Article: Tuesday Minor League Report

[Seth Stohs]

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins had their first (and only) off day of the season, a much-deserved respite from the grind of spring training. They return to action on Wednesday night to face the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium.

 

However, things were busy on the minor league side of the complex on Tuesday. I wrote here last Friday that Ervin Santana and JO Berrios were starting minor league games on Tuesday. Lots of people must have known because there were an unusual number of spectators watching.To say that Santana's and Berrios's performances were underwhelming is probably an understatement.

 

Berrios had a very quick first inning, but after that, he really struggled. Unusually, he struggled with command of his pitches. That's not to say he was missing by a lot, but he was missing. In the second inning, he hit two batters (Travis Harrison and Leonardo Reginatto) and walked another (Dalton Hicks). Three came around to score (two on a solid single up the middle by Stephen Wickens) before getting the third out (which can be done in spring training, intrasquad games). The third inning wasn't much better. However, Berrios got his pitches in and feels fine.

 

Santana wasn't struggling so much with control, but he was working on things like his changeup. He got hit a little bit, particularly by 1B Trey Vavra. In his first at-bat, Vavra stayed back nicely on a change-up and doubled to left field. In his next at-bat against Santana, a change-up stayed up and Vavra crushed it well beyond the fence in left-center field.

 

Logan Darnell also tossed an inning in the game. He was sick late last week for a couple of days, so it was an opportunity for him to get into some game action.

 

I talked to several of the players during and after the game. They talked about how nice it is to get to see the big league guys play against them. It was neat to see how many of the minor league pitchers came over to the field when Santana and Berrios were pitching, just to watch. Even though they didn't pitch great, they could see what they threw. They could see how they warmed up, worked with their catchers, and all of that.

 

For the hitters, many of them may never reach the big leagues. Though they don't want to think like this, it's always going to be a memory. To be able to say they faced a 10-year big league veteran, and maybe got a hit off of him.

 

Also worth noting, the Twins front office and much of its coaching staff was there to watch. GM Terry Ryan and Player Personnel Director Mike Radcliff were there. Tom Kelly was observing while at the same time engaging fans for photos and discussion. Assistant GM Rob Antony was out there. Minor League Director Brad Steil is on the minor league fields a lot throughout the day, but his former boss, Jim Rantz also made an appearance. Joe Vavra was there to see his sons play (and watch Santana and Berrios too). Butch Davis and Tom Brunansky were there for some time as well. The nice thing is that they didn't leave when the big league pitchers were done. They stuck around which also has to mean something to the players.

 

OTHER NOTES

 

MInnesotan Onas Farfan pitched an inning in one of the minor league games yesterday. He had Tommy John surgery just over a year ago and was very excited to get back on the mound again. He'll stick in extended spring training, most likely, to start the season, but he's happy to see that all the hard work is starting to pay off.

 

I spent a bit of time chatting with Callan Pearce. As you recall, the South African pitcher played for his country in the WBC-Qualifying tournament in Australia last month. He got to pitch a little bit out of their bullpen. He said that the tournament created a lot of buzz about baseball in their country. They were a pretty young team and Pearce said there is more talent coming through the pipeline. He also was astonished when I talked about how cold it could get in Minnesota in the winters. He will also likely start the season in extended spring, hoping to make it up to Elizabethton this season.

 

Roberto Gonzalez is a very talented kid that the Twins drafted in 2014 out of Orlando. He's currently sidelined with a bum hamstring but hopes to return to the field soon. During his offseason, he spent time hitting (and being coached) by Ken Griffey, Jr. They also talked about defense as well. Gonzalez also said that he met and talked to Barry Larkin.

 

Lewis Thorpe said that he felt real good after throwing a bigger bullpen yesterday. He had the entire day off on Tuesday from throwing, per his rehab plan. Today, he is expected to throw up to 150 feet. The regimen for returning from Tommy John surgery is very structured.

 

Williams Ramirez was our choice last year for Twins short-season pitcher of the year. According to Steve Buhr, who arrived at camp on Tuesday, he saw that he was pretty regularly touching 97 on the radar gun behind home plate. He was more in the low-90s last year, so this is a nice surprise.

 

Joe Maloney was the independent league's player of the year in 2015. In 97 games for Rockland of the Can-Am League, he hit .337/.432/.559 (.991) with 33 doubles, 14 homers and 83 RBI. He also stole 18 of 22 bases. Just 26, he shows a really good approach at the plate and has a ton of power. Not certain yet where he'll fit onto a roster with the catching situation fairly strong, but he has a chance to make an impression.

 

The players that the Twins sent down to minor league camp on Sunday or Monday were at the ballpark on Tuesday. Pat Dean, Mike Strong, JT Chargois, and Jake Reed each threw bullpens and worked on PFPs and such with the AAA team. Randy Rosario threw a bullpen, and he and Yorman Landa worked in the morning with the Ft. Myers team. Alex Swim DHd for the AA team in the game against the Red Wings. Adam Brett Walker batted third and played left field for the AAA Team.

 

Today (Wednesday), the AAA and AA Twins minor leaguers will host the AAA and AA teams of the Baltimore Orioles. The High-A and Low-A teams will travel to play the Orioles teams.

 

Click here to view the article

[clutterheart]

 

Today (Wednesday), the AAA and AA Twins minor leaguers will host the AAA and AA teams of the Baltimore Orioles. The High-A and Low-A teams will travel to play the Orioles teams.

 

Are box scores for these games published anywhere?

[Bob Sacamento]

 

Are box scores for these games published anywhere?

Not usually, if at all possible I take a picture of the box score just depending who's charting.  I used to take one of the velocity and pitch type chart but apparently that's private information per coach Ramon Borrego.  The BoSox don't care...

[Han Joelo]

Leonardo Reginatto?  Sounds like a most interesting fellow...

[clutterheart]

 

I used to take one of the velocity and pitch type chart but apparently that's private information per coach Ramon Borrego.  The BoSox don't care...

 

That sounds very Twinsie to me

[Seth Stohs]

 

Are box scores for these games published anywhere?

 

No. I don't know if they even keep them.