Cedar Rapids Reactions

I made the trip as a fan and a consumer (of both baseball and beer) and tried not to be too “scouty.” I did take around 100 pictures, hoping that at least one or two make it into next year’s edition of the Twins Prospect Handbook.

After three games, though, I was definitely able to form/confirm some opinions I already had and thought it might be of interest to share with the readers at Twins Daily.

First and foremost, the Kernels are in contention to be a playoff team. They are five-games over .500 in the second half and eight games over .500 overall. According to MLB.com’s rankings, they roster one Top 30 prospect (Lachlan Wells, #28). If you look historically at prospect lists, you’re not going to find a lot of guys outside the Top 30 that make and have continued success in the Major Leagues. In fact, that is probably true once you get out of the Top 10 or 15.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen and that none of these guys have a chance to make the major leagues. I’m not saying that at all. But as fans of the Twins minor league system have learned and been spoiled with lately, this is not a team full of top prospects.

The most impressive “stuff” that was on display all weekend came on Sunday afternoon when Cam Booser made a 9th-inning appearance in a six-run game. He started out throwing about 10 straight balls before finally finding the strike zone (and getting the loudest applause of the day). Once he settled in (finally), we got to see the best raw stuff of the weekend: 98 mph with the fastball and a high-80s slider.

Booser was a MWL all-star last season before missing the end of the year with a labrum injury. He hasn’t been good this year. In fact, I joked during his outing that he might get cut before recording an out. But there is some rare raw ability there.

I texted a scout after the game about Booser and the response I got was, “He’s hitting 98 or he’s hitting people with 98?” The floor to ceiling split on Booser is huge: Closer or never reaches high-A, with the middle ground being a LOOGY; the lefty he faced on Sunday couldn’t touch him (yet he’s getting roughed up by LHH on the season).

Though he didn’t show off the power he demonstrated the previous week (four HRs in three games), Zander Wiel did have three hits over the three games, but nothing spectacular; he was, however, very impressive at first base.

Jaylin Davis played left field twice and right field once, making all the routine plays and narrowly missing making an above-average catch to his right, running full speed and having the ball glance off his glove. His carrying tool is his power, which is impressive given his size (6’ 1”, 190) and it was on display with a three-run shot to dead center field on Friday night. He also doubled on Friday and drove in two runs on Sunday. Similar to every other power-hitting corner-outfielder in the organization, Davis does have some swing-and-miss in his game. But after striking out in nearly half of his at-bats in E-town, he’s cut that down to about one-third of his at-bats in Cedar Rapids. It’s still too much, but an improvement.

To my eyes, Rainis Silva was the better defensive catcher, though neither he nor Kevin Garcia were standouts on either side of the ball. Silva did just miss hitting a home run on Sunday, absolutely crushing a ground-rule double to the deepest part of right-center field. Without a game where he went 4-6 last week, he’s hitting .170 (9-53) on the season. He’s still only 20, so there’s potential to improve.

I’d have a hard time believing anyone besides Sean Miller is the team’s MVP. He comes up in big spots and produces: two RBI hits on Friday (the team was 3-11 with RISP; two of the hits were Miller’s), a go-ahead RBI double on Saturday (the team was 2-10 with RISP; Miller was 1-1) after replacing Manuel Guzman who lost track of the outs, and another two-hit game on Sunday with a double and RBI. Defensively, he looked OK at shortstop, but probably profiles best as a utility player. He’s not big, but looks the part of a baseball player.

Sam Gibbons pitched Friday night and by all accounts, he threw his best game of the season. He gave up two home runs, but was low-90s with his fastball and didn’t give up too much hard contact (except for the ones that left the park).

I was genuinely curious to see Luis Arraez in action. Not in my (or anyone’s) Top 30 and not on my radar to break camp with the Kernels, he has absolutely raked. He got a hit in each of the three games that I watched and he’s batting .333 on the season. He’s listed at 5’ 10”, 155, so I expected to see a small, speedy guy. He’s not. He’s not 155 for one. I’m guessing he’s 5’ 9”, 180ish and has a thick lower half and not a lot of foot speed. He DH’d Friday and Sunday, playing second base on Saturday. He’s got a bat that should play - he’s disciplined, works a count and makes contact - but doesn’t have a lot of power or speed and I question where he’ll end up defensively. Oh, and he’s the youngest guy on the team by a significant margin, so you can either say that’s to his benefit or you could say that his body is going to only get bigger (and slower) as he ages.

Bummed that I didn’t get to see Jermaine Palacios play. Palacios will miss the rest of the season with a hand/wrist injury.

I did get to see two 2016 draft picks: Tom Hackimer and Casey Scoggins. Hackimer pitched in relief on Friday night and has a funky arm angle. He was only 88-89 mph which is four-five mph off what he was throwing in college, but he’s not getting regular use and he has been pitching since the beginning of the college season. I still believe he’s a guy that could move quickly through the system.

Scoggins played centerfield on Saturday and Sunday and looks the part defensively. He drew four walks on Sunday. The 39th-round pick has already exceeded my expectations. I would guess he’ll start next season in Fort Myers and should stick in center field though I’m curious how the bat will play as he moves up.

Jake Mauer and his staff deserve a lot of credit. I sat behind the dugout on Friday and Saturday and saw a few occasions where the coaches were making adjustments that immediately made differences.

While there’s a significantly high probability that many of these players will remain in the system next year, there is a strong chance that there will be a shakeup in regard to coaching assignments. Of all the members of the Kernels staff, I’d say the trio of Mauer, Brian Dinkelman and J.P. Martinez is the most deserving of remaining in the organization.

And finally, special thanks to Steve Buhr, who can’t be the “Mayor” of Cedar Rapids (because of Tommy Watkins) but should be. There’s no one in the city who’s more accommodating. (But plenty of people who are better at darts.)