Gulf Coast League Twins Roster Preview

With that mini intro, let’s get to the GCL roster.

COACHING STAFF

The team is managed by Ramon Borrego. This is his seventh season with the Twins GCL squad, the sixth as the manager. He is assisted by extra coaches since these rookie leagues are all about player development. The hitting coaches are Javier Valentin (2nd year) and Steve Singleton (1st year). The pitching coaches are Virgil Vazquez (2nd year) and Cibney Bello (1st year, though he held a few pitching coach positions in the Mariners organization).

HITTERS

Catchers: Jhon Alvarez (20), Juan Gamez (22), Ben Rortvedt (18), Kidany Salva (17)

• Rortvedt clearly is the top prospect in this catching group. Drafted early this month in the second round, many believe that he will hit and have the ability to stick behind the plate.
  
• Alvarez has spent the past three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He’s 20 and making his US debut. Last year he hit .250 with a .706 OPS. Better known for his defense.
  
• Kidany Salva was the Twins 17th round pick this month out of high school in Houston. He just signed in the last day or two.
  
• Juan Gamez was the team’s 31st round pick, a defensive-minded catcher out of NDSU.
  

Infielders: Joe Cronin (22), Zach Featherstone (20), Dane Hutcheon (21), Kolton Kendrick (19), Jose Miranda (17), Emmanuel Morel (19), Jorge Munoz (20), Roni Tapia,

• Joe Cronin has a Hall of Fame name, however, the 34th round pick will have to earn his playing time. The Twins selected him as a shortstop, though he has played mainly first base and third base in the last two seasons and Boston College.
  
• Featherstone was drafted after two seasons at Tallahassee CC. He is expected to get time in left field and at first base.
  
• Dane Hutcheon was the Twins 29th round pick. He played mostly shortstop at the U of Montevallo. He’s got good speed.
  
• Kolton Kendrick was the Twins 8th round pick a year ago out of high school in Louisiana. He came down with mono so his season started late and he didn’t really regain his strength until after the season. He was drafted for his power. (Here is a Q&A with the slugger)
  
• Jose Miranda was the Twins first 2nd round Lottery B pick (#73) last month out of high school in Puerto Rico. He will turn 18 next week. Many believe he is likely to move to second or third, he is going to get a lot of time at shortstop this summer.
  
• Emmanuel Morel is one of the fastest players in the Twins minor leagues. The 5-10, 164 pound infielder spent the last two seasons in the DSL. Last year he hit .282 with a .428 OBP and 24 stolen bases. He will play both middle infield spots.
  
• Jorge Munoz is one of the players that really stood out to me. He’s thin. He's two inches taller than Engelb Vielma (6-1) and weighs exactly the same amount (165). But he’s got a little pop in his bat. He hit .315 with a .415 OBP last year in the DSL. He played almost exclusively on the left side of the diamond. Strong defensively at shortstop, he can get a bit flashy at times. He just turned 20 this week.
  
• Tapia got a nice bonus from the Twins a couple of years ago ($500K). He spent a year in the DSL and then really struggled last year in his first go-round in the GCL. At 6-3 and 205, he’s got the strength. He’ll play both corner infield spots.
  

Outfielders: Juan Carlos Arias (18), Lean Marrero (18), Luis Martinez (20), Aaron Whitefield (19), Akil Baddoo (17), Tyree Davis

• Arias debuted in the DSL a year ago where he hit .311/378/.537 (.914) with 13 doubles, nine triples and two homers. At 5-11 and 180 pounds, he’s got good strength to go with real good speed.
  
• Marrero was drafted a year ago in the 16th round of the the Leadership Christian Academy, the same school Jose Miranda was drafted from this year. Last year, he struggled to a .159 average. Weighing in at 6-1 and 177 pounds, Marrero does have a nice, left-handed swing worth watching this year.
  
• Martinez is a terrific defensive center fielder which is why he played 39 games for the DSL Twins last year despite hitting just .140. Obviously he’ll have to hit, but at 5-11, 190 pounds, he has some potential pop.
  
• Aaron Whitefield signed with the Twins last summer in time to play in six games in the GCL. He had only started playing baseball a year earlier. He ended up being an All-Star in the Australian Baseball League this winter. He’s a great athlete with terrific speed and defense. You’ll want to read his back story here.
  
• Still just 17, Baddoo has a ton of potential, but we will have to be patient with him. Drafted with the Twins second 2nd round Lottery B pick (compensation for not signing Kyle Cody a year earlier) this month, he is known to have a really quick bat and good speed.
  
• Tyree Davis was the Twins 37th round pick in 2014 out of Compton, California. He got hurt again last season and missed time, but he worked out hard and jumped up to 6-3 and 200 pounds. He is one of the best pure athletes in the organization and has a very high upside. He just needs to stay healthy and get the at-bats to gain some confidence.
  

PITCHERS

Starters: Huascar Ynoa (18), Miguel de Jesus (20), Taylor Clemensia (19), Quinton Grogan (23), Tyler Fox (22), Brady Anderson (23).

• Huascar Ynoa was the Twins big international signing in 2014 though it was the only year in at least the last four years where they didn’t hand out a 7-digit signing bonus to an international, 16-year-old. Ynoa is the younger brother of White Sox pitcher Michael Ynoa (who once got a $4 million signing bonus from the A’s when he was 16). This Ynoa throws 90-94 gets good movement and knows how to pitch. He has the ability to dominate. He is 6-3 and 215 pounds and just turned 18. He went 2-5 last year in the DSL but posted an ERA of 2.70.
  
• De Jesus is pretty similar. He’s 6-1 and 205 pounds. Last year in the DSL, he went 6-6 and a 4.30 ERA and a strikeout per inning. He has a fastball that sits 92-94. He gets a lot of sink on it and should be a ground ball machine in time. Though he signed last summer,
  
• Clemensia is a left-hander out of The Netherlands who will be making his professional debut.
  
• Quinton Grogan had 83 strikeouts in 75.1 innings at Lewis-Clark State this year.
  
• Following this month’s draft, the Twins signed right-hander Tyler Fox out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he went 10-2 with a 3.04 ERA in just over 100 innings.
  
• Brady Anderson doesn’t have far to travel. The Twins signed out of of Florida Gulf Coast University. He graduated in 2015 but had a year of eligibility remaining so he started taking Masters courses and continued pitching. He leaves the school as one of the best pitchers in the school’s history, though I think Chris Sale likely edges him out for the top spot.
  

Relievers: Clark Beeker (23) Onas Farfan (23), Moises Gomez (19), Bo Hellquist (22), Garrett Kelly (21), Daniel Martinez (22), Pat McGuff (22), Callan Pearce (20), Matz Schutte (18), Zach Strecker (22).

• Beeker was the Twins 33rd round pick this month out of Davidson. He was a 5th-year senior who throws a lot of strikes.
  
• Farfan went to Robbinsdale Cooper and was drafted in 2014 out of Ridgewater College in Willmar. He is coming back after missing the 2015 season with Tommy John surgery. Just turned 23 yesterday. Gomez struck out 12 and walked 14 in 24 innings out of the GCL bullpen a year ago, but he has some stuff and will get another shot as a 19-year-old this year.
  
• Hellquist had a solid four-year career at Minnesota-Duluth. When he went undrafted earlier this month, the Burnsville High School grad signed with the Twins. He fits the ‘crafty lefty” mold and could get a shot as a starter as well.
  
• Garrett Kelly is another non-drafted free agent signed following the draft. He is an interesting story in that he only became a full-time pitcher a year ago, as a college junior. Before that, he was a catcher. He had a strong arm and has been clocked at 96 mph. He’s the kind of guy you take a shot on.
  
• Daniel Martinez is the younger brother of Cedar Rapids pitching coach JP Martinez. He too wasn’t drafted despite a solid college career at the University of New Orleans. In 2016, he led the team with 12 saves and struck out 66 batters in 59.2 innings.
  
• Patrick McGuff started the last couple of years at Morehead State where he struck out basically a batter per inning (98 Ks in 99 IP). He was the Twins 39th round pick this year.
  
• This will be the third straight season in the GCL for right-hander Callan Pearce, though he is just 20. He was signed out of South Africa, and this spring he was pitching important innings for his country’s WBC Qualifier team that almost upset host Australia. He needs to find his control.
  
• Matz Schutte is just 18. He posted a 3.07 ERA last year in the GCL, his first, but he throws in the low-to-mid 80s now. The right-hander from The Netherlands does have some pitch-ability.
  
• Zach Strecker is another non-drafted signee. He pitched at the University of Kentucky. He posted a 1.84 ERA over 29.1 innings this spring for the Wildcats.
  

Your random note of the day: At a U15 tournament in 2012, Taylor Clemensia was named the best batter and Matz Schutte was named the top pitcher.

So there you have it… a current look at the Gulf Coast League team roster. There appear to be more non-drafted free agents than the Twins have signed in recent years, or in the last decade that I can remember. Then again, they have had non-drafted free agents get to the big leagues. The youngest player on this roster is 17 while the oldest just recently turned 23. It’s a diverse group in terms of number of countries represented as well. It’s always a fun roster to follow and we can start following those box scores on Friday!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, though I may need Jeremy Nygaard’s thoughts on some of the 2016 draft picks.