Bob Sacamento

What a difference a year makes, not only did the squad reporting to this years 2014 Florida Instructional League look much different than last year but so did the newly renovated facility. When entering the new Player Academy, you're greeted by a large hill that was constructed for new strength exercises and a sign stating "This is Twin Territory" and a 12 ft picture of Kirby Puckett and the quote "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" Around the corner are more signage showing the Twins past success and telling everyone "The Road Begins Here". While waiting around, I was able to find the iteneriery for this past Thursday. Further down is the brand new three story housing unit and office for the Players' Developmental Academy, and let me tell you the Twins did this right. That is except for the marked up rates they charge the players for simple things such as contact solution. Don't tell but I sweet talked my way into the first floor unit and it was nice, furnished with ping-pong tables, pool tables, conference rooms and offices. The walls are decorated with blown up old school Twin baseball cards and ESPN magazine covers while Baseball America magazines strewn about with the MLB network playing on flatscreen TVs. The players live on the second and third floor and are roomed with a teammate unless they have family and they are housed together. The best part of this experience is that I'm the only "regular" person out there with all these players, coaches and trainers. With the 10am game cancelled due to wet conditions, the day started off as a fizzle and I was honestly about to leave but who do I see come out of the Academy Complex but Bryon Buxton and the rest of the Instructional League squad. Buxton was the first player out and has definitely hardened over the last two years that I've seen him in that he doesn't like the chit chat or pictures or autographs as much as when he was fresh out of a small Georgian high school. Following Buxton were the rest of the Instructional League positional players minus Nick Gordon while the pitchers stayed behind in the Complex listening to a Rasmussen speech and watching video. At 9:30am the position players reported to what they loving refer to as "The Hill". At first glance it doesn't appear ominious but if you talk to any player out there they hated it by the end. The first player taken was Miguel Guzman and boy can he fly while the catchers were all near the end of the picking process with Alex Swim getting the notorious last pick and crying about it. Kanzler ended up with Rainis Silvia, Jorge Fernandez, Nelson Molina, Trey Vavra, Tanner English,Tyree Davis, Rafael Valera and Stu Turner. , before deciding on slow-fast-slow with his placement of runners and picking Rainis Silvia to go first which Rainis was pleading not to do. Jorge Fernandez is quiet the character, very verbal with encouragement, quick wit and always cracking a joke. I said that I wasn't impressed with last year's strength and conditioning regime well this time around leadman Eric Beiser pulled out a great drill. First the players foot tapped the box 10x each foot then hit the ladder, followed by the medicine ball which they threw laterally to each side 6x times. The race was then to the sandpit (think long jump placement) where they ran halfway down then backwards with running forward-back-forward full length. After that was slamming the medicine ball 6x down then running up the 45 degree hill "duck walking" with tubing, Then off to 10 3 count burpees that many players turned into 5 count (including pushup), that was followed by reverse duck walk, 30 second plank, side shuffle, sprint up the hill, 10 second side planks, side shuffle down the hill, jumps up the hill, backwards lunges down the hill, and a sprint up the hill for the finish. Tommy Watkins, the FIL manager, loves giving his players crap, riding them hard, most of the players thought he was joking when he said we're hitting after this but he was serious. , , Believe it or not, this drill killed several of the players with three of them puking (Zack Larson, Tyree Davis and Brian Navarreto). much like Navarreto while Davis had to be carried off by Rainis Silvia and Nelson Molina with Jorge Fernandez fanning him off. Tyree told me, I never had to do this even in football, they said you work every muscle but I only feel it here (quadriceps), I know what I'm doing this offseason (pointing to the hill), I've never had to workout like this before. Buxton just stood on the sidelines and watched as he's nowhere near in-shape, he's only hitting in the the cage at this point. Tyler Kuresa asked Buxton if he had done this drill before which Byron replied yeah but I was in shape then which is a complete lie because "the hill" is a new feature to the complex. , thus making Kanzler group having to hit second and clean-up the hill and collect balls in the cage. While the positional players were finishing up with their drill, the pitchers came out at about 1030am, many of the positionals asked if the pitchers had to do the same drill which was replied with an emphatic NO by the pitchers (Michael Cederoth and CK Irby). To which Tyler Kuresa replied back, "gotta work on covering first today"? Eric Rassmussen asked Field Coordinator Joe Lepel if he had two catchers that weren't tanked so . Of course that was after the pitchers played catch and long toss for 20 minutes. After JT Chagois finished I was able to call him over and get him to talk briefly about his recovery processs and . According to JT, the arm is feeling the best it has in a long time but he's having trouble with his location and command. He says he doesn't know how hard he's throwing which I'm sure was a lie, but according to a source he was 96-98mph in his last outing. He's throwing mainly fastballs at this point and that's all he threw in his side session. The source I talked to said they plan to take it slow with JT with him possibly starting off in extended spring training and/or Fort Myers and see from there. From my perspective Chagois seems like a genuinely nice kid and I wish him the best of luck but don't think he needs too much because that ball just explodes out of his hand. The pitchers then reported off to the inside arena while the hitters continued to hit in the cages, the rain started to come and I departed. Hopefully next week the rain subsides enough to get a game in when I'll be back the 27th. I hope you enjoyed the ramblings of a baseball fan. *I have no affiliation with any club, organization, company, etc the above blog is just one baseball fan's look inside the not often covered Florida Instructional League.

Well the verdict is in on how to say JT Chagois: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17hwJ95Vp1g The players refer to him as Chaggy. I got some video of him throwing side work as well. Kid throws smoke and says the arm feels great. The game today was cancelled due to rain but they hit the fields for some workouts, I'll post more video/pics/info later

I'm not a Twins fan but even I know who Silva is but of course that's from easedropping on BoSox front office guys at the GCL. Pretty good D behind the plate, it's his bat that needs work on it. I'll tell you what I see tomorrow, whether he's playing or one of the other five catchers in camp is. If he's catching side sessions, I'll shoot some video of that too.

Nick, I'm a Sports Chiropractor (CSCP) so Sports Med is my forte, I will say I wasn't that impressed with the strength and conditioning coaches work that I saw on the field. I'm sure there were things they did behind closed doors but on field stretches (especially with the pitchers) didn't appear too in-depth. If Cederoth is doing some side session work, I'll try to get some video on him as well. It's always fun watching them on the side mounds because they work on small tinkering to the mechanics and new pitches. Last year Rasmussen had a few working on changeups and was playing around with Meyer and what looked like a splitter. AS for Chargois, If I can I'll see if he will say his own name (and maybe a hi to Twinsdaily) on video and I'll post it, that should settle the debate.

Any certain player or activities/drills anyone would want to see in particular? Elsewise I'm going to concentrate on the big names: Gordon, Stewart, Thorpe Eades, Chargois and see what Dereck Rodriguez has on the mound.

2014 MINNESOTA TWINS INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE SCHEDULE Mon Sept 15 CAMP DAY – 1pm Tue Sept 16 MIN @ TAM – 1pm Wed Sept 17 CAMP DAY – 12pm Thu Sept 18 BAL @ MIN – 12pm Fri Sept 19 MIN @ BAL – 12pm Sat Sept 20 BOS @ MIN – 10am Sun Sept 21 OFF Mon Sept 22 TAM @ MIN – 1pm Tue Sept 23 MIN @ TAM – 1pm Wed Sept 24 CAMP DAY – 12pm Thu Sept 25 BAL @ MIN – 12pm Fri Sept 26 MIN @ BOS – 1pm Sat Sept 27 BOS @ MIN – 10am Sun Sept 28 OFF Mon Sept 29 MIN @ BOS – 1pm Tue Sept 30 TAM @ MIN – 1pm Wed Oct 1 CAMP DAY – 12pm Thu Oct 2 MIN @ BAL – 12pm Fri Oct 3 BOS @ MIN – 1pm Sat Oct 4 MIN @ BOS – 10am Sun Oct 5 CAMP DAY – 10am Mon Oct 6 BOS @ MIN – 1pm Tue Oct 7 MIN @ BOS – 10am

LOL birdwatcher, I wish but I just opened up my own clinic so I need the patients and money. I'll be at the Saturday games (all verus the Red Sox) and might work in an early morning workout during the week before heading to the office. Here are those links from last year: Here a few posts I did last year on the Instructs: http://twinsdaily.com/blog/317/entry-4211-a-day-in-the-life-florida-instructional-league-91913/ http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8326-florida-instuctional-league-game-92113-and-interview-with-alex-meyer/ http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8404-florida-instuctional-league-game-92813-and-qa-with-jose-berrios/ http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8441-florida-instructional-league-game-10313/ http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8480-florida-instuctional-league-game-10513/

As someone who frequents Instructs (I live like 20 minutes down the street from Twins and BoSox) I can answer some of the questions. Yes they do have a bunting class (which is comical watching some of the sluggers partake in the past- ie. Kenny Vargas, Dalton Hicks, and Miguel Sano). outfielders work on routes, hitting the cutoff man, infield drills include how pitchers/infielders react to a bunt and its situation. Pitchers work on their delivery/mechanics and working on adding pitches. There are plenty of coaches on the roster who speak spanish. I'll be at the game on Saturday morning vs. Red Sox. Here a few posts I did last year on the Instructs:

I saw him in some GCL games but more in Instructionals and he is good, I hope the Twins are as aggressive with him as they were with Berrios last year but then again we all know how reserve the Twins are about callups.

Three Twins broke the Top 20 of a very deep league: Jesse (Minneapolis): Is Josmil Pinto a legit prospect? I follow the Twins organization and did not hear much about him until the end of the year. I know he appears to be a good hitter for average. What are his skills in calling a game? Josh Norris: He is a legit prospect, albeit an older one. He's a bat-first catcher, which elevates his stock because having a catcher who can hit is especially rare these days.

12. Oswaldo Arcia, of, Rochester (Twins) Age: 22. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 220. Signed: Venezuela, 2007. http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Oswaldo-Arcia-2013-cw-300x225.jpg Arcia earned a callup to Minnesota after just nine games with Rochester, replacing Wilkin Ramirez on the roster. He made an impression with his bat and stayed with the Twins for most of the season, keeping his head above water but striking out too much for his power to fully manifest. Capable of hitting 20-plus homers in the big leagues with a balanced, powerful swing, Arcia clubbed 16 extra-base hits—including 10 homers—in 38 games with the Red Wings. As with any young power hitter, he’s still learning the strike zone. Arcia has the arm to play right field, but he won’t be a factor on the bases and has playable range. His future is tied to his bat. [TABLE=width: 99%] [TR=class: subheader-row] AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG [/TR] 128 25 40 6 0 10 30 22 37 2 1 313 .426 .594 [/TABLE]

Hey at least May went an inning giving up nothing while striking one out

The Glendale Desert Dogs (MIN, LAD, CWS, CIN, MIA) are taking on the Mesa Solar Sox (CHC, LAA, OAK, WSH, DET) today in the first AFL game. Byron Buxton is leading off and playing CF, Max Kepler is playing 1B and hitting seventh. And my main man Meyer is starting the game. Meyer is not getting it light that is for sure as the Solar Sox feature Cubs' 3B Kris Bryant, OF Jorge Soler, A's SS Addison Russell and big thumpers in Matt Skole and CJ Cron. Also on the Buxton front:

Bingo! And no, it wasn't the angle which was slight to right of homeplate (because all of BoSox pitchers took up the bleachers), his stride to the plate is short. He could definitely use the lower half of his body more because that's putting alot more stress on his arm.

On Saturday, the Twins visited JetBlue Park to face their FIL crosstown rival the Boston Red Sox. In the stands again was Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez who was there to watch his son Dereck play the outfield. I finally had to mark out and get an autograph and picture with him. Also on the JetBlue Complex were possible future MLBers for Perfect Game's WWBA Florida Qualifier which feature the some of the kids (15-17yo) in the nation and surrounding areas. Once again the two clubs broke up into two squads, playing two games at once. So the benches were pretty bare as most if not all positional players were playing. Lewis Thorpe was the starter for Game A and went two innings. He looked good once again showing a good feel for his offspeed pitches and picking the corners. If he looks as good in spring training as he does now, he could push to start his 2014 season in Cedar Rapids. Felix Jorge finished off Game A with a strong performance going two innings throwing a 89-91 mph fastball with big sinking action along with a couple of good slurves. Here's video of him with a strikeout to end the game. [video=youtube_share;g7_lmBHyBnQ] I didn't get to see much of Game B other than just the ending which was interesting. Twins' 2013 21st round pick Tyler Stirewart threw the last inning and showed a good display of why the Twins took a flyer on him out Fresno State despite his line of 26 appearances (25 in relief) 28 1/3 IP, 26 H, 27 BB, 27 K, 7.62 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, .255 BAA. He showcased in the GCL as one of the older players and after the Twins cleaned up his mechanics he shined in 12 appearances, going 15 2/3 IP, giving up 8 hits, 5 walks, and 20 strikeouts, with a 0.57 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .148 BAA. Tyler threw one inning, giving up one hit (a double-that should have been caught by JD Williams), one walk (to MLBer Jackie Bradley Jr.) and striking out two. Stirewart definitely has the velocity, sitting at 93-95 mph topping at 96 with good movement. His slider was hard clocking at 87-89 mph. With camp ending on Tuesday (Oct 8th) there were plenty of parents in attendance to watch their kids and take them back home. Stirewart's parents, Clyde and Becky were no exception and were quite talkative. Getting a backstory on Tyler makes one really appreciate how far he's come already. According to his dad, Tyler concentrated almost solely on football growing, getting very little baseball time and never traveling. He received a scholarship at Fresno St for quarterback but wasn't getting much playing time so he walked onto the baseball squad his sophomore year. It was obvious by his numbers that he is what one considers more of a thrower and not a pitcher but with velocity and arm strength like his you can not teach that. Apparently, during his time off he'll be golfing and snowboarding and working out on his own until Spring Training starts back up in February. The Twins really see a diamond in the rough, if he can learn to control his stuff and learns how to pitch he could be a bullpen clog. He looks to start the 2014 year in Cedar Rapids. Players leaving the JetBlue Complex: Here's a few pictures of the progress so far at Hammond Stadium/Lee Complex. This clearing is where the new developmental offices and dorms for the players Hope everyone enjoyed my posts from Instructional League, I'll have more from extended Spring Training after the MLB camp breaks in March/April.

Lot of Twins' questions on the chat:

The best word to describe the Florida State League in 2013 is fun. Fort Myers was fun, with 2000 Olympic hero Doug Mientkiewicz managing for the first time and piloting a team with two of the minors’ best prospects. First it was third baseman Miguel Sano, trailed by a documentary film crew and capable of launching—and admiring—tape-measure home runs at any time. Then, after Sano left, the game’s best prospect showed up, and outfielder Byron Buxton lived up to the hype. In fact, he exceeded it, building his case for the Minor League Player of the Year award. Daytona shortstop Javier Baez, like Sano, swatted plenty of homers and similarly raised the ire of opponents with his swagger.

From the chat:

Well I'm glad many of you like these posts. I'm glad I didn't listen to my wife when I first posted about Camp, "who wants to read or see anything you have, you're not a scout, you're not even a Twins fan and these aren't even real games." My rebuttal, someone somewhere cares and there is no one else even there to report on it. Plus as a Cubs fan, we're kindred spirits, living today for our future of tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures I took: First one is Jose Berrios at the scorer's table charting: The Orioles pitchers: And the Orioles have some of the most amazing software I've seen at these Instructional games especially for a traveling team. Just goes to prove that these games mean at least something to someone. I wish this picture got bigger on here as you can see all the touch screen capabilities and how the machine breaks down each at bat. On the other hand, the Twins (and most clubs) use a handheld camera very much to what I'm shooting with. I forgot to include that former top Orioles' positional prospect Mychal Givens threw the ninth for the O's and struck out the side fanning Engelb Vierma, Adam Walker, and Pimiental in 17 pitches. They didn't really have a chance as he was hitting 93-95 mph with an 85-87 mph slider.

The game was originally supposed to start at 1pm but was moved ahead to 10am due to the weather forecast. The Orioles were in town from Sarasota and brought their low level prospects but the same can also be said for Twins. Apparently from what I could gather is that the higher level prospects (A+ and some A-) wouldn't be involved much in team play and a few had already left Camp. So the game was played by mainly young international signings, SS players and draft picks. The crowd was peppered by a few former great baseball players in Twins instructor Paul Monitor who has been working with the infielders on charging the ball. Also in the stands was Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez who was there to watch his son Dereck play the outfield. 2nd round pick Ryan Eades was airing it, holding nothing back as this was his last appearance in the FIL. Eades was around 91-93mph with his fastball that has good life and movement, topping at 95mph, it was quite impressive and he rode it most of the game. His offspeed stuff looked a little flat at times in that his curve was hitting 80-82 mph but leaving a few over the plate and hanging. The changeup was 78-80 mph with good riding motion away from the left handed hitters. Overall, Eades went three innings, striking out four, walking two and giving up a single and double. He was wild at times and make catcher Alex Swim work. Ryan wasn't overally impressive but seems like someone who has the ability to be an end of the rotation guy if everything clicks or midrelief; he just seemed like he had nothing left in him after the first inning which he threw 29 pitches. He seems to fit the Twins mold of pitchers. After he threw, CK Irby took the rubber for an inning, registering in 88-90 mph on the gun and was wild as well walking and striking out one. His curve was tight and looked much better than his fastball which lacked movement and depth. Fernando Romero pitched the next two innings and showed good flashes with a 88-92 mph fastball while also working in a good biting slider. He was actually the biggest surprise for me to see. J.O. says to watch him as well. The other Twins pitcher who stood out was lefty Mason Melotakis who threw two innings and striking out four. He was knocking 92-94 mph fastballs mixed with a wicked slider that just made two lefty Orioles hitters look foolish. If the Twins want to, he appears like he could be fast tracked to the MLB as a lefty reliever because that high FB with nasty SL that was just devastating to left handed hitters. The biggest knock is that his delivery is short but it's also deceptive. [video=youtube_share;6nTMnlfE0XM] Sorry no interviews just talked with Jose/J.O. Berrios, he says he doesn't care either way on what you call him. He was charting the game today, keeping track of what pitch was thrown, location, and mph. His last game for FIL is tomorrow and he said he's going all out during his 3-4 inning stint. Once again, he says he'll be working on his changeup. Unfortunately, the FIL ends on Tuesday.

Those HS numbers are going to be hard to peg down, not only for playing in Puerto Rico but for all the traveling squad games that he took part of as well. So 50-70 innings is probably a good guesstimate maybe 10-15 more. Plus much of those games would likely have been fastball heavy by Jose. To start this year off, Berrios was on the Puerto Rican WBC team. Sure he only threw 2 official innings but when I talked to him he said he was throwing sooner than he had in the past and looks like he just ran out of gas at the end. So something around 130 IP (give or take) looks like a good bet in 2014.

Yeah I don't know what Hicks is trying to accomplish by not listening to recommendations by his own team. Do you want to be traded? Because there is some kid named Buxton who is closing in on you fast, very fast.

From Baseball America: