Seth Stohs

On Sunday night, the paperback version of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2014 became available. On Tuesday night, the electronic pdf version became available for immediate download. As we have mentioned, Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I put a ton of work into it over the last couple of months. As has been mentioned, there are over 150 player profiles in the book, but I thought today I would share a few nuggets from some of the stories that were written.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As you know, I wrote articles on all four of my postseason minor league award winners. I selected Miguel Sano as the Hitter of the Year. Taylor Rogers was the Starting Pitcher of the Year while Tyler Jones was the Relief Pitcher of the Year. Finally, Jake Mauer was the Manager of the Year. Here are some blurbs of those articles: Minor League Hitter of the Year 3B Miguel Sano Jon Paley was the Director of Pelotero (and is working on the sequel, The Miguel Sano Story which you can read more about at http://miguelsanostory.com/). He talked about the movie and how Sano was selected. “When we started filming we were following 5 characters. We narrowed that down to (Jean Carlos) Batista and Sano who ended up in the movie. The first week we were there, we went to a very high profile showcase with most of the top prospects in the country. We met both Sano and Batista's trainer there.” He continued, “We were welcomed into Miguel's life by him and his whole family. We would spend most days filming at the field and the Sano house for hours. Whether it was working on the field or on the film Miguel had a dedication and a work ethic that is incredible to watch. Talent is one thing, but he's got the determination to take on any challenge.” Asked about Sano’s personality, Paley expressed that it did change some through the scandal. “Miguel has always been the kid with a sweet swing and a big smile. He is a goofy kid with a great sense of humor. When the age scandal began to effect his signing options you could start to see that demeanor change and Miguel take things more seriously. It was really the first stage of his transformation from being a kid to a grown up.” ---------------------- Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year LHP Taylor Rogers He caught the attention of Twins scouts. He was the team’s 11th round pick in 2012. “During the draft, it was a possibility that the Twins were interested, but I just wanted to be taken at some point. After it all settled in, I was very thankful that it was the Twins because of their reputation with developing minor league players and drafting well-rounded individuals.” Tim O’Neil is a Twins scouts and a national cross-checker. He saw Rogers pitch several times. Regarding Rogers, O’Neil said, “He was a three year starter, and we saw him pitch a lot. His stuff was light, but he knew how to pitch and compete. His hits per nine were high, but he had pitches, and he threw it over. He threw 87 to 88 with lighter spin at the SEC tourney which may be a reason for the slide. His stuff is all a grade higher now as he’s maturing physically. He’s now proving he’s a legit starter prospect.” However, O’Neil continued, showing that sometimes scouts can find other intangibles that come into play. “During the winter prior to Taylor’s junior season, I was working out a former UK pitcher and quarterback, Shane Boyd. That day, our usual catcher couldn’t make it, so Taylor volunteered to catch Boyd – in shorts, no cup, with his pitching glove. Boyd threw hard, with a heavy ball and erratic command. Taylor gutted out numerous balls in the dirt and never flinched. It was pretty impressive.” ---------------- Minor League Reliever of the Year RHP Tyler Jones “My first year, I was in really bad shape. From college, you play fall ball, winter workouts, then spring ball. Then you go play summer ball, so it’s baseball year-round for three years. When I got home, I relished the time off. I did nothing. It hurt me. It cost me a spot on the Beloit roster. I had to start in Extended Spring. I went in there at like 260, and by the time I got to Beloit a month and a half later, I was at 245. I didn’t want to make that mistake again.” Jones worked hard throughout the offseason and came to spring training in 2013 in much better condition. “I think it helped immensely. It helped in spring training. I felt fresher. I felt better throughout the season. Instead of getting to spring training and having to get in shape, I got to spring training in a lot better shape and continued to get in better shape throughout the year. I think that I’ll improve on that this year, and I plan on it.” --------------- Minor League Manager of the Year: Jake Mauer Unfortunately, 2005 was his final season as a professional baseball player. So, what was his transition from player to coach? For him, it came quite abruptly. “In 2006, I was in (minor league) camp. I had just had surgery the summer before on my elbow and tried to come back and play and really couldn’t throw. Even to this day, I don’t throw very well. Rob Antony talked to me a little bit about possibly making the switch, and Jim Rantz talked to me as well about what I thought. I wanted to try to play, but as we got to the end of camp, it didn’t look like I was going to be able to play. Literally, I signed my release papers, and then I signed my contract to be the hitting coach within about five seconds of each other. I went back into the clubhouse, grabbed my stuff out of my locker and walked into the coach’s locker room. So, it was kind of a quick transition. That was actually at the end of camp, so GCL and Extended had two days off. Nelson Prada was the manager, talked to him for a while, and then we had two days off and I was back hitting fungoes. So, it was a really quick turnaround.” -------------- Of course, these segments are just the tip of the iceberg. Each of these articles is six to eight pages worth of quotes and stories. I just thought these were really good ones to share. Again, I hate shameless self-promotion, but the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook is now available online in paperback and e-book at Lulu.com. You can order them or previous versions by clicking here.

This afternoon, the Twins made a trade with the Atlanta Braves. The Twins sent catcher/DH/outfielder Ryan Doumit to Atlanta in exchange for LHP Sean Gilmartin. The Braves will take on the entire $3.5 million of Doumit's 2014 contract which helps the Twins as they look to continue adding players. It also opens up a 40 man roster spot because Gilmartin is not yet on the that roster. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Doumit came to the Twins before the 2012 season. In his first season, he hit .275/.320/.461 with 34 doubles, 18 homers and 75 RBI. In 2013, he dropped to .247/.314/.396 with 28 doubles, 14 homers and 55 RBI. He spent time as the team's backup catcher, but also was a primary designated hitter and spent some time in the corner outfield positions. He did miss time with concussion symptoms in the 2013 season and has talked about wanted to not catch (or at least catch less often) which makes the move to the National League interesting. The Twins had great interest in Sean Gilmartin before the 2011 draft. He was taken with the 28th overall pick in the draft, two picks before the Twins selected Levi Michael. Gilmartin, a 23 year old who went to Florida State, moved up the Braves system quickly. Last year, he made 17 starts for AAA Gwinnett. He went 3-8 with a 5.75 ERA, though he missed time with injury. He will not need to be added to the 40 man roster until after the 2014 season. Here is a huge scouting report on Gilmartin. Gilmartin graduated from Crespi Carmelite HS in Encino, California. That is the same high school that Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is from. When the Twins signed Jason Kubel last week to a minor league contract, the writing was on the wall that Doumit would likely be traded. The two are really DHs who can play in the corner outfield spots. With the $3.5 million saved, the Twins could continue their search for more starting pitching or they could turn their attention to the offense. The Twins busy, exciting offseason continues to be eventful! What's next?

I am happy to announce that the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2014 is now available to be purchased. The self-published book was co-authored by Jeremy Nygaard, Cody Christie and myself. Several others contributed to the book, as shown below. Order Your Own Copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2014 Right Here for $14.95. NOW AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK! Click here to order with an immediate download. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For much more on the book and what is included in the book, click down below. Also, Jeremy, Cody and I conducted a Google Hangout last night to introduce the book. That was a lot of fun to discuss the stories, the 150+ prospect profiles and much more. --- Though we tried to be more concise and efficient in our profiles, we ended up with about 188 pages of Twins minor league content. Included are: Stories on my minor league award winners: Miguel Sano (hitter), Taylor Rogers (starting pitcher), Tyler Jones (relief pitcher) and Jake Mauer (manager). A Foreword by Twins Daily's John Bonnes. Cody wrote an article on The Anatomy of a 5-Tool Player. Jeremy wrote articles reviewing the 2013 Twins draft, and another looking forward to the 2014 draft. Jeremy also conducted an interview with Twins scout Freddie Thon. Season Reviews from each of the four Twins minor league affiliates. Twins Daily contributors Chris Fee (Rochester), Andrew Walter (New Britain) and Steve Buhr (Cedar Rapids) along with Miracle play-by-play guy Adam MacDonald penned these articles. The Top prospect lists for myself, Cody and Jeremy. And most important, there are the prospect profiles. There will be about 150 profiles on Twins minor leaguers. Yes, there are profiles on Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Alex Meyer. There are also profiles on Adonis Pacheco and Leonel Zazueta, as well as Jim Fuller and Kevin Thomas, the Twins minor league Rule 5 picks from Thursday. If you're looking for Christmas gifts for yourself or your Twins fan friends or family, this just might be it. The plan is for it to be available as both an e-book and a paperback book. The e-book is for those who don't like hard copies of anything. The paperback book is great as a coffee table book. When Dick Bremer or Cory Provus talk about a Twins minor leaguer, or a player recently promoted, you can go through the pages and learn a little about the player. It's also great for autographs. The cover is something that will look great autographed and many get the players' profiles autographed. It's been a ton of work for myself, Jeremy and Cody, but it's exciting that it's close. Other versions, such as an e-book or versions for Readers will hopefully be available shortly. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks also to Josh Johnson for designing the cover for the third straight year!Special thanks also to Justin Rinaldi (of Rinaldi Photos) for many pictures used on players of the Kernels and Rock Cats. Also, Linwood Ferguson, a Miracle photographer, and Scott Blanchette, a photographer for the Rock Cats.

According to Jon Heyman, The Minnesota Twins have reached an agreement with RHP Mike Pelfrey. He says that it is a two year deal at $11 million. It also includes incentives up to another $3.5 million. There have been reports for a month that the two sides were very close, and that the Twins had made an offer. On Saturday night, there was finally an agreement. Pelfrey went 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP with the Twins in 2013. He had undergone Tommy John surgery in April of 2012 and returned quickly. He struggled early with the Twins, but he did show good velocity on his fastball. Last month, Parker wrote about why the Twins might have interest in bringing back the right-hander. The Twins have been busy in the free agent pitching market. Last month, they inked Ricky Nolasco to a four year, $49 million contract with an option for a fifth year. Days later, they agreed with Phil Hughes on a three year, $24 million deal. The Twins have Kevin Correia under contract for 2014 at $5.5 million. If the Twins do not sign any other starting pitchers or make any trades, Sam Deduno, Kyle Gibson, Andrew Albers, Kris Johnson, Scott Diamond, Vance Worley and Alex Meyer will be competing for the fifth starter job. (Deduno, Diamond and Worley will be out of options) There is no word yet on whether the Twins would still consider adding another starting pitcher as rumors surrounding Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza have not subsided.