Live from Chicago
Posted on November 25th, 2009 – 1:49 PMBy La Velle
I’m here for Thanksgiving with the family and, I must admit, the last thing on my mind is the Bears-Vikings game this weekend. All everyone here is talking about is if Lovie Smith will get fired or will Mike Martz be the offensive coordinator next year - and if the 11-point spread on Sunday is too low.
Know what I’m looking forward to? Marian Hossa debuts for the Blackhawks tonight, and he’ll be on the same line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Wild fans might not want to read this, but you might be better off rooting for a bad year or two so you can draft high enough to get top young talent then add a Hossa. The Hawks have won seven straight games going into tonight’s throwdown at San Jose.
Now that Mauer-palooza has died down (until he signs a contract extension), I wanted to pass along some tidbits from brother Jake Mauer, whom I chatted up at his brother’s press conference on Monday.
Jake will manage Class A Fort Myers next season but just finished running the Twins’ rookie league team. One player he’s really high on is righthander Adrian Salcedo, an 18-year old out of the Dominican Republic who was 4-4 with a 1.65 ERA for GCL. He walked just three batters and struck out 58 in 61.2 innings.
Salcedo has touched 93-94 on the gun but stays in the low 90’s and has very good movement on his fastball. “He’s got a great arm,” Mauer said. “And he works hard. He’s the type of kid who will go home at the end of the day and keep working.”
I’ve heard of Salcedo, but Mauer then tossed out a name I didn’t recognize: Manuel Soliman.
Soliman originally a third baseman but hit .189 in two seasons in the Dominican League. So the Twins have turned him into a pitcher. He was 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA in DSL play this year with 20 walks and 55 strikeouts in 71 innings. The numbers scream that he’s new to pitching, but Mauer thinks Soliman has a live arm and a lot of potential.
So I’ll be tracking Solimon during the season. I’m guessing he’s learning how to throw other pitches than a fastball.
Mauer also saw Kyle Gibson during instructional league play and, like everyone else who has seen him, he came away raving about the top-shelf talent the Twins first-round pick showed.
“The first couple (innings) he was just kind of feeling his way,” Mauer said. “The last inning, he dominated.”
Our whole conversation started with Mauer talking about how his younger brother will (he used the word, `absolutely’) improve on his 2009 season. Then I asked him how things were in the minors.
“La Velle, Kyle Gibson is going to be good,” Mauer started. I would have loved to ask him about more players but I had other interviews to conduct.
Jake should have an interesting team at Fort Myers next season. In addition to Gibson, he should eventually have outfielders Aaron Hicks and Jose Morales and infielder Ramon Santana - if those guys don’t make Fort Myers out of spring training.
That’s all for now. Next week will be busy as I zero in on Twins targets heading into the winter meetings Dec. 7-11 in Indianapolis. Enjoy the holiday!
Update: Here’s the lastest from Pat Neshek about his rehab.
28 Responses to "Live from Chicago"
Come on! Angel, not Jose!
And I think both Morales and Hicks will start at high-A ball. It’s warm in Fort Myers.
Another Jose Morales? Wonder how they would handle that on the back of the uniform.
Thanks Wobble….some interesting tidbits….
I see the time here is off by an hour.
La Velle,
Have a Happy Thanksgiving,
After living in Denver for 10 years and moving my family back to the TC in ‘07, it took me a while to warm up to the fact that we have a guy from Chicago as the Twins beat writer for the Strib.
While living out in the western US, I had the unfortunate experience of having to read some very homer-age
coverage of various sports franchises, in both print and electronic media.
Woody Page and Mark Kizla both suck a*#
I’m thankful for your professional journalist integrity, you call it like you see it. Your insights and scoops are most appreciated.
I guess having a guy from Chi-Town as a beat writer for the Twins is ok…
P.S. Just in case that you missed it, the Vikes are 10 1/2 point favorites on Sunday…
Angel….sorry.
Um, there was a 11-point spread reported here this morning. That’s what I went with.
the bears are gonna give the vikings a fight.
Thanks so much for sharing your exchange with Jake Mauer, La Velle. Hearing the impressions of pros who have worked with the player every day for a season is such rich stuff compared to impressions formed by even the most knowledgable fans based on the stat sheets. No offense meant to anyone. I hope you find more time to chat these guys up.
I did’nt get to watch the game last night, but it looks like the Toewes, Kane, and Hossa line really took it to the Sharks.
LaVelle, I concur 100% with the birdman.
Thanks a lot.
Why would Morales by at Fort Meyers next year?
He ended the year at AA last year and did nothing to indicate that would go down a level.
LaVelle, your reporting has really gone downhill. You are too focused on getting a full time gig at KFAN
“Next week will be busy as I zero in on Twins targets heading into the winter meetings Dec. 7-11 in Indianapolis.”
Can’t wait for that list…At least I hope I can’t.
“Why would Morales by at Fort Meyers next year?
He ended the year at AA last year and did nothing to indicate that would go down a level.”
Because LaVelle was talking about Angel Morales (Beloit OF), even though he called him Jose Morales, the name of MLB catcher who was with the Twins last year.
It’s called a mistake.
You may have made one or two yourself in the past, as I do repeatedly, myself.
Sane, The mistake was yours this time. Angel Morales is on the Rock Cats Roster, not Beloit. Clutterheart was correct about that though way off base and out of line with his LaVelle criticism.
Clarification: He is listed on the Rock Cats roster, though he did not play there this past year, as Sane said he played at Beloit.
Agree about Clutterhead, Royster. LaVelle is very good on radio AND newspaper. I found the Vikings game plan for the Bears, if LaVelle is interested:
Thanks for a great update LaVelle, it is always appreciated. Great to hear about Soliman, would love to know what he has heard about Wilson Sanchez and Cesar Ciurcina…both should be in Florida next summer.
Angel Morales was called up to New Britain for the playoffs when the Rock Cats lost several players to the World Cup. They didn’t want to move players up from Ft. Myers cause the Miracle were also in the playoffs. Morales’ doesn’t show up in the Rock Cats stats because they are based only on the regular season. If I recall, Morales did appear in one or two playoffs games with a handfull of at bats.
Morales will in all liklihood begin next season at Ft. Myers following winter ball with Ponce in the Puerto Rican winter league.
i hope the game plan works, seems flawless
Roger, thanks for the further clarification. Sounds more and more like clutterhead doesn’t know what he’s talking about, although he did have the right Morales.
Vikings 36, Bears 10. Who was that sports writer who predicted great things from his Bears because they acquired Jay Cutler?
cmatt: just about every sports writer predicted great things, not just LaVelle.
As for Gibson, let’s hope he’s really, really good. Because they are sorely lacking dominant starter types in AA and AAA right now (especially AAA).
Thanks for your continued efforts to keep us informed on the minors, La Velle. Hope you had a great holiday!
mww,
Duensing wasn’t exactly dominating in AAA, but he did alright for us, so be careful not to underestimate the overall quality of talent in the system. There weren’t a half-dozen starters in the entire International League that were “dominant”. Next year, the Twins will probably have Swarzak, Manship, and Duensing as starters in AAA, with Slama, Delaney, and Burnett in the pen. Right behind them: Guerra, Gutierrez, Gibson, McCardell, Robertson, Van Mil, Bromberg…all at AA or higher, and all would probably be described by the evaluators as having higher ceilings than Duensing.
I’m not particularly interested in more “all right” pitchers at this point. And, I’m not sure the Twins will promote all those guys as fast as you think, but maybe they will.
mww,
Pitchers don’t often dominate AAA, or even AA. Your expectations are a little wacky. Baker and Blackburn didn’t dominate AA. Are they not good enough for you? Are they just “all right”?Slowey did dominate AAA. Is he good enough for you? You want the Twins to sign a #1 starter. Here’s a prediction for you: the #1,2, and 3 starters for the Twins in 2010 will all put together seasons comparable to Lackey’s. And we’ll have four starters in AA or AAA that will be dominent by even your standards. Things are never as bad as you portray them.
You may want to read all my posts before saying that I portray things as bad. Saying they have three number 2 starters isn’t saying things are bad. Saying they were 5th in runs scored, so their offense was awesome, isn’t saying things are bad. Saying the bullpen looks set (even, that they have an extra arm in Crain) isn’t saying things are bad. I’ve typed all those things in the last week alone. Not to mention that they have one of the best hitting lineups around, so they should strike while they are healthy and good and the division is down. Alas, some people only see what they want to see, or expect to see.
However, when I look at starters in the minors, I see little help at the elite end of the spectrum for next year. I see little at AA or AAA last year that looks elite caliber. Certainly, guys can play better or worse than we expect. As for Slowey and Baker, they were much better in the minors than people give them credit for. It was easily projectible that they’d be exactly the kind of guys they’ve been. You can disagree if you want, we are all projecting/guessing about the future anyway.
“…and all would probably be described by the evaluators as having higher ceilings than Duensing.”
Wow….if that’s true, then we are packed with pitching talent in the minors.
mww,
I apologize. You have typed all those positive things, and I should have been clear in isolating the conversation to perceptions about talent in the minors. And I was overly harsh. And I couldn’t agree more that it’s guesswork regarding prospects, which is why I cite the opinions of others rather than form my own. That said, I have casually followed the minor league system for years. Still, unlike you, I can’t definitively state that we lack “elite talent”. I also can’t tell you that Guerra, Bromberg, Gutierrez, Swarzak, Manship, and McCardell are in fact “elite talent”, however you define it. To me, the talent pool looks as good or better than any time I can recall. My point to you was quite simple and clear: be careful not to underestimate the talent because, alas, some people only see what they want to see, or expect to see.
romer,
That statement is supportable, but I don’t automatically conclude that we are packed with pitching talent in the minors. But here’s some positive evidence that refutes the common myth about a barren farm system: A+ Ft. Myers finished 2nd in team ERA in the FSL. Seven of the pitchers responsible for this advanced to AA during the season (Guerra, Gutierrez, McCardell, Burnett, Van Mil, Steedley, and Waldrop). Bromberg and Robertson pitched all year there, and both are Top 10 prospects. I don’t argue with claims that AAA and AA pitching was a weakness last year, especially in light of how much the major league club tapped into it. But the static conclusion that the talent pool is weak isn’t supported by the facts.
