Article: 2015 Ft. Myers Miracle Roster Preview

[Seth Stohs]

The 2014 Ft. Myers Miracle won the team’s first Florida State League championship. The loaded roster now primarily is in Chattanooga. Some return, and manager Jeff Smith also adds some players from a playoff team in Cedar Rapids a year ago. Like the rest of minor league baseball, the Miracle season will begin on Thursday. Kohl Stewart headlines the Miracle roster in 2015, but there are a lot of players worth watching.

 

Who else will be on the Miracle roster on Opening Day? Check below for the complete list.Here is a look at the Opening Day roster of the Miracle in some detail:

 

Starting Pitchers: Ryan Eades, Chih-Wei Hu, Brett Lee (LHP), Ethan Mildren, Aaron Slegers, Kohl Stewart

 

Brett Lee had a strong first half last year with the Miracle and was named to the Florida State League All-Star team. He didn’t pitch there, and pitched only sporadically in the second half due to shoulder issues. Ryan Eades had a frustrating 2014 season in Cedar Rapids, but the former second-round pick advances to the Miracle and has the stuff to be successful. He just needs to be consistent. Chih-Wei Hu began last season in extended spring training, but after a couple of starts for Elizabethton, he became arguably the Kernels best starter down the stretch. Mildren also began at EST, but he was quickly called up to Cedar Rapids. After a dozen starts, he moved up to the Miracle and was part of the championship rotation. The lanky Slegers was the Kernels top starter early in the season. After some struggles, he figured things out again and made a few starts for the Miracle late. Kohl Stewart is a great athlete and has huge potential. Some were concerned about his lack of strikeouts in Cedar Rapids in 2014. Others said that the contact off of him was very weak. More concerning, he ended his second straight season with shoulder issues. He’s at 100% this spring which could mean big things for the Twins first-round pick from 2013.

Relief Pitchers: Madison Boer, JT Chargois, Alex Muren, Brandon Peterson, Tim Shibuya, Todd Van Steensel, Luke Westphal (LHP)

 

 

Boer is a former second-round pick who was moved to the bullpen full-time just last year. He returns to the Miracle. JT Chargois was also a second- round pick, but he hasn’t pitched in two years due to an elbow injury that eventually resulted in Tommy John surgery. Twins Daily readers have heard numerous times here that he was clocked at 99 at Instructional League last fall. Alex Muren quietly puts up solid numbers. Particularly, he is a ground ball machine. Brandon Peterson was our choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year in 2014. He spent a month in Cedar Rapids before advancing to the Miracle where he struck out 65 in 45 innings. Tim Shibuya is healthy again after another injury-plagued 2014 season. Australian Van Steensel is back with the Twins and last year climbed from EST to Cedar Rapids and ended up pitching for the Miracle in the playoffs. Luke Westphal, a left-hander from LaCrosse, had to go to Australia this winter to get signed by the Twins.

Catchers: Mitch Garver, Michael Quesada, Alex Swim

 

 

Mitch Garver was my choice for Twins minor league hitter of the year when he put up strong numbers in Cedar Rapids. He was invited to Twins spring training this year and has moved up prospect rankings quickly. Swim came up to the Kernels last year and hit almost instantly. In fact, he hit so well that Jake Mauer played him in right field just to keep his bat in the lineup. Quesada is a defense-first catcher, though he occasionally will show some good pop in his bat.

Infielders: Niko Goodrum, Bryan Haar, Aderling Mejia, Tanner Vavra, Engelb Vielma

 

 

Niko Goodrum returns to the Miracle to play third base, though he will likely play multiple positions. I personally think this is the best thing for his development, to repeat the level and put up some good numbers to regain his confidence. Bryan Haar put up big power numbers in Cedar Rapids last year, playing third base. He finished the season with the Miracle. Mejia began 2014 in New Britain but returned to the Miracle. Here, he will play both middle infield positions. Vavra played second base with the Kernels a year ago and does a good job with the glove. Vielma impressed last year in Cedar Rapids with his glove work at shortstop. He was named the Twins minor league defensive infielder of the year last year.

Outfielders: Chad Christensen, Jason Kanzler, Marcus Knecht, Logan Wade

 

 

Christensen played for his hometown Kernels last year and put up numbers across the board, some power and 35 stolen bases. He will move to the outfield after playing mostly first base for Cedar Rapids. Jason Kanzler quietly put up big numbers last year. He is another great athlete with speed and power. He also plays tremendous center field defense. His 11^th inning home run in the final game of 2014 gave the Miracle the Florida State League championship. Marcus Knecht signed with the Twins just last week after the Canadian was released by the Blue Jays. He has spent the last two years playing in the Florida State League for Dunedin. Logan Wade is an Australian infielder who is being moved to the outfield for depth. He will likely also play in the infield.

Disabled List: Brandon Bixler (LHP), Brian Gilbert, Steven Gruver, Chris

Mazza, Ryan Walker, Corey Williams (LHP – Tommy John)

 

 

Manager/Coaching Staff: Jeff Smith (MGR), Jim Dwyer (Hitting Coach), Ivan Arteaga (Pitching Coach).

 

 

Jeff Smith returns to the Miracle after spending the past five seasons with the Rock Cats in New Britain. Before that, the Naples native managed the Miracle in 2008 and 2009. He also managed Beloit for two years. Jim Dwyer begins his 10^th season as the Miracle’s hitting coach. Ivan Arteaga was the pitching coach in Cedar Rapids last year after being the Miracle pitching coach in 2013.

WHO ARE THE TOP PROSPECTS?

 

Twins Daily Prospects: #4 Kohl Stewart,

 

Seth: #5 Kohl Stewart, #17 Chih-Wei Hu, #26 Mitch Garver, #27 Niko Goodrum

 

Cody: #3 Kohl Stewart, #21 Chih-Wei Hu, #23 Niko Goodrum, #26 Engelb Vielma, #30 Brett Lee

 

Jeremy: #4 Kohl Stewart, #19 Chih-Wei Hu, #22 Mitch Garver, #26 Engelb Vielma

 

*** If you didn’t get your copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015, be sure to order yours today. You can order a hardcopy or order an electronic copy for immediate download.

 

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[Ted Schwerzler]

Really good rundown. Will be interesting to see how this club does this season. Looking forward to seeing Goodrum trend back in the right direction this year.

[Mike Sixel]

Huh, for some reason, I expected more top prospects at this level (off the top of my head). Only having 4 or 5 seems low for this level, given that many get weeded out as they move off.

 

OTOH, maybe that's because AA is loaded!

 

Will be really interested in some of the pitchers here.....along with Vielma and Garver.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Huh, for some reason, I expected more top prospects at this level (off the top of my head). Only having 4 or 5 seems low for this level, given that many get weeded out as they move off.

 

OTOH, maybe that's because AA is loaded!

 

Will be really interested in some of the pitchers here.....along with Vielma and Garver.

 

It's a good point, but I also think that guys like Garver, Kanzler, Christensen and Haar shouldn't be overlooked in their 2nd full minor league seasons after being drafted as four-year college guys. Kanzler and Christensen are incredible, elite athletes. Garver is smart, can hit, hit with some power and do a nice job behind the plate. Haar has some good power and is also a pretty good athlete. 

 

I think Vielma and Kanzler's defense is worth watching.

 

I think that a couple of the relievers should be up in AA except they pushed a couple of guys (Reed/Gallant) past Hi-A instead of being here. Also, the big arms drafted last year are getting their feet wet in Cedar Rapids but could be up by June also. And, frankly, if Cederoth was being groomed as a reliever, he'd probably be here too... 

 

That all said, there are some really, really good baseball players on this roster.

[twinssouth]

Seth, what happened to Luke Bard

[Hrbowski]

The Twins system is darn good.

[h2oface]

I thought I had read that Alex Swim decided to retire at the end of spring training. Am I mis-remembering?

[blairpaul715]

 

I thought I had read that Alex Swim decided to retire at the end of spring training. Am I mis-remembering?

 

I think you are mistaking him for Tyler Grimes, he retired at the end of spring training.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Seth, what happened to Luke Bard

 

He had surgery last May 15th. Expects to be back on the mound in a game by mid-May. He said it was a 12-month surgery.

 

Everything going well so far.

[beckmt]

Looks like a good to very good team.  Will be interested to see where they finish.

[h2oface]

 

I think you are mistaking him for Tyler Grimes, he retired at the end of spring training.

Ah...... that is absolutely what I am doing. Thanks.

[Shane Wahl]

I think it will finally be time for Niko Goodrum to shine. He will still draw walks and steal bases, but I have to think the contact and slugging will go up as well. He is still just freshly 23.

[ashbury]

 

I think it will finally be time for Niko Goodrum to shine. He will still draw walks and steal bases, but I have to think the contact and slugging will go up as well. He is still just freshly 23.

How about the defense? The SSS while I watched him last month left me with questions.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Also, Hu has the stat lines of a future #2. 

 

Obviously I don't know anything first hand but I'm afraid these guys might get labeled FA and #1 pick. If Hu dominates and out pitches Stewart then maybe Hu should get first consideration and fast track. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

FWIW, Hu is quite a bit older than Stewart. He's still a prospect in that sense, but given his age, I don't know if I'd conclude that he's a better prospect, even if he's putting up better numbers.

[Halsey Hall]

the Miracle won tonight with an all time Hammond Stadium attendance record of over 9100.  They were lead by Sleger and Goodrum, 3-0. 

[TRex]

 

the Miracle won tonight with an all time Hammond Stadium attendance record of over 9100.  They were lead by Sleger and Goodrum, 3-0. 

Did you happen to stay long enough to see the long awaited 100mph Shag-Wa heater? If so, what did you think?

[ashbury]

 

FWIW, Hu is quite a bit older than Stewart. He's still a prospect in that sense, but given his age, I don't know if I'd conclude that he's a better prospect, even if he's putting up better numbers.

B-r.com shows the age difference as just under one year. Hu is not quite 21 and a half. A year matters a good deal when forecasting (and my ranking of ceilings several weeks ago did indeed put Stewart higher than everyone), but Hu's hardly so old at high-A as to need to be qualified as "still a prospect".

[Bob Sacamento]

Hu might be a year older but he also has the whole assimilation issue to contend with but from speaking to his host family here he's loving it here and picking up the lifestyle quickly.  Kid knows how to pitch and keeps his composure even after he was hit around early in his start before settling down.

[jokin]

 

I think it will finally be time for Niko Goodrum to shine. He will still draw walks and steal bases, but I have to think the contact and slugging will go up as well. He is still just freshly 23.

 

And unfortunately, he's also apparently freshly out of a middle infield position?