Seth Stohs

It started on Tuesday with the catchers, and over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at the depth at each position throughout the Minnesota Twins organization. Today, I’ll look through the system’s first basemen. Joe Mauer and the Twins made the announcement in November, but starting in spring, he will officially be the first baseman of the Twins. He had been the primary catcher for a decade. Likewise, Justin Morneau had been the primary first [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]baseman (when healthy) for the team. Morneau was traded last August to the Pittsburgh Pirates and signed earlier this offseason with the Colorado Rockies. The Big Leaguers There is no question about it, Joe Mauer will be the opening day first baseman. He will, assuming good health, be near the top of the league in batting average and on-base percentage. The hope is that he will be able to play 155 or so games. That doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities at first base for Chris Parmelee or Chris Colabello. Parmelee, the Twins first-round pick in 2006, is out of options. He can play some first base and could play in the corner outfield positions, DH or pinch-hit. Parmelee has certainly shown glimpses of power, but consistency has been the issue. 30-year-old Colabello was signed from the independent leagues and in 2013 was the International League Rookie of the Year and MVP after putting up monster numbers in Rochester; he even showed power with the Twins. 40 Man Roster Besides the three players mentioned above, the Twins added two more potential first base options to their 40 man roster this offseason, Kennys Vargas and Max Kepler. The twenty year old Kepler has played a lot of outfield, including centerfield, in his young career. Obviously he will not be a centerfielder in the Twins system long-term (you know, because of Aaron Hicks and Byron Buxton). After spending the second half of the season in Cedar Rapids splitting time between the outfield and first base, he was invited to the Arizona Fall League where he played first base. At 6-4 and about 230 pounds, it may be his best position. Kepler is dwarfed by twenty three year old Vargas, who is about 6-5 and 260 (or so) pounds. He has immense power from both sides of the plate. Granted, he may never play first base in the big leagues as his best defensive position is likely designated hitter. However, he did work with Doug Mientkiewicz throughout the season in Fort Myers. The Century Club Dalton (DJ) Hicks, twenty three years old, was the Twins' 17th round pick out of the University of Central Florida in 2012. The 6-3, 230 pound Hicks was the cleanup batter for the Cedar Rapids Kernels for the first two-thirds of the season. He was promoted to Fort Myers where he continued to be a very productive hitter. His total of 110 RBI was the most in all minor league baseball. Prospect Rankings Kepler is certainly a Top 10-15 Twins' prospect. Vargas and Hicks are among the Top 30 Twins' prospects. Aside from these three, the top prospect is a guy who hasn’t yet made an official plate appearance in a game in professional baseball. In July, the Twins spent over $1 million on a big international free agent. Seventeen year old outfielder/first baseman/DH Lewin Diaz was given $1.4 million and the Twins hope he develops into a big-time slugger. The assumption is he will spend time with the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2014. Roster Projections In each installment, I’ll make my roster projections. Obviously additional signings or injuries will affect all of this, and that’s why it is important to have more than just two or even three at each level. There are also always players put on the disabled list. As a disclaimer, these are my projections and not meant to be used as anything official. This gives an idea of who could be at each affiliate at the start of the season. Minnesota: Joe Mauer, Chris Parmelee Rochester: Chris Colabello, Reynaldo Rodriguez New Britain: Kennys Vargas, CJ Ziegler Fort Myers: Dalton Hicks, Adam Bryant Cedar Rapids: Max Kepler, Bryan Haar Extended Spring Training: Lewin Diaz, (last year in the GCL their catchers played a lot of 1B when they weren’t catching) Feel free to discuss the players and the roster.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be taking a look at the depth by position throughout the Minnesota Twins organization. The majority of moves have been made. There could still be some minor league signings and there remain rumors of the Twins bringing in another starting pitcher. Today I will start with the catcher position. It has been a busy, rather interesting offseason for the Twins catching position.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The first news came in early November when the Twins and Joe Mauer announced that the all-star would be moving to first base permanently. In mid-December, the Twins traded Ryan Doumit to the Atlanta Braves, and a few days later they signed veteran Kurt Suzuki to a one-year deal. Here is a look at the catchers in the Twins system. The Big Leaguers Most would likely agree with Joe Mauer's decision to move to first base, but it would be naïve to believe that anyone will be able to fill his shoes. Mauer has been the guy behind the plate for a full decade. He’s won multiple Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and batting titles. Josmil Pinto put up some impressive numbers for the Twins in September after hitting well in both AA and a handful of games in AAA. Most believe he can be a solid hitter in the big leagues because of an advanced hitting approach. The questions about Pinto are clearly around his defense, and those concerns are legit. Chris Herrmann got some time behind the plate in 2013. His value comes from taking quality at-bats and versatility. Besides catcher, he can also play in the outfield. Eric Fryer is a 28 year old backstop. As poor as Pinto is behind the plate, Fryer is that good defensively. The one certainty to be on the Twins 25-man roster on opening day (assuming health) is recently signed Kurt Suzuki who is a solid, athletic defensive catcher. His decline phase came early due to catching over 145 games two straight years early in his career. The reality is that one of two scenarios will unfold. If Josmil Pinto has a strong spring training, he likely enters the season as the #1 catcher with Suzuki as his backup. My assumption is the Twins would love for this scenario to play out. However, if Pinto has a rough camp, or his defense shows no improvement, I believe Suzuki will be the starter with Fryer as his backup. Versatility Besides Herrmann, the Twins have a few other catchers in the organization who have the ability to move around the diamond, which increases their value. Dan Rohlfing has been invited to big league camp each of the past three seasons. He has played the corner outfield positions as well as first base. In high school, he primarily played third base. Tyler Grimes made the move to catcher in 2013 after being a shortstop the first two years of his career. He was solid in his first year behind the plate, but he still got a few games at second base. Finally, Jorge Fernandez was drafted out of Puerto Rico in 2012 as a catcher. There is discussion that he could be moved to the outfield in 2014 as he is a very good athlete. 2013 Draft Picks Maybe the Twins had an inkling that even if Mauer had not been have moved to first base in 2014, it was coming in the near future. That may have been a reason they chose to target some catching in the 2013 draft. They drafted three catchers in the first nine rounds. Stuart Turner was the Twins 3rd round pick as a junior out of Ole Miss while Mitch Garver was their 9th round pick as a senior from New Mexico. They were two of the three finalists for the 2013 Johnny Bench Award, given to the top catcher in college baseball; Turner was the winner. Turner is known for his defense, but he hit nearly .400 during his collegiate season. Alex Swim was a late round pick out of college. He was also a nominee for the Johnny Bench Award. The Twins used a 6th round pick to take prep catcher Brian Navarreto. He is a big athlete who has a chance to be the best of the bunch. Prospect Rankings As far as who the top catching prospects are in the system, it is clear that Josmil Pinto is head and shoulders above the rest of the group. Beyond that, Navaretto and Turner are guys that I rank in the 30s, and for very different reasons. Turner is a college catcher whose ceiling is solid starter. His floor is solid, long-term backup catcher. Navaretto has the world of potential, but he has a long ways to go. Roster Projections In each installment I’ll make my roster projections. Obviously additional signings or injuries will affect all this, and that’s why it is important to have more than just two or even three at each level. There are also always players put on the disabled list. So again, most likely there won’t be four catchers at Cedar Rapids, but this gives an idea of who could be at each affiliate at the start of the season. · Minnesota: Kurt Suzuki, Eric Fryer · Rochester: Josmil Pinto, Chris Herrmann, Dan Rohlfing · New Britain: Kyle Knudson, Matt Koch · Fort Myers: Tyler Grimes, Jairo Rodriguez, Stuart Turner · Cedar Rapids: Mitch Garver, Michael Quesada, Bo Altobelli, BK Santy · Extended Spring Training: Jorge Fernandez, Brian Navaretto, Joel Polanco, Alex Swim Feel free to discuss the players and the roster.