting centerfield job. He had a rough 2013 big league debut. He hit just .192 and got on base just 26% of the time. Consider in his minor league career, he got on base at about a 37% clip, something has to give. Hicks bulked up in the offseason. He is very strong and yet has great range and a strong arm in centerfield. So how much improvement can we expect? Alex Presley is no longer with the Twins so there is little or no competition for him. Which of his tools will become big league skills? Will he do enough for the team not to rush Byron Buxton and to tell them that he’s worth keeping around to play one of the corner outfield spots when Buxton does arrive? The Veteran Starters The Twins made a splash when they signed Ricky Nolasco to the biggest free agent contract in team history. Nolasco had spent his entire career in the National League, so how will his adjustment to the American League be? Kevin Correia handled it well last year, performing as well as anyone could have hoped or expected in his first year with the Twins and in the AL. The question with Correia is will he be able to perform as well in 2014? Mike Pelfrey came to the Twins last year and it was his first year in the AL. More important, it was his first year back after Tommy John surgery and he now admits he rushed back too quickly. The Twins brought him back with a two-year contract, and he’ll look to show that he can contribute now that he’s at 100% Finally, just days after signing Nolasco, the Twins signed Phil Hughes. He has to be thrilled getting out of New York and Yankees Stadium’s band box, but he has a lot to prove. The Twins took a chance on the still-young right-hander. Will Hughes be able to eat some innings and keep the ball in the park? It seems I’ve said this a lot the last week or two. This year, the Twins have pitchers who will give up three runs in six innings most times out instead of six runs in three innings. That’s going to be important. When Will We See Alex Meyer? Kyle Gibson won the fifth starter job out of spring training. Sam Deduno pitched well but will be used out of the bullpen. Vance Worley imploded, was DFA'd and then dealt to the Pirates. Scott Diamond was also DFA'd and chose to remain with the team. Diamond or fellow-lefty Kris Johnson are likely first in line to be promoted if there is a need early in the season. Trevor May might also fit into the equation throughout the season. However, how quickly could we see flame-throwing right-hander Alex Meyer? His performance in the Arizona Fall League alleviated concerns about his shoulder, at least for the moment. His four big league pitches, size, intelligence and control make him a potential top-of-the-rotation starter. Arcia and Kubel As Oswaldo Arcia raced through the minor leagues, hitting for both power and average, he was often compared to Jason Kubel. As Jason Kubel was coming up, it was said that he could hit for average like Mauer and hit for power like Morneau. In 2014, with the return of Kubel, the two will be teammates for the first time. Arcia is one of the keys to the 2014 season for the Twins. What kind of player will he be? Will he hit for average? Will he be a power guy with the potential for 30 home run seasons? Can he hit left-handed pitching? If he’s in right field, will his defense look better? Kubel came to the Twins on a minor league contract after a difficult, injury-plagued 2013 season (split between Arizona and Cleveland). In 2012, he hit 30 doubles and 30 home runs while driving in 90 runs for the Diamondbacks. He turns 32 in late May, so he’s not young, but he is not yet old. If healthy, he could provide power in the middle of the Twins lineup. Sure, he may never post an .800 OPS again, but he might still be a very solid contributor. Does Josh Willingham have anything left? In 2012, Willingham put together arguably the best season of his career when he hit .260 with 30 doubles, 35 homers and 110 RBI. In 2013, he was hurt and needed a knee surgery that cost him time and production. While Kubel is just 31 on Opening Day, Willingham will need to show that he’s got anything left in the tank at 35. He is in the last year of his three-year contract. In spring training, his numbers certainly didn’t indicate that there was much left. However, how long have we been preaching how meaningless spring stats are? But can he physically hold up? His 76th hit of the season will give him 1,000 for his career. His 19th home run will give him 200 for his career. Taking the Next Step? Which Brian Dozier will we see in 2014? The one we saw in 2012 and the first two months of 2013, or the one we saw after May of last year who was one of the most productive second basemen in all baseball? Last year, his 18 home runs led the team and was the most for a Twins second baseman in their history. Will he be able to hit that many homers in 2014? More important, will he be able to be more consistent throughout the 2014 season, especially in terms of getting on base. Trevor Plouffe set career-highs in 2013 with a .254 batting average and a .309 on-base percentage. With Miguel Sano out for 2014, Plouffe just needs to remain healthy to get the majority of at bats at the hot corner. He may never have a stretch like he did in June of 2012, but can he show more consistent power production? He got bigger in the offseason, so I am optimistic. The Youth Josmil Pinto, who turns 25 years old today, is on the opening day roster along with Kyle Gibson, Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks. Michael Tonkin is with the Twins for Opening Day as well as a replacement for Brian Duensing who will be on paternity leave. Although we won’t see Miguel Sano in 2014, it is possible that we do see several top prospects. The odds of seeing Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario have reduced, but we could still see Meyer, May, and Danny Santana. Matt Hoffman and Lester Oliveros are still 25 while Deolis Guerra is just 24 on Opening Day. Other Reachable Milestones With two wins this season, Ron Gardenhire will reach the 1,000 win total for his career. His career record coming into the season is 998-949. 1,000 wins will tie him for 59th place all the all-time manager list with former Twins player Charlie Manuel. If the Twins can win 67 games this season, he will tie Frank Robinson for 51st place. If Glen Perkins can save 35 games for the Twins in 2014, he will pass Mike Marshall, Ron Perranoski and Al Worthington into 6th place on the Twins all-time saves list. If Ricky Nolasco can win 11 games this year, he will reach 100 career wins. Up here in Northern Minnesota, it’s possible we will be ‘blessed’ with another foot or more of snow on Monday. Happy Opening Day, Minnesota! Beside to help forget about the weather, there is another reason to watch the Twins at 3:00 in Chicago. Did you know that the Twins have never lost a regular season game in March? They are 2-0 all-time on March 31! So… good luck, Chris Sale! You’re going to need it!

First things first... Happy 2014 Minnesota Twins Opening Day to the Twins Daily community! As the 2013 season came to yet-another frustrating end, many Twins fans found baseball difficult to watch. Many Septembers, prospects are called up and fans can catch a glimpse of the future. Last September, Twins fans got to see catcher Josmil Pinto make a strong first impression.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] However, other September call-ups were journeymen. I recall telling anyone who would listen that it was a tough to watch, but we knew there would be many more reasons to watch in 2014. Yet, as this season opens, there is a lot of negativity surrounding the Twins, even more than the last couple of seasons. So, what happened? Where did all this negativity come from? In my opinion, the day the attitude for the 2014 season changed is the day Miguel Sano fielded a slow roller and made an off-balance throw to first base. Since then, we found out he needed Tommy John surgery, had the surgery and will miss most of the season. After Sano hit 35 home runs between Ft. Myers and New Britain in 2014 and showed enough improvement defensively at third base that many, myself included, thought he would be up with the Twins no later than July. Who knows? With the Twins offense this spring, maybe it would have been as early as May! He was generally ranked among the Top 10 prospects in all baseball. The concern really started after playing just two games in the Dominican Winter League. He was shut down with a strained UCL. Many, myself included (and apparently Dr. James Andrews), chose to believe that because he was a position player the elbow could be rested, and he could come back and play at 100% in 2014. And then came that slow roller. And surgery. And the big cast over his arm. Photo by Nick Nelson (found on Twins Daily Facebook page) Sure, he'll pick up a bat in early August and could get a couple at-bats in GCL games before the end of the year, but he will (without something crazy happening) not make his big league debut until early in the 2015 season. I truly believe when fans found out that Miguel Sano would not be promoted this season, optimism for 2014 dropped. Of course, at the same time we heard about Miguel Sano being shut down in the Dominican, reports came out of Puerto Rico that Eddie Rosario would likely face a 50-game suspension. The second baseman had a very strong 2013 season. He began the year in Ft. Myers and he was promoted to New Britain the same day as Sano. Rosario more than held his own at AA. Before spring training began, news came out that he officially had been suspended, but not for a PED. Instead, he was suspended for a drug of abuse. This meant he had previously failed a drug test and got caught again. My personal thought was that his season would begin in late May, possibly with a handful of games in Ft. Myers. He would quickly move up to New Britain and could still be called up in August or September. However, when minor league spring training started in early March, we learned that Rosario had been given permission by the club to report late. Rumors were rampant as to what the drug of abuse was and where he was during this time. Well, as minor league spring training is now complete (and his suspension begins), he has still not reported. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but the level of concern is certainly higher at this point. Again though, we most likely will not see him until 2015. Byron Buxton dominated as a 19 year old at Cedar Rapids and in Ft. Myers. In the offseason, he was the consensus #1 prospect in all baseball and was invited to big league camp. Although he didn’t hit much in big league camp, there was no question about his talent and his future. Again, Jeremy Nygaard and I talked (on the Twins Hangouts podcast) about how we felt there was a chance Buxton could play in the Futures Game at Target Field and stick with the team. To be fair, that was probably a little over-aggressive. However, the thought was not completely out of the realm of possibility. Unfortunately, in mid-March, on a back field in minor league camp, he made a diving catch in a game and hurt his wrist. After further evaluation, it was decided he will start the season on the disabled list and likely miss at least two weeks at the start of the season. My assumption is he will get at least a handful of games with the Ft. Myers Miracle to start his season before moving up to New Britain (where he would otherwise have started his season). The delayed start (and hopefully it is only two to three weeks) changes my thinking. I thought he could make a July/August debut. Now, I think he’ll spend the entire season at New Britain (again, after those initial games with the Miracle). That is not a bad thing at all, far from it. It’s just that instead of debuting as a 20 year old in 2014, he will likely debut in the middle of the 2015 season. As those three situations were happening with three of the Top Five Minnesota Twins prospects, top pitching prospect Alex Meyer is pitching after missing two months last season. Of course, it didn’t help much that the Twins offense did pretty much nothing during spring training games. Over time, more and more concern about the Twins offense (or lack thereof) was voiced publicly. So again, I am of the opinion that optimism for 2014 was not about the major league team suddenly winning 80 games or competing for a division title. The cause of optimism was that some key building blocks for the future would get their first glimpse of big league ball and go through their rookie season ups and downs so that in 2015 they could improve even more and maybe the Twins would start competing. I don’t think the upside and potential of the prospects is any less now than it was two months ago, but I do think the timeline has unfortunately been pushed back a year. In my opinion, these minor leaguer situations have affected the enthusiasm of the Minnesota Twins fans. The Twins went out and added a couple of pitchers in Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes. However, they did little to improve the offense. I believe a big reason for that is because of the belief that with Sano and Rosario (along with Aaron Hicks and Josmil Pinto, and eventually Danny Santana and Byron Buxton), the changing of the guard would be taking place. The lack of offense in spring training certainly didn’t help the enthusiasm and hope of Twins fans. One can’t help but wonder what ticket sales would look like this year if not for hosting the All-Star Game in July.

As most of you know, I have now been blogging about the Minnesota Twins for past 11 years (in May). Until we started TwinsDaily.com just over two years ago, I was at SethSpeaks.net. Tonight, I was looking through the Archives of SethSpeaks.net and back in late 2005, I had a series I called Why Baseball? Several readers of the site submitted essays on what it is about baseball that captures them. In fact, I know that a couple of Twins Daily readers sent in their submissions. As I read some of the articles and the forums here at Twins Daily and see so much negativity, I thought it was time to go back and ask Twins Daily readers to submit their thoughts on what it is about baseball that draws you in. Did you play baseball? To what level? Is it the stats? The history?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The follow-up question on this Twins-related site is what is it that keeps you being a Twins fan despite the struggles? What are your early memories? Like I said, I tire of the same old discussions about the same negative topics day after day. And yes, I’m not naïve. I understand that things haven’t been good and one of the beauties of watching baseball is that it looks so easy. Most everyone has played Little League baseball, and many get the opportunity to play in high school. So, it’s easy to second-guess every move on the field and in the front office. It’s fun to play Monday Morning Quarterback 162 games each season. So, what was it for me? My dad played amateur baseball when I was very young. We have pictures of myself wearing a diaper and a glove at my dad’s games. (No, I will not post them here.) But, my dad – and my mom – played catch in the front yard almost every day from the day the snow was (almost) gone until the snow started again. We watched baseball games on TBS (hence my Claudell Washington fandom). We saw Cubs games on WGN. I loved when they had double-headers. I played games that I wonder if I would let my kid play. At the house, there were four steps in front of the front door. I would take a baseball, from 30 feet away, and throw the ball toward the steps. Usually it would hit the cement steps and bounce back to me as a ground ball. If I hit the cement at a corner, it would come back to me as a line drive or even a pop up. Often, I hit the front door. There were so many dents in that door. I played a game against myself. I would pretend to be the Atlanta Braves. I knew the lineup. Brett Butler. Bruce Benedict. Dale Murphy. Biff Pocaroba. Basically, I would throw popups to myself, as high as I could. For most players, I would catch the popup and it would be an out. Of course, when Claudell Washington “came to bat,” popups were often dropped, or I would try to make the catch behind my back. My brother and I played catch in the back yard. One would be the pitcher, and the other would be the catcher. The catcher would stand up, and if the pitch was caught within an inch or so of our body, from the knees to the letters, it was a strike. We would play six or seven inning games, throwing fastballs, changeups, and curve balls, taking turns pitching and catching. I remember when Kirby Puckett got called up. I was eight years old, and truth be told I can’t imagine I liked him for any reason other than his cool name. I remember waking up the next year and my mom excitedly telling me that Puckett had hit his first major league home run. I was in 7th grade during the 1987 playoffs. For Game 7, I watched the game all by myself in the basement on a snowy, black-and-white TV, because I couldn’t handle the pressure of watching with anyone else. In 1991, I was a junior and it was just as exciting. I remember “And we’ll see you tomorrow night.” I went to college and played a couple of years of baseball. For the first time in my life, I was on the bench. That was hard, but it allowed me to watch the game from an entirely different perspective. I learned a new way to keep the scorebook. I learned to look at each situation and scenario in a game from a different angle. I could see it from a player perspective, but gained a respect and understanding for the work that coaches and a managers do. But, for a while, I stepped back from the game. But once college was done, and I had an 8-5 job and didn’t have college homework anymore, I dove back into baseball and the Twins headfirst and haven’t looked back. Through writing at SethSpeaks.net and now at Twins Daily, it’s been an incredible perspective. To get the feedback, positive and negative, from readers is what it’s all about for me. Trust me when I say I learn more from the readers and commenters than I can give to them. It has also provided me with the opportunity to meet so many players, coaches, front office types that I normally wouldn’t have. I enjoy following the Twins organization for so many reasons and getting to know so many of the people gives me a better perspective yet. To watch a player go from being drafted, through the levels of the minor leagues and reach that dream is really quite something. When I hear or read people say something like “Player is is a terrible baseball player,” I shake my head. Even the guys that get a cup of coffee in the big leagues are amazing baseball players. As I’ve written in past Prospect Handbooks, I was your typical high school player who hit .420 for four years and played shortstop and pitched. Blah, Blah, Blah. I went to a Division III school and couldn’t hack it. Those players are very good. So, how good are the guys who get to play on Division I teams. Now consider that most Division I players don’t get drafted. How good are the players in Low A, or High A? You have to be remarkable, elite, to just get to AA. The respect I have for all of the guys I write about is immense, and I love to tell their stories. Sure, it’s fun to see a guy like Byron Buxton who has a chance to debut in 2014 as a 20 year old after being a top first round pick and getting a huge signing bonus. However, what makes me want to do this from day to day are the stories like Tommy Watkins', who spent 10 or 11 years in the minor leagues before getting his cup of coffee. I enjoy telling the stories of Eric Fryer and James Beresford as much as I enjoy writing about Kohl Stewart. Getting to know a guy like Chris Colabello and the perspective he has on the game of baseball is really something that makes you want to see him succeed. Talk to Andrew Albers about the opportunity that the Twins gave him and learn what it is to love the game of baseball and have a strong passion for the game. So there you have it… a small piece of what I love about baseball, the Minnesota Twins and now writing about the organization. Before I turn it over to you, I asked three guys what it is about baseball and a career playing the game. First, I talked to Trevor Plouffe. He is one of the more charismatic personalities that I’ve had the opportunity to meet. His response may surprise you some. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BdXiYMf-Eo Next, I talked to Jermaine Mitchell who had a strong showing in big league camp. Of course, earlier this week, the Twins released him and he will get another opportunity elsewhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI6GeuvoE-g Finally, I had a chance to ask Tommy Watkins about what it is about baseball for him. He is one of the best ambassadors of the Minnesota Twins and especially the Cedar Rapids Kernels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZJG7LWCea8 Yes, the Twins have had some rough seasons of late, but you’re all still coming to Twins Daily. Yet you’re still here, frequenting this Twins-related site, and we appreciate that. But now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear and ready YOUR stories. So, what is it about baseball? What is it about the Minnesota Twins?

One week from today, the Minnesota Twins will be in Chicago, ready to take on the White Sox on Opening Day. This Monday morning was a difficult one for many in the Twins clubhouse as another round of roster cuts sent ten players to minor league camp. Matt Guerrier was given his unconditional release and is now a free agent. Chris Herrmann, Michael Tonkin, and Ryan Pressly were optioned. Meanwhile, Matt Hoffman, Aaron Thompson, Deolis Guerra, Deibinson Romero, Doug Bernier, and Wilkin Ramirez were reassigned to minor league camp. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The team is now down to 29 players in big league camp including three non-roster players (Dan Rohlfing, Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett). Rohlfing is again around as an extra catcher until right before Opening Day, as he was a year ago. Jason Kubel appears to be a lock for the roster. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett remains in camp despite some rough offensive numbers. This, to me, isn't about him being the utility infielder. It would appear that Eduardo Escobar has that locked up. I can't help but wonder if the Twins might view him as a possible backup centerfielder, and if so, maybe Alex Presley's roster spot is not a given. Although Michael Tonkin and Matt Hoffman each made a strong impression in Twins camp, both will begin the season in Rochester, ready to be promoted when necessary. Ryan Pressly, who had a nice showing in 2013 as a Rule 5 selection, was also sent to Rochester. Chris Herrmann's demotion is a bit of a surprise. It signals that Josmil Pinto will make the team and that Ron Gardenhire will find a way to keep him in the lineup. Who's Left? (29 players - 16 hitters and 13 pitchers) Catchers - Kurt Suzuki, Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing (NR) Infielders - Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon, Trevor Plouffe, Eduardo Escobar, Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee, Jason Bartlett (NR) Outfielders - Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Alex Presley, Oswaldo Arcia, Jason Kubel (NR) Pitchers - Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Gibson, Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony Swarzak,

Like everyone else, I have read the reports on Kohl Stewart. Big fastball. Very good curveball. Developing changeup, and quite possibly, the best slider in the organization. I ranked him #4 in my personal Top 30 Twins prospect lists, and he also was the #4 choice in the Top 10 Twins Prospect rankings. I got to see him pitch three innings in a minor league spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays Class Low A affiliates the other day. After the game, I had the opportunity to talk to him for five minutes to learn a little bit more.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As we all know, Stewart was a terrific high school quarterback in Texas. He was one of the top quarterback recruits in the entire country. However, he also had a fastball that reached 97 mph and at least three other quality pitches. Because of that, the Twins selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Stewart signed quickly with the Twins, giving up that scholarship to Texas A&M. This past fall, instead of getting ready for a football season (likely redshirting since Johnny Manziel was the starting QB at Texas A&M), he went to the Twins Florida Instructional League and learned more about pitching. Was it strange for him not to be wearing the helmet and shoulder pads? Did he miss football? Stewart said, “No. I was still able to hang around it. I hung out with all my buddies. Chilled out with my family and had a good time.” In Friday’s game against the Rays, Stewart showed off a couple of dominant pitches. His fastball sat around 92-94 and touched 95. His curveball was devastating to hitters, and he recorded four strikeouts. He also showed a couple of changeups. However, his best pitch is generally considered his slider. The Twins (and most teams) do not wanting their young pitchers throwing too many slider. In fact, he did not throw a slider in the outing. He’s still young and really hasn’t thrown a lot of innings in his life because of football. He’s working on other things this spring. He said, “Fastball command. Really working on the curveball, which I threw today, and the two-seam fastball.” In Ft. Myers, he has a lot of good teachers around, excited to work with him. Stewart mentioned that “Ivan (Arteaga) has been working with me a lot. Just in the two times I’ve thrown with him, he’s helped me a lot. Raz (Twins minor league pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen) has always been in my ear about certain stuff. I think both of them have helped me a lot.” But others have helped him get to this stage in his life as well. When asked who has helped him get to this point, he said, “It’s been a lot of people. A lot of people. Dennis Fay, who I work out with in the offseason has been real big for me. It’s just kind of been a lot of people.” As far as where he spends the 2014 season, he isn’t too worried about that. He understands that it isn’t something he can control, but that he can be instrumental in what the team decides to do. He said, “Not really up to me. I’m just trying to refine myself as much as I can, command my stuff as well as I can. After that, it’s up to them.” On Friday, he started for the Cedar Rapids work group, but he was followed in the game by a couple other young Twins prospects, Fernando Romero and Lewis Thorpe. There are other strong young arms in the Twins lower levels, and they’re all working together well. Stewart said, “I think we all kind of help each other out. To be honest with you, I think there are a lot of guys in the system that are really good, that help each other out.” When Stewart signed, he and fellow 2013 draftee Stephen Gonsalves came to Target Field and were able to meet go to the clubhouse and on the field, and meet many in the organization. “I met (Joe) Mauer. I met (Justin) Morneau. I met a lot of guys in the clubhouse that day. Go to talk to Bert Blyleven. All those guys.” The is a lot that goes with being a top draft pick, and it can’t be easy for someone so young. “There’s a lot of Twins people that have been here a long time. They kind of expect a lot of things out of the guys they draft. I think there’s definitely an expectation. The guys that they’ve drafted in the last two years have been… the numbers they’ve been putting up… Like Buxton, I think there’s definitely an expectation that’s carrying itself up to the big leagues.” Is Kohl Stewart feeling that pressure already? “Oh yeah, I definitely feel it in the locker room, and around the other minor league guys. Everybody wants to win, and do well, and move up. So, I think everybody’s kind of feeding off of that for now.” Growing up in Houston, Stewart grew up an Astros fan and went to several games. “Got to see Clemens, I mean, that run they made in 2005 team was fun. Those guys were kind of staples growing up.” Of course, things have changed for Stewart in the last year. His allegiances lie elsewhere. “I’m a Twins fan now… for good!” Most likely, he will remain in Ft. Myers and work with the players in Extended Spring. It is certainly possible that he could be in Cedar Rapids sometime in 2014. As he grows on the mound and off of it, he has the chance to move quickly. Whether he debuts with the Twins in 2017 or 2018 or 2019, it is most important that when he comes up, he’s ready. His star certainly shines bright. There’s no question about that. For now, Stewart is among 75 or more pitchers working hard in minor league camp, just waiting to find out where they will begin their 2014 season. Stewart remains focused on the things he can control. “I’m trying to take as much as I can from as many pitchers as I can. Hoping I can be as good as I can.” That could be really good!

The Minnesota Twins made eight cuts on Sunday morning and their roster is now at forty players. Some of the moves certainly make some of the opening day roster choices more clear, but there are still several questions that need to be answered. Here is my third version of a Twins Opening Day roster projection. It is based on the players currently on the roster, though I do expect the Twins to make a trade before opening day gets here.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As a reminder, the players in red are those that I believe are givens to make the roster (obviously, pending no injury). Those in black are those whose spots on the roster are uncertain. Catchers (2): Kurt Suzuki, Chris Herrmann With Eric Fryer sent to minor league camp on Sunday, it means that Chris Herrmann and Josmil Pinto will be competing to back up Kurt Suzuki. They have indicated they want Pinto to be able to play most every day which makes Herrmann a pretty likely opening day roster guy. Infielders (5): Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Eduardo Escobar, Chris Colabello The demotion of Danny Santana certainly indicates the club feels Pedro Florimon will be ready for opening day. The starters remain set, and Eduardo Escobar is a given (in my opinion). I have added Chris Colabello to the opening day roster because of his bat. If you believe the Twins need a big, powerful right-handed bat, then it has to be Chris Colabello. Outfielders (6): Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Alex Presley, Chris Parmelee, Jason Kubel I’ve changed things here too, but these are really a tough positions when it comes to predicting who will make it. Willingham is a given. I’ve actually altered my thinking and now think that Aaron Hicks will be the primary centerfielder which makes Alex Presley the backup. Oswaldo Arcia will likely be starting right fielder. I am less and less certain that Jason Kubel is a given at this point than I was a month ago and Parmelee/Colabello could take over DH duties. I still have Kubel on the roster though, for now. Starting Pitchers (5): Kevin Correia, Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Mike Pelfrey, Sam Deduno No change at the top of the starting pitching ranks. The top four will make it. It’s also becoming more and more clear that Sam Deduno is the favorite for the fifth starting job. Scott Diamond had a solid outing yesterday against the Mets B team, though he also walked three. The Twins were happy with the improvement Vance Worley made in his most recent outing. After a rough, long first inning on Friday, Kyle Gibson settled down. I do have Deduno as a given, though I’m not 100% certain he will be the fifth starter (only like 90%). Bullpen (7): Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Anthony Swarzak, Caleb Thielbar, Vance Worley Perkins signed his extension and he’s a given. Fien and Swarzak are givens. There are rumblings that the Twins could deal a reliever or two by opening day, though obviously that’s a matter of two teams coming together and finding something that makes sense. I still think Caleb Thielbar is the front runner for the second lefty reliever, but I think the Twins really like Matt Hoffman, and Aaron Thompson as well. I think Vance Worley and Scott Diamond will compete over these final two weeks for one spot. That said, Michael Tonkin has been impressive as well so far in camp. If the Twins could deal maybe Burton and/or Duensing, Tonkin and Hoffman would get a shot. What are your thoughts? What does your roster look like with two weeks to go?