Seth has the list of minor league assignments here and there are a few surprises. I'd like to run through them here and get your thoughts.

AAA  Tosoni gets the promotion to Rochester despite not seeing much of AA. The rotation starts well with Gibson and Diamond then peters out into Hacker, Bazardo and Swarzak who all appear to have peaked at this level.There will be a dogpile of relievers trying to compete for the first opportunity to move up - Gutierrez, Waldrop, Burnett, Hoey and Chuck James each have a chance and Slama is on the DL.

AA  Benson and Parmelee both start the year at AA which is a good thing. Deolis Guerra is back for his 3rd season in New Britain. Bromberg gets bumped back to AA despite his promotion to AAA last season and reasonably good results. Liam Hendriks gets promoted and could be the best pitcher on the squad. Tyler Robertson has been moved to the bullpen. Toby Gardenhire managed to hang onto a roster slot yet another year.

A+  Paul Kelly hasn't given up yet which is encouraging. Osterbrock has a shoulder injury - if he loses velocity he could be finished. Fans should be excited to see Morales and Hicks sharing time in the outfield. Wimmers starts at this level.

A  Oswaldo Arcia makes it to Beloit. BJ Hermsen should be able to show the rest of the team around Iowa. The rotation looks solid with Hermsen, Soliman, Salcedo and Logan Darnell. Andrey Lobanov is now apparently a starting pitcher.

EST  Goodrum, Polanco, Kepler, Rosario and Sano are staying back waiting for rookie ball. Bashore and Pat Dean open up on the DL.