Seth Stohs

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.