Seth Stohs

On Monday, the Twins reassigned RHP Brendan Wise to minor league camp. Tuesday morning, the Twins optioned OF Joe Benson and RHP Jeff Manship. They also reassigned INF Pedro Florimon and C Rene Rivera. None of the moves are completely surprising, and yet it further cements some of the roster spots that remain up for grabs. Benson had a terrific showing in big league camp. His defense shone as he made it clear that he is the organization's top all-around defensive centerfielder. His aggressiveness and hustle are a mainstay, and that's why it was so surprising yesterday when he popped a single to right and only got to 1B. Offensively, it was a struggle early in camp to make contact, but that improved as more games were played. Look for Benson to play a lot of centerfield in Rochester and be ready to help the Twins when needed. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Manship also had a very solid camp. He was very good in all but one outing this spring. The right-hander has improved his slider, making it a big strikeout pitch, and will likely work out of the bullpen in Rochester because that would be his future role with the Twins. It was believed that Manship, Alex Burnett, Kyle Waldrop, Jeff Gray and Casey Fien were 'battling' for the one remaining bullpen spot (behind Capps, Perkins, Swarzak, Duensing, Burton and Maloney). Florimon had a nice camp in that he showed his defensive prowess. He didn't hit much, but did have some extra base pop in AA last year in the Orioles organization. He was battling for a utility infield spot with Michael Hollimon and Sean Burroughs. Rene Rivera played as well (or better) than other backup catcher candidates JR Towles and Drew Butera, but he is the first one sent to minor league camp. It is still uncertain if Manager Ron Gardenhire will choose to carry three catchers on his roster or not. With Scott Baker's struggles and the Jason Marquis personal matter, Liam Hendriks remains on the roster in case the team needs someone to make some early season starts. The team is now at 34 players in big league camp with another nine needing to come off of the roster before the season starts on April 6.

On Saturday, Luke Hughes went 5-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. On Sunday, he went 2-3 with another home run. That raised his spring training numbers to .385/.429/.795 (1.223) with four doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI. When the 2011 season ended, TwinsCentric released its Offseason GM Handbook. In my offseason blueprint, I suggested that Luke Hughes be the Twins second baseman in 2012 with Alexi Casilla moving back to the utility role. I targeted Clint Barmes for shortstop, but the Twins signed Jamey Carroll and Barmes went to the Pirates (and I still really like the Carroll signing). [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Coming into spring training, Hughes was injured. He had a shoulder injury while playing in his hometown, Perth, in the Australian Baseball League. He went from being out of options and a likely bench role to questions about if he could start the season on the DL. Some even asked if he would clear waivers should the Twins decide to remove him from the 40 man roster. And now, I have to bring a question back to the Twins Daily readers; Should Luke Hughes be the Twins starting second baseman? Do spring training statistics mean anything? Consider that in 2011, Hughes hit .246/.265/.569 with three doubles and six home runs. He was the final cut, but it wasn’t long before he was called back up to the Twins where he hit .223/.289/.338 (64-287) with 12 doubles and seven home runs. Spring Training is such a small sample that generally it doesn’t offer any suggestion on regular season success. If you are looking for one nugget to believe that his 2012 is different, check out his walk to strikeout rate. Last spring, he walked twice and struck out 17 times. This season, he has three walks and five strikeouts. And frankly, if spring training statistics mean something, Casilla is hitting .355/.429/.387. When it comes to defense, the assumption is that Casilla is significantly better than Hughes, and for me, it would be hard to argue. Hughes has never been known for his glove, and with Casilla’s speed, we assume he has more range. UZR is just one way to look at defense, and frankly, it’s probably not the best when comparing a single season. Alexi Casilla’s 2011 UZR at 2B was 0.9 and his UZR/150 was 2.2. Luke Hughes 2011 UZR at 2B was 1.3 while his UZR/150 was 4.9. When it comes to offense, Casilla and Hughes are like night and day. Casilla is a speedster with little power in his bat. Hughes is not swift-of-foot, but he does have tremendous power. Casilla is a switch-hitter, while Hughes bats right handed. Casilla puts the ball in play 2.5 times more frequently than Hughes. Neither has really been a beacon of health in their careers. Because they are such different players, it is not an easy decision. So, why would I advocate Luke Hughes as the Twins starting second baseman? Here are a few reasons: Casilla has had a lot of opportunities as a starter. I’m not saying that he doesn’t deserve to be the starting second baseman in 2012. After a horrible first six weeks to his 2011, he played well the rest of the season. However, Luke Hughes has never been given an opportunity at an every day job. It may prove that he doesn’t deserve it, but I would take my chances. Secondly, Casilla’s best season overall was in 2010 when he was the Twins utility infielder. As the roster sits right now (with Hughes as the utility infielder), there really is not a backup shortstop. In fact, the backup shortstop would probably be Casilla, but that is something Gardy typically does not like to do. Instead of forcing someone like Pedro Florimon onto the roster, Casilla can just be the utility player. From a roster management standpoint, Casilla as utility infielder certainly makes more sense. Third, the Twins regular lineup contains Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, the switch-hitting Ryan Doumit and occasionally Ben Revere. Casilla is a switch hitter, but I think that adding another powerful right-handed bat could help even up the lineup. I don’t know how Luke Hughes would perform in an everyday role. Then again, I don’t know how Alexi Casilla will perform in an everyday role and we’ve seen that four or five times already. The best-case scenario would have him hitting 18-20 home runs in 500 plate appearances. If it doesn’t go so well, Brian Dozier is waiting in the wings and could be ready to come up by June and Hughes can return to a reserve role. I think the odds of Hughes being the regular starting second baseman is probably very low. Then again, I have already been surprised several times this spring. Chris Parmelee hit his way onto the Opening Day roster. Maybe Luke Hughes can hit his way into a starting job. --- Bonus Luke Hughes Trivia: Luke Hughes signed with the Twins in July of 2002. Only three players on the Twins 40-man roster have been in the Twins organization longer than Hughes. Who are they?

A lot of key information has been coming out of Twins camp on Sunday morning. First, Assistant GM Rob Antony appeared as a guest of Sunday Morning Sports Talk on 1500espn with Tom Pelissero and Jim Souhan. He said many things that I found interesting, but these are the three that stood out most to me: 1.) Maloney and Burton have separated themselves, so it's down to Manship, Burnett, Fien and Waldrop for ONE bullpen spot. 2.) Parmelee has forced his way onto the roster, so it's likely Butera, Towles, Burroughs, Florimon and Revere battling for TWO bench spots. Very interesting in that a.) 3rd catcher isn't a given, and b.) Revere is not a given. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Not long later, the Twins media core met with manager Ron Gardenhire and more information was set forth: Josh Willingham will be the Twins starting Left Fielder Denard Span will be the Twins starting Center Fielder Right Field will be up for grabs between Trevor Plouffe, Chris Parmelee and Ben Revere, although... Ben Revere will most likely be the team's 4th outfielder. That is a lot of information in starting to clear things up as rosters will likely be set within a week. Antony also commented that Plouffe likely would be available to play in 3-4 days. So, what do we make of it all? Parmelee has forced his way onto the roster. Right Field remains a question mark, but the biggest thing that needs to be answered is whether or not Justin Morneau will play 1B or just DH. That matters for where Parmelee plays most frequently. It also affects where Ryan Doumit plays, and how much, and in turn, it affects whether or not the Twins keep a third catcher. What do you think of it all? What surprises you most? What questions do these answers now present?

The last couple of weeks, Twins Daily readers have had the opportunity to vote for the preseason all-AL Central All Star Team. Here are those results: Catcher – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins First Base – Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers Second Base – Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians Third Base – Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers Shortstop – Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians Left Field – Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals Center Field – Denard Span, Minnesota Twins Right Field – Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins Designated Hitter – Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Now it is time to think about the preseason all-AL Central pitchers. Today, we’ll start with the starting pitchers. I’ll give you the 2011 stats for the starting five (or six) for each of the five teams in the division. In the poll, you will be able to vote for five, and in a few days, we’ll have our five preseason starting pitchers. MINNESOTA TWINS Scott Baker was amazing in 2011, well, until he got hurt. He is a very good pitcher, but based on his elbow problems last year and already this spring, will he hold up? Francisco Liriano is an enigma. He was terrific in 2010 and terrible in 2011. The differentiator? Watch his KK/B ratio and his BB/9. That’ll tell you all you need to know. Carl Pavano is a league average pitcher who eats innings and walks no one. Nick Blackburn probably isn’t as bad as we thing, at least not when he’s healthy. And Jason Marquis fits in the same category as Pavano and Blackburn. And Twins fans await Liam Hendriks arrival in the rotation! Scott Baker (30) – 8-6, 3.14 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 8.2 K/9 Francisco Liriano (28) – 9-10, 5.09 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 5.0 BB/9, 7.5 K/9 Carl Pavano (36) – 9-13, 4.30 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 4.1 K/9 Nick Blackburn (30) – 7-10, 4.49 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 4.6 K/9 Jason Marquis (33) – 8-6, 4.43 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 5.2 K/9 DETROIT TIGERS Justin Verlander’s incredible 2011 season earned him not only the AL Cy Young Award, but also the MVP award. Max Scherzer is very talented and should be better than his ERA indicates. Doug Fister is a control artist who was tremendous for the Tigers in the final months of the 2011 season. He relies on his defense and the Tigers won’t exactly have a strong defense in 2012. What will it mean? Porcello has been around forever and is still just 23 years old. He hasn’t improved which bring the required question, “Why rush young players?” That said, he is capable of being pretty good in any outing. The Tigers do have a question mark at fifth starter and Oliver and especially Turner provide some hope. Justin Verlander (29) – 24-5, 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9 Max Scherzer (27) – 15-9, 4.43 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.0 K/9 Doug Fister (28) – 11-13, 2.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 6.1 K/9 Rick Porcello (23) – 14-9, 4.75 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 5.1 K/9 Jacob Turner (20) – 4-5, 3.44 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.6 K/9 (AA/AAA) Andy Oliver (24) – 8-12, 4.71 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 8.8 K/9 (AAA) KANSAS CITY ROYALS Hochevar, a former #1 overall pick, has made his starts, but he is what he is, a slightly below average control pitcher. Bruce Chen is the subject of much mocking because he doesn’t throw hard, but he knows how to pitch and a look at his 2011 numbers show that he can be a decent pitcher. Jonathan Sanchez is very similar to Francisco Liriano. The lefty has no-hit stuff (And threw on like Liriano with a bunch of walks a couple years ago), but he is also so wild and very inconsistent. Paulino has primarily been a reliever and is likely a stop-gap to more of the Royals prospects. Duffy is a terrific talent who took his lumps in his rookie season. However, the lefty throws really hard and has good secondary stuff, so he could be a surprise. Luke Hochevar (28) – 11-11, 4.68 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 5.8 K/9 Bruce Chen (34) – 12-8, 3.77 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 5.6 K/9 Jonathan Sanchez (29) – 4-7, 4.26 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 5.9 BB/9, 9.1 K/9 (Giants) Felipe Paulino (28) – 4-6, 4.11 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 8.6 K/9 Danny Duffy (23) – 4-8, 5.64 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, 7.4 K/9 CLEVELAND INDIANS Ubaldo Jimenez pretty much better be good because Cleveland brought him in last year at the trade deadline (and traded Alex White and Drew Pomeranz and more to get him), hoping he would help them to a division title. Justin Masterson broke out in 2011 with a very good season and a lot of innings. Derek Lowe comes to Cleveland from Atlanta. He’s definitely seen his better days. Josh Tomlin was a surprise rookie performer in 2011 and showed incredible control. Kevin Slowey and David Huff are likely competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. Of course, how the Roberton Hernandez (aka, Fausto Carmona) situation plays out over the course of the season will affect the rotation as well. Ubaldo Jimenez (28) – 10-13, 4.68 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 8.6 K/9 Justin Masterson (27) – 12-10,3.21 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 6.6 K/9 Derek Lowe (38) – 9-17, 5.05 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, 6.6 K/9 Josh Tomlin (27) – 12-7, 4.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9, 4.8 K/9 Kevin Slowey (27) – 0-8, 6.67 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 0.8 BB/9, 5.2 K/9 Roberto Hernandez (28/31/?) – 7-15, 5.25 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 5.2 K/9 (aka Fausto Carmona) CHICAGO WHITE SOX The White Sox were supposed to be selling players all offseason and rebuilding, right? It didn’t happen, and their pitching staff in 2012 will most likely be filled with people who were in the organization in 2011. John Danks was involved in a lot of trade rumors, but the Sox were asking for way too much, so instead they signed him to a long-term deal. Can Jake Peavy stay healthy, and even if he is, what is his upside at this stage? Gavin Floyd remains in trade rumors, and he’s coming off of a solid 2011 season. Philip Humber finally showed a little of what made him the #3 overall pick in the draft all those years ago. Is he going to be able to keep it up? Chris Sale and his high-90s fastball and devastating slider move to the rotation. Moving dominant reliever types to the starting rotation makes sense in theory, but it doesn’t always work well in practice. How will he do? John Danks (26) – 8-12, 4.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.1 K/9 Jake Peavy (30) – 7-7, 4.92 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, 7.7 K/9 Gavin Floyd (29) – 12-13, 4.37 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 7.0 K/9 Chris Sale (22) – 2-2, 2.79 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, 10.0 K/9 Philip Humber (29) – 9-9, 3.75 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 6.4 K/9 So there you have it, the probable starters for the five American League Central Division teams. So now it’s time to vote. Again, which five pitchers do you think will have the best season in 2012? Vote for up to five! Note that we are limited to ten candidates for the poll. If you would like to vote for someone who is not in the poll, be sure to write it in!!

The past two weeks, I have attempted to project the Twins Opening Day roster. This week, we’ll try it again. I still believe that there are 20 “Givens” at this point, two weeks before Opening Day. I also believe that the five remaining positions are all pretty intriguing and could have several possibilities at this point, especially since there are some injury questions with Scott Baker and Justin Morneau. There are still 39 players in Twins big league camp which means 14 players need to be sent back down before the season starts. The manager, coaching staff and front office has some tough decisions. Terry Ryan stressed competition in spring training, and he has received that! The 40 man roster is not an issue as the Zumaya injury and Terry Doyle's return to the White Sox allows some flexibility too. (The players in Red are players that I believe are givens to make the roster (obviously pending injury). Those in black are potentially up for grabs. Discuss my selections and be sure to post your roster projections in the Comments as well.) [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Catchers: Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Drew Butera I switched from JR Towles back to Drew Butera. Frankly Butera hasn't done much, but JR Towles and Rene Rivera have not done anything to warrant being added to the 40 man roster to take the spot. Infielders: Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Danny Valencia, Jamey Carroll, Luke Hughes, Sean Burroughs Last Friday, I was still assuming that Tsuyoshi Nishioka would make the roster. He was sent down on Monday. That leaves the final spot on the roster for Burroughs, Michael Hollimon, Pedro Florimon, and Brian Dinkelman (especially since Ron Gardenhire has indicated the Brian Dozier will start the season in Rochester). Right now I give a slight edge to Burroughs (who is also not on the 40 man roster) because he bats left handed and although he doesn't have any power, he puts together solid at bats. I am curious how much playing time Florimon and Hollimon get over the next week. Florimon definitely has the best glove and arm of the three, but the lesser bat. Hollimon struggled with the bat last year between New Britain and Rochester, but he did hit 18 home runs. I like his bat best of the three because of the power, but he'll have to show he can play enough defense for a role player. Outfielders: Ben Revere, Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe No change. Starting Pitchers: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Jason Marquis No changes. Baker threw two scoreless innings in a AAA game on Thursday, but if he needs to start the season on the DL, Liam Hendriks has stepped up as the guy who would make a start or two if needed. Bullpen: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak, Jeff Manship, Kyle Waldrop, Matt Maloney The first four are givens. Terry Doyle was sent back to the White Sox. I really believe that the final three spots are up for grabs between Manship, Waldrop, Maloney and Jared Burton. For some reason, I sense that Alex Burnett isn't completely out of the competition and if he pitches well over the next ten days, he could earn a spot again. I would also add that Jeff Gray is on the 40 man roster and out of options. I'm not certain why he has pitched so few innings in "A" games this spring, but I have to believe that because he's out of options, he'll at least be given some innings the next week or so. For this week's projections, I took Jared Burton out and put Jeff Manship back on. Maloney is pitching well and is out of options (is it fair, or unfair, to point out that he's having a very similar spring as Dusty Hughes had last year!). Manship and Waldrop have been pitching very well. They do have options remaining. Jared Burton has continued to be very good, but because he is on a minor league contract, he can be sent down. What are your thoughts? Discuss what your roster looks like?

On Thursday morning, the Twins front office performed one of their most difficult tasks. They informed six minor league players that their dream of playing in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins was at an end - that they had been released. I'd like to highlight the players released because they all put in some quality time in the Twins organization and deserve to be recognized once more as they exit the organization. Some of them may be able to hook on with another organization. Some may play some independent league baseball. Some may end their baseball dream all together and go another direction. In any case, I certainly wish the best to all of them. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Dan Osterbrock - He was the Twins 7th round pick out of Cincinnati. He signed quickly and was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year that summer when he went 7-0 with a 3.00 ERA, eight walks and 104 strikeouts in 75 innings. He tossed a no-hitter for the Beloit Snappers in 2010 and was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week twice in a row before pitching very well in Ft. Myers the rest of that season. He fought arm injuries throughout the 2011 season and hoped to rebound in 2012. Mike Tarsi - The 6-8 left-hander was the Twins 12th round pick in 2007 out of Connecticut. After struggling as a starter in Ft. Myers in 2010, he pitched out of the bullpen in 2011 with a good level of success. He even made a couple of appearances in Rochester when needed. Although he was tall, he did not throw very hard. Kane Holbrooks - He was an All-American at Texas State in 2009 when the Twins drafted him in the 21st round. In 2010, he began the season as the Beloit Snappers closer before moving up to Ft. Myers as a starter. He pitched so well that he ended the season in New Britain where he made a start. He went back to Ft. Myers to start 2011 and although he pitched well in April, he struggled the rest of the season. His season ended early and he came to camp this spring hoping to take a step forward in the eyes of the organization. Blayne Weller - The Twins drafted Weller out of his Key West high school in the 14th round of the 2008 draft. He signed in the last hour before the deadline. He teamed with Adrian Salcedo and BJ Hermsen and pitched great (5-1, 1.58 ERA) in the GCL in 2009. He struggled as a starter in 2010, and last year he struggled in the Beloit bullpen before ending the season making a couple of starts. Matt Schuld - He signed with the Twins after the 2010 season at the University of St. Thomas. He had an incredible career with the Tommies. He pitched well with the GCL Twins upon signing and held his own when he was pushed up to Ft. Myers. Last year, he quickly moved up to the Miracle and pitched well enough to be promoted to New Britain when there was a need. This one surprised me a little because he was a non-drafted free agent who got up to AA within a year of signing. Derek Christensen - This one surprised me more than any of the rest, by a lot. He was the team's 43rd round pick out of junior college in 2010. He debuted with the GCL Twins that year and posted a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. Last year, he spent half of the season in the E-Twins bullpen before moving into their rotation. He went 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA. In 57 innings, he walked 26 and struck out 61. At one point, he threw 19 consecutive scoreless innings as a starter. The 22-year-old throws from a 3/4 angle. I guess I'm just really surprised based on his numbers that he wouldn't at least get an opportunity to start the season in Beloit. Again, each of these pitchers put in some time in the Twins organization, and each of them experienced quite a bit of success. We certainly wish the best for them in whatever their next steps are. Unfortunately, these will not be the last of the minor league releases.