Seth Stohs

Happy Minor League Opening Day to all of you again!! One Twins affiliate already has a win under its belt as the Rochester Red Wings topped Syracuse 7-4. Three more games tonight! Earlier this morning, we looked at the Twins minor league hitters and made some predictions for the 2012 season. Now we’re back and we will be looking at some predictions for Twins minor league pitchers in 2012. The purpose of this is strictly for fun and we encourage you to participate and make your predictions too. Again, our panel includes some other Twins bloggers who talk about the Twins minor leagues. Our categories are “Breakout” and “Best” Pitcher for three levels. The Upper Levels includes Rochester and New Britain. The Lower Levels includes Ft. Myers and Beloit. And of course, the EST category covers those players who are starting their 2012 campaign in Extended Spring Training. What is your definition of “Breakout,” and what will it take for you to characterize a pitcher as “Best.” Let’s find out! [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Once again, thank you to our other guest predictors: Andrew from Twins Fran from Afar, Roger Dehring from Twinkie Town, Paul Pleiss from Puckett’s Pond, Cody Christie (the Nodak Twins Fan), and Travis Aune, my co-host on Twins Minor League Weekly every Thursday night (starting tonight at 9:00 central!). So, let’s get started, and again, please feel free to get your predictions in below!! Breakout Pitcher (Upper Levels): Seth: Logan Darnell – He pitched at three levels last year, but I don’t think many know who Darnell is. The lefty has very good stuff, and he should spend the full year with one team and continue to improve. Andrew: Tyler Robertson. Earned a promotion to AAA after a good season in New Britain. Roger: Cole DeVries, I don't know if he qualifies as he was awfully good in 2011. Look for him to stay in the Red Wings starting rotation and get a September call-up to the Twins. Paul: Tyler Robertson. Robertson will be back in Rochester for the first time since getting moved to the bullpen at the beginning of 2011. Although Robertson doesn't have any pitch that is outstanding, he commands his pitches well and I look forward to the lefty making big strides in his second full season working out of the pen. Cody: Alex Wimmers: The Twins need more starting pitching in the upper levels and Wimmers has to be that guy. Travis: Scott Diamond- Last year was an anomaly and will come back to his career norm with a much better season. Best Pitcher (Upper Levels): Seth: PJ Walters – He gets the Opening Day nod for the Red Wings today, but he’s been a very good prospect for several years. It hasn’t turned to a lot of big league success… at least not yet. Andrew: Andrew Albers. Maybe not the "best," but playing in an organization that lacks good relievers, if Albers puts together a 2012 as solid as his 2011, he'll be on a fast track for Target Field. Roger: Assuming that Liam Hendriks isn't in Rochester much this summer, my selection is Alex Wimmers. He will begin in New Britain and force a move to Rochester by the end of June. Paul: Alex Wimmers who moves up to AA New Britain this year after a season at Ft. Myers hopes to build off of the late season success from 2011. Wimmers who started 2011 by walking six batters is hoping that his control issues from last season remain in the past. Wimmers only pitched 40.2 innings in A+ last season in addition to the added competition of AA, Wimmers will need to log a bunch of innings. If Wimmers can get back to his 2010 form it's not unreasonable to expect him to move up to AAA by the end of the season. Cody: Alex Wimmers: The best hope for the Twins is that his control problems are behind him. Travis: Liam Hendriks- Hendriks is probably ready for MLB and will take it out on the International League. Breakout Pitcher (Lower Levels): Seth: Matt Summers – Last year’s 4th round pick, the righty gets less notoriety than the three players drafted ahead of him. But a guy that throws hard with good secondary pitches is exciting. Andrew: BJ Hermsen. I like the potential of this Masonville, Iowa youngster. Roger: Corey Williams, he has nasty stuff and will challenge Salcedo and Wimmers for best in the organization. Paul: Madison Boer. Boer is a hometown kid from Eden Prairie, MN and will be given a chance to start in Beloit this season and with a solid defense behind him and an offense that will impress Boer should put up some eye-popping numbers in his first full season in Beloit. Cody: Madison Boer: A collegiate pitcher who could move up the ladder quickly if he finds success. Travis: Madison Boer- The second round pick will dominate in Beloit. Best Pitcher (Lower Levels): Seth: Pat Dean – He appears to be healthy for the first time since signing with the Twins. The talented lefty from BC has three good pitches and profiles as a mix of Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing. Andrew: Adrian Salcedo. Great control, hopefully will add a little more velocity. Roger: Adrian Salcedo, will be the Miracle's top pitcher as he finally reaches Ace status! Paul: Adrian Salcedo. Salcedo was outstanding last year and although he's moving up from Beloit to Ft Myers this season I look for him to continue to be a shining star in the lower levels of the Twins organization. Unlike most "classic" Twins style pitchers Salcedo is not a pitch to contact control guy, and while his control is above average, he also misses a lot of bats, striking out 281 while only giving up 56 walks since singing late in 2007. Cody: Miguel Sano: Adrian Salcedo: One of the best arms in the lower levels and he should continue to be a workhorse. Travis: Adrian Salcedo- Salcedo will develop the consistency that he has lacked and dominate the FSL. Breakout Pitcher (EST): Seth: Josh Burris – Incredible athlete played 2B and OF last year in college, as well as pitching out of the bullpen. He throws hard, and has a killer curveball. Control is the issue, but he is certainly one to watch. Andrew: Hudson Boyd. Let's see what he can do! Roger: Hung-Yi Chen, was solid as a rookie in the GCL last year and will dominate the Appy League this year. Paul: Hudson Boyd. Boyd was drafted out of HS last season and signed late so he'll make his professional debut this season in EST. As a high school pitcher he is a raw talent, but he throws hard and has good control. If he can stay healthy and keep his weight under control he should put up good numbers in 2012. Cody: Matthew Summers: His time with the E-Twins was good last year and he looks to do more of the same. Travis: Hudson Boyd- Boyd will dominate the GCL throwing nothing but gas the key is picking up a second pitch. Best Pitcher (EST): Seth: Trent Higginbotham – He has a long name, but he has a big fastball. Higginbotham signed late last year for big money despite being a lower draft pick. He could start, or he could dominate as a closer. It might be time to start working on proper spelling of his name because Twins fans will be hearing it for years to come. Andrew: Hudson Boyd. He's not yet 20 and throws a mid-90s fastball. Enough said. Roger: Hudson Boyd, 29 other teams will be wondering why they didn't draft this kid! Paul: Steven Evans was drafted in the 13th round last year, signed quickly and put up eye popping numbers after he reported to Elizabethon. Coming back for a full season Evans will continue to impress against hitters in the Appy League. Already with an impressive arsenal of pitches, 2012 should be a successful season for the young lefty. Cody: Matthew Summers: EST is full of last year's draft class but his age and collegiate experience should help him. Travis: Angel Mata- Mata will continue to develop and cut down on his walk rate and keep his strikeout rate very high. So there you have it, our picks for the 2012 season. Now it is your turn. Make your picks.

Happy Minor League Opening Day to all of you! In Rochester, the Red Wings will send veteran PJ Walters to the mound to face Mitch Atkins (and Bryce Harper) and the Syracuse Chiefs. New Britain will send Luke French to the mound against Richmond. Scott Baker makes the Opening Day start for the Ft. Myers Miracle. Eden Prairie native Madison Boer gets the starting nod for the Beloit Snappers. I thought it would be fun to do some preseason minor league predictions and definitely encourage all of you to participate in the comments as well. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] To do so, I enlisted some other Twins bloggers who talk about the Twins minor leagues. Each of us predicted a Breakout Hitter and Pitcher in the Upper Levels (Rochester and New Britain), Lower Levels (Ft. Myers and Beloit) and EST (Extended Spring Training). “Breakout” is one of those terms that can have a different definition for different people. Generally, however, it’s a player that either came out of nowhere or far exceeded expectations. For each of those levels, we each picked a ‘Best’ hitter and pitcher. It is possible that the “breakout” and “best” are the same player, but not necessarily. Thank you to our other guest predictors: Andrew from Twins Fran from Afar, Roger Dehring from Twinkie Town, Paul Pleiss from Puckett’s Pond, Cody Christie (the Nodak Twins Fan), and Travis Aune, my co-host on Twins Minor League Weekly every Thursday night. So, let’s get started, and again, please feel free to get your predictions in below!! Breakout Hitter (Upper Levels): Seth: Rene Tosoni – I realize he is no longer even rookie eligible, and he ended last season well, but I think Tosoni is still very underrated by most Twins fans. Andrew: Aaron Hicks. This is a big year for him, and he has to show that he deserved the promotion to AA. Roger: Aaron Hicks, This is going to be the year he becomes the player everyone knows he can be. Paul: Tsuyoshi Nishioka, while many think that Nishi will find his way back to Japan by the season's end, the demotion to AAA will give Nishi a chance to learn the American flavor of the game and get the instruction he needs to use the skills he acquired in Japan to become a productive hitter in MLB. Cody: Aaron Hicks: Please...Pretty please. The Twins are giving him every shot and it's time to take the opportunity and run with it. Travis: Aaron Hicks- The Phenom is going to turn his upside into skills and take off. Best Hitter (Upper Levels): Seth: Aaron Bates – He was the Red Wings top hitter a year ago, not only hitting for average, but also gets on base regularly. He had a strong big league camp and should be playing with a lot of confidence. Andrew: Joe Benson. Working with Tom Brunansky in Rochester, hopefully Benson can close those holes in his swing and show that he's MLB ready. Roger: Joe Benson, is gonna strike out a bit less and launch a lot of balls out of Frontier Field in his last four months of minor league ball. Paul: Brian Dozier was impressive last year splitting time between Ft Myers and New Britain. After an impressive spring I look to Dozier to continue to tear things up in Rochester. If there is any disarray with the Twins middle infield, Dozier will be the first guy up to fill the open slot. Cody: Joe Benson: Seeing Parmelee in the majors should drive him on the field. Travis: Joe Benson- Benson is so close to being MLB ready and will take that step forward. Breakout Hitter (Lower Levels): Seth: Tyler Grimes – Last year’s 5th round pick from powerhouse Wichita State signed quickly and held his own at Beloit last year. He’ll repeat there to start this season. Andrew: Levi Michael. After being injured last year, it's time for him to show why he was the Twins' first round pick last year. Roger: Angel Morales, He will be on a mission to prove that he is a top prospect after an injury filled 2011. Paul: Levi Michael. Levi signed late and will be making his professional debut with the Miracle this season and as a fairly polished college player should perform well hitting for high average and working his way up through the Twins system, finishing the season in AA after a successful campaign with the Miracle. Cody: Angel Morales: After missing a chunk of last year, it's time to prove he is one of the team's best prospects. Travis: Tyler Grimes- The Shortstop will stay healthy and show how good he really is. Best Hitter (Lower Levels): Seth: Angel Morales – Morales is younger than Aaron Hicks. He has many of the same tools and after missing most of last year with an elbow injury, I expect his power/speed combination to finally thrive. Andrew: Miguel Sano. Let's see what damage he can do in a full season. Roger: Tie between Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano, how can you pick between those two. One or both will hit over thirty home runs with the other between 25-30 at Beloit, if they stay there all year. Paul: Miguel Sano or Eddie Rosario. Both are moving up to Beloit this season and it's a coin flip as to which will be the best hitter for the Snappers this season as both are coming off of monster seasons in Elizabethon. I look for Sano to continue to develop his power tool although he may have a slow start playing in colder weather of the Midwest League. Cody: Miguel Sano: Rosario got lots of accolades in '11 and now it will be Sano's turn. Travis: Oswaldo Arcia- The best pure hitter in organization will explode this year. Breakout Hitter (EST): Seth: Travis Harrison – One of the Twins supplemental 1st round draft picks in 2011, Harrison will debut in 2012. He’s a solid power-hitting prospect, but will he play in Elizabethton or the GCL? Andrew: Niko Goodrum. Looking to build off of a solid 2011 in Elizabethton. Roger: Max Kepler, We all have been waiting for him to mature physically and gain experience. He won't be the player he will eventually become, but will take a big step forward this year. Paul: Niko Goodrum. Nko will repeat EST for a second season, but if he can build off of late season success from 2011 Niko's a name that Twins fans will be talking about as the season progresses. Goodrum is also a twitter fanatic, @nikogoodrumTC, and like Ben Revere he just looks like he's having fun out on the field. He's still pretty raw, but look for Goodrum to make big strides at the plate this year. Cody: Max Kepler: More consistency and less strikeouts will be key for him to succeed. Travis: Max Kepler- The best prospect to ever come from Europe will explode this year. Best Hitter (EST): Seth: Josh Hendricks – The burly first baseman has been inconsistent the last two years in the GCL since coming over from Australia. But when he makes contact, he hits the ball with authority. I think he’ll take that next step and put up big numbers in E-Town in 2012. Andrew: Max Kepler. Still young, filling out. Roger: Niko Goodrum, He will be one of the most exciting players in the organization in 2012! Paul: Max Kepler is back in EST for a second year after coming off a 2011 where he hit .262/.347/.366. Look for Kepler to settle in early and build off his season ending six game hit streak in 2011. Kepler should continue to get stronger and should develop power as he progresses through the Twins system. Cody: Niko Goodrum: Ended last year by playing well and this will hopefully transfer to this year. Travis: Travis Harrison- The power hitting 3rd baseman will dominate the GCL. So there you have it, our picks for the 2012 season. Now it is your turn. Make your picks. We’ll be back later in the day to discuss the pitchers.