Here is what is going on:
- LEN3 has an update from Fort Myers. Among the tidbits: Hammond Stadium has been upgraded in a major way; Mike Pelfrey is wearing a Bane mask; there is no hitting coordinator in the Twins system in 2015; and Plato, Minnesota, is mentioned. (But not Mighty's Liquors, where my old college roommate was (allegedly) chased out by the owner at BB gunpoint when he attempted to buy Busch Light as a minor.)
- EXCLUSIVE MUST CREDIT TWINKIE TOWN: Neal's Strib colleague, Phil Miller, is going to Fort Myers today, because he told me that himself yesterday. (His wife works down the hall from me.)
- NEW NUMBER ONE: The Cubs' Kris Bryant is Baseball America's top prospect for 2015. Byron Buxton, despite having just a shitrain of a 2014, fell only to second. Your other Twins: Miguel Sano (13), Jose Berrios (36), Nick Gordon (61), Alex Meyer (62). Also of note: Oswaldo Arcia's brother Orlando, who is in the Brewers system, comes in at 94.
- BASEBALL PROSPECTUS LIKES US, THEY REALLY LIKE US: They put eight Twins prospects into their top 101, with Kohl Stewart, confirmed Australian Lewis Thorpe, and Nick Burdi joining the aforementioned five. Plus they kept Buxton in the top slot, so we like them better, I guess?
- PLUG: The 2015 Baseball Prospectus is in stores now. I wrote the Twins essay, but there is also useful information contained therein.
- MORE BAD NEWS FOR TOP PROSPECT: Jurickson Profar, the Texas Rangers' wunderkind, looks like he'll miss 2015 with shoulder surgery. He was attempting to avoid surgery through rest and rehab in the offseason, which sounds hauntingly goddamn familiar.
- RULE CHANGES COMIN': Three pace of play rule changes are expected to be announced today:
- Managers must initiate replay challenges from the dugout, not from bawling out stupid Phil Cuzzi then looking back at the dugout to see if he's got a point.
- Batters must keep one foot in the batter's box at all times, mostly.
- Game play must resume promptly after coming back from commercial. No meandering!
- THERE ARE TWO ROUGNED ODORS: We live in a magical time.