Seth Stohs

I think Pearce was hurt, but the emergence of Parmelee and the play of Bates really put him in a tough spot. I'd heard reports and Gallant and Stillings were both throwing 95 in their first spring games... pretty impressive!

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?366-More-Minor-League-Releases

Last week, the Twins announced seven players released from minor league camp. This morning marked the end of the line for the Twins career of several more players. Dustin Martin - Martin came to the Twins in the 2007 trade (with Drew Butera) in exchange for Luis Castillo. In 32 games for Ft. Myers that summer, he posted an .803 OPS. The following season he was promoted to New Britain where he posted an .802 OPS with 52 extra base hits. He has spent the past three seasons with the Rochester Red Wings. He improved his statistics each season. Last year, he hit .265/.341/.431 (.773) with 25 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs. During the offseason, he began a secondary career by starting YourCoolMovie.com. Chris Cates - Cates was the Twins 38th round draft choice in 2007 out of the University of Louisville. He immediately gained recognition because of his 5-3 height (especially in photo ops with then-teammate 7-2 Loek Van Mil). He was a solid defender at SS and 2B, known for his steady performance and strong arm. In his five minor league seasons, he hit .228/.292/.255 (.547), but got all the way to New Britain the last two seasons. Steve Pearce - The 28 year old Pearce signed with the Twins this past offseason. Unfortunately, Pearce was hurt in big league camp and never able to get it going. Matt Bashore - He was the Twins supplemental 1st round pick in 2009, and he pitched in just 18.2 innings in the Twins organization (16.2 last year), all in Elizabethton. Since being drafted, he has had shoulder and elbow surgery. This move is somewhat surprising because I had heard reports that he was very impressive at the Florida Instructional League Ben Tootle - 24-year-old was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2009 after being clocked at 100 mph in college. Since that time, he too has been unable to stay healthy. He had one shoulder surgery. Last year, he came back and was working to regain his velocity, but he really struggled with his control. He was shut down early again and hoped that he would come back strong in 2012. Deinys Suarez - The 28-year-old Cuban defector was signed by the Twins prior to the 2011 season. He made his debut in AA New Britain last year where he went 1-6. He made some starts in Rochester as well and went 0-3. Combined, he posted an ERA of 5.76 and a WHIP of 1.49. Tyler Koelling - He was the Twins 19th round pick in 2011 out of the U. of Southern Mississippi where he posted an OPS over .900 his last two seasons. At Elizabethton last year, he hit .228/.291/.382 with six doubles and five home runs. Roy Larson - Larson was signed by the Twins following the 2010 season. The University of St. Thomas grad went to Elizabethton last year and played some at each corner infield spot. He hit .202/.240/.287 with five doubles and a home run. I don't think that any of these moves are complete surprises, with the possible exception of Matt Bashore. But I'm certain it is a difficult day for each and every one of them. What will their next steps be? Will they get another opportunity with an affiliate? Will they look to the independent leagues for another shot? Will they begin their next careers. To each of them, thank you for the time and efforts you put forth in the Twins (and their affiliates) uniforms. Best wishes in whatever is next in your careers! [ATTACH=CONFIG]438[/ATTACH]

This blog has been promoted to an article. Check it out and comment here: http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?365-Could-Capps-perform-better-than-Nathan-in-12

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?364-Manship-Benson-Optioned-More-Roster-Moves

On Monday, the Twins reassigned RHP Brendan Wise to minor league camp. Tuesday morning, the Twins optioned OF Joe Benson and RHP Jeff Manship. They also reassigned INF Pedro Florimon and C Rene Rivera. None of the moves are completely surprising, and yet it further cements some of the roster spots that remain up for grabs. Benson had a terrific showing in big league camp. His defense shone as he made it clear that he is the organization's top all-around defensive centerfielder. His aggressiveness and hustle are a mainstay, and that's why it was so surprising yesterday when he popped a single to right and only got to 1B. Offensively, it was a struggle early in camp to make contact, but that improved as more games were played. Look for Benson to play a lot of centerfield in Rochester and be ready to help the Twins when needed. Manship also had a very solid camp. He was very good in all but one outing this spring. The right-hander has improved his slider, making it a big strikeout pitch. Again, he should go to Rochester and work out of the bullpen because that would be his role with the Twins when they have a need. It was believed that Manship, Alex Burnett, Kyle Waldrop, Jeff Gray and Casey Fien were 'battling' for the one remaining bullpen spot (behind Capps, Perkins, Swarzak, Duensing, Burton and Maloney). Florimon had a nice camp in that he showed his defensive prowess. He didn't hit much, but did have some extra base pop in AA last year in the Orioles organization. He was battling for a utility infield spot with Michael Hollimon and Sean Burroughs. Rene Rivera played as well (or better) than other backup catcher candidates JR Towles and Drew Butera, but he is the first one sent to minor league camp. It is still uncertain if Manager Ron Gardenhire will choose to carry three catchers on his roster or not. With Scott Baker's struggles and the Jason Marquis personal matter, Liam Hendriks remains on the roster in case the team needs someone to make some early season starts. The team is now at 34 players in big league camp with another nine needing to come off of the roster before the season starts on April 6. [ATTACH=CONFIG]436[/ATTACH]

Geez, Thrylos... that Baker picture is unreal! Wow! Looks quite pained!!

Casey Fien finally gave up a run this spring. Still would be good to see him work earlier in a game.

Could be Baker's spot or Marquis's. I'm sure they're trying to get him stretched out, so he should get 5-6 innings.

According to this Pioneer Press article, the 7-year-old daughter of Twins pitcher Jason Marquis was in a serious bike accident. The pitcher has been away from the team about a week, and Terry Ryan doesn't expect him back anytime soon although he expects him to be ready when camp breaks on April 4. Best wishes to the Marquis family and especially to his daughter!

Not sure why, but I 'm not worried about Baker. Assuming his elbow is fine and strong, it'll just take a couple of starts to get back to form. He's going to give up some HR, so that doesn't bother me. Will be good to see more of that movement that he normally has on his pitches. As for Zobrist, he is a pretty good ball player. I believe he's been an All Star. He has hit many HR. And yes, he's a guy who has the Twins number. That's one of those weird things... Hitting someone in a spring game is pretty ridiculous.

From Mackey, Willingham pulled with a "very minor ankle tweak." Revere will play LF and bat 8th.

Here's the Twins lineup today versus the Rays: Denard Span CF Jamey Carroll SS Joe Mauer C Justin Morneau DH Josh Willingham LF Ryan Doumit RF Danny Valencia 3B Chris Parmelee 1B Alexi Casilla 2B SP: Scott Baker (Hendriks, Burnett, Fien, Gray, Manship) Rays Ben Zobrist RF Luke Scott DH Evan Longoria 3B Carlos Pena 1B Jeff Keppinger 2B Jose Molina C Elliot Johnson SS Will Rhymes LF Jesus Feliciano CF SP: Jeff Niemann Earlier today, the Twins send Brendan Wise back to minor league camp so the team is down to 38 players in big league camp.

That is correct!

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?361-Should-Luke-Hughes-Start-at-2B-for-the-Twins

On Saturday, Luke Hughes went 5-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. On Sunday, he went 2-3 with another home run. That raised his spring training numbers to .385/.429/.795 (1.223) with four doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI. When the 2011 season ended, TwinsCentric released its Offseason GM Handbook. In my offseason blueprint, I suggested that Luke Hughes be the Twins second baseman in 2012 with Alexi Casilla moving back to the utility role. I targeted Clint Barmes for shortstop, but the Twins signed Jamey Carroll and Barmes went to the Pirates (and I still really like the Carroll signing). Coming into spring training, Hughes was injured. He had a shoulder injury while playing in his hometown, Perth, in the Australian Baseball League. He went from being out of options and a likely bench role to questions about if he could start the season on the DL. Some even asked if he would clear waivers should the Twins decide to remove him from the 40 man roster. And now, I have to bring a question back to the Twins Daily readers; Should Luke Hughes be the Twins starting second baseman? Do spring training statistics mean anything? Consider that in 2011, Hughes hit .246/.265/.569 with three doubles and six home runs. He was the final cut, but it wasn’t long before he was called back up to the Twins where he hit .223/.289/.338 (64-287) with 12 doubles and seven home runs. Spring Training is such a small sample that generally it doesn’t offer any suggestion on regular season success. If you are looking for one nugget to believe that his 2012 is different, check out his walk to strikeout rate. Last spring, he walked twice and struck out 17 times. This season, he has three walks and five strikeouts. And frankly, if spring training statistics mean something, Casilla is hitting .355/.429/.387. When it comes to defense, the assumption is that Casilla is significantly better than Hughes, and for me, it would be hard to argue. Hughes has never been known for his glove, and with Casilla’s speed, we assume he has more range. UZR is just one way to look at defense, and frankly, it’s probably not the best when comparing a single season. Alexi Casilla’s 2011 UZR was 0.9 and his UZR/150 was 2.2. Luke Hughes 2011 UZR was 1.3 while his UZR/150 was 4.9. When it comes to offense, Casilla and Hughes are like night and day. Casilla is a speedster with little power in his bat. Hughes is not swift-of-foot, but he does have tremendous power. Casilla is a switch-hitter, while Hughes bats right handed. Casilla puts the ball in play 2.5 times more frequently than Hughes. Neither has really been a beacon of health in their careers. Because they are such different players, it is not an easy decision. So, why would I advocate Luke Hughes as the Twins starting second baseman? Here are a few reasons: Casilla has had a lot of opportunities as a starter. I’m not saying that he doesn’t deserve to be the starting second baseman in 2011. After a horrible first six weeks to his 2011, he played well the rest of the season. However, Luke Hughes has never been given an opportunity at an every day job. It may prove that he doesn’t deserve it, but I would take my chances. Secondly, Casilla’s best season overall was in 2010 when he was the Twins utility infielder. As the roster sits right now (with Hughes as the utility infielder), there really is not a backup shortstop. In fact, the backup shortstop would probably be Casilla, but that is something Gardy typically does not like to do. Instead of forcing someone like Pedro Florimon onto the roster, Casilla can just be the utility player. From a roster management standpoint, Casilla as utility infielder certainly makes more sense. Third, the Twins regular lineup contains Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, the switch-hitting Ryan Doumit and occasionally Ben Revere. Casilla is a switch hitter, but I think that adding another powerful right-handed bat could help even up the lineup. I don’t know how Luke Hughes would perform in an everyday role. Then again, I don’t know how Alexi Casilla will perform in an everyday role and we’ve seen that four or five times already. The best-case scenario would have him hitting 18-20 home runs in 500 plate appearances. If it doesn’t go so well, Brian Dozier is waiting in the wings and could be ready to come up by June and Hughes can return to a reserve role. I think the odds of Hughes being the regular starting second baseman is very low. Then again, I have already been surprised several times this spring. Chris Parmelee hit his way onto the Opening Day roster. Maybe Luke Hughes can hit his way into a starting job. --- Bonus Luke Hughes Trivia: Luke Hughes signed with the Twins in July of 2002. Only three players on the Twins 40-man roster have been in the Twins organization longer than Hughes. Who are they? [ATTACH=CONFIG]432[/ATTACH]

I think their scouting was pretty accurate on Terry Doyle...

First and foremost, since they changed the rules, fewer people get through the cracks. Here are the #2 Rule 5 Picks in recent years: 2010 (Jose Flores-returned), 2009 (John Raynor-returned), 2008 (Reegie Corona-returned), 2007 (Evan Meek-returned, but then retained), 2006 (Joakim Soria-he was pretty good), 2005 (Luis Gonzales-UT IF/OF for half a year), 2004 (Andrew Sisco-kept), 2003 (Rich Thompson-traded), 2002 (Hector Luna-returned), 2001 (Luis Ugueto), 2000 (Brandon Knight-returned), 1999 (Johan Santana-TRADED-but he turned out pretty good). Not certain there should have been much expectation. #1 picks don't stay with the selecting team.

Juan Pierre was a very good player the first 4-5 years of his career. When he got the big contract that free agency brought, he was way overpaid for that style of play, especially once the SB and the OBP started to drop. I think if Revere can be what Pierre was the first 5-6 years of his career, that would be great.