Seth Stohs

Taylor Rogers - Fastball is 88-89, slider in the low 80s. sharp. Tyler Jones - Touched 93, great slider at 81. Soliman hit 92 but was all over the place velo wise. Mazza hit 90-91.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1529-Robertson-is-Ready-for-his-Role

On Thursday, the Minnesota Twins got a big 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers to improve to 2-1 on the season, the first time they have been over .500 since the 2010 season. However, the game was not the blowout that the final score would indicate. In fact, there was a very key moment in the 7th inning that could have altered the results of the game. With the Twins leading 3-2 going into the 7th frame, Josh Roenicke walked Omar Infante and gave up a double to Austin Jackson to put runners on first and second with nobody out. He struckout Torii Hunter for the first out and then was asked to intentionally walk Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera to load the bases. Prince Fielder was coming up, and left-hander Tyler Robertson was coming in. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3677[/ATTACH] On Monday, before the Opening Day game against the Tigers, I had the opportunity to talk to Robertson. I asked him about his role, and specifically asked if he was looking forward to a role in which he needed to come in to face a Prince Fielder in a key situation. His response? “I’ll do whatever they have me do. Prince is obviously a tough hitter. I think I’ve faced him 5-6 times last year and he got me once. I’m confident against anybody. I know if I execute my pitches, I’ll be fine. He’s just one of the guys that you really have to be careful with and make sure you execute because if you don’t…” I butted in by saying, “You’ll see what happens.” And Robertson chuckled and said, “Yeah, I’ve seen what happens! On the other hand, we’ve had some good at bats where I made some good pitches and I got him. Hopefully me and him are battling for a long time. I’d like that. I’m up for the challenge.” On Thursday, in his first appearance of the season, Robertson was up to the challenge. Last June 26, a 24-year-old Robertson made the jog in from the Target Field bullpen to the mound for his Major League debut against the Chicago White Sox. The first batter he faced was outfielder Alejandro de Aza, and he struck him out. He then struckout Kevin Youklis looking. Finally, he was able to strike out the side when he got Adam Dunn to swing and miss. Robertson looked back at the memory fondly. “It was unbelievable. I got here the day before. Got kind of settled in, but I knew the nerves were still going to be there until I actually got out there on the mound. I was confident going in. I was going pretty good in AAA. I knew that if I threw like I was throwing down there, I was going to be fine. It’s definitely not easy up here. This is the best of the best. It was reassuring to know that you can do it. You always believe you can do it, but until you actually see that you can do it. You just prove it to yourself.” Was that the biggest thing he learned from that rookie season? “Yeah, without a doubt. I mean, there was a lot of other things I learned about hitters up here and certain teams’ tendencies and all that stuff. But the biggest thing was, it doesn’t matter what level you’re pitching at, it’s confidence. You can have confidence up here and throw the ball in the minor leagues for the most part, I’ll be just fine.” There was no question that Robertson was thrilled to make the Twins Opening Day roster and happy to experience his first Opening Day. “(I’m) just really excited. I mean, I think the nerves got out a little bit last year with making the debut and being up here for a little while. That was just pure excitement. I’m ready to go. It’s going to be fun to get the season rolling.” It was fun picking his brain about his thoughts on facing tough lefties, like Fielder. What pitches does he throw and why? He provided a little bit of insight: “When I came up here last year, it (the slider) was going really good at the time. It was a little bit of a blessing and a curse because it was a good pitch for me up here, but I think I probably overused it a little bit because it was working so well. In ST, one of the things I did, especially against the lefties, I was mixing in more fastballs. In spring, I had a little success with it, left-on-left, mixing in the fastball. Guys were swinging at a lot more first pitches so I couldn’t do it left-on-left, probably didn’t want to get too deep into the count. I got more swings at fastballs earlier in the count, which is fine. I’m going to need to throw that more to set up the breaking ball and everything. I know that, and I’m confident in my fastball to do that left-on-left. It’s something I did in 2010 a lot when I was closing in AA. Shoot, I faced 5 lefties over a span of time and didn’t even throw a slider, so I feel comfortable throwing a fastball to them. I know I’m going to need to do that. Obviously the slider’s always going to be in the back of my mind, but that will help my fastball out if I can show a few more fastballs. Just got to keep it balanced. If they’re 100% sitting on slider, I mean, I can throw the best one I’ve got and it won’t be as effective.” The life of a relief pitcher is filled with ups and downs. When they do their job well, not everybody notices. When they don’t do their job well, everybody notices. On Thursday, he entered the Twins/Orioles game in the 8th inning with a tied game and the red-hot Chris Davis up to bat. Unfortunately for the Twins, on this day, the hitter won. Davis hit a grand slam that made a 5-5 game a 9-5 game in a hurry. Such is the role of a reliever. Robertson played hero on Wednesday, and he gets to play the goat on Thursday. It’s a tough job, and Tyler Robertson is more than happy to do it for the Twins.

I appreciate that. We are trying to get some in-roads closer to the affiliates to be able to do a little more. It's a challenge, but what we hope to do is bring some additional stories and articles where our readers will get to know more of the players.

I can't say what he looked like as a 16-year-old. All I personally have is what Mauer has said about him filling out a bit. He's still little, very skinny. He does have a quick bat, but I don't think that he'll hit a lot of home runs. I do think that he can hit a lot of doubles to the gaps, and if he has gap power, that would be great. He had an error at 2B last night, it almost looked like he was shielded by a runner, but he does look smooth over there. I had lunch yesterday with Tommy Watkins, and he did say that they will play him at short throughout the year. Goodrum has a great arm. I honestly can't speak to Polanco's arm because to this point, I've only seen him at second base and he hasn't had to air it out.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1525-Twins-Minor-League-Report-Kernals-Win-Twins-Debut

Each night throughout the entire minor league season, Twins Daily will be writing up game notes and highlights from all of the Twins minor league affiliates. Thursday was Opening Day for the full-season minor leagues, so here is our first Minor League Report. Since I am currently spending the opening weekend following the Cedar Rapids Kernels, that’s where we will start with our report. It will be followed by reports from the other Twins affiliates. As we did in 2012, there will be several writers composing these updates, so please let us know if you would like to see something specific in the report, and please feel free to ask questions in the Comments section. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Day - Chris Colabello, Rochester Red Wings Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Tyler Jones, Cedar Rapids Kernels [ATTACH=CONFIG]3670[/ATTACH] Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Beloit Snappers 7 On Wednesday night, Kernels pitching coach Gary Lucas told the crowd of media, “I think there’s potential to strike people out. Fans come to the ballpark looking for home runs and strikeouts a lot of times and from a pitching standpoint, we’ve got some arms and some velocity coming out of those arms.” In Thursday night’s season opener at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids, four pitchers combined to strikeout 16 Beloit Snappers hitters. The tone was set quickly when starter Taylor Rogers, who would not be classified as strikeout pitcher, struckout the side in the top of the first inning. He struckout seven batters in 3.2 innings. Lucas said of Rogers, “He’s a location pitcher. When he’s on his game, he can throw it low and work both sides of the plate. I would say that he has a lot of savvy and ability to read at bats and read swings and work off of hitters’ weaknesses and strengths.” His slider was terrific on this night, especially to lefties. “It was a good pitch, and when he’s on his game, he can double up and triple up on that slider, and he plays a little tune with them. If they go out to try to take the slider away, he has the ability to throw it in on their hands and jam them. He’s more of a finesse guy and a control pitcher compared to getting them to swing and miss bats.” The Kernels grabbed an early lead with a three-run first inning. Byron Buxton led off with a single to center. He stole second, but one pitch later, second baseman Jorge Polanco hit a home run over the wall in right field. After the inning’s first out, Dalton Hicks hit a very long home run over both walls in right field. In the second, the Kernels tacked on another run when Niko Goodrum scored from third on a Buxton fielder’s choice (That was a tailor-made double play ball to shortstop that he simply beat out). Unfortunately, Rogers was hurt by his defense in the top of the third inning, and it cost four runs and allowed the game to be tied. Manager Jake Mauer said, “It started with a leadoff error. That’s the thing we harp on all spring training. You have to protect that starting pitcher. Starting pitcher is making pitchers, we’ve got to get outs.” Following the error, Rogers did make one mistake. As Lucas said, “He didn’t get away with the fastball inside, the one that (Renato) Nunez hit the home run off him. He tried to come inside there, and he didn’t get it in to where he wanted to get it.” Rogers went 3.2 innings due to having met the 70 pitch limit. He left the game with a couple of runners on, and Tyler Jones came in and got the job done. He got out of that jam with a big strikeout. Jones said, “When I came in there the first half inning with two outs and men on 1st and 3rd, I was thinking strikeout. I didn’t want to let the guy get the bat to the ball because anything can happen. Equally important, he was able to pitch very well for the next three innings. Mauer said that Jones’ performance was “Huge! Absolutely huge!” “He attacked. Second time through the league. He’s carrying himself a little differently this year. To get that big out in that inning to stop the bleeding and calm things down, and then really dominate for three. He threw the ball very well. So I was very pleased. He threw a heck of a game.” He is literally carrying himself differently. Jones pitched for Beloit last season, but did not get promoted to the Snappers until early May, and he knows why. “To be honest, it was really my own fault that I wasn’t on the Opening Day roster. I was out of shape.” So, what did he do this past offseason to get ready? “I worked harder in the offseason, so I knew what to expect. The previous offseason, it was the first time I had time to myself. So, I didn’t work hard enough, not nearly hard enough and my diet wasn’t good. So, this past offseason, really ate healthy, worked harder and came in better shape. It paid dividends in spring training and I hope it continues throughout the whole season.” Lucas added, “I was so happy that he gave us those innings. We had some long innings offensively while he was out there. He went out and shut them down and got our hitters back out there again. It was a good thing to see. He was keeping his focus, going after the first guy. It made his job a lot easier. He was in a real groove as far as attacking with fastballs, hitting the low, outside corner, using his slider so they didn’t know when it was coming. Just about the time he lost his feel on his fastball, He went to his slider. He was able to be a pitcher, rather than just overpowering people. So, it was nice to see.” The Kernels answered with three runs in the fourth inning and two more runs in the fifth inning to gain a 9-4 edge. Manuel Soliman came on to pitch in a game for the first time since last April when he threw in just two games for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, but he got through the inning. Before the game, he told me that his shoulder felt “Good! Very, very good!” After the game, he said it felt great to get back on the mound, and that he really wasn’t even nervous. Lucas said of Soliman’s game, “The thinking with Soliman was, give us two innings at the end, and I didn’t want to break his arm. He threw 25-30 innings in the inning, and I didn’t want to take a chance.” Mauer added, “You get him out there. Get him out in the cold. Get him used to it. He got two quick outs, looking good, and then a base hit. He needs to understand he’s OK. He’s got good stuff. Just to trust it. Go right at guys. No one on base, they’re not going to hit a five run home run.” Chris Mazza came in and gave up a run in the ninth. Once he gave up a couple of hits, he came on strong and ended the game with two strikeouts to end the game. Mauer said, “Honestly, we didn’t want to get him out there, but we had him in our back pocket. Any time you have a six-man rotation, you’re always scared of using your bullpen and using three guys is probably too many.” It was a nice win for the hometown team in their first night as a Minnesota Twins affiliate. Jim Rantz was in attendance to throw out the first pitch. Over 1,900 fans were at the game, and it was a fun evening. The offensive highlights included: [*=1]Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with that first inning home run and drove in three runs. Mauer said, “Nice two-strike approach there, right? I saw him as a 16-year-old and this is the first I’ve seen him three years later, and he’s starting to physically mature, and he’s swinging the bat like we think he can. [*=1]Byron Buxton went 2-5 with a stolen base and two RBI. Mauer said, “A couple hits. Stole as base. Went first to third. Did a nice job. I thought a couple of balls in the dirt read, he could have been a little more aggressive on, but that might be nitpicking. Did a nice job in center. Paid attention to him moving outfielders and being in control, noticing swings. He’s further along than a lot of the guys I had previously, and he’s a lot younger. So, he’s pretty exciting.” [*=1]Jairo Rodriguez does a very nice job behind the plate. In spring, he was yet to catch more than five innings in a game, and tonight he caught all nine innings. He also hit the ball well, with two hits including a line drive double down the left field line. [*=1]JD Williams is back in the Midwest League and he is all about fun. In this game, he also went 2-3 and had a sacrifice fly. [*=1]Dalton Hicks hit a big, long home run in the first inning. He has asked to be called by his first name, Dalton, rather than his nickname of DJ. His final at bat of the 2012 season resulted in a walk-off grand slam to win the Appalachian League championship for Elizabethton. His first at bat of the 2013 season was also a home run. [*=1]Niko Goodrum went 1-3 with a walk. Travis Harrison added a double. The Kernels will send RHP Hudson Boyd to the mound on Friday night to square off with A’s young prospect, Michael Ynoa. If you leave the Twin Cities by about noon on Friday, you can be at the stadium in Cedar Rapids by about the time the gates open. They also play at 2:05 on Saturday and Sunday. If you’re going to be there, be sure to say Hi. Rochester Red Wings 7, Buffalo Bisons 12 The Red Wings traveled over to Buffalo to take on the Bisons (Blue Jays affiliate) in the first minor league game to be played in the 2013 season. PJ Walters made his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Red Wings. He gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk in four innings. He struckout just one. He was relieved by lefty Caleb Thielbar who, in one inning, gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Bruce Pugh then made his AAA debut and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Daniel Turpen came in for the 8th and got two outs. However, he walked two and hit one and all three of those runners scored. Luis Perdomo came in and gave up a hit that scored the final runs before getting the final out. It was a terrific AAA debut for a couple of minor leaguers who were talked about a lot this spring. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, and he also threw out two runners trying to advance to second base. Chris Colabello debuted by going 3-4 with his first home runs of the season. Both homers went to dead center. Ray Olmedo went 3-4. Mark Sobolewski went 2-4 with a double and two RBI. Alex Burnett, who the Blue Jays claimed last week when the Twins DFAd him, pitched 1.1 innings for the Bisons, giving up just one hit. On Friday, Kyle Gibson will make his season debut against former Twins starter Ramon Ortiz. New Britain Rock Cats 0, Richmond Flying Squirrels 0 (Game Suspended in the 4th due to rain) With two outs in the bottom of the 4th inning, the rains came and the game ended for the night. It will be made up, starting where they left off. Logan Darnell started the opener for the Rock Cats. He did not give up a run despite giving up four hits and walking two. He struckout two. Danny Santana made his Eastern League debut, with two hits in his two at bats. Antoan Richardson doubled for the Rock Cats. Those were the only three hits to this point in the game. Ft. Myers Miracle 4, Bradenton Marauders 3 It was a back and forth game through, but in the end, the Miracle closed out a 4-3 win. Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. He gave up solo home runs in the first and second innings which is interesting because his ground ball to fly ball ratio was 8:1. Ryan O’Rourke came on with a runner on in the sixth and allowed the inherited runner to score. But he worked two innings and gave up just one hit. He struckout two. Chad Rodgers made his Twins organization debut and struckout the side. Then hard-throwing Zack Jones came in for the ninth with a one run lead. He went 1-2-3, striking out one to record his first save of the season. Jhon Goncalves led the offense, going 3-4 with a double. Stephen Wickens was 2-4. Twins Daily’s AJ Pettersen started in left field for the Miracle and was the leadoff hitter. He led off the first inning with a walk, then went 0-3. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a walk. Eddie Rosario went 0-3 with a walk. Feel free to leave any questions or comments.

Last year, the E-Twins won the Appy League title and won a lot. Beloit got to the playoffs. This team is built from players who played in both places a year ago. The team has a chance to be very good. More important, there is a lot of talent that will continue to develop. I generally don't worry myself with the wins and losses of the minor league team, especially if players are developing. That said, I think that learning how to win as a team is an important thing for players to develop.

They've basically said that Byron Buxton will lead off and play centerfield. Other than that, I'd guess: Jairo Rodriguez will start behind the plate. Dalton Hicks at 1B. I'll guess Jorge Polanco at 2B, although Candido Pimentel could. Niko Goodrum will be at shortstop. Travis Harrison at 3B. JD Williams in LF (Romy Jimenez could play there too). Buxton in CF. Adam Walker in right field. Drew Leachman probably DH. Taylor Rogers will be the starting pitcher.

I think we'll get through Opening Weekend and we'll announce something the first part of next week. That will allow people to select a player, provide a high-level report on the player, update us on how he's done so far, and keep that page updated with reports, articles, etc. throughout the season.

I will verify JC's report that Bushwoods is awesome!! We went there last night after the Meet the Kernels event and it was a great atmosphere and terrific food!

There are some terrific prospects and great character kids on this roster. The Twins encourage them to be very fan-friendly, so it should certainly be a great experience if you're able to make it. I see that tonight the gates open at 4:35.

The News Press's David Dorsey has a very nice profile of Twins top prospect Miguel Sano. http://www.news-press.com/article/20130404/SPORTS/304040033/1075/Miracle-s-Sano-passing-every-test?odyssey=nav|head

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1515-Cedar-Rapids-Kernels-are-ready-for-Opening-Day!

Happy Minor League Opening Day! This is a great day for me. Opening Day with the Twins was tremendous, but when minor league opening day hits, we as Twins fans suddenly have as many as five games and box scores to follow! Last September, the Minnesota Twins made the business decision to leave Beloit and enter into a player development agreement with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. It’s fair to say that both sides are excited about this relationship. Tonight, the Kernels will open their 2013 season, ironically, against the Beloit Snappers, now an affiliate of the Oakland A’s organization. Gary Keppel, Kernels Team President and Board of Directors member told a group of media before their Meet the Kernels night at Perfect Game Park, “We are truly, truly excited to have the Twins here. We had a great affiliation for 20 years with the Angels, but we are looking forward to a long, long relationship with the Twins. I think it’s going to be great for our fans that as the players develop and get toward the big leagues that they’ll be able to take a four hour trip up there to go up and see those players. They’ll be in the same time zone so they can catch more games on TV. But, from a selfish standpoint, we’re very, very excited that those folks are going to be coming down.” Yesterday, I hopped in my car in Eagan, Minnesota, at about 12:20 p.m. I headed south on I-35. Shortly after Mason City, Iowa, I exited and took highway 18 East/27 South and took that until Cedar Falls, Iowa, where I connected with highway 380 and headed south. At 4:45, I arrived in Cedar Rapids, the home of the Twins new Midwest League affiliate. With a quick stop to grab something to eat, and one stop to add some gas, I still arrived at the ballpark in just under four-and-a-half hours. It’s not a very long drive from the Twin Cities, and this summer, it will be worth your time to take a trip or two to see the Kernels. They have a group of very talented players on this spring’s roster, and more will be coming when the likes of 2012 first round picks J.O. Berrios and Luke Bard, as well as fellow Top 10 Twins prospect Max Kepler come to town. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3661[/ATTACH] Byron Buxton, the 2nd overall selection in the 2012 MLB draft will be starting the season as the team’s primary centerfielder and leadoff hitter. Since being drafted, he has drawn comparisons to the likes of BJ Upton, Andrew McCutchen and Adam Jones. One long-time baseball person in Cedar Rapids, having seen him for the first time last night, observed that he looks so much like a young Willie Mays, facially, body type and his style and arm from centerfield. High praise, but he still has some work to do before he’ll be ready for the big leagues. Former Twins infielder and current Kernels hitting coach Tommy Watkins said of Buxton, “I got a chance to see him in instructional league last year. He has amazing ability. I mean, he’s got all the tools, and he’s a great guy to go along with it. I think you’ll be very happy with how he plays the game.” Kernels manager Jake Mauer said, “He is, tool-wise, what you expect a #2 pick to be. One thing that’s really struck me is the person that he is, and how he goes about his business. That’s very exciting. We had a meeting with all of our guys individually today. We go over objectives throughout the season, what we expect, roles and all that. When it came to Byron, we just want him to be himself and just to go out and play. Obviously there are some expectations and things like that, but once you’re between the lines, you’re the only man out there. All that other stuff doesn’t really matter.” I asked where he would hit, thinking he could be a leadoff hitter who steals a ton of bases, or a Number 3 hitter because of his power potential and all-around game. Mauer added, “he’s going to lead off for us to start here. He’s a young man that will be similar to Aaron Hicks and we’ve had this conversation with him throughout the minor leagues. He can lead off. He can hit third. Obviously Aaron is up there in the big leagues now getting an education on… that’s a tough draw, Justin Verlander right out of the shoot, that’s introduction to big league pitching there… Byron’s going to lead off and probably be our primary centerfield. You’ll see him out there quite a bit. Tools-wise, it’s kind of cultivating all of them. He’s going to learn some things, tendencies. He’s got a chance to steal a lot of bases. And then again, he’s got a chance to be a middle of the lineup type hitter, and that’s kind of rare. You don’t find a guy with that tool set and the things that he can do. But the biggest thing for him is to get through the season. It’s going to be a long year. It’s the first time he’ll get to play in over 140 games we’re going to play. So, it’s him getting prepared, not only physically, but also mentally. That’s something we’re looking forward to see how all these boys react to that.” When Buxton himself was asked what he was going to be working on the most, he hesitated for a couple of seconds. Teammate Travis Harrison jumped in saying, “He’s pretty good at a lot of things!” Harrison is another very exciting prospect in the Twins system. He was the team’s first supplemental first round pick in 2011 out of high school in California. He gave up a scholarship to USC to sign with the Twins. He hit for average last year in Elizabethton, but did struggle early in that short-season with the glove at third base. It’s an area he knows he needs to improve upon. “I want all parts to see improvement. Everyone knows I need to get better at defense. I know that. That’s what I’ve been working really hard in the offseason trying to get better at. But then again, I can always be a better hitter as well, so, if you were to say a strength, I’d say hitting, but hopefully by the end of the season, it’ll be both.” Watkins also spoke well of what he’s seen from the 20-year-old. “I think Travis has made some tremendous strides. The good thing about it, he wants to get better. I think you just take it slow. One day at a time. It’s a process. It’s every day getting ground balls, getting games under your belt. But he’s doing a good job, and he wants to get better. I think that’s the main thing.” Mauer added, “He was an outfielder in high school, so he is fairly new to him as far as playing in the infield. Tommy hit the nail on the head, he wants to get better and that’s part of the battle. He believes that he can play third. We believe that he can play third. Just from the beginning of spring to where he is now, he’s made some pretty good strides and we just expect him to keep continuing to get better. If he wants to, which he does, I think you’ll see a big difference from April to August in him defensively.” And that is what the purpose of the Midwest League. The lower levels of the minor leagues are often designed to allow players to get instruction, get into games, and get better. A year ago, I saw the Beloit Snappers play two games in early June and saw some struggles from the likes of Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario defensively. When I returned in early August, I saw both of them had improved greatly. This is a talented roster. I talked briefly with shortstop Niko Goodrum, who said he is up to 200 pounds after being drafted at maybe 170 pounds. He looks ready to play. Last year’s Appalachian League MVP, Candido Pimentel will play a lot of second base this year. Jorge Polanco will play both middle infield positions. Dalton Hicks and one of the unsung players from last year’s Beloit Snappers run, Drew Leachman will get time at first base. Tyler Grimes has made the transition to catcher and reports are quite positive on how well that has gone. The starting pitchers in this rotation will be Taylor Rogers, Hudson Boyd, Mason Melotakis, Tyler Duffey, David Hurlbut and Brett Lee. The bullpen includes arms like Tim Atherton, Steve Gruver, Tyler Jones, Chris Mazza, Manuel Soliman and Matt Tomshaw. Following the press conferences, Kernels players were on the stadium’s concourse, meet and greeting fans and host parents. I talked to several players who were so impressed with the Kernels and with the Cedar Rapids community. Host parents volunteer to have the players stay with them. Players don’t have to pay them a dollar. Given the fact that most of the players on the Kernels roster will make just $1,500 per month during the season, that is an important factor. The Kernels will provide pre and post game food to the players. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3662[/ATTACH] Tommy Watkins showed me around the clubhouse. It is very impressive. The manager has an office. The coaches have their own room. There is a room set up for when instructors like pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen, or roving instructor Paul Molitor come to town. Adjacent to the player’s clubhouse is a very impressive weight room with free weights and machines. There are two batting cages under the bleachers as well. In a word, the stadium and the atmosphere at Perfect Game Field and of the Kernels management is staff is “professional.” One new thing at Perfect Game Field in 2013 is their new LED scoreboard. It measures 30 feet tall by 48 feet wide. It’s huge, and it’s very clear. It was built by Daktronics who has built scoreboards for many Major League stadiums. It’s one of the largest scoreboards in the Midwest League, and they tout it as the biggest TV in Iowa. In fact, when the Kernels season opening game is complete tonight, they will show the NIT championship game between Iowa and Baylor on the scoreboard. Keppel talked more about the affiliation with the Twins. “You’ll see from Brad Steil, Bill Smith and Terry Ryan that it’s a high-quality organization. That they have the same values we do in terms of community service, developing players within the organization and having them develop within the framework of what they want to do.” Keppel also informed media that “the Twins have developed a Harmon Killebrew Community Service Award that they are going to give to one player at each of their affiliates. It’s just a testimony to how much they think of community service and how much they want to develop players off the field as well as on the field.” It was a lot of fun to be at Meet the Kernels night. Following the player’s time on the concourse greeting fans, they held a short practice on the field, under the lights. They stretched and threw. They took a solid round of infield, and then they took a full round of batting practice. Tyler Grimes launches home runs. Adam Walker hit a ball out of the ballpark in left field. Byron Buxton hit after him and hit some long home runs, but after Walker left the ballpark, Buxton hit one even further. The temps dropped throughout the evening, from probably 46 degrees to the upper 30s. Temperatures at game time tonight are expected to possibly touch 60, so it won’t even be all that bad. This will be a fun group to follow and watch develop, but it was great to see these young men truly enjoying playing baseball. If you have a chance, come down this weekend and see this group. Find a time during the summer and watch these guys, many of whom you may see playing in Target Field in a couple of years. You won’t be disappointed. Pitching Matchups this weekend: Thursday - 6:35 p.m. - LHP Taylor Rogers vs RHP Raul Alcantara Friday - 6:35 p.m. - RHP Hudson Boyd vs RHP Michael Ynoa Saturday - 2:05 p.m. - LHP Mason Melotakis vs LHP Seth Streich Sunday - 2:05 p.m. - RHP Tyler Duffey vs RHP Vincent Voiro

I left Eagan at about 12:20 this afternoon, and I was at the ballpark by about 4:50. 4 1/2 hours from the cities to Cedar Rapids .Tonight was Meet the Kernels night, and it was awesome! Then they had a little practice, which was awesome. What a great, professional stadium. Tommy Watkins, Gary Lucas and Jake Mauer were all terrific. It's not a long trip. If you have a chance, try to get down here to Cedar Rapids this weekend for some Kernels baseball!

I think in a rebuilding year, keeping the Rule 5 guys makes a ton of sense. Hopefully he can contribute a little bit rather than just needing to hide him at the back of the bullpen. The kid has talent.

I was thinking I would listen to the podcast on my drive to Cedar Rapids this afternoon, thinking I'd try it again now that there might be some new topics... Reading this thread, I think I'll just listen to music. A couple of thoughts on the topics addressed above: Mauer batting second has always made sense. Mauer batting third has always made sense. As Gardy said in his pre-game presser, "I'd like to bat him 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but they only let me bat him in one spot." I think that the hope is that Brian Dozier will be able to relax and adjust better by hitting 8th in the lineup early in the season and be what he was in 2011 when he hit for average, took a lot of walks, was able to do all the things a prototypical #2 hitter should do. Once he can show that consistently for a little while, it would be great to move him to the #2 spot and slide everyone else down one spot and extend the lineup. That should be, and likely is, the hope and plan. But until there, Mauer is a great #2 hitter and it makes sense for the early season. Regarding Wilkin Ramirez getting that bases loaded, down 3-0 at bat, it only made sense. Seriously, if he's not going to pinch hit in that situation, they might as well have Butera sitting on the roster. Ramirez hit something like 15 homers in half of a season in Rochester last year. He's fully healthy. He's still just 27. He's a team-first guy. He took a and aggressive, yet patient plate appearance. He just didn't come through on that occurrence. It was the right move, and hopefully Gardy would do the same thing in that same situation if it comes up today. The "I'm right, you're wrong. There's only one way to think about baseball topics" thing bothers me to no end. Baseball is a game, played by humans. Managers should go by gut feel sometimes. In my opinion, there are no absolutes in baseball, and there shouldn't be. That's what makes the game great.

The probably will be facing AAA hitters this year sometime. May walked a ton at AA last year, so it's wise to let him start there. He could move up quickly if he shows control. Meyer played A ball last year. He only got a handful of starts in High-A and yet the Twins pushed him to AA. Both of them could pitch with the Twins late in 2013.