A Trip to the Minor League Complex
Posted on March 24th, 2009 – 2:49 PMBy La Velle
I was supposed to stay in the pressbox and work on special section stuff today, but decided to walk down to the minor league complex and make sure Glen Perkins didn’t pull something during his outing.
Perkins pitched for Class A Fort Myers against Lancaster of the Astros chain. Perkins gave up one run over five innings and was given the option of just throwing in the bullpen or going back out for a sixth inning. Perkins elected to take the mound for the sixth - and ended up in a mini-mess.
The first batter got his bat busted but still grounded a single to right. With the next batter up, Jose Morales tried to pick off the runner at first but bounced a throw that Rene Leveret couldn’t handle. Runner advances to second. Then a ball was hit to center that I thought Joe Benson had a chance to catch (it looked like Joe Benson) but it fell at his feet.
Runners were on second and third - somehow, I missed an out while I was watching something on a neighboring field. Perkins was pulled from the game because he had passed the 70-pitch mark. In came David Bromberg, who led the organization with 177 strikeouts last year. And after watching him pitch I could see why. He has quite a curveball and has some zip on his fastball.
He did walk a batter to load the bases - but got a strikeout and fly out to get out of the inning.
During all this, I kept being distracted by Class A Beloit vs Greenville on the next field - Aaron Hicks and friends were playing.
Hicks, the Twins No. 1 draft pick last June, can throw and he looks very confident at the plate. He flied out in the one at-bat I saw but he’s got a quick bat.
Hicks’ at-bat came after Nick Papasan and James Beresford walked and Jenfred Brito was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hicks ended up with a sacrifice fly to left. He’s a little thin but you’d expect him to add a little weight as he gets older.
Up came Angel Morales, who led Elizabethton with 15 homers in just 54 games last season. Morales took a called strike then mashed a fastball that was about knee-high, middle in. No doubt about it, three-run homer. Impressive.
Those are the highlights from today’s action.
A couple notes
Things don’t look good for infielder Paul Kelly, the Twins’ second round pick in 2005. He’s trying to come back from left knee surgery but was sent home for 2-3 months after doctors looked at it down here and said it’s not ready for action. “The problem is.” Twins minor league director Jim Rantz said, “We don’t know if that’s going to be a enough time.” Too bad for Kelly who, by all accounts, can play.
And, only because thrylos is wondering, Justin Huber homered yesterday.
42 Responses to "A Trip to the Minor League Complex"
Great stuff, LaVelle! Man, I wish I was down there.
Not good on Paul Kelly though. I was really looking forward to seeing him this year!
Angel Morales is going to be a beast, depending on what he learns about the curveball, and how quickly!
“And, only because thrylos is wondering, Justin Huber homered yesterday.”
Every player needs at least one fan.
Thanks for the info LaVelle…it would sure be nice to have reports on the pre-season games as well as the bigs..anyone in FLA able to help out 
Seth,
What do you do with the OF at Beloit? Hicks, to me wastes his time if he doesn’t play there. Bigley, Morales, Harrington to start with…
Twins should move Revere back to the infield…he played 2nd in school ball.
Thanks La Velle! Great info. Are you guys going back there tomorrow in the off-day? So Huber is in the minor league camp? Thanks for the info.
this tidbit scared me:
Perkins elected to take the mound for the sixth - and ended up in a mini-mess.
deja vous all over again…
I would be very interested in watching these minor league complex games. When do they start as compared to when the regular spring training games begin? And how can one get more information on these games?
Seth or anyone who knows,
How come none of the other Elizabethton Mashers aren’t getting any hype? Harrington, Waltenbury, and Bigley (sp) all hit pretty well last year we don’t hear much about these guys. Any of them pro pro prospects?
Seth or anyone who knows,
How come none of the other Elizabethton Mashers aren’t getting any hype? Harrington, Waltenbury, and Bigley (sp) all hit pretty well last year we don’t hear much about these guys. Any of them pro prospects?
buckshotmike,
you should probably add Soto, Tippett and Osterbrock to the E-Twins guys who don’t get much love (and should.) My take is that people like former first round picks and pay more attention to them. The E-Twins were the single best team in the Twins’ organization, North of the Dominican Republic and more kudos should go to them.
[…] Twins Insider – […]
Any of them pro prospects?
Well, given they all played pro ball last year, I’d say “yes” to all three.
Revere should be with Fort Myers he tore up Beloit last year and has nothing to prove in low A
“I was supposed to stay in the pressbox and work on special section stuff today, but decided to walk down to the minor league complex…”
Lavelle, if it was your boss that said your were “supposed” to work on the special section stuff, you just ratted your own self out! Just sayin’….
I’m pretty sure Revere is playing with New Britain at the moment. Because there’s 50-some players in the major league camp, minor league guys start a level or two higher then get bumped down as players are cut from the minor league camp.
Cut from the major league camp, I mean…
La Velle,
what’s the thing with Tommy Watkins? Last I’ve heard he was a free agent. Apparently the Twins (for some weird reason, like Hughes and Tolleson and Plouffe and Macri and Buscher/Tolbert were not good enough for Rochester.) Was there an official announcement?
Is Drew Thompson working out down there? I know he has had problems with his back.
LEN3-Is this the year where Revere,Morales or Hicks separate themselves and we will know who the CF of the future is?I hope they all do well,they will have enough of a body of work to maybe package some of them for needed infield help on 2010.I suspect that Hicks will be the CF of the future.
With the likelihood that Jason Jones isn’t going to make the big club, who do the Twins send the Yankees to keep him, sense he is a rule 5 pick from them? Seems like the Twins have an excess of backup infielders (Harris, Buscher, Macri, Tolbert, …) and the Yankees need a filler at 3B for ARod. What are the odds that one of those guys is the starting 3B for the Yankees on opening day?
Also, on the Ben Revere topic, I’ve read that he struggles in the OF, has a fairly weak throwing arm, and is experienced playing 2B (he actually played there a lot in high school). With the Twins having so much depth in the organization in the OF and seemingly lacking in the INF, why not start developing Revere as a 2B to help him work his way up faster and hide his weak arm?
Buckshotmike - I thought I’d still post my thoughts on your questions about the E-Town guys from last year. Bigley and Harrington were college guys, so they were a little older than the competition. Same with Osterbrock. I wouldn’t make too much out of where they stack up with other prospects after just two months. I’m a little hesitant to put those college guys that succeed at E-town too high, but specifically with Bigley, I think he could jump next year. Now, a guy like Morales gets noticed at E-Town because he is about three years younger than the others and you can’t help but notice that.
Thrylos - The Twins did announce re-signing Tommy Watkins back in December. Not sure that he’ll make the AAA roster at this point. I think he’ll be coaching soon.
Free agent Minor leaguers lost include - Ricky Barrett (?), Mariano Gomez (Atlanta), Julio DePaula (Rays), Sergio Santos (White Sox, but I think they got rid of him too now), Jason Miller (Detroit), Jay Sawatski (?), Garrett Jones (Pittsburgh), Felix Molina (Houston), Randy Ruiz (Toronto).
[…] Yesterday, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune gave us a few tidbits from Minor League camp including an impressive home run from Twins prospect Angel […]
thanks, Seth. I missed that one
GENO
I can answer that now. Hicks should be the CF of the future. The Twins already have mentioned Morales as a corner outfielder down the line. Revere is a CF too, which is a good problem to have in case there’s an unforeseen injury or the Twins need to package prospects to make a trade - I know that’s a stretch with this organization but it’s still an option.
Thanks La Velle. Good stuff. Our rotation’s looking pretty good, assuming Baker settles down.
Any projections are where we’ll end up?
LaVelle,
“in case there’s an unforeseen injury or the Twins need to package prospects to make a trade”
If those two reasons are the ONLY justification for NOT moving Revere back to 2B, then IMO the Twins logic is badly flawed.
If Revere has unstated, incurable deficiencies as a potential second baseman, then I understand their decision to keep him in the outfield.
I wish that information could be extracted from the Twins FO, or is that question not allowed to be asked?
The starting line-up has to have Gomez most of the time. That defense is hard to replace, as is his production from 9-spot.
Span
Casilla
Young
Morneau
Kubel
Crede
Redmond
Punto
Gomez
When Joe plays, he’s at #3 and Young to #7. Cuddyer gets spot duty unless he proves he can hit consistently. If he replaces anyone, it would be only if Span can’t get on base.
Some reading for those looking for twins stories or are bored:
2009 Minnesota Twins Outlook
Cuddyer gets spot duty unless he proves he can hit consistently.
If I’m not mistaken…Cuddyer has been proving that all Spring. Comparred to Span anyway.
T…yeah I know. But the regular season will be different for all. Cuddyer has struggled in the pressure situations the last 2 years. Personally, I would like to see him hit with some power and be in the lineup every day..ala 2006.
T….or was it 07 when Cuddyer had his good year!
06 was the good year; 07 was the letdown but ok year, 08 was the can’t get on the field year and 09 hopefully will be 06 but we are waiting and seeing year.
and no blog by 2pm ? what gives?
geno: It’s true the regular season will be different…but when you’ve got four guys battling for three spots, you can’t overlook Spring performance.
If Span can’t perform when his JOB is on the line…can he perform when the team’s season is on the line?
joe and len3 spending the day at the beach? maybe playing golf or eating ribs before a big night game? could be all three!
According to the article on Delmon, it sounds like Gardy is still sticking to his guns about playing all four outfielder. Maybe not a bad approach. Try to give them all more or less equal playing time and let the three strongest outfielders emerge. Unless of course, you can also argue that constantly rotating the four won’t let any of them get in a groove, and I’m sure some might be more affected by this than others, mentally and physically.
my goof up today is a day off the night game is tomorrow night. i guess even sports writers deserve a day off.
Ahh, but LEN3 didn’t take the entire day off, as he was down at the minors. Some of that may have been to do a little work with the bb tourney though. Joe Benson hit one over the cf fence in that game today.
I was told Morales was the best player on the team, Beloit, which included Hicks by one who watches all.
It looks like Hicks is a lock to make Beloit this season…
I would hop Joe and LaVelle would have been able to get a day off too. They’ve both done a great job all spring and deserve a day off!
I believe the Twins should try to trade Morneau to the Gianst for their power hitting first baseman Ishikowa. He is a fearsome hitter with real power. The Twins need a serious power hitter. It would be a great trade for the Twins team.
The Twins would be smart to trade some of their excess players like Cuddyer, Mauer, Nathan, Young and Morneau before the 2010 season starts at the new ball park. That way, the organization would have a much better control of its payroll. The Twins need to make more money to offset all their excessive salaries that will be due.
