Minor League Report...October 24, 2009
by roger13 on Oct 23, 2009 4:20 PM EDT
18 comments
Gonna be heading to the airport at 5am tomorrow, so will try to get something out this afternoon. As of now, we all are aware of the minor league manager changes announced this week. Tom Nieto fresh off his playoff season in New Britain is moving up to Rochester. Jeff Smith off two wonderful winning seasons in Ft. Myers moves up to New Britain with Jake Mauer moving across the parking lot from the GCL Twins to the Miracle. The managers in Elizabethton and Beloit appear to be staying put. No announcement that I have seen on who will take over the GCL Twins...but my best guess is that it will be local favorite Tommy Watkins (I have no knowledge that this will happen, merely a guess).
The defending Caribbean champion Aragua Tigres are off to a tough start after losing three of five this week for a 3-8 record. Wilson Ramos had hits in all five games with three 2-hit games and one 3-hit game. At 18-48, Ramos is now hitting .375/.434/.771 with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 14 runs scored and 15 RBI. He also has struck out 9 times with 4 walks. Justin Huber is hitting .357/.471/.429 in 28 at basts with 2 doubles and 4 RBI. Dustin Martin is hitting .182/.317/.273 in 33 at bats with a home run and 4 RBI. Pitcher Jason Jones has started three games with 13.1 innings and a 4.73ERA with 7K/2BB. Short reliever Frank Mata has a 2-0 record in 5 games, 8.1 innings with a 2.16ERA and 3K/4BB. Oswaldo Sosa, who is back from his nearly season long injury, has appeared in two games with 1.2 innings and a 5.40ERA. Edgar Ibarra has appeared in two games with 0.1 inning, 0.00ERA and 1K/0BB.
The Mesa Solar Dogs aren't doing much better in the AFL with a 3-6 record. Steve Singleton leads the Twins representatives, hitting .273/.273/.500 in 22 at bats with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI. Rene Tosoni is hitting .238/.333/.571 in 21 at bats with 2 triples, a home run, 2 RBI and 4 runs scored. After going hitless in his first ten at bats, Chris Parmalee is hitting .190/.308/.429 in 21 at bats with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI. Of the four Twins pitchers, only Michael McCardell is off to a good start with 5.0 innings and a 3.60ERA with 7K/4BB. Steve Hirschfield has appeared in 3 games (2.1ip) with a 27.00ERA and 5K/1BB. Alex Burnett has also appeared in 3 games (two were very good) with 2.2 innings and a 10.12ERA and 4K/5BB. Spencer Steedley has appeared in 4 games with 4.0 innings and a 6.75ERA and 2K/9BB. It is very early for the pitchers, but it is also a very short fall season.
Juan Morrillo has appeared in three games for Toros in the DWL, pitching 1.1 inning with a 0-1 record and 13.50ERA with 1K/1BB. Jose Lugo has also appeared in three games for the same team, pitching 3.1 innings with a 1-0 record, 2.70ERA and 3K/2BB. Estarlin De Los Santos is playing a lot of shortstop for Gigantes and is currently hitting .313Average in his first 16 at bats. Alexi Casilla is also on Gigantes roster (hasn't played as of yet) as is catcher, Alexander Soto. DSL Twins Ace Pedro Guerra is pitching for LaGuaira in the Venezuelan league, appearing in four games this week with 5.2 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs (4 earned) and 7K/3BB.
Is Wilson Ramos making a statement that he is ready to play for the Twins in 2010?
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According to the article on the Twins site that I am not smart enough to link to the GCL Twins manager is Chris Heintz, the former Twins 4th catcher, and Tommy Watkins is hitting coach for Beloit.
by CCTwinsFan on Oct 24, 2009 12:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think Heintz went to Beloit this summer...
…as a hitting coach when they shuffled several coaches to fill the spot when Riccardo Ingrahm had to leave the Red Wings to battle his cancer.
I checked a Beloit press release announcing that Nelson Prada will return for his third year as manager, Gary Lucas his fourth year as pitching coach, and Tommy Watkins his first year as hitting coach. Watkins replaces Chris Heintz who took the job mid year last summer. Heintz is moving to Ft. Myers where he will be the manager of the GCL Twins. Expect they may not want to put Watkins straight into the Manager’s position in the GCL without having any coaching experience. Next summer will be a special year for the GCL Twins with a special group of very young men. They have to do everything possible to get this group off on the right foot.
by roger13 on Oct 24, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Where would Ramos play?
Has he played any other position? i am not sure if every 3rd day is enough.
by clutterheart on Oct 24, 2009 9:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I have seen a couple of boxscores over the past few years...
…where Ramos has played at first base…but literally two or three times. He plays almost exclusively at catcher with some games as DH mixed in for both the Aragua Tigres and last summer at New Britain. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to put the best defensive catcher in the organization not named Mauer anywhere else.
by roger13 on Oct 24, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Interesting........
That Tommy Watkins would go somewhere other than Ft. Myers, isn’t he the unoffical mayor of that town, in some ways?
Alexi Casilla must be on his way. Some of us autograph collectors just got signed items from him in our mailboxes this week.
Looks like the pitching coach Cliburn is staying put at New Brit.
Visit www.TwinsCards.com and check out "rosters" to see my collection!
by rosterman on Oct 24, 2009 4:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Would Ramos make Kubel expendable?
I knowing I am jumping a bit here, but as much as I like Kubes, he seems like a pretty good trade candidate, with a proven track record, reasonable contract, and the surplus of outfielders. Ramos would be a fantastic DH/C and potent bench bat. Unfortunately, in that scenario, a third catcher might become necessary. Oh wait, Morales—another good bat off the bench.
by Han Joelo on Oct 24, 2009 7:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
No
Ramos is not going to hit like Kubel, or at least he probably won’t. He’s a terrific bat for a catcher, but not for a DH. I hope Ramos really continues to hit this winter, because his trade value is the key thing for me.
by Eric in Madison on Oct 24, 2009 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, Sort Of
Han – I actually think that’s a really good idea. In 2011. Here’s the scenario I can see…
Mauer catches 110-120 games a year. Ramos catches 40-50 games. Mauer DHs 40-50 games a year and Ramos DHs 100 games or so. Kubel can play in the OF. That gives one more year to either Young or Gomez.
Now, who knows what Ramos will become. So, I wouldn’t make Kubel available, but I do think that Ramos is a legit DH option.
by SethSpeaks on Oct 25, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Your plan sounds like a good idea. We don’t know how Ramos will develop, so it would be risky at best to trade Kubel with the idea of replacing him with Ramos. But I do like the idea of Kubel and Ramos in the lineup together. That said, in this scenario I would hope that we keep Gomez instead of Young, because outfield defense with Kubel and Young is just ugly.
One other problem – we will need to keep 3 catchers on the roster or risk losing the DH spot if the catcher is injured. However, I’m guessing that if Mauer sees any significant time at DH, we will have 3 catchers on the roster anyway, like most of this season, so this might not be a big concern with having Ramos and Mauer DH.
by what_would_gil_thorp_do on Oct 25, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Give Mauer a first baseman's mitt
If the Twins ever really have two catchers that they want in the game at the same time, the obvious answer would be to have Mauer play first base. It would save his legs (and Morneau’s) and allow Joe to go behind the plate in the event Ramos took a foul ball off an exposed area. Mauer played about 20 games at first in the minors (Romos has also played a similar number at first). This is what Cleveland did with V-Mart until he was traded. They didn’t have a first baseman that should play every game but the Twins have a DH that can play a passable corner outfield.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Oct 25, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ramos
Without ever having seen him play, I think Ramos will be a very good MLB player. If Mauer is extended this winter, he would be the biggest and best trade chip in acquiring help for subpar areas. If Mauer is not extended, then the Twins will have to hold on to him (Ramos).
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Oct 24, 2009 11:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I have only seen Ramos play parts of three games in spring training...
…So I am not privy to how he calls a game, etc. I can say that in a game against the Yankees (with several of the younger guys playing that we have seen in the playoffs including Garnder), he threw out two runners with throws as good as I have ever seen. After the first throw I think the Yankees thought like I did…Did I really see that throw and was it that good? So they tried running again a couple innings later. Result was the exact same perfect throw to get a fast runner with the ball at second as the runner was going into his slide.
by roger13 on Oct 25, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Carlos Gomez
Is Gomez playing winter ball?
by DJL44 on Oct 24, 2009 11:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Veterans like Gomez...
…usually don’t begin playing until later in the winter league seasons. Would expect he will begin playing with his DWL team sometime after Thanksgiving.
by roger13 on Oct 25, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Twins........
In some ways need a back-up first baseman, although Cuddyer did fulfill the role nicely…and could give Morneau a rest, with Kubes in RF and Morneau DHings.
Ramos, like Morales, would do good to get a first baseman mit to make him more than a C/DH.
What is Morales like for throwing out baserunners. Morales seems to be league average, at best.
Visit www.TwinsCards.com and check out "rosters" to see my collection!
by rosterman on Oct 25, 2009 7:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It should be Mauer
You want to keep Mauer’s bat in the game. I suspect that Ramos would be only average offensively as a rookie. Mauer is a 6’6" target at first and we all know that he is a fine athlete.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Oct 25, 2009 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Morales
His throwing mechanics are poor. He threw out a very low percentage of base stealers. His numbers look better than they are in that area because Twins pitchers managed to pick off a fair number of runners (charged with CS when they attempted to go to second) while Morales was catching.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Oct 25, 2009 8:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
At least he has a strong enough arm to throw them out
With Morales, there’s hope for a decent throw out rate if he learns better footwork.
Red Dog can can have perfect mechanics and still never get the ball to second base on the fly. His arm strength is just gone.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
by cmathewson on Oct 25, 2009 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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