A Glimpse Of The Future
Posted on March 27th, 2008 – 8:33 AMBy La Velle
It was camp day on Wednesday back at the minor league complex - that’s when the Twins minor league teams play each other. Reporters were present because Scott Baker pitched for Rochester against New Britain.
After each of Baker’s innings, I walked a short distance to another field to watch Fort Myers vs. Beloit because a handful of prospects - Danny Valencia, Deibinson Romero and Ben Revere - were in the game.
I walked past minor league pitching coordinator Rick Knapp, who said, “Wilson Ramos just hit a line drive to center that almost knocked over Ben Revere.”
I walked past Ramos about a week ago. He’s listed as 6-0 and 206, and is just a big, wide-bodied young man. He’s also on my list as one of the top ten Twins prospects.
Ramos grounded out in the at-bat I watched. I had to head back to the main stadium to catch the Twins-Rays game after Baker was done (I still missed Livo’s free kick to first base) and I apparently missed one of the home runs of all time.
Ramos, batting later that game against Daniel Latham, hit a homer to center field that cleared the batter’s eye, cleared Plantation Road and landed on what I think is the property of South Fort Myers High School.
“It was estimated at about 450 feet,” Jim Rantz, the Twins’ director of minor leagues, said this morning. “It’s one of the longest we’ve ever seen back here.
“He’s 20 years old….that’s impressive.”
Ramos has the arm to shut down a running game and the Twins expect him to hit for a decent average and power (of course).
“When the ball comes off his bat, it makes a sound that’s different from everyone else’s,” said Jose Marzan, the Twins’ Latin American Coordinator.
Ramos should open the season at Class A Fort Myers.
Other minor league notes:
I guess Latham had a bad day. Valencia followed with a long home run after Ramos’ cannon shot.
Watched Romero a little bit. I never saw him hit but watched him in the field. He looks very athletic and looks like someone who can develop some
power as he moves through the Twins system (photo found on freewebs.com). Valencia and Romero are the best third base prospects in the system. Didn’t know much about Romero until he had that 10-RBI game for E-Town last year but he’s someone I’ll keep an eye on this season. He’ll start the season at Beloit (he played two games there late last season), which will be his first full-season league.
I saw Ben Revere fly out. He ran it out, which was the only chance I got to see the speed. He’s still young and will have to eliminate some movement in his approach (dipping the bat, dipping his head) as he progresses through the system.
Rantz said Revere has had an excellent spring, but will start the season at short-season E-Town. With Joe Benson and Christopher Parmelee (who said hello to me last week like he knew me) opening at Beloit, E-Town is where Revere can get plenty of at-bats. Plus he’s still 19.
Other news:
Ran into Korey Feiner in the elevator at Hammond Stadium yesterday.
Me: “What are you doing over here?”
Feiner: “I’m been released.”
With Drew Butera entering the organization and Eli Whiteside making a good impression, Feiner, who’s from Madison, Wisc., was in a numbers crunch. He said he saw the move coming and appreciated that the Twins cut him loose now to give him a chance to hook on elsewhere.
Infielder Alejandro Machado, the former Rule 5 pickup who missed all of last season because of shoulder surgery, will have another surgery on the shoulder and will miss 6-8 weeks. “They will loosen up some of the things they tightened up,” Rantz said.
That’s all for now. Don’t forget to get your vote in for Picks to Click, 2008.
38 Responses to "A Glimpse Of The Future"
Thanks for the mention of Revere. I’m from Lexington (if you couldn’t tell by the nick 
) and was hoping to hear a mention of him in the spring training blogs. Since the Twins play in the AL, I doubt that anyone beyond his high school coach will be paying any attention to his progress in the minors; I will never see his name in the local paper (since our closest team is the Reds and the local A-level minor league team is affiliated with the Astros). Go Twins!
Thanks…more on the minors all season please!!
good update! rantz was on the radio sunday and said how great revere was looking. we could use a couple of these young guys to step up by the time the new stadium is done. lets hope they pick the best players in the june draft and not worry about money now that they are 10m below last yrs payroll.
I am disappointed that Revere is not moving on to Beloit. I understand having a back log, but this is the over-cautious approach the Twins are applying, over and over again.
Who will man CF in FM? Martin? With Span/Pridie back at AAA, that leaves Roberts at AA to play CF.What about Portes?
Some of these kids need to move up and face more challenges, not ‘do over’ again.
Short season, does that mean he just hangs out in extended spring training for a couple of months, and then only plays in games for a couple of months?
Yes mww, but they play extended spring games against other teams…
And Revere will make a half-jump to E-Town from the Gulf Coast League.
Thanks La Velle. Is that much of a jump in competition, I must admit to not know much about how the lowest levels in the system actually work.
btw, keep the minor league stuff coming during the year if you can. I assume the editors have not reversed their decision from last year to reduce the print coverage of the minors.
Ok, since this is the new thread: BC Beneke, the Twins scored 718 runs last year, I expect them to score more, why do you think they’ll score less?
GCL usually is for high school kids and new Latin American imports. Some do start at E-Town (Mauer, Span) and some low round college picks go to GCL.
Some college kids (Baker) start at A-ball.
Morneau actually started at GCL….
Cuddy started at Class A Ft. Wayne.
Len 3 any word on Chris Parmalee i thought i read something on the MLB site about him tearing it up already?
A different sound off the bat - never heard that before.
Nice update Lavelle - as Funkytown said, more all season please.
what’s up with Yohan Pino? He had a rough stretch at NB but recovered. Also pitched a bit in winter ball. may be injury prone. Anything else?
Different sound off the bat, sounds like Kubel
The different sound off Punto’s bat is “the sound of silence”.
Wiff lives here. /s/ Punto’s stick
Levon wears his war wound like a crown
He calls his child Jesus
`Cause he likes the name
And he sends him to the finest school in town
Levon, Levon likes his money
He makes a lot they say
Spend his days counting
In a garage by the motorway
He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
When the New York Times said God is dead
And the war’s begun
Alvin Tostig has a son today
And he shall be Levon
And he shall be a good man
And he shall be Levon
In tradition with the family plan
And he shall be Levon
And he shall be a good man
He shall be Levon
Levon sells cartoon balloons in town
His family business thrives
Jesus blows up balloons all day
Sits on the porch swing watching them fly
And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus
Leaving Levon far behind
Take a balloon and go sailing
While Levon, Levon slowly dies
L the 3rd,
Any news on Guerra? The flamethrower we got in the Jo-Jo trade?
What the heck did I just read?
stop the music…
love the minor league updates lavelle…hope to see them often, thx again….
elton john OOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!
Hogan you over here too. Wooooooooooooooooooooh!!! Wooooooooooooooh!!! Go Twins and go Livan Woooooooooooooooooooooh
Keep it coming La Velle!! I love the Minor league updates
what are the chances that tolbert gets to play everyday at 2nd or ss? it seems he has a better bat than everett, and he certainly has more range than harris. isnt there a point when you have to play promising players who worked hard in spring training?
Thanks LaValle, always great getting first hand information on all these kids that some of us follow throughout the year. It is appreciated!
La Velle, any chance that Ben Revere makes his way to Beloit this season if/when either Joe Benson and/or Joe Benson make it up to Ft. Myers? It seems to me that they’ll likely be promoted at some point in the season.
I meant Joe Benson and/or Chris Parmelee.
I may have to stop over to one of these stadiums and “hit some scalding line drives into the right field corner.” Will teach these guys about the bigs.
LEN 3 - with Casilla concentrating on shortstop, that gives us two shortstops for the future (along with Plouffe), and for third base we have Valencia and Romero, are there any second basemen out there in the system? Could any of these guys make the shift to second base? About the only regular second baseman I see in the minors is Brian Dinkleman, and I just don’t see him as a great prospect. I’m also hoping that next year, Machado can make a comeback and move into Punto’s spot - I’m assuming we won’t resign him to another contract when this one is up at the end of the season.
La Velle, is it against union rules or something for you to snap your own photos of these guys? Just wondering.
ScottyB,
2b prospects may be Tolbert, Dinkelman,
and Plouffe. (conceding SS to Casilla)
Thanks Sane. After Plouffe’s season last year, I’d like to see him get a shot at second.
Ummm, La Velle? What position does Ramos play? It sounded like catcher, but you didn’t say. Thanks.
TK(2); Wilson Ramos began last year in Extended Spring Training. Got called up to Beloit early after a few injuries and was arguably their best hitter the rest of the season (certainly after Valencia and Dinkelman moved up to Ft. Myers). Kid is very good defensively with a great arm and can flat out hit. Ended the season with a .291Ave with 17 doubles and 8 home runs. He hit .286 Average the year before in the GCL.
And yes, he is a catcher.
2B/SS prospects should probably include Steve Singleton. Not spoken of much here as he was an 11th round pick in ‘06 as a college guy. Good glove, arm and actions from both sides of the bag, and a bat. Hit .340 in Etown, which would have led the league, but was short the number of necessary plate appearances. Played hurt last year in Beloit (shoulder) and had only decent numbers (.271 Avg, 2 HR, 18 2B, 30 RBI). Hitting .330 (11 hits 1 3B, 5 2B, 10 RBI)this Spring, but returning to Beloit to start season due to log jam in the middle. Organization appears to like him. This could be the year that he makes some noise.
