Steven Buhr

Brett Doe didn’t make the trip north to Cedar Rapids out of spring training with his friends and teammates when they broke camp to start the 2015 season, a fact that was, “pretty disheartening,” Doe said in an interview over the past weekend. "When I first heard it, it was pretty tough," Doe admitted. "I played with most of these guys down in E’town and they’re definitely the guys that I wanted to spend the year playing with." Doe didn't allow himself to dwell long on that disheartened feeling though. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DoeWatkins2015-600x400.jpg Brett Doe and hitting coach Tommy Watkins "A few hours kind of down on myself a little bit, doubting myself," he said. "But then I thought, ‘what good is being negative?’ Negativity only slows you down, holds you back." (This article originally was posted at Knuckleballsblog.com) Doe said he also got a bit of tough love from his buddies back home. "I talked to a lot of friends and they were saying, ‘hey, we don’t want to hear you complain, we’re going to our jobs right now and we’d give anything to be where you are right now.' So kind of taking that attitude kind of helped me once I got here because it’s something I can’t take for granted. "Being down there (in extended spring training) and knowing how anxious I was to get here and knowing that nothing is guaranteed. Even if I’m playing well and hitting well, it’s still a long season to go." Even going back in to spring training, Doe recognized that a guy selected as late as he was in the draft can't afford to relax in the effort department. "I was a 38th rounder during spring training. I would wake up and think, ‘I hope today is not the day they send me home. I don’t want to go back home.’ So I’d work hard every single day and, as cliché as that sounds, I’d work hard and have to go back and get in bed so tired after the day was over. Still, every day I've got to realize that nothing is guaranteed." http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Doe2015c-400x600.jpg Brett Doe A couple of weeks in to the season, Doe got the call to join the Kernels when Jorge Fernandez went on the Disabled List with a concussion. Since then, Doe has hit .318 and has stepped in to make a critical contribution to the Kernels’ offense during their successful drive to clinch at least a second-place finish in the Midwest League’s Western Division first-half standings and the guaranteed postseason berth that comes with it. “It’s been huge, to be honest with you,” Kernels manager Jake Mauer said of Doe’s contribution. “He just hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity early,” Mauer added. “Now he’s getting a chance and with his swing, how short it is and compact, it works, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just a matter of him getting an opportunity, really. He’s making the most of it.” He didn't exactly hit the ground running upon arrival in Cedar Rapids, though. "When I first got here, I started off a little slow. Not playing that much and when I got in, I got up there with the attitude that I've got to prove that I belong here. I think that if I’d have squared up some of those balls I swung at, they’d have gone about 500 feet," Doe recalled, laughing. Mauer and Kernels hitting coach Tommy Watkins had some conversations with Doe about that approach. "That’s not the type of player I am," he acknowledged. "It’s putting the ball in play, trying to find barrels and move guys and score guys. That’s the type of player I am and they helped remind me of that and that’s helped me out a lot." Doe was primarily an infielder during his junior college and college career, but the Twins are making a catcher out of him. The reason for the position change to squatting behind the plate was simple, according to Doe. Pro scouts spelled things out clearly to him during the scouting process. "I went to junior college and looked to get drafted out of there," Doe explained. "I was just a shortstop, and I’d show up places and run my 60-yard dashes and scouts would kind of hold their breath and kind of, ‘ohhh, not what we want.’ That had held me back." According to Doe, the scouts told him, "The only chance you may have is if you catch because you don’t have to run." "That was kind of what held me back from playing infield," Doe added. "Struggled swinging the bat a few years in college. ‘Can’t run well, streaky hitter, so we want you to catch a little bit.’" http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/LeBlancDoe-600x400.jpg Randy LeBlanc (15) and Brett Doe (23) pose during a Sunday postgame autograph session It took a bit of truth-stretching for Doe to get his first opportunity to get behind the plate during his junior year at Baylor, though. "A couple of our catchers went down with injuries so I kind of mentioned it, ‘yeah I caught in junior college,’ which wasn’t entirely truthful," Doe rather sheepishly admitted. "But I wanted to stay in the lineup. So I went back there and they said, ‘OK you’re catching this weekend.’ "That started it. That was my junior year. I caught about 15-20 games there. Then senior year, I went back to shortstop once our other catchers got healthy. I didn’t start doing it full time until last year at E’town." While his future in professional baseball is likely going to be determined by how well he wears the "tools of ignorance," as we called catchers' gear in my day, the Kernels currently have four catchers on their roster. That means that Doe's defensive versatility allows his manager to keep his hot bat in the lineup and he's been playing a lot of first base for the Kernels recently. That's fine with Doe, because it's all about getting playing time. "Seeing my name in the lineup every day is really, really nice. "The background of being in the infield has helped me. I'm taking some ground balls at other positions in case some guys need breaks in the long season. "I’m more comfortable doing that than catching most of the time. Catching is still new to me. Now I’ve just got to figure out when I can get my catching work in and still be fresh and ready for games." Mauer thinks that Doe is handling his defensive responsibilities well, regardless of the position. "He’s done everything we’ve asked," said the manager. "He’s doing fine at first, a position he hasn’t played a lot. "He was an infielder who’s catching, so he’s probably a little bit more familiar with going back out in the infield. He’s done a nice job when he’s caught for us. It’s just another way to get him in the lineup. (Alex) Real has been swinging the bat real well, too, so we’re trying to get both of them in there." Asked about his goals for the year, Doe emphasized team goals. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DoeAndParents-600x450.jpg Brett Doe and his parents show off his "Jurassic" jersey from a recent Kernels charity night "Of course, the big goal is to make the playoffs," he said. "I don’t really have any specific individual goals besides showing up every day and knowing that I did my best that day and just trying to help my team win." Three days after speaking those words, Doe and the Kernels locked in their playoff spot by clinching at least second place in their division for the first half of the season, so he and his teammates can check that goal off the list.

I think that has a lot to do with being 100% healthy. He was certainly far from that during his time in CR the second half of the 2013 season and I seem to recall him having issues last year, as well, though I don't recall what they were. He was healthy in Arizona Fall League and looked like he belonged with the guys down there.

I agree it would be inconsistent with how the Twins have treated Walker so far to promote him at midseason. You have to figure that their primary reason for not doing so the past two years has been that, in each season, he's continued to struggle with the Ks, thus not "dominating" that level in their eyes. Hard to argue they've been wrong and this season is no different. They can use the same rationale for keeping him at AA all season (and that's quite likely what they'll do). I'm not sure the lack of deserving call-ups behind him should be a factor, however. For guys who are putting up some numbers at AA, it seems to me that the more important consideration should be whether the OFs above Walker in Rochester and/or playing alongside him in Chattanooga are providing, or would provide, more benefit to the Twins organization by spending the second half of 2015 in AAA. If the Twins conclude others should get time in Rochester's OF over Walker, that's fine. Staying in AA won't retard his development significantly at this point. But a bump up to AAA could provide the FO with a glimpse at what the next level of pitching would do to the "high power - high K" tightrope that Walker has consistently walked at every level so far. If he fails to continue producing exceptional power numbers, well, that's certainly what a lot of people would have expected, given his lack of strike zone awareness and you've perhaps discovered his ceiling. However, if he continues knocking a bunch of balls over the fence and producing runs, despite his K rate, he becomes more intriguing either as a solution for the Twins' own power-challenged lineup or as a trade chip. I think it's worth considering (though obviously that opinion is not unanimous around here).

The Kernels' clincher was also Jake Mauer's 200th regular season win as Cedar Rapids' manager (in roughly 350 games). Since becoming a Twins affiliate, Mauer's clubs have finished 1st or 2nd in four out of the five "half-seasons." The only exception was the first half of 2014, where they had a below .500 record before putting together a very strong second half. Obviously, as Mauer himself would tell you, the primary focus in the minor leagues is player development, rather than W-L record, but there's also value in giving young players experience at competing to qualify for the postseason and in actually getting playoff experience. Winning also doesn't hurt when it comes to affiliate relations, either.

Yeah, I just don't see why a guy who has led pretty much every professional league he's played in, since being drafted as a 3rd rounder, in HRs would be someone fans of the drafting team might be interested in talking about. We all have our opinions on various players, based on whatever criteria we might favor. There are guys that some people think very highly of that, based on what I've seen of them, I don't feel have a lot of upside and therefore I have little interest in discussing. Know what I do? I don't bother reading most of the threads involving those guys and even when I do, I don't contribute comments that essentially trash the guy, because, hey, I MIGHT turn out to be wrong about the guy. I also don't treat my opinion as though everyone else should just accept it as fact and stop discussing the player in a manner that suggests he has any potential whatsoever. But that's just me. (shrug)

(deleted by author cuz it's just not worth it)

Walker has moved up the ladder one level per year at a time, but right now I would be real tempted to move him up to AAA for the second half of the season. I think the real question (and it's a legitimate one, imo) is whether his propensity to K will eventually adversely affect those otherwise impressive offensive numbers. It's a serious enough question that I don't think he's a guy you want to have skip a level and promote directly to MLB from AA. He has obviously shown that striking out a bit much in AA isn't causing a problem for the rest of his game, so you might as well see if that holds true at AAA. If it does, he just may be a much more athletic Adam Dunn (and I'd certainly welcome that).

I do know this: If I were the GM of a team in need of a near MLB-ready corner OF with middle of the order potential, I'd have Terry Ryan's number real handy.

Ya kinda lost me right there. Not sure anyone who has ever put on the tools of ignorance and got behind the plate to catch more than bullpens or BP would agree it's the least demanding position.

If you haven't searched for #BuxtonFacts on Twitter, you should. SOME of them might be exaggerations

I have to say, considering how shy he was initially about being interviewed by the media when he arrived in CR, I was as proud of the way he handled all that media attention on Sunday as I was of anything he did on the field. I agree, I'm anxious, too, to see him just be able to focus on baseball once the "newness" factor settles down a bit. It's not going to completely go away, obviously.

Balls hit with some pace, more or less in the vacinity of the infielder, that are fielded cleanly and followed by a strong, accurate throw to first base will beat Buck to the bag. If a couple (or sometimes just one) of those things doesn't happen, he wins the race more often than not. The nice thing is, as infielders begin to realize that everything has to go right to get him, they start rushing and making mistakes - a slight bobble, a hurried throw - and that just increases the chance he gets to 1B first. Not to mention, infielders begin to cheat in a bit in order to give themselves a better chance and that means more balls get through the infield. Can't blame the fielder, though, because most balls he hits anywhere near a hole will be infield hits anyway, so there's not much point in worrying about keeping the ball in the infield unless there are runners ahead of Buxton. He is, at the very least, disruptive.

Berardino posted video of the 5-3 out. http://www.tout.com/m/6xikgd?ref=twehs45c

I couldn't be happier and more excited for Buxton. As a Twins fan, I'm anxious to see what he can do, while trying to keep my expectations in check. If we give him a little time, I think we'll all be really pleased with how this turns out.

Eades has been dogged by a lot of people ever since he was drafted. His bad starts get "I told you so" and his good starts are largely ignored. He had more bad starts than good ones in the first half of last season at CR, so even when he put together a few much better starts in the second half, his season numbers weren't impressive. But he DID have a decent 2nd half and was a major reason the Kernels made the postseason. He's done good work in Fort Myers this season, but I'd imagine this might be the first start (or one of very few) where he struck out a batter per inning. If he can start showing that kind of domination on a more consistent basis, maybe he'll get more love from the fan base. I hope so.

I think that's fair, regarding Stewart. I wasn't at all concerned about the lack of Ks last year. I'm a little (but not a lot) more concerned that they haven't picked up this year. By next year, assuming he's in AA, if he's still not getting more Ks, I'll probably be more troubled by that. Honestly, though, I'm more concerned that he has not been able to stay healthy in either of his first two years of full-season baseball. I don't know what the reasons are, whether it's just freak stuff that happens to pitchers at times, or whether it's something more likely to become a recurring issue through his career. Guess I'm saying I have more faith in coaches being able to "cure" a low K rate than I have in medical science being able to cure consistent arm problems.

Outside of Sping Training, I haven't seen Walker in person since 2013, but are we absolutely sure that the reason for his high K numbers is strike zone recognition? What I seem to recall is a guy with a very fast (and powerful) swing that gets through the zone quickly. His bat doesn't stay in the strike zone very long. He either makes contact or he swings through the ball, not a lot in between. Yeah he would get fooled on some outside breaking balls, but no more than a lot of guys. What he didn't do was hit a lot of balls off the handle or off the end of the bat because he was just a little early or just a little late with his swing. So, he wouldn't have the ground outs or weak fly balls that some guys would get rather than a K. Of course, he also wouldn't get the bloop hits and "ground ball with eyes" other guys would, either. If cutting down on strikeouts comes at the cost of having him cut back on his power swing, I don't know that I'd want that. His value, whatever it may eventually be, is going to stem from his power. I do think he eschews walks too much. Maybe it's because he swings at bad pitches, as most believe, but I wonder if it's because he simply doesn't see his path to the big leagues being hastened by taking more walks, as opposed to racking up more extra-base hits and driving in more of those runners who get on base ahead of him. If it's a conscious decision on his part, only time will tell if he's right about what approach gets him to the Show quickest.

From Blake Schmit via Twitter: Blake Schmit ‏@Bschmit_breezy Thankful that it wasn't worse

Pretty scary deal with Schmit. He didn't seem to lose consciousness, but went face down in the dirt after being hit. I thought he had been hit pretty square on the helmet, but from talking to some folks later, I'm told the ball apparently hit the helmet first and then down toward his cheek. Fortunate that the pitch didn't catch him square in the face, I guess. It was about a 95 mph fastball, so he had no time to react really. Schmit tried to get up after a few minutes and couldn't do it. He sat for a while longer and then eventually got to his feet and left the field with assistance. He was taken from the Kernels clubhouse on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. He certainly has a concussion and from what I've heard could have some additional facial injuries. Hate to see that kind of thing happen to anyone. Just glad it wasn't a lot worse and wish Blake well with his recovery.

If you wanted a pitcher, it sounds like you were choosing between starters who scouts project as possible relievers or Jay, who scouts say could start. Given those choices, I guess I don't mind the guy who hasn't had a college coach abusing the hell out of his arm. I'm anxious to see him work in E'town or (better yet) CR!

So much for this being a year that the top picks would be "unpredictable." Kudos (so far) to Jeremy who is 4 for 4 through 4 picks.

Cool Mike Trout video to kick things off.

Yeah he and Thomas Eshelman are having quite the pitchers duel. Impressive.

Going in to this weekend’s series against the Milwaukee Brewers, our Minnesota Twins are 11 games over .500, sitting atop the American League Central Division (barely) with a 32-21 record. Naturally, after the four year run of futility Twins fans have endured coming in to the current season, the main topic of conversation in the Twins community revolves around, “is this for real or are they going to crash and burn?” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MayST15a-600x400.jpgTrevor May (photo: SD Buhr)Being more than ten games over the break-even point a couple of months in to the season is rarified air for the Twins this decade. In fact, in any recent year, it’s relatively rare for any team to work their way more than ten games above .500 by June 4. When you look at the results for other teams that have managed to win ten more games than they’ve lost as of this date, you can find some cause for optimism – but you can also find a cautionary tale or two, as well. A year ago on June 4, four teams found themselves on with records showing at least ten more wins than losses. Those teams were the Giants, Athletics, Brewers and Blue Jays. That’s not exactly encouraging news for Twins fans. Two of those teams, the Giants and A’s, hung on to claim wild card spots. The other two failed to make the postseason at all. In 2013, seven teams streaked out to early success in the first two months of the season. Boston, Texas, Oakland, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh all sat at least ten games over the .500 mark as of June 4. Four of those teams would ultimately claim division championship banners, three scraped in to a wild card spot and one, the Rangers, failed to make the postseason (and even they did play a "game 163"). That’s obviously a more encouraging precedent for Twins fans to focus on than the 2014 season. Only the Dodgers had at least ten more wins than losses on June 4, 2012, and they fell short of postseason qualification. In 2011, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cleveland were ten games over .500 on June 4. The Phillies won their division, the Cards were a wild card team and the Tribe were left on the outside looking in at playoff time. In 2010, the Rays, Yankees and Padres all were at least ten games above the .500 mark on this date. Tampa Bay won their division, the Evil Empire claimed the wild card and the Padres were left out. In fairness, however, if today’s two-wild card format had been in effect in 2010, San Diego would have qualified for the second National League wild card spot. (The Twins, in their final "good" season before the sucking years, were nine games over .500 on June 4, 2010.) Add all of that up and you get a pretty interesting – and even – mix of results for teams that were, on this date, in a situation similar to where the Twins find themselves today. Six of 18 teams won their division. Six of 18 claimed wild card spots. Six of 18 were left out in the cold. Of the six teams who failed to make the postseason after their early-season success, two of them did go on to win at least 90 games. The 2010 Padres won 90 and, as mentioned, would have claimed a second wild card spot had the format been the same as what’s in place today. The 2013 Rangers won 91 games and lost a “play-in” game to the Rays. The other four non-qualifiers ended up with 86 (2012 Dodgers), 83 (2014 Blue Jays), 82 (2014 Brewers) and 80 (2011 Indians) games. We all want to believe in the Twins success. We look at the potential to add a front-line pitcher to the rotation in Ervin Santana and see possibilities of additional help from young players on the verge of making their big league debuts. We hope to see some guys improve to counter what’s likely to be some regression to the mean among other players. But, after four years of frustration, it’s hard for some of us to allow ourselves to become wholly emotionally invested in the Twins again, despite the surprisingly hot start. That said, coming in to the season most of us would have been more than pleased with an 81-81 Twins record at the end of 2015. Considering that only one of 18 teams in the past five years that accomplished what the Twins have accomplished so far failed to finish with at least 81 wins, it’s hard for me not to start getting pretty excited. Maybe – just maybe – that’s okay. Click here to view the article