Troy Larson

Here's what Dad and I discussed on Troy's Twins Chat. Dad and I talked about today's game. We discussed iwhether or not the Twins are buyers or seller. Also, I previewed the series with the not so Mighty Whities of Chicago. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/07/24/troys-twins-chat

Hello Twins fans. Here's a run down of what dad and I talked about on tonight's show. My dad and I talked a little about our experiences at FanFest. We also talked about the All Star game itself. We also discussed upcoming roster moves for the Twins. To top it off, Dad and I made some predictions as far as the playoff picture is concerned. And one more thing, I commented on the Yankees fan who's suing ESPN for 10 million dollars. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/07/18/troys-twins-chat If you want to subscribe to the podcast, look for the Troy Larson Show on ITunes.

Hello Twins Fans. Here’s abrief look at what dad and I talked about on tonight’s Troy’s Twins Chat show. We started off by discussing the recent week’s play for the Twins in Boston and Detroit. Also, I gave the pitching probables for the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox. Towards the end of the show, we discussed Tony Gwynn and debated who was the best hitter since Ted Williams. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the -troy-larson-show/2014/06/19/troys-twins-chat

Hello Twins fans. Here's a brief look at what Dad and I discussed on tonight's Troy's Twins Chat. We talked about the draft that was held last week. We also talked about Pinto being sent down because there weren't enough at bats for him since the Twins signed Kendrys Morales. Also, we ccommented on Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Hicks. Plus we gave the pitching probables for the Detroit Tigers Twins series coming up this weekend. To listen to the show, click on the following link http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/06/13/troys-twins-chat

Hello Twins fans. Here's what dad and I discussed on tonight's Twins show. We discussed tonight's 6-2 loss to the Brewers. We also discussed how the Twins Brewers series doesn't really seem to be much like a rivalry anymore. We ended the show by talking about some of the headlines in the Major Leagues. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/06/03/troys-twins-chat Also, you can subscribe to the podcast by searching for The Troy Larson Show on ITunes.

Hello Twins territory. Here's what dad and I talked about on tonight's Troy's Twins Chat. We talked about the recent performances of some of the Twins players this season. We especially talked about Phil Hughes, Brian Dozier, Kurt Suzuki and Glen Perkins. I mention the Urinal troughs from the Metrodome up for sale. We also talked about the incident of Miguel Olivo biting of a teammates ear. And I talked about Prince Fielder out for season. To Listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/05/23/troys-twins-chat

Hello everyone. Here's a summary of what was discussed on tonight's show. Dad and I reviewed today's game. We talked about the performances of some of the players on the Twins. We especially talked about Aaron Hicks. I suggest that Twins fans call up anyone they know in Boston and tell them that, "The Curse Of The Babe's back." To listen to the show. Click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/05/16/troys-twins-chat

Hello Twins fans! Are you sick of the MFL draft coverage? Then check out my Twins podcast which will be live at 10 CST. My dad and I will set you straight if you're all confused regarding the roster moves. I'll also be commenting on the issue of baseball related podcasts being removed from ITunes. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/05/09/troys-twins-chat

you may also want to be aware of this. There's a lawsuit going forward that may impact podcasts. I don't know if this is necessarily related, but here's the link to the article. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2014/05/04/podcast-trial-personalaudio-carolla/8057329/

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/having-13-pitchers-can-cripple-a-team/ For most of last year, and almost all of this season so far, the Twins have carried 13 pitchers on their 25 man roster. However, having a 13 man pitching staff has it’s drawbacks, especially when you have a player who’s day to day as in the case of Joe Mauer, who’s currently day to day with back spasms. With one less player on the bench, you don’t have as much flexibility. On Monday, the Twins had all three catchers in their starting lineup. Last night, Trevor Plouffe was the DH with Eduardo Escobar playing third. As you can see, the Twins were hamstringed. On Monday, they only had two infielders on the bench in Danny Santana and Escobar. Luckily, both of them could play in the outfield if needed. The real issue would have been what do you do for your backup catcher. More than likely, if Kurt Suzuki was injured during the game, Chris Herrmann would have had to shift from right to catcher with either Escobar or Santana playing in the outfield. If Josmil Pinto was to move from dH to catcher, the Twins would have had to give up the DH spot in their lineup. Last’s night’s game would have presented it’s own challenges as well. The challenging part wouldn’t have been so much what to do for a backup catcher since Pinto was on the bench. the challenge would more likely come from if an infielder was hurt. The Twins did have Pedro Floremon on the bench, but he’s best suited for the middle infield. Since Plouffe was the DH, the Twins would have to had to give up their DH spot if they needed Plouffe to come in at first or third. Plus, Plouffe can play in the outfield if there’s an injury to one of the outfielders. When you look at the roster as it’s currently set up, there sin’t a lot of flexibility. Plouffe, Santana and Escobar can play in the outfield if needed. However, the fact that there are only two players on the bench really cripples your team, especially when one is your backup catcher. The word is the Twins will be making a roster move soon to replace a pitcher with another outfielder which will help resolve the short bench. Oswaldo Arcia is currently at AAA Rochester where he’s batting .333/.379/.444 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Also, Mauer should be returning soon since he’s back is feeling a lot better. As you can see, having a 13 man pitching staff can cripple a team significantly, especially when you have a player who’s not playing because of an injury. Not only that, but when you don’t have a lot of players that can play multiple positions, that will cripple your bench even more significantly. If the Twins can go down to a 12 man pitching staff, it will significantly help the club.

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/having-13-pitchers-can-cripple-a-team/ For most of last year, and almost all of this season so far, the Twins have carried 13 pitchers on their 25 man roster. However, having a 13 man pitching staff has it’s drawbacks, especially when you have a player who’s day to day as in the case of Joe Mauer, who’s currently day to day with back spasms. With one less player on the bench, you don’t have as much flexibility. On Monday, the Twins had all three catchers in their starting lineup. Last night, Trevor Plouffe was the DH with Eduardo Escobar playing third. As you can see, the Twins were hamstringed. On Monday, they only had two infielders on the bench in Danny Santana and Escobar. Luckily, both of them could play in the outfield if needed. The real issue would have been what do you do for your backup catcher. More than likely, if Kurt Suzuki was injured during the game, Chris Herrmann would have had to shift from right to catcher with either Escobar or Santana playing in the outfield. If Josmil Pinto was to move from dH to catcher, the Twins would have had to give up the DH spot in their lineup. Last’s night’s game would have presented it’s own challenges as well. The challenging part wouldn’t have been so much what to do for a backup catcher since Pinto was on the bench. the challenge would more likely come from if an infielder was hurt. The Twins did have Pedro Floremon on the bench, but he’s best suited for the middle infield. Since Plouffe was the DH, the Twins would have to had to give up their DH spot if they needed Plouffe to come in at first or third. Plus, Plouffe can play in the outfield if there’s an injury to one of the outfielders. When you look at the roster as it’s currently set up, there sin’t a lot of flexibility. Plouffe, Santana and Escobar can play in the outfield if needed. However, the fact that there are only two players on the bench really cripples your team, especially when one is your backup catcher. The word is the Twins will be making a roster move soon to replace a pitcher with another outfielder which will help resolve the short bench. Oswaldo Arcia is currently at AAA Rochester where he’s batting .333/.379/.444 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Also, Mauer should be returning soon since he’s back is feeling a lot better. As you can see, having a 13 man pitching staff can cripple a team significantly, especially when you have a player who’s not playing because of an injury. Not only that, but when you don’t have a lot of players that can play multiple positions, that will cripple your bench even more significantly. If the Twins can go down to a 12 man pitching staff, it will significantly help the club.

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/a-look-at-chris-colabellos-season-so-far/ This past offseason, Chris Colabello received an offer to go overseas and play in South Korea. Instead, he decided that he'd stay here and go to spring training and see if he could be a major league player. He made the 25 man roster out of spring training and has exceeded expectations so far. In 23 games, Colabello has batted .308/.351/.505 with 3 homeruns, 27 RBIs and 11 runs scored. That's a far cry from his 2013 campaign where in 55 games he batted .194/.287/.344 with 7 home runs, 17 RBIs and 14 runs scored. Right now, Colabello is on pace to have 190 RBIs this season, one behind the record held by Hack Wilson, who drove in 191 runs for the Chicago Cubs in 1930. What's even more remarkable is that Colabello is currently on pace to hit only 21 home runs this season. When Wilson set the RBI record, he hit 56 home runs. What has helped Colabello to drive in all of those runs is the players that bat ahead of him in the lineup. Trevor Plouffe, who's batted third most of the season has an on base percentage of .419. Joe Mauer, despite having a unlike Mauer batting average of .266, has a on base percentage of .378. And there's Brian Dozier who typically leads off who has an on base percentage of .354. When Colabello bats with runners in scoring position, he's batting .345 with 20 RBIs and 2 home runs. When there's a runner on first base, Colabello is batting .409 with 6 runs batted in. Logic has it that Colabello's success probably won't continue at the current rate it is. Teams will eventually pitch him differently if they haven't already. Not only that, the players that bat in front of him in the lineup will also eventually have a slump. As it stands now, Colabello is poised to have a sucessful season, The potensial is there for him to have a record breaking season in the RBI category once he starts hitting more home runs.

Hello Twins fans! Starting at 10, Dad and I will once again talk Twins topics. And as always, we'll take your calls. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/04/29/troys-twins-chat

Hello folks, My dad and I will talk Twins baseball once again. The show starts at ten and we'll take calls as always. The hot topic for tonight will be instant replay. To listen to the show, click on the following link.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/04/15/troys-twins-chat

hello Twins Fans, Once again, my dad and I will host Troy's Twins Chat tonight starting at ten. We'll discuss the other managers that have won 1000 games in their MLB careers to give a historical perspective of the company Ron Gardenhire is in. We'll also discuss the shortstop position. And, we'll take your calls. To listen to the show, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/04/09/troys-twins-chat

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/a-look-at-the-managers-with-1000-wins/ Ron Gardenhire won his 1000th game today in Cleveland as the Twins beat the Indians 7-3. He's now part of a list that now includes 60 managers. Let's highlight some of the managers that are on this list. The Manager with the most wins is the Philladelphia Athletics, Connie Mack, with 3,731 wins and he's also the leader with the most losses at 3,948. he won 9 penants and 5 World Series while managing the Athletics throughout most of the first half of the 19th century. John McGraw has the second most wins with 2,763 and lost 1,948. Most of his managing career was spent with the New York Giants from 1902-1932 where he won 10 penants and 3 World Series. The next three managers on the list are all being inducted in Baseball's Hall Of Fame this year. They are Tony La Russa ( 2,728-2,365), Bobby Cox (2,504-2,001) and Joe Torre (2,326-1,997). There are eight other managers in Minnesota Twins franchise history that have won 1000 games in their careers. They include: Tom Kelly, Gene Mauch, Bill Rigney, Billy Martin, Clarke Griffith, Bucky Harris, Joe Cronin, and Chuck Dressen. Griffith, Harris, Cronin and Dressen managed the franchise before 1961 when the Twins were the Washington Senators. Besides Gardenhire, Kelly is the only manager to have spent is entire managing career with the franchise. Harris had three diferent stints as manager: 1924-1928, 1935-1942 and 1950-1954. Harris, who's ranked 7th all time with 2,158 wins, has the most wins in franchise history with 1,336 and the most losses with 1,416. Kelly, has the most wins in Twins history at 1140. Harris led the then Senators to their only World Series title in 1924. Kelly would lead the franchise to two more World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. Gardenhire becomes the 12th manager on the list who hasn't been in the World Series. he also becomes the fifth manager currently managing to reach 1000 wins. the other four Are: Buck Showalter, Bruce Bochy, Mike Scioscia and Terry Francona.

Hello Twins fans. Once again, my dad and I will talk Twins starting at ten. We'll take your calls. We'll also predict how the American Central will shake out this year. To listen to the show, go to the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/04/01/troys-twins-chat

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/keys-to-the-twins-2014-season/ It's getting close to the start of a new season for the Twins. I'm optimistic that the Twins could have a 500 season. You could say I'm being overly optimistic here, but a new season always is a fresh start. However, there are some things that Twins will have to do in order to have a more successful Season this year. Their three consecutive seasons of 90 plus losses is certainly not something to be proud of, unless you want to draft as high as possible in the draft. So, here are some things that the Twins will have to do in order to improve this year. Last season, the Twins were second to last in pitching in the American League with an ERA of 4.55. The Twins Starters had the worst ERA in baseball of 5.26. This year, the Twins should have an improved rotation with the additions of Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes. If Mike Pelfrey improves from last year, it would be a big help. Plus, most of the bullpen that was fifth in the AL with an ERA at 3.50 is intact. As for the lineup, last season the Twins scored 614 runs, good for 13th in the AL. They hit 151 Home runs, good for 11th in the Al. Brian Dozier led the team with 18 homeruns with Justin Morneau second at 17. Dozier also led the team with 72 runs scored while Morneau led the team with 74 RBIs. Right now, the lineup is the biggest question mark going into the season which might explain why a lot of fans still feel that the Twins will have another 90 loss season. The additions of Jason Kubel and Kurt Suzuki should help the offense provided Kubel performs close to what he did in 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks when he batted .253/.327/.506 with 30 HRs, 90 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Plus, if Josh Willingham can bounce back, it would also be a help. Also, if the Twins can get the team to steal more bases, it would also be a plus as far as scoring runs is concerned. Last season, the Twins stole 52 bases, good for 13th in the AL with Pedro Floremon leading the team with 15. Brian Dozier was second at 14 and Aron Hicks stole 9 in 81 games. In all, I think the Twins have the potensial to have a much improved season. I don't think we'll win the division, but I do think that there is optimism to think that the Twins could potensially be around the 500 mark this season. So, let's sit back and get ready for the start of the 2014 season.

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/given-recent-trade-history-trevor-may-has-to-pan-out-for-the-twins/ When the Twins traded Ben Revere to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2012-2013 offseason, it looked like the Twins were winners in that trade, having received a couple of pitchers. Vance Worley had previous pitching experience in the majors with the Phillies. Trevor May was one of the Phillies better pitching prospects. Since then, Worley has turned into a batting practice pitcher this spring for the Twins to trot out against their opponents. That’s a far cry from Worley being the Twins opening day starter last season. In fact, he only lasted for a couple of months with the big club before his 1-5 record and 7.21 ERA had the cleaning lady emptying his locker and packing his bags to send along with Worley to AAA Rochester where he eventually suffered an elbow injury. Because Worley wasn’t performing in spring training like the Twins were hoping, they sent him through waivers last week. Since he wasn’t claimed, he was sent to Rochester. Last Tuesday, Worley was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash. Meanwhile, May had an okay season at AA New Britain last season. With the Rock Cats, he pitched in 27 games where he had a record of 9-9 and an ERA of 4.51. He struck out 159 batters and walked 67. While with the Phillies, Revere batted .305/.338/.352. He scored 37 runs while playing in 88 games. Despite not having as good of runs scored and RBI totals compared with the previous two seasons while with the Twins, Revere certainly sounds like a better player to have in centerfield than Aaron Hicks right now. The Twins are counting on Hicks to start the season in center with Byron Buxton waiting in the wings. The eventual plan is to move Hicks to left once Buxton is called up. They won’t bring back Josh Willingham next season unless he performs significantly better than last season. There’s also the trades the Twins have made in the past decade. Most of those trades haven’t worked out in the Twins favor. Proably the best trade was trading outfielder Bobby Kielty to the Torronto Blue Jays for outfielder Shannon Stewart who helped lead the Twins to the second of three consecutive central division titles. During the offseason, the Twins traded catcher A.J. Pierzynski to the San Fransisco Giants for pitchers Joe Nathan, Fransisco Liriano and Boof Bonser. Not only that, they traded pitcher Eric Milton to the Phillies for utility player Nick Punto and pitcher Carlos Silva. Most of these players would help the Twins win the Central Division in four out of the next six seasons at one time or another. Since then, a more recent history of trades has help send the Twins in to three consecutive losing seasons. One such trade was trading pitcher Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Delmon Young and infielder Brendan Harris after the 2007 season. Garza and Bartlett would help the Rays to the 2008 World Series. Meanwhile. Young had one solid season for the Twins in over three and a half seasons before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. That same offseason, the Twins traded pitcher Johan Santana to the New York Mets for outfielder Carlos Gomez and three other pitching prospects. Gomez didn’t seem to quite put it together in two seasons for the Twins and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy. After the 2010 season, Hardy was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. Hoey was inconsistent for the Twins that season and Jacobson never pitched with the big club and was eventually let go. Shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka was brought in from Japan to replace Hardy. That turned into a disaster thanks to a broken leg early in the season and was not able to adjust to playing baseball here in the U.S. He just looked overmatched at the plate and was eventually let go. And of course, you could mention the Wilson Ramez trade for Matt Capps during the 2010 season. If it wasn’t for that trade, there would have been someone to replace Joe Mauer as catcher although Josmil Pinto looks like he could be a solid catcher for the Twins in future years. Given the recent trade history, the Twins should hope that Trevor May can contribute to their team’s success in the future. it might be harder for him to be in the starting rotation given who the Twins have for starting pitching, but May could be someone to help contribute in the bullpen in the future. If May isn’t successful, it looks like the Ben Revere trade will go down as another bad trade for the Twins.

Spring Training is winding down for the Twins. Tune in at ten as my dad and I will talk about our experiences when we were at a Twins spring training game while vacationing in Fort Meyers. We'll also predict what the final roster will look like come opening day. To listen to the show live or to listen to it later, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/03/25/troys-twins-chat

hello Twins Fans! Tonight starting at ten, I'll once again host Troy's Twins Chat. My dad and I will talk about Twins topics. We'll take a look at some of the players on the Twins and how they are performing so far in spring training. If time permits, we may go into other MLB/sports topics. To listen to the show live or to listen to it later, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/03/07/troys-twins-chat

Originally published at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/the-bench-is-the-biggest-question-mark-heading-into-spring-training/ In looking at the Twins roster picture, the bench seems to be the biggest question mark. Who makes the 25 man roster coming out of spring training on the bench will be based upon several scenarios. Recently, my dad and I did a half hour show where we discuss the roster at length. If you missed it, you can listen to it at the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/02/25/troys-twins-chat The first scenario that will determine who will be on the bench is how many pitchers the Twins will carry this season. If they carry 13, the Twins are almost certain to have Chris Herremann as the backup catcher given the fact he can play first base and in the outfield. If they only go with 12 pitchers, then it gives them some flexibility as to who the backup catcher will be. It is almost certain that Josmil Pinto will not be the backup despite his solid September last season where he batted .342/.398/.566 with 4 homeruns, 12 rBIs and 10 runs scored. The only way Pinto would be on the roster to start the season is if he's catching at least a significant portion of the time wich would mean that free agent acquisition , Kurt Suzuki, is the backup at catcher or Pinto and Suzuki share the catching chores. Another scenario that would determine who is on the bench come opening day is who plays at shortstop. Pedro Florimon is currently not able to play a week of games this spring due to having his appendix removed. Plus, his hitting of .221/.281/.330 last season isn't going to help his chances of making the Twins roster. There are other potensial candidates who could be the starting shortstop come opening day. Eduardo Escobar is one. Last season, he spent a good portion of the season with the Twins as a utility player where he batted .236/.282/.345. Jason Bartlett could also have some potensial to be the everyday shortstop. However, this doesn't seem to be likely since indications are that Bartlett will be playing other positions this spring meaning that he's more likely to be trying to make the team as a utility player. He hasn't played in the majors for almost 2 years due to a strained right knee. How the outfield situation plays out this spring will also impact who is on the bench come opening day. Centerfield is probably the biggest question mark with Aaron Hicks and Alex Presley as the front runners with Darin Mastroianni and Byron Buxton as wild cards. If Hicks is the opening day centerfielder, it seems to be likely that Presley is likely your fourth outfielder. If Hicks isn't your starting centerfielder at the start of the season, then Presley will most likely be the starter with Mastroiani as the backup outfielder. Rightfield may be a question mark as well. Oswaldo Arcia is slated to be the rightfielder, but it's not set in stone given his 117 strikeouts in 351 at bats last season. If Arcia isn't the rightfielder, Chris Parmelee could potensially be the rightfielder along with Jason Kubel. And who the Twins have as their DH could also determine who is on the bench. Despite batting only .216/.293/.317 with 5 homeruns, 32 rbIs. and 21 runs scored between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Indians last season, Kubel is the front runner for the DH position with Parmelee as another candidate. There are certainly plenty of question marks for the Twins in regards to their bench. They have a month to find answers. At this point, there are no definite answers as to who the Twins will have on the bench. I'm planning on doing another Troy's Twins Chat show next Thursday, the 6 of March at 10 p.m. I'll post the link to the broadcast where you can listen to it live or later next Thursday sometime during the day.

I think the key to the Twins season will be starting pitching. Yes, we've got a couple of upgrades and if Hughes can keep the ball in the park, I would have to agree that he'd be a much different pitcher. By the way, while we're talking about pitching, many people would say that pitching is anywhere from 75-90 percent of the game. Point is, keep the ball in the park and keep runs from scoring.

Hello Twins fans.! Tonight, I'm going to co-host Troy's Twins Chat with my dad. We'll spend the majority of the time talking Twins topics and may also talk about the Major Leagues. If time permits, we may talk about other Minnesota sports topics. The show will start at 10 p.m. To listen to it live or to listen to it later, click on the following link. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-troy-larson-show/2014/02/25/troys-twins-chat

Originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/byron-buxton-could-push-aaron-hicks-this-season/ The centerfield spot is up for grabs this spring and the Twins will give Aaron Hicks every opportunity to be the starting centerfielder come opening day. the future centerfielder is slated to be Byron Buxton with Hicks moving to left. The Twins however don’t want to start Buxton’s service time in the majors if they don’t have to. With that said, Buxton could be the key factor to help determine if Aaron Hicks stays with the Twins come opening day and if Hicks stays up with the big club this season. Last Spring, Hicks hit well in 73 Spring Training at bats. he hit .370/.407/.644 with6 doubles, a triple and 4 RBIs. When the regular season opened, Hicks’s hitting was a different story. In 281 at bats, he batted .192/.259/.338 with 8 homeruns, 27 RBIs and 37 runs scored. He fanned 84 times and had 22 bases on balls. Although there weren’t a lot of high moments during the 2013 campaign for the rookie, Hicks’s most memorable game came against the Chicago White Sox. He hit two homeruns and also made an outstanding catch. Meanwhile, Buxton was advancing up the ladder in the minors. He started the season at Cedar Rapids where he hit .341/.431/.559 with 15 doubles, 10 triples and 8 home runs. He scored 68 runs while driving in 55. He stole 32 bases. This performance earned him a promotion to Fort Meyers where he batted .326/.415/.472 with 4 doubles, 8 triples and 4 homeruns. He drove in 22 runs while scoring 41. He stole 23 bases. This season, Buxton will probably be at New Britain barring some miracle where he’d be on the Twins to start the season. However, I think that if Hicks has a terrible spring and the other candidates to play in center come opening day this season such as Alex Presley and Darin Mastroianni have injuries, I wouldn’t be surprised that Buxton would be the opening day centerfielder. However, I think it’s more realistic to think that Presley or Mastroianni will be patrolling center if Hicks doesn’t do well. If this is the case or if Hicks struggles while playing at the major league level, the call up for Buxton to the majors will happen sooner than later. As for now, the Twins will give Hicks every opportunity to play with the big league club come opening day.