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In 2010, the Red Wings finished 46 games below .500 with a record of 49-95, their worst record since 1920. 2011 was not much better for Rochester. The team won four more games than the previous year; however they lost 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 2012, his first season as manager, the Red Wings finished with a 72-72 record, their best finish since 2008.

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, this season will be a true test to see if he is going to be able to live up to the expectations of him since being drafted in 2009. P.J. Walters will be the Wings opening day starter for the 2^nd 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, however 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 5 batters have a lot of pop in the bats; however 6-9 is where there could be an on going 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 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.