The Final Spots
For the most part, spring training is a
formality. Of the 25 man roster, likely 21 or 22 of those positions were set. Joe
Mauer doesn’t need to win a job in spring training.
Neither does Justin Morneau or Michael Cuddyer. Joe Nathan had to prove that he was healthy, but
if he did, he isn’t fighting for a roster spot. Who were the givens coming into
spring training?
Hitters: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Alexi Casilla, Danny
Valencia, Delmon Young, Denard
Span, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel,
Jason Repko, Jim Thome,
Drew Butera (12)
Pitchers: Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Joe Nathan, Matt Capps, Jose Mijares
(9)
Coming into spring training, the Twins’ brass
talked about a bullpen spot or two being up for grabs and the utility infield
spot, and based on the above, that is clearly true. The Twins need a utility
infielder and three pitchers. There was no shortage of options coming into
spring training for those spots either.
For the utility infielder spot: Matt Tolbert,
Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes, Chase
Lambin
For the three bullpen spots: Jeff Manship, Pat Neshek, Jim Hoey, Glen Perkins, Scott Diamond, Dusty Hughes, Chuck
James, Phil Dumatrait, Anthony Swarzak,
Kyle Waldrop, Alex Burnett, Yorman Bazardo, Eric Hacker, Anthony Slama
Backup Infielder:
Going into spring training, most of us believed
that the “competition” was more in name than in reality. Matt Tolbert is a “Gardy Guy.” He can play all three infield positions defensively.
He has some speed. Not much of a hitter, but he has shown an ability to hit at
times over the last few seasons. Trevor Plouffe has
played shortstop and second base, and even logged some innings at first base,
but he has struggled this spring with the bat and with the glove.
Meanwhile, Luke Hughes has again shown up to
spring training and shown that he can flat-out hit. He is 14-40 (.350) with
three doubles and five home runs. We will ignore the 12 strikeouts in 43 plate
appearances. He has played adequate defense at 3B, 2B, 1B and even a couple of
innings at SS. In his minor league past, he has played all three outfield
positions as well. Gardy has been making quotes about
defense not being the only thing that matters in the utility infield spot which
certainly bodes well for Hughes.
Remember that the utility infielder will hopefully
play about once a week, although Hughes would also be a good right-handed bat
off the bench to compliment lefty Jim Thome. He may
have to play ten to twelve innings of defense a week. How will he adapt to a
role position? Can he stay healthy?
Tolbert and Plouffe
each are in their final option year. Hughes has two options left. So, options
do not need to factor into this decision, which is good.
Gardy’s Decision: Will come down to defense versus offense.
Will he want Hughes’ right-handed bat off the bench, or will he want Tolbert’s
defense at the three positions?
If the season started today: Hughes would be
the man, no question. I think that when spring training started, it was Matt
Tolbert’s job to lose. Instead, Luke Hughes has come to spring training likely
made such a strong impression that he may have pushed his way onto the Opening
Day roster.
Bullpen:
Anthony Swarzak, Yorman Bazardo and Eric Hacker
have already been demoted to minor league camp. Chuck James and Phil Dumatrait haven’t done enough to put themselves into
Opening Day consideration. Anthony Slama was my
choice before camp started, but he has been unable to pitch due to elbow
problems. Alex Burnett will be a big part of the Twins bullpen for years to
come, but I don’t think he’s in the competition for an opening day spot right
now. Kyle Waldrop probably would be a strong candidate if he was on the 40 man
roster. I believe he will be a Twins pitcher, but not by Opening Day. Same with Carlos Gutierrez. So that leaves six pitchers for
three spots, and at least one of them (And maybe two) should be left-handed).
Jeff Manship: He has given up five runs on nine hits and three
walks in nine innings. He has just two strikeouts. The organization compares
his stuff to Matt Guerrier, and it’s hard to argue
with that comparison. They both have good fastballs, though not overpowering.
They have good control. They both have very good curveballs and changeups. The
comparison is fair, but Manship has done little pitching
out of the bullpen in his career. He has the stuff to do it well.
Pat Neshek: People talk about Neshek
and his velocity. It is seemingly the biggest story. On Thursday, he hit 89. He
also has a good changeup and slider. To me, it’s more about pitch movement and
mixing up speeds. He has given up three runs on six hits and a walk in 6.1
innings. Of the six hits, three have been home runs. If Neshek
makes the team and is given the opportunity to continue to gain strength by
pitching in low-leverage situations, he can play a big role in the Twins
bullpen as he has in the past.
Jim Hoey: Hoey came over from the
Orioles in the JJ Hardy trade. He throws hard, touching 99 mph. As we know, it’s
all about throwing strikes for him. If he can harn the velocity, he can be dominant. That is yet to be
seen. He has given up five runs on seven hits and four walks in 6.2 innings.
Glen Perkins:
Perkins is out of options. He’s left-handed and can’t get left-handed batters
out. He really struggled last year. The year before, he got off to a great
start and then was hurt most of the season. The year before that, he was a
double-digit winner for the Twins. Clearly the Minnesota native has some stuff.
He’s left-handed, throws hard, has a good slider and he is breathing. Did I
mention that he is out of options? That may be the biggest factor at the end of
the day. However, for what it is worth, this spring he has given up two runs on
seven hits and two walks in seven innings.
Scott Diamond: He
was the Twins Rule 5 pick in December which means that he has to stay on the
Twins roster throughout the 2011 season or be offered back to the Braves. Although
he has given up just one run on six hits in six innings, he has also walked six
batters. Twins brass talks about how slowly he has worked, which is something
they have not seen in their years of scouting him.
Dusty Hughes: Inexplicably,
the Royals designated the southpaw for assignment and the Twins happily claimed
him and added him to the 40 man roster. They speak of his four-pitch mix. He
has certainly made a strong impression during spring. In eight shutout innings,
he has allowed just three hits. He has walked three also, but all three came in
his Thursday outing.
Gardy’s Decision: The coaching
staff seems quite high on Manship, and everyone is
saying great things about Glen Perkins. Hughes has pitched great this spring,
but the team needs to determine what happens with Perkins and Diamond before they
determine what they will do with Hughes.
If the season started
today: Pat Neshek, Glen Perkins, Dusty
Hughes
The Big Picture:
How good can the Twins be
if the roster decisions at this point are for the 12th hitter and 11th
and 12th pitchers? That isn’t to minimize their roles at all. Each
of the 25 players can help the team win games at any time. How large does a
small sample need to be (good or bad) to be large enough to mean something? I
mean, Dusty Hughes has been amazing through eight innings, but what if he gives
up five runs without getting a batter out in his next outing? Luke Hughes has shown
great power from the right-side, but what if he strikes out in his next 14 at
bats against big league pitchers and commits two errors a day all around the
field? The Twins have been disappointed with Scott Diamond and the pace he has
shown on the mound this spring. In an interview on 1500espn on Sunday,
assistant GM said that it was something they hadn’t seen in their years of
scouting him. That scouting led them to love Diamond, so are they really going
to let six innings in spring training completely negate what he had done for
three minor league seasons before?
What if the Twins keep
Dusty Hughes and let Glen Perkins and Scott Diamond go?
If Hughes then struggles, two options are gone.
In the TwinsCentric Offseason
GM Handbook, I included Luke Hughes on my 2011 roster blueprint, as a
right-handed bench bat because of his power. He had a great spring last year
and was the first non-catching hitter called up. If not for injuries last year,
we would likely have seen much more of him. What he has done this spring with
the bat is likely taken a job that going into spring training, he was third on
the depth chart. Again, he’s crushed it in spring for a role on the Twins bench
that may get him six or seven at bats a week, but I do like the bat.
Sprint Training is always
fun and interesting, and there are always great stories. To this point in
spring, the Hughes Brothers (who of course are not brothers) have both put
together strong springs that probably put them on the big league roster. With two
weeks to go, what are the other stories of spring to follow? Are any other jobs
up for grabs? What are
your thoughts?
Here are some other notes
and blogs to peruse:
·
First things
first… Congratulations to Darren “Doogie” Wolfson who became a
first-time father last Saturday when his son was born.
·
Also, a huge “Congratulations” to Kelly Thesier.
She has been writing for the Twins mlb.com site at TwinsBaseball.com for the
last five or six years. I first met her that first winter after she got the job
when she came up to Warroad on the Twins Caravan. She wrote the foreword for my
Twins Prospect Handbook – 2011. She
has become a very good writer, but she has now accepted a job as the
communications director for the LPGA. Obviously we wish her the best.
·
Jim Crikket from Knuckleballs is in Ft. Myers this week for
spring training. He has already written a couple of nice updates the last couple of days on
their site, but he also will post a couple of updates on the StarTribune.com’s A Fan’s View
site.
·
Aaron
Gleeman posted his Friday Link-O-Rama,
but he has had a couple of Twins notes blogs this week too.
·
Nick Nelson continued
his terrific Twins position analysis by looking
at Third Base.
·
Over the
Baggy wrote about a new
pitch for Jose Mijares.
·
K-Bro wrote of Utility
Guys and Shoes.
·
The Baseball
Outsider wrote of the bullpen’s
biggest remaining question.
·
In honor of the basketball brackets, North Dakota Twins Blog is doing the
Ultimate Twins Team Bracket. To this point, he has done 1991
versus 2006, and now 2002
versus 1969. What a great idea for a series right now!
·
Twins Focus posted its
choice for the Twins #8 prospect, Angel Morales.
·
I read this article last week but obviously
was gone… The Bat Shatters asked, “Is
Alexi Casilla the second coming of Luis Rivas?”
·
Two Men On asks Who
Should be the Chosen One?
That’s it for today! Have a
great weekend! If you like, please feel free
to comment, ask questions.