Minor League Report...January 3, 2008

by roger13 on Jan 3, 2009 10:32 AM EST Comment 15 comments

Happy New Year everyone, and the good news is that it is now only a month and a half until we have Twins baseball.

There have been several minor transactions and other issues that are noteworthy. First, LENIII reported yesterday that Joe Mauer had "minor kidney surgery" at the Mayo Clinic a few days before Christmas. It was for some type of blockage that he apparently has had for some time and reports indicate that it should not effect him this spring. It has been previously reported that the Twins have signed several players to minor league contracts, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, starter Bobby Keppel, lefty reliever Sean Henn and former Oriole top prospect Luis Matos.

(Much, much more after the jump...)

The Aragua Tigres are now in the Venezuelan playoffs. Several players who will play important roles with the Twins next year are part of this team, including catcher Wilson Ramos who just may make his debut this coming September. Ramos finished the regular VWL season hitting .317/.331/.475 in 120 at bats with 7 doubles, 4 home runs and 25 rbi. The best comparison to judge how good Ramos is may be comparing him, as a 21 year old, playing on the same team as several players we are familiar with (Alex Romero, .311/.382/.372; Luis Maza, .306/.365/.400; and Luis Rodriguez, .279/.362/.344).

Luke Hughes will be one of the first prospects to be called upon in 2009. Hughes began his VWL season playing third base for Aragua, however, was switched to left field where he played the last several weeks before returning to Australia to prepare for the WBC. Hughes began slowly, however, hit as expected the last month finishing at .298/.348/.423 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 14 rbi in 104 at bats. Matt Tolbert joined the team late and only had 80 at bats, hitting .275/.333/.413 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run and 10 rbi. Tolbert played a lot of third base, however, was also playing center field in several games.

Jose Mijares was the Tigres' primary closer after arriving a few weeks after the season began. Mijares appeared in 28 games (25.2 innings) with a 4-1 record, 9 saves, 1.40ERA, 1.36WHIP and 32K/12BB. Another Twins short reliever that likely won't make it to Minnesota in 2009 is Frank Mata. Mata appeared in 20 games (27.2 innings) with a 2-0 record, 3.58ERA, 1.23WHIP and 19K/14BB. Bobby Korecky got better as the season went on, appearing in 11 games (15.0 innings) with a 1-1 record, 6.00ERA, 1.73WHIP and 11K/6BB. Yohan Pino and Oswaldo Sosa both joined the team late in their season. Pino apeared in 11 games (16.0 innings) with a 1-0 record, 3.38ERA, 1.31WHIP and 13K/5BB. Sosa appeared in 10 games (10.0 innings) with 1-1 Record, 9.90ERA, 1.90WHIP and 6K/2BB. Edgar Ibarra was solid for a young pitcher with only rookie league experience, appearing in 5 games (3.2 innings) with a 2.45ERA and 2K/3BB. Danny Hernandez also had limited experience with the Tigres, appearing in 3 games (3.0 innings) with a 0-1 record and 6.00ERA. Mijares had a nice game in yesterday's 8-4 win, pitching a perfect inning with 3 strikeouts while Pino also pitched a solid 0.2 inning.

Over in the Dominican Winter League, Gigantes del Cibao won yesterday, 6-4, with lead off hitter Alexi Casilla getting 1 hit. Casilla finished the regular season hitting .343/.436/.478 in 67 at bats with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 rbi, 15 runs scored, 11 walks, 13 strikeouts and 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts. Former Twin Julio DePaula was one of Gigantes most used middle reliever, appearing in 25 games (28.0 innings) with a 3-1 record, 4.82ERA and 19K/14BB.

Two Twins who will play important roles for the Twins in 2009 were with Leones del Escogido and didn't make the playoffs. Carlos Gomez finished his season sharing duties in center field, hitting .243/.364/.351 in 74 at bats with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 10 walks, 20 strikeouts and 9 stolen bases in 13 attempts. Former Twin Tony Batista hit .272/.351/.433 with 6 home runs and 37 rbi in 180 at bats. Francisco Liriano joined the team late and was on a strict pitch count. The Franchise finished his season making 4 starts (11.0 innings) with a 0-1 record, 2.45ERA, 1.09WHIP and 8K/3BB.

All indications are that several Twins will be playing in this springs WBC. Joe Nathan has accepted a spot for Team USA while Justin Morneau will be with Canada. Luke Hughes is a strong candidate for Australia while Joe Mauer will likely be with Team USA unless his recent surgery will cause the Twins to be cautious. There has also been talk that Liriano will be pitching for the Dominican Republic, hwoever, I don't believe their squad has been announced.

1 recs | Comment 15 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

additional data for Casilla

Roger, I was following Casilla closely this Winter. His stats have been impressive, but even at that, there appears to be a game missing from his stats line (the data on their games is always late to arrive)…the missing game is a game in which he went 2-4 with a double, triple and a walk. Not that it matters that much….but he actually is hitting .400 after last night’s playoff game. His on base percentage is right around .500

I have been skeptical of Casilla, I will admit. Very skeptical…his last two months of the season were awful…but…I am now hoping that it was injury related…and that with rest he is now more capable of producing the way he did prior to his injury this season.

But through nearly 80 at bats, now in Winter ball…Casilla has been outstanding….a couple homers…last night he hit a triple (his second) …. he has 4 doubles…some stolen bases..I think he has exactly as many walks as strikeouts after last night’s game…but I could be wrong on that…but the ratio is very close to 1-1….so he has shown a lot this Winter…which is, in my view, very positive

by NorthDakotaTwinsFan on Jan 3, 2009 4:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

NorthDakota...

…I think none of us knew how beat up he was while playing late last season. Plus, hand/wrist injuries have to have a serious impact on what a player can do at the plate.

I am of the camp that I expect him to come back and if he can stay healthy, will be a better player throughout 2009. I am also one who believes it is best that he remain at second base where he has proven to be a very good defender who should be better with a year’s experience under his belt.

by roger13 on Jan 3, 2009 5:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I believe the playoff stats...

…start over and are just for the playoffs. The numbers I stated above are from the regular season. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a game missing as I can sympathize with anyone trying to keep the winter ball information up to date with all the late/missing games.

by roger13 on Jan 3, 2009 5:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You are right about the stats being reset for playoffs

my mistake…I see that the playoffs started earlier than I had thought..their first playoff game was on the 26th of December…well…anyway…if you add both the regular season numbers and the playoff numbers, he has 3 hr’s and several other extra base hits …and is batting close to .380….with an on base percentage of approximately .480

Still …very impressive….his OPS for all of his Winter ball at bats is over 1.000

One very interesting thing happened to Casilla recently…within the last week…he led off a game with a walk…then was, apparently, replaced with a pinch runner in the first inning. Not sure why….do you have any news? I thought maybe he was done for the Winter…but then he played last night and hit a triple in 4 at bats..so…who knows???

by NorthDakotaTwinsFan on Jan 3, 2009 5:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

great read roger...

I too am glad to see that Casilla rebounded from the finals months of the season. I am very pleased to see Mijares doing as well as he is. It bodes well for our bullpen in 2009. I like the minor league pickups as you can never have too much depth for your bullpen. Tolbert could become a very useful utility player for the Twins. Again, great stuff…

by Beerbear on Jan 4, 2009 3:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wait a minute.....

Did I read that Carlos Gomez walked 10 times in 74 at-bats and that his OBP is 120 points higher than his batting average? OUR Carlos Gomez? I guess the 20 SO is in line…

by TMW on Jan 5, 2009 3:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks TMW...

…I got a real good laugh from your lead, “Wait a minute…..”

by roger13 on Jan 5, 2009 5:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

He definitely walked a lot more. I’m not sure if this is because he was working on patience, the pitchers across the league being prone to walking more batters, or simply a small sample size. I’d be real curious to know if Gomez made a conscious effort to begin laying off the first pitch, for example.

by Adam Peterson on Jan 5, 2009 4:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

BB and SO

The fact that he’s striking out nearly in nearly 25% of plate appearances makes me think that walking in nearly 12% of PAs isn’t taht meaningful. If he were improving his approach, I think we would see the SOs fall. This guy needs some minor league seasonsing.

by snolls on Jan 5, 2009 10:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

maybe

he is trying to see more pitches. His winter number won’t equate to much success with better control pitchers in the majors. We’ll see.

by doofus on Jan 6, 2009 12:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Small sample size

I wouldn’t conclude anything based on 75 ABs in winter ball. Obviously, a lot of pitchers have trouble throwing it over down there. He’s just trying to get his swings and run around a little bit to stay fresh. Let’s see him in spring training before we start declaring that he needs more minor league seasoning.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jan 6, 2009 12:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Strikeouts

Yes, I’d like to see Gomez’ strikeouts fall. With his speed, putting an additional 75 balls in play probably means about 25 more hits…a 40+ point jump in AVG over 600 AB. However, increasing his walk rate / OBP would be even more valuable and more achievable, IMO. If Gomez can draw an additional 25 walks, that’s a similar bump in OBP, and I would expect it to be easier to draw 25 more walks than to strike out 75 fewer times.

Agree that this is a small sample size though.

by Adam Peterson on Jan 6, 2009 7:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Aragua had a big win last night...

…beating Caracus, 1-0, in a VWL playoff game. Jose Mijares faced one batter, striking him out. Jesus Delgado, who had a cup of coffee this year with the Marlins, pitched 4 shutout innings. He was followed by Yohan Pino who pitched 2 shutout innings with no hits, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Matt Tolbert played third base and went hitless in 3 at bats. Wilson Ramos got his first start in the playoffs. Ramos had 1 hit in 2 at bats with a walk. More important, Ramos did an excellent job behind the plate guiding the pitching staff to a shutout of the regular season league winners, Caracus.

by roger13 on Jan 6, 2009 7:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Aragua lost to Lara last night...

…4-3. Jose Mijares came on to get a blown save and the loss giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and a run while getting no one out. Wilson Ramos was the catcher for the second straight day, going 2 for 3 with a double and run scored. Meanwhile, over in the DWL Gigantes won 4-3 with leadoff hitter Alexi Casilla going 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

by roger13 on Jan 8, 2009 7:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Aragua won again last night...

…3-2 in 12 innings. Wilson Ramos was only 1 for 5, however, his hit was a 2 run home run in the 8th inning to tie the game, 2-2. Matt Tolbert did not play as Luis Maza was at third base for the second consecutive game. Two players that LENIII did not mention in his posting today, Frank Mata and Yohan Pino, both contributed in the late innings. Mata pitched a successful 0.1 inning. Yohan Pino came on to pitch the last 2.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 strikeout and 1 walk to get the win when Aragua scored in the 12th.

In the DWL playoffs, Alexi Casilla was again 1 for 4 with a run scored in Gigantes 4-1 win.

by roger13 on Jan 9, 2009 7:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs