Parker Hageman

The starting catcher’s job: it is almost a forgone conclusion that the position belongs to Kurt Suzuki to start the year. Josmil Pinto, with his impressive September campaign, will be in the passenger’s seat when the season begins on March 31 in Chicago. 1500ESPN.com’s Phil Mackey outlines a few of the reasons why the Twins are going that route: What’s interesting about Suzuki is the emphasis on his ability to handle pitchers, particularly his game-calling abilities. Last year, while splitting time between Washington and Oakland, Suzuki put the index finger down more than all catchers but one. His 63% fastball rate was well-above the league-average of 53%. This, of course, may have been a product of playing with the A’s (who as a staff had their catchers call for more fastballs than anybody 62.3%) and the Nationals (third with 60.9%). But if Suzuki is simply following the game plan as outlined by the ability of the rotation and bullpen, how is it that he’s able to coax the most out of pitchers? Last year he was below the average in terms of getting strikes call that were outside of the zone and had a lower than average rate of strikes being called in zone. If that is the case, what sort of value is he actually providing? As Mackey’s column points out, Ron Gardenhire and Glen Perkins both lauded Suzuki’s leadership skills, which is something than cannot be measured but can have a positive impact on a team in various ways. Perhaps the most impact will be to help Pinto’s defensive game improve quickly so his bat can be an everyday presence in the lineup.

Phil Hughes has been somewhat of an indecisive pitcher over his career when it comes to his repertoire. Year in and year out, there has been an inability to choose a secondary pitch. While it has mainly been a big, slow curve, it has seen several variations followed by abandonment in 2013 in favor of a slider. Hughes’ Year of the Slider produced mixed results as opponents struggled against his new weapon in the season’s first-half, hitting just .160 off it, but then the competition zeroed in and smashed it around to the tune of .360 in the last half of the year. This spring, after a year of opting for the hard slider, 2014 will be the Return of the Curve (also a great follow-up single for Mark Morrison). [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If you google “Phil Hughes curveball”, you will find several pieces dating back to 2009 that are dedicated to his bender. When Hughes was one of the game’s top prospects in the Yankees’ farm system, Baseball America raved about curveball. Prior to the 2007 season, as River Avenue Blues cited in 2010, Baseball America’s prospectors were elated when Hughes decided to forget the slider for the big curve: The bipolar relationship with his curveball followed him throughout his major league career as well. In 2009, the Yankees asked him to change his curve from the low-70s loop for a more “power curve” as Hughes described it. It would be fashioned off the same curve that Mike Mussina and AJ Burnett threw at that time, with the same arm speed as his fastball. After averaging 71 and 72-miles per hour on the curve in 2007 and 2008, respectively, he was averaging 77 on the curve in 2009. Two years later in 2011, Hughes was again trying to reinvent his curve. After not getting the results he wanted on the pitch, Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild made the suggestion to switch his grip from the knuckle or spike-curve to a more standard curve grip. The reasoning was that Hughes felt opponents were tracking the pitch out of his hand, and this change would give him that harder break the Yankees believed would benefit him. In 2012, he admitted to throwing two variations of the pitch, one from a different arm slot to change things up. Last year, his concern that hitters were picking up the curve out of his hand forced him,at the behest of the Yankees, towards the slider to allow him to throw more east-west across the strike zone. Overall, the curve never became the big weapon that Baseball America projected almost a decade ago. Since 2009, only 105 of his 575 strikeouts have come on his curve -- a vast majority these have come on the fastball (337). Part of that is simply a pitch selection decision, since he threw his fastball three times more often in two strike counts. Is that because of lack of faith in his secondary pitch or just knowing his fastball is superior? Did the Yankees’ constant tinkering add to that as well? In addition to returning to the curve, it also appears Hughes will be using the spike-curve again (as seen in his Twins spring training debut photo above). With the exception of the 2011 alteration to the standard grip, Hughes has favored this variation over his career. What’s more, from 2009 to the end of 2012, ESPN/tru media’s pitch database shows that his curve has dropped -8.2 inches, one of the biggest drops in the game. That has not equaled success, to be sure, as his well-hit average of .174 has been one of the highest among qualified starters (and well above the curveball average of .137). The Twins are eager to see if Hughes can rekindle the curve, believing the change in speed will help him overall. We don’t know how it will work, but we know that Hughes has been down this road before with mixed results.

This week's "Gleeman and The Geek" episode featured a newly married Parker Hageman from Twins Daily filling in as co-host and topics included Miguel Sano needing Tommy John elbow surgery and what it means for his future, Johan Santana's sad comeback, Josmil Pinto's weight issues, technical difficulties, Bud Lights vs. Old Fashioneds, cop listeners, the history of Tommy John surgery, over/under 70.5 wins in 2014, Florida weddings, and being way too explicit. You can listen by clicking below, or download us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

So the Twins Daily official Spring Training coverage begins next week when John Bonnes touches down in Fort Myers. However, last week I had the privilege -- nay -- honor of getting a tour of Hammond Stadium’s updates with my family. While in Florida for my -- ahem -- nuptials (sorry ladies), we made a pit stop at the Twins’ spring training facilities and were treated to a walk-through of the activities, which included the catchers’ drills on the backfield. Thanks to our photographer (and my cousin) Will Sandstad, we came away with some wonderful action shots of the practice session. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For more thoughts and reactions on the drills and the new additions to the stadium, please listen to the podcast below (warning: some adult language).

The Twins have released a statement today from Terry Ryan who says that he will miss at least the beginning portion of spring training because of cancer that is considered treatable. Ryan will undergo treatment at the Mayo Clinic for Squamous Cell Carcinoma after a biopsy of a lump on his neck was determined to be cancerous. Dr. Vijay Eyunni told the media Monday afternoon that the cancer was sourced to his lymph nodes and not skin cancer as previously reported. Here is the entirety of Ryan's statement: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] According to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger, Ryan will undergo surgery tomorrow and the hopes are that a combination of surgery and radiation treatment will eliminate the cancer. All the best to Terry Ryan and his family.

We were introduced to Jose Berrios in a video of him celebrating with his friends and family after receiving the exquisite news that he was drafted by a professional baseball team. Arms in a “V”, high-fives, hugs and tears. For Minnesota Twins fans, the sequel is of him doing the same thing on the field following the last out of a World Series victory. That’s the dream anyway. There remains, of course, a long road from here to there. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Still, Berrios has done much in his burgeoning career to inspire hope that he can be a part of any championship team in the coming years. After the draft, the supplemental first round pick dominated rookie ball in both the Appalachian and Gulf Coast Leagues in 2012, racking up 49 strikeouts and allowing just four walks in 30.2 innings. Baseball America said he was the team’s sixth best prospect in a system where new and elite talent was constantly being stocked. This past season Berrios, at the ripe age of 19, performed well in the tougher competitive challenge in the Midwest League. Mindful of his development, the Twins pulled back the reins to help insure he remains out of the infirmary, where so many of their lauded pitching prospects have gone. And, like most raw prospect talents, he also encountered some resistance as he discovered he could not always throw his speedball by you to make you look like a fool. Why He Might Struggle Berrios’ stature -- generously listed at six-foot-nothing -- may be his biggest perceived weakness. While that would be an inch and change above my current height, by major league pitching standards, that is considered downright diminutive. With a three-quarters delivery, there have been occasions when he has been unable to get the ball down in the zone and when that happens...boom. According to MinorLeagueCentral.com’s depository of stats, Berrios managed just a 40% ground ball rate - a figure toward the bottom of the Midwest League’s leaderboard. As a pitcher ascends in a system that rate typically decreases. It would be nicer to see that number at 50% or higher to go along with his strikeouts but that would take a complete revamping of his repertoire and mechanics. Basically, he is what he is: a strikeout pitcher with fly ball-leaning tendencies. The strikeouts, however, did not come in as many bunches this past season as they did his first year in the organization. He’s got a lively fastball, a decent curve with a 1-to-7 break and a good changeup with plenty of arm-side run. During his amatuer days, Perfect Game noted that Berrios had flashed a cutter to go along with his other three pitches. His problem, he acknowledged this summer, is that he tries to throw the fastball past everyone rather than mix in the assortment. Why He Will Succeed OK, so he won’t win any...umm...height contests but wowzers, that’s an impressive wing span on the young man. What is striking about Berrios is how polished his mechanics are for his age and how well he hides the ball from hitters in his windup. With three above-average pitches, it is easy to see why he can miss bats; just a little tinkering with his pitch deployment strategy could make for a very lethal pitcher. Beyond that, much has been made of Berrios’ work ethic. Gary Lucas, his pitching coach with Cedar Rapids last year, raved about his advanced make-up for someone as young as he is. He told Twins Daily’s Seth Stohs recently that he places a great deal of emphasis on his training. There is no reason to think that Berrios won’t do everything in his power to take his God-given talent to the next level. What’s Next? Berrios is a long way from being in the Twins’ roster anytime in the near future. Realistically he may be best suited to be a late-innings reliever, someone who doesn’t have to churn through 100 bullets a night and who can stomp his cleats on hitters’ throats with his two best pitches. That said, there is no reason to write him off as a potential starter. Some refinement in his approach and filling out as he matures could propel him into a rotation spot. Either way, Berrios has some electric stuff that -- barring catastrophic injuries -- will eventually be on display at the major league level.

A year ago Josmil Pinto wasn’t on anyone’s prospect list. Baseball America. Baseball Prospectus. Seth Stohs. None of these minor league mavens saw Pinto coming in 2013. The kid was so far off the radar you’d figure he had drowned in tobacco juice (which has been known to happen in Wisconsin) somewhere in Beloit . And yet, one year later, here he is, number seven with a bullet on our prospect list. What happened? How did everyone miss so badly? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Part of it is the nature of the prospecting game, to be sure. People can overrate guys for certain elements of their game...like former prospect Joe Benson, for example. Once upon a time he was a Top 10 guy every year because he was the toolsiest tool to ever tool. He had everything: The body, the athleticism, the hair (oh, the hair). In the end, the tools were not able to translate into big league success. Not yet, anyhow. Meanwhile, a guy like Pinto who has a frumpy body, an unorthodox swing and is a bigger liability behind the plate than a competitive eater with lockjaw... well, sometimes those guys keep improving or keep hitting. The Rise In November 2012, the Twins added the 24-year-old catcher to their 40-man roster, a consortium of ballplayers that was already littered with catchers. The move was originally heralded as curious. In their preseason annual, Baseball Prospectus considered his inclusion a “somewhat surprising addition” to the Twins’ group. After all, he had but 52 plate appearances in AA New Britain under his belt. Despite a .295/.362/.482 line in 2012 while playing a position that places emphasis on defense, Baseball America omitted him from the Twins’ Top 10 list. As did Baseball Prospectus. (Of course, a lot of that can be attributed to the growing depth of prospect talent in the team’s farm system.) Even though he demonstrated a good deal of power in the offense-stifling Florida State League, Pinto’s age (24) at the start of the 2013 season, his injury history, his non-jeans model body and his oft questioned defense likely earned him demerits in the rankings. Last year in spring training, the 24-year-old catcher began to catch a few eyes as well. Manager Ron Gardenhire professed intrigue in the Venezuelan while prospector John Sickels noted that Pinto has slimmed down some, making the knock on his body shape less of a factor in his projection. Then he just kept hitting and moving. First it was New Britain, where he earned an All-Star berth, followed by a brief stint in Rochester and then having his season culminate with a summons from the big club in September. Pinto’s September call-up was preceded by Joe Mauer’s season-ending injury and that allowed him to play almost full-time behind the plate and to hit every day. And hit he did. With the exception of Chris Parmelee’s 2011, Pinto’s 2013 season was the best offensive performance by a Twins’ call-up in a long while. While that is a good sign, much like with Parmelee, the results in the small sampling do not dictate future output. Why He Might Struggle Teams have little time to prepare game plans to attack call-ups' weaknesses and often are left challenging them with fastballs. In his time with the Twins, Pinto saw almost 60% fastballs -- a very high percentage in comparison with the league average. With his high leg kick, Pinto may prove to be more susceptible to offspeed and breaking pitches or simply have his timing thrown off when he faces a greater variety of pitches. With the equipment on, Pinto did not prove to be as much of a liability as previously advertised. In fact, after not throwing out any of five runners in spring training, Pinto, in September, nailed five of 11 would-be base-stealers while not allowing a passed ball (there were nine wild pitches credited to the pitchers). Still, this did not stop general manager Terry Ryan from voicing caution when it came to assessing his overall catching abilities. This winter Ryan told Twins Daily that the team viewed Pinto’s September as good, not great. Why He Will Succeed While a wider array of pitch types might provide a kink in his development, he has hit at almost every level. Unlike some prospects who need a period of adjustment, Pinto has hit the ground running. Last year, one area of his game that saw improvement was his plate discipline: he saw an increase in walk rates despite playing at higher levels -- perhaps a sign that he will be able to have success against different pitches. Having already mentioned that his significant leg kick might be a detriment, it is also a solid timing mechanism that helps him perform well against both hard and soft offerings. Examining his spray chart, you can see that for hard offerings (fastballs, sliders, etc), he stays middle-away. On the other hand, for slower offerings (changeups, curves, etc), he pull them. Some hitters get caught cheating to pull the fastball and find themselves too far out in front to adjust to offspeed (Ryan Doumit comes to mind). Pinto does not do this. What’s Next Pinto can hit, we know this. The Twins want to see more from him defensively in order to give him the position full-time. His white-hot September aside, he probably could use a few more ABs and defensive refinement at Rochester before taking over the job.