Bob Sacamento

Glad to see Hayman up in Cedar Rapids, I know there was talk from his host family at the end of GCL/Instructs that he might not be back with the organization. Kid definitely has power potential, it's the contact rate (especially lefties) and staying behind the plate that are his weaknesses at this point.

Nice! I actually might make it to one of those games Thurs or Friday Night at home against Bradenton. Think I might do Thursday, just so I can take pictures of Kohl Stewart charting behind homeplate, he loves it!! (No, he doesn't, he absolutely hates having his picture taken)

Well Stewart better "break out" this year because it's getting close to his make or break status as a legit prospect. He should benefit from repeating at High A but if one of his secondary pitches doesn't develop into a swing and miss pitch, he's looking at a backend starter at best. Still disheartening that the club seemingly has him concentrating more on harnessing his sinker ball than using his high octane fastball (that he still has somewhere in there).

If you talk to Romero he'll tell you he's ready now! The impressive part was that he was still popping 95-96 mph in his fifth inning of work the other day.

Yeah was almost 90 over the weekend, it's cooled down to mid 80's though. Yeah well he's tired of it it looks like LOL

On the field, both have great stuff, I've seen Stewart throw some good side sessions yet it doesn't seem to translate into game action. Miracles Pitching Coach Bonilla has been tinkering with Kohl's mechanics in order to keep his pitches down in the zone and to stay in a downward plane. Stewart's success is in his sinking action and keeping the ball down, if it's up in the zone it's a meatball. Based on the effort that he throws, one would think he's sitting around the mid 90's when in reality, Stewart's FB has been sitting 89-91mph and topping out at 93 mph. Gonsalves' delivery is little effort, he has good command and control of his fastball, his changeup is already a strong offering and his curveball has really been coming along this Spring. The biggest difference I see in game action is Stephen's pitchability, he works the plate well hitting his spots, mixing up pitches, and outguessing the hitters. Here's the isolated video of Gonsalves making one of MiLB's top prospect's Yoan Moncada look foolish Off the field, the two are night and day, Gonsalves is nice, approachable, good natured kid who talks it up with fans and kids. Definitely gives off the West Coast vibe. As Seth can attest, one can just sit and talk to Steve and he treats you as one of the guys. On the other hand, Kohl comes off as very abrasive, distant, keeps to himself, if you can get one word out of him that's more than most. Just his personality, I don't fault him but it does make it really hard to root for him (one of the very few in the organization).

The time has finally come for baseball to finally count! But before the players left for the colder weather up north, there was a final wrap up of Spring Training against the Boston Red Sox this weekend. Stephen Gonsalves started off the Hi-A game for the Fort Myers Miracle against the Hi-A Salem Red Sox who sent out a formidable lineup that included some of the minors top prospects in Yoan Moncada, Andrew Benetendi, Rafael Devers, and Nick Longhi. The lefty did not disappoint the fans in the stands, Steve was out to pitch only two innings so that he could work on his curveball, and it was pretty one getting several swings and misses. In his two innings he gave up weak contact, struck out four, with his fastball sitting at 91mph but bumping it up to 95mph a couple times. Right now, the changeup is his best offspeed pitch as it just tumbles and falls out of his hand. While the curve and slider are both works in progress that he's used in the past to give the hitter a different look; that could all change this year. Video: Stephen Gonsalves pitching (views from behind during warmups, 1B line, behind the plate vs Austin Rei, behind the plate vs. Yoan Moncada Gonsalves was followed on the rubber by Raul Fernandez (3 innings), Luke Bard (2 innings), and Luke Westphal (2 innings). Bard was sitting 91-93mph with his fastball, hit 94 once, the big thing for him was his command of his pitches was present. Video: Luke Bard pitching (view from 3B line) The offense in the game was few and far between but the highlight was back to back homeruns by Nick Gordon and TJ White. Gordon has looked great this spring, showing off his added muscle as well as his fielding prowess at SS. There is no question that Little Flash has all the tools to stay at SS the further he climbs the ladder. Video: Nick "Flash" Gordon going yard! On the other fields on Friday, Fernando Romero looked great in his five innings of work against the EXST, Romero's fastball sat at 95 mph and bumped it up to 98 mph several occasions and his slider was sharp. I talked to Fernando AKA "Paul" (inside joke) after his start, he said he felt great and could have gone another inning. He was more upset that I didn't get him on video. Starting for the Lo A club was Randy LeBlanc, the righty doesn't have overpowering stuff sitting 88-90mph for the game but was painting corners and working up and down in the zone - the things he has to do well to survive as a pitcher. Saturday was the last day of official Spring Training and I watched the Hi-A and Lo-A clubs battle it out again this time at JetBlue where Kohl Stewart got the start for the Miracles squad. Stewart's fastball was 89-91 mph with good sinking action, Kohl's problem was leaving offspeed "meatballs" up in the zone. At this point, I still don't know what to think of him as a pitching prospect but I know what I think about him off the mound...the exact opposite of Stephen Gonsalves. Concerning the Low A game, there wasn't much offense as the Red Sox 18 year old uber pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza was on the mound. If you haven't heard of the kid get ready to, his fastball was sitting 95-96 mph with a peak of 98 mph and he mixes in plus offerings of a changeup and a slider. All in all, it was a great spring training, I'll have updates periodically throughout the year on the extended spring training, Gulf Coast League and Instructs!! Shameless plugs: follow me for more pictures and videos on Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube

Here's the lineup from Friday's game vs BoSox, wouldn't be shocked if it's something close to it:

Here is the 3/31 Work groups:

If I was a betting man, money is on Blankenhorn to start in E-town and maybe see time in CR. Cabbage looks to start in EXST and GCL with a possible callup to E-town. Both have been working on their defense at 3B, Cabbage looks like the better athletic fielder that's for sure but appears to still be adjusting at the plate. Cabbage just played 3B for the AA team on Friday. Blankenhorn has been moved all around this spring - LF, 3B, 1B - he has a pretty stroke although it gets long at times.

From what it sounded like at camp, is that the organization wanted to move him back to Hi A to start the 2016 season and he felt differently; I don't fault him one bit. Great kid, articulate, easy going personality, best of luck to hooking up with a club in 2016. Worst case, he could end of coaching in a couple of years helping others chase their dreams.

Don't know about the AAA and AA, but in HiA, LoA, and EXST over the weekend Gonsalves threw the first two innings on Friday against a very tough BoSox HiA roster (Moncada, Benetendi, Devers, Longhi) and looked really good. Fernando Romero threw 5IP in an EXST and popped 98mph. Gordon and TJ White went back to back homeruns. Luke Bard popped 93 a couple of times on Friday. Kohl Stewart threw on Saturday and looked decent, left balls up in the zone. Still don't know what to think of him as a pitching prospect, but know what I think about him off the mound....the exact opposite of Gonsalves. As for the LoA team on Saturday, no one hit, they were squaring off against 18yo uber pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza who spun 98mph FB with plus offerings of a changeup and slider.

Right now on the depth chart the 3B for AAA is Buck Britton and Steve Wickens. Polanco will likely see the bulk of 2B time as the rest of the middle infielders for AAA are Tovar (SS), Beresford (2B/SS), and Menses (UT).

Yeah, Park definitely has talent at 1B defensively, those KBO awards were earned. His contact and walk rate will determine how much the Twins want to keep him in the lineup because the power is true and translates over

I haven't heard anything official but I also haven't seen Joe around camp recently either. I'll be back there firsthand tomorrow and try to find out. Until then Seth, you got an answer?

Yeah, he wasn't that bad in ST that I saw. Probably more to do with age and also the other options as pen arms in AAA are thought to be better prospects/help the big league club.

Not hearsay, first hand witness. Huge difference

Well the Venezuelan Sandoval just ate himself out of a starting gig this offseason

Actually, this time last year Sano was struggling mightly with his conditioning. Reported to camp overweight, they held him out of game action at the end of Spring to work with AA Strength and Conditioning Coach Dax Fiore. Miggy actually had "tweeked" his wrist sliding and Fiore told him several times it's because you're fat. Sano did the master cleanse diet for 3-5 days to jump start his metabolism and to shed some extra weight he came to camp with. Fiore also had his ass running ALOT which Miggy absolutely hated. Here's a couple videos I took last year of Sano getting pushed by Fiore Sano last year 1 Sano last year 2

He was here for three days, then didn't come back til mandatory date

Here is the latest MiLB workgroups as of 3/30:

The difference is that 20 some other odd players were not learning a position that they had NEVER played before AND that were being counted on to be the everyday starter. Missing time in early spring in Ft Myers, meant that on report date that Sano was already well behind the learning curve.

If you haven't looked at the Minnesota Twins, the scheduling went very odd. In the first half of the season the Twins play ONLY 18 games against their biggest rivals in the Royals, Tigers and Indians In the second half, the Twins play 39 of their 79 games against the Royals, Tigers, and Indians. So look for a strong start to begin the season but the second half will make or break the year