Seth Stohs

Max Kepler got the news this morning that he was likely dreading, but expecting. He was optioned by the Twins and will report to minor league camp on Tuesday. He had gone 5-11 in his limited plate appearances in his first big league camp. Not a bad showing for a 21-year-old who played ball in Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2013. Though it was a short stint, Kepler did make an impression. Rob Antony said, “I think Max Kepler handled himself extremely well and had a good spring.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As you would expect given that Kepler was signed as a 16-year-old from Germany, it has taken him some time to move through the system. He spent a year in the GCL followed by two years in Elizabethton. Last year, he missed the first half of the season with an elbow injury. In 61 games, he hit just .237/.312/.424, but he displayed the tools that made him sought after as an amateur. He got an opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League last year and enjoyed the experience despite its challenges. “It was awesome. It was a real honor. But, the pitching was a lot more challenging out there. Maybe it’s because of the jump from A-ball to Fall League. Pitching was mind-blowing at first, just seeing how good they were. It was awesome being out there with players, as good as they are.” Over the winter, Kepler was able to spend two months in Germany with his family around the holidays. Otherwise, he spent his time in San Francisco working out. He went there with a plan. “Running, lifting in my legs. Didn’t do a lot of upper body like I had in the past. I felt too heavy on top.” In the past, Kepler has played around the outfield and at first base. In the Fall League, he played almost solely at first base. He thought that might be where he would spend a lot of time this spring, but he hasn’t. “Wherever they need me. They told me I was going to get a lot of work (at 1B) this spring, but I’ve been in the outfield every game. I love it out there, and I’m up for whatever.” Asked what his strengths were, Kepler has a very interesting response. “Thinking positive, right now. I’ve learned to think positive. I used to get frustrated at everything back when I was younger. If you think positive, everything will come. It’s a big thing in this game.” He understood that the answer might create follow-up, so he continued. “(I) get that question a lot. ‘What do you think your strengths are?’ Immediately you think of physicality; hitting, throwing. I’m just trying to balance all of that. Just trying to think positive and do the best I can.” When it comes to others, it’s understandable they would jump to the physical. Kepler stands 6-4 (at least) and 220 pounds (at least). He’s got quick hands, strength and power. He has decent speed for his size and plays solid defense. These are all things that aren’t lost on Rob Antony or the rest of the front office. Some people have looked past guys like Max Kepler, who has developed well. He’s got a tremendous body. He’s got a good swing. He’s athletic. He can play 1st or the OF.” Kepler has said, and did so again this morning, that he has been told that he will move up another level this year and play in Ft. Myers. Kepler had a strong showing in big league camp which will only bode well for him going forward. He has the tools and the projection. Now he’s had some exposure. It will be a big year for Kepler to start putting up some numbers as well, even in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League.

The Twins saw a couple of familiar faces on the other side of the diamond when they squared off against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon in Ft. Myers. However, at the end of the day, er.. game, there was no winner. The game ended after nine innings with a 1-1 tie in front of a Hammond Stadium record crowd of 8,764. Ben Revere reminded Twins fans of what they missed in the bottom of the fourth inning. Josh Willingham lined a ball to left-centerfield. Revere ran toward the gap and left his feet. He made one of his patented diving catches, parallel to the ground. It warranted cheers from the home crowd. He went 1-4 in the game.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It comes as the Twins still have a question at centerfield. “(Aaron) Hicks hasn’t been out there. (Alex) Presley’s been fine. (Darin) Mastroianni’s out there today,” Rob Antony continued before the game, “You’d always like the players to determine it for you if you’ve got an open competition. It’s a little tougher when no one separates themselves.” Also, former Twins pitcher Jeff Manship started on the mound for the Phillies. He is currently in a bit of a battle for the 5th starter job with Philadelphia. He gave up one run against the Twins, a first inning, RBI single off the bat of his former battery mate, Joe Mauer. It would prove to be the lone run for the Twins on the day. Mike Pelfrey was good through three. He uncharacteristically walked two, but did not allow a run or a hit over his three innings. Sam Deduno gave up only a bloop single and a walk. Kyle Gibson pitched better than his line. He gave up an unearned run on just one hit. He also walked a batter. Seven of the nine batters who put the ball in play against him hit the ball into the ground. He was sitting at 93-94 mph with the fastball with a slider in the mid-80s. Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out two on fastballs. He touched 97 a couple of times. Replay was again part of the storyline. In fact, Ron Gardenhire asked for replay twice in a matter of two batters. The first play was whether a Brandon Warring wild throw went out of play. The second was a play at home. Danny Santana threw home and Chris Herrmann thought he applied the tag. The home plate umpire disagreed. In both cases, the calls were not reversed. It wasn’t because of conclusive evidence, just that there aren’t as many cameras and angles at the spring training games as there would be in a regular season big league game. Sunday Twins Notes: I talked to lefty Logan Darnell shortly before he was told he would be sent down to minor league camp. He was very excited to have been added to the 40 man roster and has enjoyed his time with the Twins. He hopes to return to Rochester where he ended the 2013 season. In his first start with the Red Wings, he had a blister pop, said it was bleeding all over. At New Britain, he had finally reached a point where he was consistent, and consistently eating innings and succeeding. When he got up to Rochester, he had to make an adjustment. He said he just struggled with that consistency at the new level. He wants to correct that and hopes to debut sometime in 2014. Chris Colabello and I chatted a little this morning as well. I asked him about decision to remain with the Twins instead of signing in Korea where he would have been guaranteed (reportedly) about double the amount that he would make with the Twins in 2014 if he was on the roster the full season. However, he said it wasn’t about the money. “I basically paid to play independent league ball for all those years.” It reminds me of a guy in a similar situation who had the same opportunity. A year before he made his big league debut with the Phillies, Chris Coste was offered the opportunity to play in Korea. He said the money made it something to consider. However, he told me, “My goal isn’t to play in Korea, it’s to play in the big leagues.” You have to admire the sentiment. Aaron Hicks said that his elbow felt fine. Likely would be another day. Rob Antony said that with the day off tomorrow, he will likely play on Tuesday. The same is true for Oswaldo Arcia who took batting practice on Saturday. Pedro Florimon took a full round of infield on Saturday. On Sunday, he took a round of batting practice. Rob Antony said, “He’s going to hit off of live pitching in the next day or two and will likely be in games by the end of the week. His first game will probably be in three games or something.” Dan Rohlfing was the Twins 14th round pick in 2007 out of high school near St. Louis. He was a project. He played third base in high school and the Twins made him a catcher. He slowly worked through the Twins system. In recent years, he’s logged time in the upper levels of the minor leagues, splitting time between catcher and the outfield. He could have become a minor league free agent following the season, but when the Twins told him right away they wanted him back, he didn’t give it a second thought. He and his agent worked out the details to get him to the Dominican Republic where he was part of a championship. Once that was set, he was thrilled to sign back with the Twins. I talked to Adam Walker down at minor league camp for a while. The Wisconsin native spent some time around the holidays at his parent’s place. There was a big snow storm. He had to shovel. He soon returned to Jacksonville (where he went to college) where he spent the rest of his offseason. Talked to Luke Bard, who was married in January. Although he is listed on the DL on the minor league rosters, he says that his arm feels really good. The Twins have an off day on Monday. However, the minor leaguers will play their first games of the year. It will be Rochester against New Britain and Ft. Myers against Cedar Rapids.

The Twins just announced that 16 players were told this morning they will be sent to minor league camp. Seven 40 man roster guys were optioned. So were nine non-roster invitees, including the team's top three prospects. Byron Buxton homered yesterday and was sent down this morning. So was Miguel Sano, though that obviously comes as no surprise. In a bit of a surprise, Alex Meyer was also sent down. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins optioned lefties Logan Darnell, Edgar Ibarra and Brooks Raley. Right-hander Trevor May was also optioned. Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco were optioned as well. Those re-assigned to minor league camp (meaning guys not on the 40 man roster) included nine more players. Along with Meyer, Buxton and Sano, the team also sent pitchers Lester Oliveros, Yohan Pino down. Catchers Kyle Knudson, Matt Koch and Stuart Turner will soon report to minor league camp. Also, outfielder Chris Rahl. The Twins roster now consists of 48 players. They have 22 pitchers, five catchers, 12 infielders and nine outfielders. I spent time talking this morning with the three catchers who were sent down. Stuart Turner talked about his being a great opportunity for him, one he was very thankful for. Matt Koch was excited to learn from the likes of Terry Steinbach and work with some of the pitchers he did. This is Knudson's second big league spring training, so he knew it would be coming soon. I also talked to Max Kepler who said he has really improved his outlook and ability to handle struggles. Logan Darnell was enjoying his time in camp, learning a lot. He hopes to be in the Rochester rotation this year.

My flight arrived in Ft. Myers at about 5:00 p.m. local time on Friday night. Pick up the car. Find the lodging. Find something to eat. Crash. On Saturday morning, I actually was able to wake up after hitting snooze just twice. I was pretty proud of myself. Despite a GPS error that sent me the wrong direction, I was at Hammond Stadium by about 8:00 AM. The Twins bus to Dunedin had already taken off. No worries, I still put in six-and-a-half-hours of “Work.” Day One at Minnesota Twins spring training, for me, was a day to catch my bearings, get the lay of the land, and see a little bit of everything.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There were several that did not make the trek north to play the Blue Jays. Pitchers played long-toss on the main stadium and got their running in. There was an extended round of infield featuring Deibinson Romero, Jorge Polanco, Danny Santana, Kennys Vargas and Joe Mauer. One important thing to note is that Pedro Florimon participated in a full round of infield for the first time since his appendectomy. Kurt Suzuki could be seen in the main bullpen, working on blocking pitches in the dirt. Later, at Tom Kelly Field, Santana and Polanco were taking more ground balls off the bat of Paul Molitor. Jason Bartlett was taking grounders at second base. Joe Mauer took more ground balls at first base. He worked as though there was a runner on first base that he was holding on. He came off the bag to make plays. A couple of times, Tom Kelly came down the line and provided Mauer with additional pointers. With the new boardwalk overhead the whole conversation could be heard. Tom Kelly and Paul Molitor hitting fungoes on Tom Kelly Field. In the batting cages under the bleachers, Aaron Hicks and Alex Presley were taking cuts. Rod Carew was instructing. Later, Carew was working with them on drag bunting. He would be a good guy to do that! About 100 yards from Hammond Stadium, fans can find the minor league facilities. It is comprised of three full fields, a bullpen and a half-field. Of course, there is the newly-renovated clubhouse and training area for the minor leaguers as well, though I couldn’t see that. Work is also continuing on the dorms that Twins minor leaguers will be able to use as early as next spring training. Getting welcomed to Ft. Myers by Tommy Watkins is always nice too. About 9:30, the minor leaguers began to take the fields. The Cedar Rapids roster again went to City of Palms (Red Sox old facility) to work out due to space constraints. Players remaining broke into two groups, the hitters and the pitchers. In those groups, they did their stretching. Hitters did some base running drills as well. Soon, an incredibly controlled chaos broke out. One field had pitchers doing PFP (Pitchers Fielding Practice). The bullpen mounds were full. Infielders were all on one field and ground balls were hit from several angles. Outfielders worked on throws, but also took fly balls, line drives and ground balls, working on their footwork, throwing and routes. They came together and ran some infield practice that included the pitchers backing up bases. Catchers worked on blocking pitches in the dirt, coming from out of their stance to field bunts and throw, and a lot of footwork. Like I said, there is so much going on, yet it runs so smoothly. Mark Hamburger's terrific mustache doing some PFPs. Around 11:30, those minor leaguers went to grab some lunch. By 12:20, they were back on the field. It was time for batting practice. Three of the fields went about the same general process. A group of four hitters would take a good round of batting practice from a coach. Then, pitchers were brought in to face the hitters. Alex Wimmers throwing live batting practice. That is obviously a good thing and a necessity as players get set for their first games of the spring on Monday (against each other). Some pitchers did better than others. Some of the young pitchers showed their good and their bad. For instance, hard-throwing Fernando Romero was quite impressive. Yes, he throws very hard. I also saw the looks on the faces of hitters and coaches when he threw a couple sharp sliders. Romero was pitching to outfielder Zach Larson when a slider got away. It his Larson right square in the shoulder. He stepped out of the batter’s box and didn’t even wipe it off. When asked, he told an onlooker, “It was only a slider.” Fernando Romero throwing speed balls. The day came to an end around 2:30 for the minor leaguers. I can confirm that infielder Adam Bryant has decided to retire. The former ninth round pick suffered with injuries in 2012, and missed all but one inning of 2013. As I wrote last week, he was still suffering from the toe injury. It certainly is fun to see former Twins Doug Mientkiewicz, Chad Allen and Tommy Watkins coaching the players up. It’s very interesting to watch Gary Lucas, Stu Cliburn and Ivan Arteaga work with pitchers. There are a lot of Minnesotans at Hammond Stadium. There are also a lot of parents and families of players. I was fortunate. I started talking to a couple about how nice it was being down here after such a tough, long winter in Minnesota. Turns out, they were the parents of Caleb Thielbar. Soon after, I heard my name. It was AJ Pettersen’s mom. I asked how she knew it was me, and she said she watched the Twins Hangouts, at least those that AJ is in. AJ’s dad was also there. So was his younger brother Luke who recently announced that he will follow his brother and play baseball for the Gophers. It was also nice to see AJ’s wife again. Looking around and such, it is clear that there is a certain bond, of sorts, among parents of ball players. Twins Daily contributor AJ Pettersen taking a round of infield at shortstop. The weather was a common theme for more than the fans. It was a conversation with the players well. I talked to a few of the Minnesota players who just came down to Ft. Myers in the last week or so (Nate Hanson, Austin Malinowski), and the sentiment was the same. They are glad to be out of the snow. Minnesota native Austin Malinowski throwing live BP. I also talked to catcher Tyler Grimes who said he came to Ft. Myers a month ago because he “couldn’t do any work outdoors in Kansas.” Over the next week, I will be representing Twins Daily in Ft. Myers. John did a great job last week, and be sure to check out Twins Daily on Facebook to see his interview with Glen Perkins. I will also be at several of the Twins games and doing stories. However, as you likely hope and expect, I will attempt to follow the minor league side of things as well. Nick and Parker will take over in coming weeks. (by the way, I also posted many pictures on my Facebook page from spring training) Watching BP (L to R: Lance Ray, AJ Pettersen, Doug Mientkiewicz, JD Williams) The biggest thing I learned on day one for me was probably a pretty obvious thing. Yes, I took in a lot of baseball activity and enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the updates to the stadium and much more. But the biggest thing I learned… USE SUNSCREEN!!! We bought sunscreen on Friday night. I managed not to even think about it on Saturday morning. It was “only 51 degrees” (sorry again to those up north). I didn’t need it, right? WRONG!! My head is red. It hurts. Tomorrow, I will be loading on a bunch of sunscreen, and likely purchasing a Ft. Myers Miracle hat to don while outdoors down here. Lesson Learned! And now I can’t wait for Day 2!