Get To Know: Kernels Infielder Nelson Molina

After being drafted, Molina went to the Gulf Coast League where he struggled with the bat, hitting just .110. He returned to the GCL in 2014 and hit .243. Last season, Molina moved up to Elizabethton where he hit .207.

Having seen Molina in spring training the last three years he was very intriguing. At 6-3 and lean Molina looks the part of a shortstop prospect. With the glove he is smoooth and has a strong arm. At the plate, he has a good stance with a good swing. He has a good approach at the plate. For some reason, the numbers just didn’t show up during games in the rookie leagues.And he knows it, so his goals for 2016 were clear.

“My goal every season is to have a good year and help the team every time I can. Mostly this year I was trying to get a better average. I wanted to help my team offensively, hitting more. I’m doing good now, and I’m really excited about it.”

In 36 games since his promotion to the Cedar Rapids Kernels in late April, Molina has hit .291 with a .380 on-base percentage. In the last couple of weeks, he has been batting fifth for the Kernels and on Tuesday, he came through with a big two-run single in their 2-1 win.

“I was doing really good in extended (spring training), thank God. I was trying to increase my career, working hard every day to be a better player. I was trying to get here as soon as possible. It was what I had in mind. I think I earned it. Now I’m here and enjoying the moment.”

What did he credit for his success in his start with the Kernels? He said it was a combination of his years of experience, but also credits some mechanical changes.

“It’s a little bit of both. I think I’ve been getting a lot of experience during the years and that’s helped me a lot. It’s another Nelson Molina in the batter’s box now. I’m thinking, I’m going with another plan with another view of the game. Also, it’s a lot of work. I’ve been working a lot on my hitting mechanics since Puerto Rico. When I got to spring training, I started to work with the coaches down there and they helped me a lot. Everything is going really good now. I’m really excited about it. Very happy about it.”

It is always fun hearing about a player’s draft-day experience, and when I asked Molina about the draft, his eyes brightened and his smile increased.

“That was, I can say, one of the best moments of my life, for real. I was expecting to be (drafted higher), but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a special moment. I was in my house with my family. They were following the draft on the computer. I really didn’t want to follow. I was just sitting on the couch. I remember that I had a bat in my hands. In the 11th round they usually have the pick first on the computer and then they announce it. That pick they didn’t put in the computer. I asked my dad, ‘what is going on?’ He said ‘Man, nothing’s coming. They haven’t put anything yet.’ Then the speaker started, and I just heard, ‘Nelson Molina.’ What? My dad started laughing, and I said, ‘That’s me?’ ‘Yeah that’s you that’s you, that’s you’. I just started jumping all over the house. It was a great moment. My dad was really proud. I think that was the proudest moment of my life. Seeing my family’s faces.”

It’s such a big moment for these kids because it is something they have worked for all of their still-young lives.

“All my life, I started playing at three years old. Since I Was 15, I was working really hard to be a pro player. That was a good feeling, for real.”

Molina went to Antonio Luchetti school in Puerto Rico. It is a public school and not one of baseball academies in Puerto Rico.

“In Puerto Rico, we have three baseball academies right now. My high school was just a normal high school. It was an academic school. I got into a routine. I went to school 8:00 to 3:00 and right when I got out of school, I trained until 7 or 8 p.m. I played with two teams there, and the league is all around the year.”

Nelson Molina speaks English nearly fluently and credits his school for that, as well as what the Twins are doing for the Latin American players. Jake Mauer said that English classes are mandatory in the Twins Academy in Ft. Myers, but players in Cedar Rapids are also required to take English classes in Cedar Rapids. When the new academy in the Dominican Republic is complete, they will have better facilities and classrooms for their classes as well.

“In Puerto Rico, they give you English classes since kindergarten. I started speaking it regularly in high school. When I got here, it was pretty easy. I started taking the classes with the Twins. I tried to speak to other guys, and they would say you need to say this instead of this. That was a good way to learn. I learned really fast that way.”

Molina is not the only player in the Twins organization who attended Antonio Luchetti. Current Twins backup catcher Juan Centeno also went to the school and was drafted six years before Molina. Molina noted that Centeno was a guy who returned to his hometown and school and that was motivation for students and baseball players there.

“Yeah, of course. He’s from the same city as me. I remember when I was playing back in Puerto Rico in the leagues at 15, 16 years old. Centeno was with the Mets at the time. He gave us batting gloves and bats all the time and would say ‘Hey, keep working hard and you can do the same thing as me.’ He’s a great guy. He’s a good player too. We know each other well. I know his family. He’s a really good guy.”

There is a real pride in Puerto Rico for its baseball players. It’s real, and the players are very happy when others get to the big leagues.

“When (Jose) Berrios, (Kennys) Vargas and (Eddie) Rosario were up, it was real exciting for us. For me, it was a good moment because I got real excited for them. I know how they have to work to get there. Berrios played with me back in Puerto Rico. He was a year older than me, but he we faced him. To see a guy like that get to the big leagues is very nice. I was really proud of Puerto Rico.”

Molina played this winter for Indios de Mayaguez in the Puerto Rico Winter League. “That was a great experience. It’s a big reason for what I’m doing right now. You get a lot of experience. You meet a lot of big leaguers, a lot of great guys.”

He credited former big leaguer Ruben Gotay for really helping him out, talking to him about hitting, defense, situations and the mental part of the game.

He is a natural shortstop, but he has played all over the field in his four seasons in the organization. He says he feels comfortable on the left side of the infield.

“For real, I feel comfortable at all three (infield positions). I played shortstop all my life. But third base, I’ve been playing every day now and I feel very comfortable. I think it’s easier to go from shortstop to third base than the other way.”

For now, Molina is working hard every day with one goal in mind for the rest of the season. Well, he has a couple of goals, but it is clear in talking to him that one goal trumps the rest.

“Main goal is win the ring. Work hard every day, and have good numbers at the end of the season, help win that ring and bring it home.”