...The organization has added more talent to the catcher spot, albeit many of the best are at the lower levels.  Following are the organization's catchers with the highest level they are likely to start the season at:

                     AB   RBI   AVE/OBP/SLG

Rochester Red Wings (AAA)
                 
Jose Morales   Twins    3    0  1.000/1.000/1.333
               AAA    376   37  .311/.366/.399

Eli Whiteside  AAA     61    6  .180/.215/.295
               AA     141   30  .291/.333/.482

Whiteside is another veteran minor league player who has been added for depth at the AAA level.  Morales will replace Heinz as the Twins third catcher to be called up when injuries occur to either Mauer or Redmond.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA)

Kyle Geiger    AA     276   35  .250/.301/.362

Drew Butera    AA     167    7  .210/.241/.269
               Hi-A   182   22  .258/.348/.418
               AFL     32    6  .250/.314/.313

Korey Feiner   AAA     42    1  .119/.213/.214
               AA     126   15  .222/.315/.262
               Hi-A    27    2  .222/.276/.259

Jeff Christy   AA      19    1  .368/.500/.421
               Hi-A   227   22  .225/.288/.282

Any of the four could be at New Britain to begin the season.  Feiner is a solid defensive catcher who struggled in his brief stay at AAA last year.  It will be interesting to see if any of this group improves enough that they can contribute at the next level as Rochester will certainly need to bring someone up at some point in 2008.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A)

Wilson Ramos   A      292   42  .291/.345/.438

A. deSanMiguel A      105   20  .190/.263/.333

Jose Leger     -Disabled List-

After joining the Snappers last season from EST, Ramos played so well many believe he is the best catching prospect in the organization.  This 20 year old Venezuelan could make it to AA if he continues to hit in the FSL as he did for Beloit.  Allan de San Miguel is a young Australian whom is one of the finest defensive catchers in the organization which is why he has been added to the Twins Spring Training Roster.

Beloit Snappers (A)

Greg Yersich   A      122    9  .180/.221/.221
               Eliz   186   30  .312/.373/.409

Ben Petsch     A       10    2  .300/.500/.500
               Eliz    74   16  .311/.463/.473

DavidHernandez A       21    4  .238/.333/.333
               Eliz    26    3  .192/.250/.346
               GCL     31    2  .323/.400/.452

Dan Lehman     Eliz    77   17  .221/.333/.364

After struggling to start the season at Beloit, Greg Yersich was a key part of the Elizabethton Twins drive to the championship.  This young catcher, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 draft, has the potential to be one of the better hitting catching prospects in the system.  Dan Lehman joined the Twins late in the summer after being one of the stars of the Rice University team at the CWS.

Elizabethton Twins (Rookie)

Rod Palacios   Eliz    26    3  .346/.500/.462

Danny Rams     GCL     97   13  .258/.311/.361

Dan Rohlfing   GCL     56    7  .232/.313/.250

Alex Soto      GCL     66   10  .273/.338/.439

Danny Rams is a candidate to hit for some power after being drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft.  Palacios, Rohlfing and Soto will all be given the opportunity to prove themselves this spring.  It is also likely that at least one catcher from the draft class of 2008 will join the Elizabethton Twins when their season begins in late June.

GCL Twins (Rookie)

Andres Diaz    GCL     10    0  .300/.364/.400

M. Barrientos  GCL  -Disabled List-

JairoRodriguez VSL    112   14  .348/.405/.366

Barrientos has already spent two seasons with the GCL Twins before missing all of last year.  Rodriguez was the top hitter for the VSL Cubs/Twins in 2007.  Will this 19 year old skip the DSL league and move up to the GCL Twins in 2008?  It is likely that the Twins will draft several catchers in next June's draft with most of them joining the GCL.

DSL Twins

Jhonatan Arias DSL    121    9  .207/.299/.240

Josmil Pinto   DSL    171   23  .193/.327/.269

Julio Diaz     VSL     98    5  .204/.361/.255

Jairo Rodriguez could also end up with the DSL Twins should he not move up to the GCL.