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In the long term, Hicks may become most famous for breaking Jim Kaat's record of matching his age both right-handed and left-handed in golf.

The 2014 preseason Baseball Prospectus said: In his first season spent exclusively behind the plate, he provided correct answers to both questions on the catch-and-throw quiz: His framing skills saved an estimated 18 runs between Double- and Triple-A—fifth-most in the upper minors—and he erased over 37 percent of attempted basestealers.... Murphy’s offense suffered in a September cup of coffee, but his success over the first five months of the season raised his ceiling above “backup.” He'll be 28 when Brian McCann's contract expires, though. The 2015 version was not as upbeat. While "he acquitted himself nicely"..., "he's just kind of okay at everything. Given what's out there on the market at the catching position, being okay at everything makes for a quality backup catcher in this league".

In terms of allowing baserunners to advance an extra base by a SB + PB +WP, Twins catchers were better than the American League average. Well, only by 1, but still, I imagine that preventing the extra base by strong accurately throwing outfielders is more important. The difference between Twins catchers and league average for just stolen bases is about one extra base every nine games. If LuCroy had caught as many innings as Suzuki, he would have had 22 more stolen bases against him (but more caught stealing as well). Weiters has looked awkward to me the games I have seen. Given the beating that catchers take, I would be hesitant to upgrade by trading young talent. Spend money if you can.

This is what Jeff Moore of Baseball Prospectus said of Arreas on August 24: In the low levels of the minors, there are a ton of slick-fielding, athletic middle infielders with little to no power. It's not that that's a bad profile, but in order to stand out, a player in this mold has to have something extra. Arraez is doing that thus far, as his something extra is bat control within the strike zone. This is aided by an incredibly short swing path that makes no attempt to drive the ball or hit for any power, but there are plenty of players with similar swings who still swing and miss plenty. Arraez, despite being just 18 and stateside for the first time, makes contact at incredibly consistent rates, and even though he doesn't drive the ball, he does connect solidly. His approach is primarily to hit up the middle and the other way, which limits his power even further. Arraez is limited to second base and needs to hit .300 to succeed, and average foot speed limits his overall profile further, but his contact skills and barrel control are also rare for an 18-year-old, which gives him a chance to max out that profile. – Jeff Moore

I just noticed these on milb.com; maybe they have already been posted, but they are awfully nice. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?content_id=124410456&fext=.jsp&sid=milb&vkey=news_milb&ymd=20150520

Rosario also had a terrible winter league performance after his suspension. He was frequently cited in the Who's not hot winter league reports from BP. He then reported very late to spring training, with permission, and I had the impression it was not just due to the 50 game suspension. Something was going on that we don't know about. Maybe it was all his own doing, maybe it was family or other issues that anyone would have difficulty dealing with. Hopefully the FO is justified in believing he is now ready.

In a recent BP article, Before They Were Prospects: AL Central, a scout had this to say at the end of a several paragraph story about Stephen Gonsalves: This scout had seen Gonsalves pitch at least six times as a high schooler. I ran into him by coincidence on a back field at the Red Sox Complex during the 2013 WWBA Underclass World Championship, where the Twins and Red Sox were playing an Instructional League game. I couldn't believe the difference in Gonsalves' curveball. Instead of being in the upper 60s, it was mid-70s and had some hair on it. If Gonsalves had thrown that pitch in high school, he would have been a lock-down first-rounder. The Twins pitching coaches had done their job and done it very well. —David Rawnsley