Christopher Fee

Download attachment: Colabello1.jpg Photo courtesy of Tim Doohan and the Rochester Red Wings After spending eight seasons playing baseball in the Independent leagues, Chris Colabello finally was given the opportunity to play for a major league affiliate last year. In AA-New Britain, Colabello turned some heads hitting .284 with 19 home runs and 98 RBI’s.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So far with the AAA-Rochester Red Wings, it has been more of the same, hitting .395 with 4 home runs and 6 RBI’s as well as being named the International League player of the week for the opening week of the season. After batting practice on Tuesday, I had the chance to talk to him about his time in the minors, his season so far, as well as his time playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. CF - Being from Framingham, the cold weather hasn’t been bothering you at all this season has it? You must be used to it at this point. Chris Colabello (CC): It’s not to say that I like it. I would say no matter where you grow up, for me it was Central Massachusetts, where I spent almost my whole life. You get used to it I guess, but it’s still not something I enjoy. (laughs) You do the best you can with it. CF - What do you credit your early season success to? Being named the International League Player of the Week last week, hitting over .400, pretty good start. CC - I think more than anything else is to try to stay consistent mentally. Over the past couple of years I tried to put an emphasis on taking care of the process, not worrying about the results. When you focus too much on results, you force things. You try to focus on the things that you can control every day, taking care of things that you can take care of. Taking care of your swing. Taking care of your pre-game, and prepare yourself the best you can and hope for the best. At that point playing that game becomes part of the process. CF: The team is off to kind of a rough start (Rochester was 2-9 when we spoke), how is the morale in the locker room? CC – I think everyone’s doing okay. I mean obviously as individuals you want to get off to a good start, team-wise and on a personal level. It’s very important to remember that it’s a long season and you have plenty of time. Not to say that starting 2-9 is something that everyone wanted to do, you just keep battling, keep grinding. We haven’t gotten very many breaks, and that’s part of the game, when it rains it pours. We just have to go out, keep grinding every day and things will start to turn, start to catch some breaks, start feeling a little bit better about yourself and the team. CF - You played left field for the first time in a couple of years the other night. Was there a reason for that? CC – I’m not really sure. I played a lot of outfield in college, a lot of outfield in Indy ball. Gene (Glynn), had asked me in Spring Training if I felt comfortable enough to do it, just to mix things up a little, also to try to get other guys into the lineup. It was fun though, I enjoyed it. CF - Any problem out there, or was it just like riding a bike? CC – I don’t know if it’s like riding a bike. (laughs) When you get used to playing a certain position for a while it sort of becomes second nature, so you don’t have to worry about situations and where you’re going to go with the ball. In left field, I was always double-checking to make sure I knew what to do with the baseball if it got hit to me before the play, things like that. Thankfully I was able to make a pretty good play on a line drive that saved us a couple of runs. My heart was racing a little bit on that one (chuckles). CF - Having played 8 seasons in Indy ball, what would you compare the level of play to in affiliated baseball? AA, AAA? CC – On any given night it really depends on the guy on the mound. In the Indy leagues you could face a guy who pitched in the big leagues, AAA, AA. A guy who has plus stuff who may be coming off of an injury, trying to reinvent himself or whatever it might be. I think the difference between Indy ball and a level like this is, you have a bigger disparity of the kind of guy you’re going to get. You might have a 36-year-old guy who played 10 years in the big leagues, or you might have a guy who’s right out of college. In affiliated ball you really don’t see that as much because there is a development process. I think that’s the single biggest thing. In affiliated ball you see why guys are here, whether its tools-oriented, or they’ve been around the game for a while or whatever it may be. I think it terms of top to bottom on a roster there is a little bit more consistency in the type of player you’re going to get. CF - What was it like being on the Italian World Baseball Classic Roster? CC – It was unbelievable. It was a tremendous experience, definitely something that I’ll never forget. I couldn’t be more thankful to the organization and the Italian Federation for giving me the opportunity to do it. Obviously being able to move on to the second round too, something not a lot of people expected us to do. I think everyone that was watching saw how much fun we were having as a group. It was really neat to get together with a bunch of guys, who for the most part didn’t know each other. I was fortunate enough to play with a bunch of the Italian guys, whether it was growing up or at the European Cup last year. But to have guys come in from big league camp, from minor league camp that really didn’t know each other all that well and have us come together like we did was great. CF - I’m not terribly familiar with the process of being selected to the WBC, how did you get selected and how did you find out that you were on the team? CC– I’ve known the Italian manager for quite a while. I grew up in Italy; my father had played on the International team for quite a few years. Last year, when we were about half way through the season, the manager had emailed me to see if I’d be interested in playing in the European Cup in the fall. I was really excited to be able to do, if the opportunity allowed itself with the regular season and playoffs in New Britain. Unfortunately we didn’t make the playoffs in New Britain last year, we missed out by a game. We had discussed it out there, talked about it a little bit the year before, we were just going to wait to see how the roster shook itself out. He stayed in touch with me all winter, I did okay during the European Cup, and so he was excited to potentially have me on the roster. We kept talking throughout the first few months of the year, fortunately things were able to work out, the Twins green-lighted it and it was an awesome experience. CF - You had a pretty good Spring Training campaign; did you expect to get sent down to Rochester? Or was there a part of you that thought you may stick with the Twins coming out of camp. CC – Honestly, as a player, as an individual my goal is to go out everyday and control the things that I can control. I don’t think there was ever an expectation to make the big league club out of camp. They have a pretty good first baseman up there, he’s been to a few All-Star games, done some really nice things, won an MVP. I didn’t really know what the protocol would be, but I talked to some people who had mentioned Rochester being the most likely scenario. I worked as hard as I could to show the staff up there what I was capable of; again I try to control the things that I can control. Whether it is in Rochester, New Britain, Minnesota, I’m just thankful to put on the uniform every day and play the game that I love. I know there are a lot of people that would trade places with me, if the opportunity comes to do it in a Twins uniform, that would be unbelievable. Right now I’m worried about being a Rochester Red Wing, and being the best Rochester Red Wing I can be, and try to help this team win some games. CF - How surprised are you that it took 8 seasons in Indy ball before getting picked up by a Major League organization? CC – I mean, at the end of the day I don’t worry about what other people think. There were a bunch of things that I had heard, whether it was “I couldn’t run fast enough” or “I didn’t hit for enough power” or even “I’m only a first baseman." I’ve been very lucky to have people at a young age that told me to “control you." I went out and tried to play to the best of my ability every day. If someone saw enough they liked to give me an opportunity, I would be more thankful then anyone could ever imagine. For some reason it took 8 years for someone to give me that chance, but in a lot of ways it was almost a blessing in disguise in terms of me being able to develop as player maturity-wise. It allowed me to be able to deal with failure, and deal with things that the game brings out. When you’re young, you don’t really know how to cope with things. For whatever reason it happened the way that it did, and I couldn’t be more thankful to be here today, and have a pretty good grasp on myself as an individual and to be able to take that with me when I go to the field. CF -What are your goals for the rest of the season, not only for yourself but for the team as well? CC – I would have to say consistency more than anything else in terms of how you approach the game. Results are very difficult to create, process is something as a player, as a team you take care of every day. Whether it means fundamentals, preparation, whatever you do as a player to get yourself in a routine, is what you need to do to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. I told coaches in Spring Training my biggest goal was to bring mental consistency to the field everyday, to stay positive mentally no matter what’s going on around you. As a team that’s the goal every day to be consistent and to give yourself the best chance to win every night. There’s no real secret formula to say this is what you have to do, you just gotta keep grinding. There’s going to be upswings and downswings in baseball, and when the downswings happen early, people have a tendency to key in on them. If you go through a 0-10 stretch in July or you’re 2-30 in July, people just say, “It is what it is” and tend not to notice it at much. It comes down to being able to find mental consistency as an individual and as a team, and then see where the road takes you. Click here to view the article

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time with Rochester Red Wings manager Gene Glynn. In his two-plus seasons with the team, they've won at least 72 games each year, as well as leading the Wings to their first playoff appearance in seven years. In part one of our conversation, we talk about the blend of veterans and young players on his team, recently picking up his 400th win as a minor league manager, and why he chose baseball over basketball. Chris Fee: Can you talk a little bit about the team you have this year? You have a good mix of veteran players and young guys. Is that the ideal setup that you want as a manager in Triple-A? Gene Glynn: Well it is, because the veteran guys share a lot of information with younger players. They keep themselves in check too because they've been around for a reason, and I'd say that they're very open to sharing that information. We don't have Danny Santana here right now, but we have a couple of young pitchers with a good mix of veteran guys, like (Scott) Diamond, Kris Johnson and Aaron Thompson. We have enough veterans to make that happen, and one thing they say about baseball is they said it's about being one big family. Well it is. You're always looking to pass things on that you've seen and heard and have been taught in the past. You relate things to players, what they look like or pitches that they throw. So yeah, it's a good mix of guys and they kind of keep each other in check. Download attachment: IMG_0589 EN 4-9-13.jpg Photo Courtesy: Joe Territo/RedWingsBaseball.com CF: As a manager, do you count on the veteran guys to be the example for the younger guys? GG: You would hope that's always the case, and as a manager I do count on that. Sometimes you'll approach a guy and see if he'll spend a few minutes to talk to him. It could be Eric Fryer with the catchers. Even though Chris Herrmann has been up and down from the big leagues, he hasn't caught all that much the past couple years, compared to being a pinch hitter and playing multiple positions, even with Danny Rohlfing. So you know the catching is a good example of what you'd expect out of a veteran guy who has gone through a few wars. Even if it's more in the minor leagues than the big leagues, it's still games played and situations that you've experienced. CF:You picked up your 400th win as a manager last week, as well as approaching your 200th win as Red Wings manager, did you know that? Do you look at win/loss records at all? GG: I didn't know that, and I really didn't know how many wins I had anyhow. I always figured that most guys my age are in the thousands, when they're in their middle 50's. I'm 57 now, so I don't think there are going to be any great milestones that I'm going to reach as a manager, so I don't look at it. CF: You were Minnesota's first “Mr. Basketball”, back in 1975. Being a two sport athlete, what made you decide to go with baseball over basketball since you were successful in both sports? GG: When I came out of high school, I still wanted to play both sports, and I didn't want to give one up just to go to a Division I school. My scholarship at Minnesota State - now, it was Mankato then - was for basketball, but I was able to play both sports. It was just something that we did growing up in a smaller area. You were expected to be a part of a team and represent your school. Fortunately I was able to play a lot. Baseball came because of being invited to camp with the Expos in June of 1979. I really wanted to play baseball, and I knew that at my size, basketball wasn't going to happen. There was no three-point line, no dunks, it was a big man's game for the most part even though you needed guards. Even at that age, you had to be realistic for where you might have a chance, and I felt like I had that in baseball. CF: Safe to assume that you were a Twins fan growing up? GG: Oh yeah. We watched the Twins in the American League, and a lot of times we got to watch the St. Louis Cardinals in the game of the week due to a regional game, but yeah, Minnesota, primarily. CF: How cool is it to work for the organization that you grew up watching now? GG: It was a big reason that I came back to the field, because of the opportunity with Minnesota. Moving back there from Denver, growing up in Minnesota and had been with many other organizations. It meant a lot to me, I think at my age, to come to Minnesota. After being gone for a long time, to living there again, to be a part of the Twins, was a big drawing point for me to come back. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: photo.jpg Sunday marked the home opener for the Rochester Red Wings at Frontier Field. After a couple days of snow and rain, Sunday was near 60 degrees and sunny, a perfect spring day to kick off a home baseball season. Coming into the 2014 home opener, Rochester had lost two home openers in a row, and were 0-4 against the Buffalo Bisons in home openers at Frontier Field. Top Twins pitching prospect Alex Meyer made his Triple-A debut for the Red Wings, against former pitching prospect Kyle Drabek for the Bisons. Meyer pitched well overall, his only blemish a two run home run by the newly acquired Juan Francisco, the first home run allowed by Meyer since June 1st, 2013. Meyer also struck out six while walking one, and left after five innings because his pitch count nearing eighty. Before the game Gene Glynn talked about Meyer's pitch count and said he would be between “70-75 pitches” for his first start and then be stretched out to 100 pitches by the beginning of May. Francisco later hit a game winning home run for Buffalo in the top of the 13th inning to give the Bisons an 8-6 victory over the Red Wings. The 13 inning game was the longest home opener in Red Wings history, besting the previous opener of 12 innings back in 2011. The wining pitcher for Buffalo was former Red Wings pitcher Bobby Korecky, who went four innings of relief and threw 64 pitches. For Korecky, it was not his first Rochester home opener victory; it was actually his fourth career Rochester home opener victory. In 2007, Korecky gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning and picked up the win for Rochester. He picked up the win again for the Wings in 2008. Finally, last season against the Red Wings, Korecky won the Wings home opener for the Buffalo Bisons. Rochester is now 0-5 all time in home openers against Buffalo and they have lost three consecutive openers as well. Today, there was a very good crowd of 8,473, though that is the smallest crowd in a decade since the 2004 opener against the Syracuse Chiefs. The Red Wings are 0-2 for the second season in a row and host Scranton Wilks/Barre for a three game series at Frontier Field starting tomorrow night. Kris Johnson will start tomorrow, with Trevor May on Tuesday and Logan Darnell will finish out the home stand on Wednesday before the Red Wings hit the road for four games against Lehigh Valley. ~~~ The Red Wings may have lost, but the Twins beat Cleveland on Sunday, so Monday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

It's been just four days since the Red Wings lost game five of their playoff series against the Pawtucket Red Sox, 3-0. Immediately after the game the Minnesota Twins selected contracts of seven Rochester players, which started me thinking about what the Red Wings could look like in 2014. While there will be free agent signings and trades will take place, it will be interesting to see exactly what the Rochester Red Wings are going to look like next season, and see if they’ll be able to build off of a successful 2013 season. Download attachment: Frontier Field .jpg Catcher – Josmil Pinto 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 126 G - .309 BA, 141 H, 32 2B, 15 HR, 74 RBI, 66 BB, 83 SO. As I write this Josmil Pinto is batting .500 with the Twins (13-26) with one home run and four RBI’s. However he played just 19 games with the Rochester Red Wings after spending the majority of the season with Double-A New Britain. While there is little doubt in my mind that Pinto will be with the Twins next season, on opening day he should be in Rochester. First Base – Chris Colabello 2013 Minor League Stats (AAA Rochester) 89 G - .352 BA, 119 H, 25 2B, 24 HR, 76 RBI, 43 BB, 89 SO. Chris Colabello’s first season in AAA was definitely one to remember. Not only did he put up the numbers that you see above, he also won the IL MVP award as well as the IL Rookie of the Year award as well. The Twins have invested two years in the 29 year old slugger, and I cannot see them giving up on him after the year he had for the Red Wings in 2013. Second Base – Eddie Rosario 2013 Minor League Stats (A+ Fort Myers/AA New Britain) 122 G - .302 BA, 150 H, 2 2B, 10 HR, 73 RBI, 38 BB, 96 SO, 10 SB, 10 CS. There’s a slight chance, in my opinion, that Rosario starts the year in AA again next season, but I’m optimistic that he’ll make the jump and start the year in Rochester. While there isn’t an overwhelming amount of home run power in his bat there is a good combination of speed and power to make him a dangerous batter hitting either second or sixth in the lineup. Shortstop – Danny Santana 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain) 131 G - .297 BA, 160 H, 22 2B, 10 3B, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 24 BB, 94 SO, 30 SB, 13 CS. Of all of the prospects that the Twins have in their system Danny Santana may be the one most suited to bat leadoff in the major leagues. With his ability to bat near .300, stealing 30 bases and striking out fewer than 100 times this year there’s a lot to like. The only downside to Santana really is his lack of walks. In 539 at bats, he drew just 24 walks, which resulted in an OBP of .333; Santana could be an Elvis Andrus type player by the time he reaches Minnesota. Third Base – Miguel Sano 2013 Minor League Stats (A+ Fort Myers/AA New Britain) 123 G - .280 BA, 123 H, 30 2B, 35 HR, 103 RBI, 65 BB, 142 SO, 11 SB, 3 CS. Many people think that Sano could start the season in Minnesota coming out of spring training in 2014, but after what happened with Aaron Hicks that probably will not be the case. There is no disputing Sano’s power, it’s real and it’s spectacular (Seinfeld Reference… anyone?), but hitting just .236 in 67 games in New Britain is a reason to give him more time in the minors. Outfield - Dan Rohlfing 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 112 G - .267 BA, 100 H, 15 2B, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 48 BB, 96 SO. Dan Rohlfing is one of the players the Twins organization loves, he has the ability to catch, play first base, and outfield. While there’s not a lot of major league upside for Rohlfing, in my opinion, there’s definitely an opportunity for him to make an impact with the Red Wings and he will potentially see a lot of at-bats with his multi-position availability. Outfield – Aaron Hicks 2013 Minor League Stats (AAA Rochester) 22 G - .222 BA, 16 H, 4 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 10 BB, 21 SO, 1 SB, 0 CS This may be the craziest prediction in this article, but in my opinion and from what the numbers show, it might not be a bad idea to give him a couple months in Rochester. There was talk about his hustle and his splits vs. LHP and RHP were not very good (.385 vs. LHP, .186 vs. RHP). With Hicks being just 24 years old his career is far from over and unless the Twins make some major off-season moves the likelihood of them contending in 2014 is not high. Outfield – Chris Parmelee 2013 Minor League Stats (AAA Rochester) 45 G - .231 BA, 40 H, 13 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 22 BB, 32 SO. Chris Parmelee is the other prediction that could be a little shaky for 2014. Like Hicks he has major league experience and the Twins want to know for sure what they have with him. There is one other similarity between Hicks and Parmelee: neither one of them did very well during his time in Rochester. Whether it’s motivation or something else, Parmelee hit just .193 in August, with 1 HR in 114 at- bats. Maybe I’m pulling the plug a little early, but it seems like he’s either a fourth outfielder or the dreaded “Organizational Depth” type of player. Designated Hitter – James Beresford 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 103 G – .306 BA, 109 H, 12 2B, 0 HR, 40 RBI, 30 BB, 51 SO, 10 SB, 2 CS. James Beresford was one of the more consistent hitters in the Red Wings lineup down the stretch and was a big reason why they made the playoffs in 2013. There was a bit of a steep learning curve when he was first promoted in June where he batted just .233. However in July Beresford hit .351 in 18 games and then followed that up with a .303 average in 24 games in August. While Rosario is the better prospect without a doubt, having Beresford’s bat in the lineup makes the Red Wings from top to bottom extremely dangerous. 2014 Opening Day Starting Lineup SS – Danny Santana 2B – Eddie Rosario 3B - Miguel Sano 1B – Chris Colabello C – Josmil Pinto OF – Aaron Hicks OF – Chris Parmelee DH – James Beresford OF – Dan Rohlfing Rochester Red Wings Rotation Alex Meyer 2013 Minor League Stats (GCL Twins/AA New Britain) 16 GS – 4-3, 2.99 ERA, 78.1 IP, 32 BB, 100 SO After missing almost two months this season due to injury, Alex Meyer was impressive in his last two August starts for New Britain, pitching nine shutout innings and striking out 11 batters while walking just two. While Meyer may not be the opening day starter for the Rochester Red Wings in 2014, after all Kyle Gibson was the #2 starter this season, his starts will be watched closely by GM Terry Ryan and Twins fans everywhere. Trevor May 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain) 27 GS – 9-9, 4.51 ERA, 151.2 IP, 67 BB, 159 SO After spending the entire regular season with the New Britain Rock Cats, Trevor May has to prove what he’s able to do at the next level. After being traded to Minnesota in the off-season in 2012, May spent his second full season in the Eastern League and the numbers were slightly better in 2013 than they were in 2012. It’ll be interesting to see if May is able to have a strong 2014 season in Rochester and have his name added to the list of September call-ups. Pat Dean 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 28 GS – 9-13, 4.04 ERA, 165 IP, 22 BB, 83 SO. Pat Dean only made six starts in Rochester this season, but there was a substantial difference between what he did in Double- A versus Triple-A. Dean went 6-11 in N.B. with a 4.68 ERA, but was an impressive 3-2 in Rochester with a 2.03 ERA. It’s safe to assume that he will perform somewhere in the middle but he averaged almost six innings per start and will no doubt be a staple in the Wings rotation. Logan Darnell 2013 Minor League Stats (AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 26 GS – 10-10, 3.22 ERA, 153.2 IP, 45 BB, 120 SO Logan Darnell’s season went in the opposite direction of Pat Dean’s in the sense that he was outstanding with in Double-A and had some trouble when he was called up to the Red Wings. With the Rock Cats, Darnell was 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA. When he was in Rochester he was 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA. There were starts where Darnell showed that he has some very good stuff and could make a big impact next season. Pedro Hernandez 2013 Minor League Stats (GCL Twins/AA New Britain/AAA Rochester) 10 GS – 3-3, 3.66 ERA, 64 IP, 15 BB, 45 SO This is one of the guys that I just don’t know where he will end up next season. Hernandez did not overwhelm while in Rochester this year, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts, but it was a small sample size. He’s not a power pitcher, won’t strike out a lot of batters, but he doesn’t give up many home runs either. Control is the key to his success. I thought that Pedro would be an impact player last season for the Red Wings, so why not try again for next season. Click here to view the article

Entering his fifth professional season, Rochester Red Wings pitcher Logan Darnell is trying to stand out in a stacked rotation. Through his first six starts in Rochester, he is 1-1 with a 2.32 ERA, he has 33 strikeouts in 31 innings, including eight strikeouts in his last start on Sunday. Monday after batting practice, I had the chance to talk to him about how he's pitched this season, his time with the Kentucky Wildcats, his call up to the Twins, and Yoda socks. Chris Fee: You picked up your first win of the year on Sunday, how would you rate your overall performance this season? Logan Darnell: So far I'd say it's been a good year. Three or four starts in, going up and then coming back down, kind of threw my rhythm off starting but it's been good. I'm still trying to get to that point when I can get past the sixth and into the seventh and eighth inning. If I had to give it a grade? I'd probably give it a B+/A so far, but I'd really like to get into the eighth and ninth and throw a complete game to really be where I want to be. Download attachment: Logan Darnell.jpg Photo Courtesy of Joe Territo - RedWingsBaseball.com CF: Are you completely stretched out pitch-wise? Or are you still stretching out? LD: I think I'm completely stretched out. The last game I threw 95 pitches. I mean, 100 is probably tops. It's just a matter of getting through the sixth and seventh innings and getting through the lineup three times, throwing less pitches to each batter and quicker innings. CF: Can you talk about your experience getting called up to the Twins, and how nervous were you when you were called into pitch? LD: You know it was an awesome experience to get called up for the first time, but I was a little nervous for the first outing. Once I got out there and I realized that it was just a game and I've done this plenty of times before I just settled in and threw well. It was good to get up there and get the experience there. CF: What was your reaction when yougot the message that you were being called up, and how did you findout? LD: It was 12:30 at night and I was in bed, and I was kind of shocked when I got the call. It was exciting at the same time, whenever someone gets their first call it's a cool deal. It was a great experience. CF: In your outing on Sunday you struck out a season-high eight batters and you're on pace for a career high in strikeouts. What's different about this year in comparison to years past in regards to strikeouts? LD: I don't know if there is too much different. I will say that I've mixed in a changeup and a curveball more often than I did last year. Whether that's the reason that I'm striking them out? I don't know, but I know that I'm getting into deeper counts with guys and getting to two strike counts more which is affecting me with pitch count like I said earlier. Just getting to two strikes and getting them out as opposed to getting them to hit it earlier in the count which is probably what I used to do, throw it over early so they could hit it on the ground, to get through the game faster. CF: You talked about adding a changeup. What is the pitch you go to when you're in a jam or need to get a guy out or to get a strike call? LD: Changeup for sure, not that it's any better than any of the other pitches. It's just that I have confidence in it and it's a good mix from my fastball. I have confidence that I can throw it for a strike, and once you have the confidence that you can throw the ball at any time for a strike, it really helps. Whether it's my “out pitch” - I'm not sure I'd give it that name. If there's any point in the game I want to get off my fastball the change will be there. CF: Take me back to draft day for a minute. Where were you when you were selected? Did you have a feeling the Twins were going to take you? Were there other teams you thought were going to take you as well? LD: I was at my house in Nashville, Tennessee and had a couple of buddies over fishing and hanging out at the farm I lived on. I wasn't hanging out by the phone or looking at the computer. My agent said I would go anywhere from round four to ten, and didn't know where or who. I had talked to a lot of the teams my junior year at Kentucky, a lot of the scouts, and there were five or six of the ones that I liked the most that gave me a good idea that they would. Earl Wynn, my scout, was a really good dude and was probably my favorite scout that I talked to and ended up getting drafted by that team in the sixth round. It's funny how that worked out. I was just at the house not trying to think about it and what happened was going to happen. It was out of my control. If it wasn't in the top ten I was probably going back to Kentucky, it all worked out in the end. CF: Can you talk about your time at Kentucky, and how that prepared you versus coming out and getting drafted out of high school? LD: I think that going to college at Kentucky for me it really did help me out because I had to grow up. I had to learn failure and what it was about struggling and failure. When you come out of high school you haven't really faced much failure. Going through the SEC was tough with those bats and the big, heavy home run hitters. You had to get used to that. Growing up and being a freshman, sophomore and a starter and a reliever, and the tough league and the weekend. I gained forty pounds in college and got bigger and stronger and learned a lot from our pitching coach there and now the head coach. There were a lot of good things that came from it and I don't know if I would be here if I didn't go there, that's for sure. I wouldn't have gotten failure and gotten out of trouble when pitching, because in pro ball it's just a thing where you figure it out yourself versus in college you have a guy that can help you out more than they would have in pro ball. CF: I talked to Antoan Richardson last year and he said that the SEC is the toughest conference to play in. I'd guess that you would agree with him? LD: Yeah, for sure. We argue about it all the time in the clubhouse. SEC, Big 12, Big 10, ACC - there are good teams in every conference. But from top to bottom in the SEC, it's tough. The power arms that the SEC puts out there - we have (Alex) Meyer on the team and you've seen him pitch. It's impressive. The lineups are tougher. The fans on the road - there are 10,000 fans there every Friday night. It's just a tough atmosphere, but it gets you ready. I wouldn't say it was the only thing, but when you get into pro ball, it definitely helps you be prepared for it. I'm not saying that the ACC doesn't do that as well, you do in the Big 12 as well, but every weekend you need to be ready. But that's not necessarily the case in other leagues. CF: How disappointed were you in the loss to UConn in the National Championship game? LD: They made it to the championship game. I don't think I saw that coming. It was kind of tough because Pat Dean, who plays for New Britain, is a big time Connecticut fan and was trash talking the whole way there. Shabazz got us at the end of it I guess, it was a good run for them. They didn't play that well the entire season but made a run in the tournament. It was a good run. Me and Meyer were watching it at Buffalo Wild Wings and we were like “This isn't going good for us, lets get out of here.” They have a lot of guys returning next year so we'll see what happens. CF: Do you have a routine before your starts versus preparing every other day that you're not starting? LD: There's definitely a routine involved and sometimes the routine gets messed up with rain outs or guys getting send up or down, injuries or what not. Day after a start, upper body work out and a longer run, second day is lower body, third day bullpen, fourth day rest and fifth day you start. On the days I start, I do whatever I'd normally do until an hour or so before the game starts, then I put my iPod in and listen to music, stretch, take a start, talk to (Eric) Fryer or (Dan) Rohlfing about the lineup and who's hitting for them. I try not to get ready the whole day because you don't want to think about it too much. It's still a simple game, but there's still that 30-40 minutes before the game where you need to get focused on what you need to do. CF: You a superstitious guy? Do you have a lucky pair of socks or anything that you wear? LD: I did have some lucky socks. They had Yoda on them. They were Yoda Star Wars socks, but they got really holey and I lost one of them along the way in the off-season. I'm not really superstitious about anything else but those Yoda socks I had for two years, but since I lost them I'm not really superstitious about anything else. I do have a playlist that I listen to but I don't really think that counts. CF: I'd say you have pitched pretty well without the socks though. LD: The socks were sweet though. *laughs * CF: What are your goals for the rest of the season? What are you trying to work on the mound? Obviously the goal is to get back to the Twins but while you're in Rochester what are you trying to do here? LD: I think for sure what I'm trying to work on is to be consistent. You never have pitching figured out and when you think you do it'll humble you. For me it's going inside, fastball inside, to control that more. Once I figure that out that'll help my sinker and change up away as well. That's right now what I've been trying to work on in the pen and keeping the curveball where it is. It has gotten better than it has in years past, but for myself it's being consistent and giving us a chance to win every time that I pitch. I try not to think about going back to Minnesota, I don't think about what they're thinking about or what I'm trying to do to impress them. I just want to give this team the chance to win and to get this team a Governor's cup title because that's all of our goals to win. As far as my goals they are the same as the team goals and that's to win and get to the playoffs and once we get there anything can happen. CF: Talking about the team success, how much was the momentum from last season carrying over into this season? LD: For sure, it's a good carryover. A lot of the core guys are still here and to have the same team back this year, it's the same feel in the clubhouse, the coaches are all the same and like I said we have a lot of the same guys on the team and they are all close knit. We know we can do it. We made a great run. Last year no one thought we can do it. We just made a run at the end and kind of kept the same feel as we did the end of last year that got us into the playoffs. We got there, we lost to Pawtucket but we know we can do better than that. Not trying to downplay last year but we know we can do better this year. The confidence that we had last year and knowing we can do it again, it just makes it easier. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Frontier Field.jpg In 2011, the Rochester Red Wings won four more games than the previous year, but that also meant they had ost 90+ games in two consecutive seasons, the first time that had happened since 1903 & 1904. It was time for a change; manager Tom Nieto was let go and Gene Glynn was hired to take the job. In Glynn's first season as manager, the Red Wings finished with a 72-72 record, their best finish since 2008. They'll try to further improve in 2013 with a mixture of prospects and players working their way back to the majors. Here's what you can expect from the 2013 Red Wings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rotation (With 2012 Team & Stats) P.J. Walters – Rochester: 3-3 4.01 ERA 15 Walks 47 Strikeouts Minnesota: 2-5 5.69 ERA 22 Walks 42 Strikeouts Kyle Gibson – GCL Twins: 0-0 2.45 ERA 4 Walks 16 Strikeouts Fort Myers: 0-0 2.57 ERA 1 Walk 7 Strikeouts Rochester: 0-2 9.45 ERA 6 Walks 33 Strikeouts Shairon Martis – Altoona 6-2 4.56 ERA 19 Walks 30 Strikeouts New Britain: 1-1 5.68 ERA 5 Walks 11 Strikeouts Indianapolis: 0-0 7.56 ERA 4 Walks 7 Strikeouts Rochester: 4-3 5.22 ERA 17 Walks 39 Strikeouts Pedro Hernandez – Birmingham: 7-2 2.75 ERA 18 Walks 37 Strikeouts Charlotte: 1-0 3.71 ERA 3 Walks 17 Strikeouts Rochester: 0-2 5.19 ERA 1 Walk 11 Strikeouts Virgil Vasquez – Southern Maryland: 10-9 4.44 ERA 48 Walks 120 Strikeouts It’s clear that that Kyle Gibson is the biggest name in the rotation. Currently listed as Baseball America’s #4 prospect in the Twins system, Gibson is now almost two years removed from his Tommy John surgery. This season will be a true test to see if 2009's first round draft choice is going to be able to live up to expectations. P.J. Walters will be the Wings opening day starter for the 2nd year in a row, along with Martis and Vasquez, the 2013 starting rotation is arguably the strongest in the International League. According to manager Gene Glynn the closing role will consist of both Anthony Slama and Luis Perdomo, who each have experience pitching in the later innings. Starting Lineup (With 2012 Team & Stats) OF Clete Thomas - Rochester: .232 12 HR 47 RBI 15 SB 4 CS C Chris Hermann – New Britain: .276 10 HR 61 RBI 91 Runs OF Oswaldo Arcia – Fort Myers: .309 7 HR 31 RBI 22 Runs New Britain: .328 10 HR 67 RBI 54 Runs 1B Chris Colabello – New Britain: .284 19 HR 98 RBI 78 Runs 3B Mark Sobolewski – New Hampshire: .262 18 HR 51 RBI 57 Runs Las Vegas: .188 2 HR 8 RBI 12 Runs OF Joe Benson – GCL Twins: .375 0 HR 0 RBI 1 Run Fort Myers: .303 1 HR 8 RBI 7 Runs New Britain .184 3 HR 20 RBI 13 Runs Rochester: .179 2 HR 8 RBI 9 Runs DH Brian Dinkelman – Rochester: .252 4 HR 32 RBI 32 Runs 2B Rey Olmedo – Charlotte - .273 0 HR 19 RBI 9 SB 3 CS SS Doug Bernier – Scranton: .201 0 HR 10 RBI The Red Wings currently have 3 catchers on their 25-man roster. Drew Butera is expected to be the starting catcher for opening day, but Chris Hermann should get at least half of the starts behind the plate. Also, on their current roster there is no listed player to play second; Rey Olmedo is my guess for who will be taking that role on a day-to-day basis. The Wings top five batters have a lot of pop in the bats; however 6-9 is where there could be an ongoing issue throughout the season. Breakout Picks The obvious pick would be Oswaldo Arcia, because it is the correct pick. Being the youngest player on the Red Wings squad, Arcia has thrived at every minor league level he’s played in. In 2012 between Fort Myers, and New Britain, Arcia hit .320 with 17 home runs and 98 RBI’s. Arcia drew comparisons of Bobby Abreu from his manager Gene Glynn who also called him, “one of those scary hitters. He deserves to be here, you can tell when he steps up to the plate he believes in himself, doesn’t matter who is pitching.” The player to watch for out of the rotation though is Pedro Hernandez. With a career 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio it’s clear that control is one of the keys to his success. It wouldn’t be a surprise at the end of the season if Hernandez ends up with 12-14 wins with an ERA hovering in the 3.70 range. If All Goes Well Assuming there aren’t a lot of injuries, or drastic changes on the team (call-ups, send downs etc.) it would be no surprise to see the Red Wings contending for a wild card spot. Last season they were 7 games out of the wild card spot and 12 games out of the division. Maybe I’m drinking the kool-aid on this team and the management, but an 80-64 record would not be outside of the realm of possibility and for the first time since 2006 they will be in the post season. If All Falls Apart Outside of drastic call ups or devastating injuries, the team is built for success. With Nick Blackburn, Rich Harden, Scott Diamond and Samuel Deduno on the DL to start the year, pitching could be where the Twins system has its most depth. The one flaw may be the offense; there isn’t a lot of speed on this team. There may be games where the hitters don’t hit and they lose 2-1 or 3-2 games, which could be a big concern. If the bats go cold, it doesn’t matter how good your pitching is, you will always need at least one run to win. Click here to view the article

[attachment=7178:4619.attach] [FONT=arial narrow][SIZE=1][COLOR=#000080]Photo Courtesy of Joe Territo/RedWingsBaseball.com[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] Entering his seventh professional season, Rochester Red Wings pitcher Trevor May is hoping this is the year he gets his chance to pitch with the Minnesota Twins. One of the key pieces sent back from Philadelphia in the Ben Revere trade, the hype around May has always been there and it seems that early on in 2014 he's turning some heads. Through his first five starts in Rochester, May is 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA, but the stat that stands out is 31 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched while walking only eight batters. Recently after batting practice, I had the chance to talk with him about how he's pitched this season, how he has coped with moving from the Phillies' system to the Twins', as well as his other passion, music. [B]Chris Fee: How would you say your season has gone so far? [/B] Trevor May: I've seen a lot of progress from things I worked on in the off-season, including getting ahead of hitters. Results wise, a couple of those things have been less than perfect, but a couple of them have been pretty good, too. I think overall I have been getting ahead more, and that's something coming into spring I was really emphasizing, making sure to get that strike one. I think thus far in this season, regardless of what numbers say, I have been getting ahead better, it's kept me in the counts and it's kept me in games better as well. One outing it was rain on, rain off, rain on, rain off, and I wasn't able to go deep because I was sitting for so long.The pitch count hasn't been as high as everyone would have liked because we've been rained out so many times, but I think my progress has definitely shown what I've been working on. [B]CF:[/B] [B]You mentioned a little bit about the weather so far this season, how difficult is it as a pitcher not to have the consistency, getting your bullpen sessions,stretching your pitch counts, things like that? [/B] TM: It's tough, but it's just part of the game, the hitters have to go through it too. As a pitcher, if you're going to pitch on a cold day and it's dry, the advantage is definitely going to go to you, sometimes you almost hope there's a cold wind blowing in. Guys with cold hands, it's tough to swing a bat. If you're pitching you can stay warm because you're moving the whole time, so I guess you just keep it positive no matter what's going on; it's supposed to get warmer here soon, too. [B]CF: On the nights that you pitch,what is your pre-game routine? Is there specific music you listen to, or meal that you eat? [/B] TM: Something kind of new, I try to get up and move around and try to get a normal routine. Especially at home (in Rochester) I don't have to be here (at the park) until three or four o'clock; those days I can kind of do errands, go to the grocery store, do laundry, all kinds of stuff just so I can kind of move around. Then I come in, hang out with the guys, eat a meal just like a normal day. I used to be big on playing music and getting psyched up and stuff, but I've thrown enough starts now to know that just being a teammate is the most important thing, especially on pitching day. I try not to put too much pressure on having a set routine or being superstitious and so far it's working out pretty well. [B]CF: You spoke a little bit about getting ahead of the hitters more this season, and your walks are down this year. Is there something you worked on in the off-season? What's the difference this season compared to the last couple? [/B] TM: I made a lot of commitments in the beginning of August last year, because I wasn't happy with how my season was going. I was having a few epiphanies of how to be successful. Getting ahead of guys is something that I've always wanted to do, but I haven't been able to do that consistently. Through the off-season I conditioned myself to have the mentality that anything could be determined by what hitters show me, not what I'm giving them. Not giving away free bases, that's what walks are, letting guys have opportunity to hit them in, but if you're not walking guys they have to string hits together. Hitting is definitely a lower percentage of success than pitching. At the end of the day, if I have a rough one, I know it's because the other team was there to play, and I didn't have my best stuff that day, and then you just tip your cap and move on. It's the days when you just kind of give away big situations and you get yourself into trouble, then they capitalize on it; that's the day when good pitchers don't have all their stuff. There are guys that walk plenty of men in the big leagues, but if you're still getting ahead and you aren't stringing them (walks) together, they don't hurt you as much. My whole thing has been, any negative results that happen to me, they're going to be earned by the other team and not that I gave it away. That's how you build consistency, making the other team beat you. That's the name of the game. It's weird that it took me six years to kind of really commit to that idea, but that's what I'm here to do. [B]CF: What has been the biggest difference between being in the Twins system and the Phillies system? How hard of a transition has that been for you, and was it difficult being traded from the team that you were drafted by? [/B] TM: It was an easy transition, a lot of things were similar. It's weird that since I've been with the Twins a couple of the Phillies coaches have actually come over to the Twins. It's the same game everywhere you go, the front office is a little different, different types of personalities. Every level you're at, you're going to see different people but the structure and how things are run are very, very similar. When I was sent, it was a little bittersweet; you want to make it with the team that drafted you, but that's not what happens a lot of the time and I knew there was more of an opportunity over here. When I was in Philly their big four, before (Roy) Halladay retired, was him, Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. And you see kind of a pattern there where they get guys to help them win now. It's tough to try to get your shot there, I saw it (the trade) as an opportunity for me and they got a great player in return in Ben Revere. I hope that it works out for both sides in years to come. I'm confident that it will. [B]CF: Starting your first season in Triple-A, how is it being this close to the big leagues? Is there added pressure knowing that at any time they can call you to Minnesota based on your performance? [/B] TM: Well, being in Double-A, it's the same thing. Everyone says the same thing there (in AA) as well. Aaron Hicks went, Chris Herrmann went in 2012 straight from AA; when you need a guy you need a guy. Like I said, same game, that kind of “oh my gosh, it's right there, it's the main prize.” Whatever level you're at, when you get there you're not done playing, you gotta keep playing the game, so the goal is to be as ready as possible when there's a spot to fill. When there's a game that needs a guy to win it, every day I get ready for that time, because there are other guys that are starters and can fill spots too and I just want to do something for this team. I want that no matter what day of the week it is that they (the Twins) feel comfortable picking any of us, and that's what we all want (to be promoted). We are all trying to be as prepared as we can be. If you've got a Triple-A staff that is all ready to go to the big leagues you've got to a pretty good team. Right now it's about winning here in Rochester and when it (the promotion) happens you will come to the field one day and it just happens. It will be exciting in that way but like I said, I am just getting prepared to go. [B]CF: Growing up in Washington State, safe to assume you were a Mariners fan as a kid? Who was the guy you emulated growing up and wanted to be like? [/B] TM: I'm completely different, but I was a huge Randy Johnson fan and how he just was blowing guys away. I was also a huge Nolan Ryan fan, I was a power guy. When I was a little kid I just threw as hard as I could and had no idea where it was going, and that's how I've pitched my entire life.They had Randy, and I loved A-Rod and Buhner, but my favorite Mariner of all time was Edgar Martinez. He played the game hard, and you couldn't get any better, a doubles guy, 25 HR's a year, 120 RBI's, he was the heart of the lineup and he played for so long, everyone loves him, but my Mom is a Jamie Moyer fan, she loves him. [B]CF: You have a lot of interest in music, you're a DJ. What was it that drew you in and where did the passion come from? [/B] TM: I've always been the guy that wanted to have the new music and the loudest sound system in my car. I don't know why but finding new stuff was always my thing, and dance music, I liked to dance when I was little. I've always kind of liked dance music and I discovered the electronic music scene, which is pretty big in Seattle. A lot of my friends are into it too. My brother has been producing music for over 10 years and I kind of got a lot from him and I just kind of wanted to make my own stuff. It has turned into a great hobby, especially during the season with the long bus rides, it might seem like we don't have a lot of time but we do have a lot of blocks of time to kill. It's (music and DJ'ing) something that you can pick up during the day and become immersed in, and that stuff will just help time blow by and it's easy to put down and that's the perfect hobby for baseball season. I've always liked it, and have gotten more and more into it each off-season, and it's what I do. [B]CF: Safe to say if you weren't playing baseball you'd be a DJ/Producer? [/B] TM: I'd have a real job. If I weren't playing, I'd be out of college and have a finance degree and have a job in finance and live in Seattle. That's probably what I'd be doing. Instead of baseball I'd be in finance but would spend the same amount of time involved in music & DJ'ing. [B]CF: What are your goals for the rest of the season. You talked about continuing to work on your control but what are you looking to accomplish? [/B] TM: I've kind of switched. I used to have numbers goals, but there are things that are out of your control that can change that stuff(numbers). What I want out of this season is to maintain the idea that whatever is earned off me is earned by the hitters. In any game I want to put our team in the position to win and I want to be able to adjust to situations and really, really focus in when I need to make a pitch and then make the pitch. Literally that's the thing about pitchers: the good guys make the pitches when they have to more often than the guys that don't. That's literally it. I've had such good turns in the past couple outings, dominant stuff and then I ask “What happened in certain situations?” I think I've identified a lot of them and where my head goes in a lot of those outings. Every single bullpen I throw I think of those situations where I have either made the pitch or not made the pitch so that I can then throw them during the games. My whole goal is to be ready when someone is needed (in the majors), and if it's not my turn it's not my turn, but I want to win games for the Twins and it may not be this year and it may not be anytime soon but when I go I want to contribute to a big league team and the Twins are in a spot where they want to win, and we want to win as well. I know that Alex Meyer,and Kris Johnson and Logan Darnell and Scott Diamond all want to win too. Whoever is going to do the job is the guy who will get called and that's where I want to to be. We have people in charge that have confidence that I can go out and do a job and that's literally the one goal that there is, and with that the numbers will come. View full article

To say that Rochester Red Wings pitcher Scott Diamond has had a tough start to the 2014 season,would be putting it nicely. Diamond, Rochester’s opening day starter, is 0-2 on the season with an International League worse 15.58 ERA. If that large number wasn’t enough, through just nine innings pitched in three starts, Diamond has allowed an IL worse 25 hits and walked seven batters as well. [video=youtube;kt9mr38054k] After his last start against the Pawtucket Red Sox, where he pitched four innings, gave up seven runs and 11 hits, catcher Dan Rohlfing said about his performance, “It was a little bit of command issues, got squeezed a little bit but threw some balls over the plate and Scott will be the first one to tell you that he didn’t have his best stuff, but I thought he threw pretty well and went out there and battled.” Just 21 days ago Scott Diamond was released by the Minnesota Twins, he later accepted his outright assignment to Rochester, but it poses the question, what did the Twins releasing Diamond do to his psyche? Last season Diamond was sent down to the Red Wings, and was a big reason why the team made the postseason push that they did. In seven starts he went 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA, while walking nine batters in 41 innings pitched, a huge difference in comparison to what he's done so far this year. So I think the big questions are, how much longer should Rochester give Diamond to figure things out, and are there guys in New Britain that should be called up to take his spot in the rotation? To answer the first question, the Red Wings should give him a few more starts to see how they go. Although statistically he's one of the worst pitchers in the International League, since going 4-14 with the Wings in 2011, he's gone 8-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts coming into this season. Based on those numbers, it would be wise for Rochester to give Diamond sometime solely based on the fact that he could become one of the premier pitchers in the International League once again. What about guys like Pat Dean and Sean Gilmartin, should they get the chance to pitch in Rochester with Diamond struggling? In a word, yes, but not yet. Pat Dean pitched briefly in Rochester last season going 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in six starts before being sent back to New Britain. While there's no doubt that the sample size is small, why not give the 25 year old lefty a chance to show what he has to offer at the next level? Sean Gilmartin is another name to consider calling up as well. Gilmartin, a top five Braves prospect just one year ago,struggled in his first full season in AAA. However he had skipped over the Eastern League, and went from the SAL to the IL, a jump not many pitchers make successfully. It's only the middle of April, but anytime you have a veteran pitcher struggling to this severity, it's just a matter of time before a change has to be made.

[attachment=7018:4347.attach] Calling the 2013 Rochester Red Wings season a roller coaster ride would be a dramatic understatement. Rochester started off the year at 2-11, went on to finish the season 77-67, clinched a wild card berth and made their first playoff appearance in seven years. This year's team is completely different: none of the current pitchers were on last year's opening day roster and just three position players from opening day are returning. With the momentum from the 2013 team, manager Gene Glynn has more of talent on this team and the expectations are higher than ever. [B][U]Starting Rotation (With 2013 Teams & Stats) [/U][/B] [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=539438"]Scott Diamond[/URL]: Fort Meyers: 0-0 7.20 ERA 5 IP 0 BB 3 SO Rochester: 4-0 2.41 ERA 41.0 IP 9 BB 19 SO Minnesota: 6-13 5.43 ERA 131 IP 36 BB 52 SO [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=543542"]Alex Meyer[/URL]: 2013 Season GCL Twins: 0-0 1.08 ERA 8.1 IP 3 BB 16 SO New Britain: 4-3 3.21 ERA 70 IP 29 BB 84 SO Glendale (AFL): 2-1 3.12 ERA 26 IP 7 BB 28 SO [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=453241"]Kris Johnson[/URL]: 2013 Season Indianapolis: 10-4 2.39 ERA 135.2 IP 43 BB, 94 SO Pittsburgh: 0-2 6.10 ERA 10.1 IP 4 BB 9 SO [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=543507"]Trevor May[/URL]: 2013 Season New Britain: 9-9 4.51 ERA 151.2 IP 67 BB 159 SO [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=592244"]Logan Darnell[/URL]: 2013 Season New Britain: 6-6 2.61 ERA 96.2 IP 23 BB 77 SO Rochester: 4-4 4.26 ERA 57 IP 22 BB 43 SO Some familiar names are locked in the rotation for Rochester. Logan Darnell and Scott Diamond spent time with the Red Wings last season, and for Diamond it is the fourth straight year with Rochester. Alex Meyer, the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] overall prospect according to MLB.com Top 100 Prospect List, is the biggest name in the rotation and also the one with the highest expectations. 2014 is an important year for every player, but I would argue that it’s even more important for Trevor May. With the Twins' off-season free agent signings and the expectation Meyer will join the rotation by 2015, the opening for May to be a starting pitcher in Minnesota is a small one. [B][U]Standout Pitcher[/U][/B] The obvious choice is to go with Alex Meyer or Scott Diamond, but as previously noted, I believe Trevor May has the most to prove this season. For the past two seasons May has had an ERA well above four, and his strikeout to walk ratio has been around two to one. In order for this season to be a successful this ratio will need to improve to at least three to one, which would bring his ERA down as well. [B][U]Starting Lineup (With 2013 Team & Stats)[/U][/B] CF: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=LF&sid=t534&t=p_pbp&pid=518991"]Darin Mastroianni[/URL]: GCL Twins - .143, 0 HR 2 RBI, 2 SB Fort Myers - .400, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 SB Rochester - .240, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB Minnesota - .185, 0 HR, 5 RBi, 2 SB 2B: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=2B&sid=t534&t=p_pbp&pid=503437"]James Beresford[/URL]: New Britain - .316, 0 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB Rochester - .298 0 HR, 21 RBI, 5 SB RF: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=476633"]Chris Parmelee[/URL]: Rochester - .231, 3 HR, 22 RBI Minnesota - .228, 8 HR, 24 RBI 1B: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=434525"]Brad Nelson[/URL]: Iowa - .271, 20 2B, 20 HR, 71 RBI. 3B: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=3B&sid=t534&t=p_pbp&pid=466480"]Deibinson Romero[/URL]: New Britain - .355 3 HR, 6 RBI Rochester - .266, 10 HR, 50 RBI 4 SB LF: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=LF&sid=t534&t=p_pbp&pid=473922"]Chris Rahl[/URL]: Syracuse - .293, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 14 SB DH: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=456544"]Eric Farris[/URL]: New Britain - .500 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB Rochester - .248, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 23 SB SS: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=SS&sid=t534&t=p_pbp&pid=542454"]Danny Santana[/URL]: New Britain - .297, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 22 2B, 30 SB. C: [URL="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=518700"]Eric Fryer[/URL]:Rochester- .215, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB Minnesota - .385 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB Similar to the start of the 2013 season, the Red Wings have three catchers on their 25-man roster again. Eric Fryer is expected to be the everyday catcher, however Dan Rohlfing and Chris Herrmann have experience playing other positions besides catcher. [B][U]Breakout Pick[/U][/B] Danny Santana is known for two things: his speed and his “shaky” defense. One of the things the Red Wings prided themselves on last season was good defense and drawing walks, two things Santana has not done very well. Hitting coach Tim Doherty stresses plate discipline and that is something Santana can benefit from. Don’t be surprised to see him steal 40 bases in 2014 and to draw 40+ walks as well, which would both be career highs. [B][U]Season Prediction[/U][/B] While Rochester has a very good team, Pawtucket and Buffalo have good rotations and perhaps better overall offenses than Rochester. Last season I drank the Kool-Aid and predicted a playoff birth. This season I expect the same, with Rochester going 80-64 and for the first time since 1997 winning the International League North division title. View full article