Monday, April 12,
2010
2010 Ft. Myers
Miracle Preview
The 2010 Twins
minor league roster previews are brought to you by the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect
Handbook. Get your
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Jake Mauer will be the Miracle’s manager in 2010 after managing
the GCL Twins the last couple of years. Former long-time big leaguer Jim Dwyer
will be the hitting coach while Steve Mintz is the
pitching coach. Let’s take a look at players on the Miracle roster to start the
2010 season (note – prospect ranking for my choices for Top 30 Twins prospects
as updated in the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook):
The Starting Pitchers
Kyle Gibson (5), Michael Tarsi, Bobby Lanigan,
Bruce Pugh, Brad Tippett.
Obviously Gibson
is the name here, but he isn’t the only pitcher with upside. That said, he
clearly has tremendous upside, multiple average or better pitches, and great
makeup. Lanigan has a good fastball and is probably
best known for having a very strong slider. Pugh throws hard and is still
working on secondary pitches. He moved into the Beloit starting rotation late
last year and was impressive. The goal would be for him to continue that
progression. Brad Tippett doesn’t throw hard, but he
absolutely knows how to pitch. Long and lanky, he still has room to grown and add strength. Tarsi is a tall lefty
who doesn’t throw hard. He is the one returning to the Miracle rotation for the
second year.
The Bullpen Arms
Billy Bullock (20), Henry Arias, Michael Allen, Tony
Davis, Shooter Hunt, Blake Martin, Matt Williams.
This group is an
interesting mix of hard-throwing talents and guys who have a lot to show. Billy
Bullock is arguably the best relief pitching prospect in the system. The hard
throwing righty became a reliever one year ago and added velocity to go with a
very good slider. Tony Davis was drafted a year ago as well, and he spent time
with several of the Twins affiliates, including a AA
New Britain. The lefty knows how to pitch. Shooter Hunt had a rough 2009, and
his first outing this year was ugly, but Mauer got
him back out there the very next day and he was better. His upside is
tremendous. Hopefully he can work through his control issues. Matt Williams has
been around for a long time yet is still young. The Australian always does a
good job and is sometimes overlooked. It is a big year for Arias, Allen and
Martin.
The Catchers
Jair Fernandez, Chris Herrmann, Daniel Rohlfing.
This is a solid
group of catchers, but the shock (for me) of spring was that Herrmann is
skipping Beloit. He has played everywhere. He told me he played a lot of 2B his
first year in college. He caught, played OF and played 3B over the next two
years. The Twins drafted him as a catcher, but he played LF most days in
Elizabethton. He was moved to catcher at Instructs, and in the first couple of
games, he has played CF and catcher. Could he be another Craig Biggio type? The big thing is, that he can hit with a
smooth lefty-handed swing. Fernandez came to camp this spring and played a
little. Rohlfing actually played some in the outfield
last year as well.
The Infielders
Nate Hanson, Yangervis Solarte, Drew Thompson, Paul Kelly, Chris Cates, Deibinson Romero, Nick Romero.
In 2005, the
Twins drafted high school middle infielders Paul Kelly and Drew Thompson. They
both had great starts to their career, but both missed significant time over
the next two years. Last year, Thompson made a successful comeback in Beloit.
This year, hopefully the same will be said for Kelly. Both are good guys, very
talented, and if they can stay healthy through this season, both should jump
back into the prospect rankings. Deibinson Romero was
taken off of the 40 man roster this winter and returns to Ft. Myers where Twins
officials would love to see anything positive. Nate Hanson played all over the
Beloit infield a year ago, and will likely spend more time at 1B this year.
Likewise, Solarte has the ability to play as many as
seven positions. Chris Cates is great defensively and pitchers love when he is
playing SS behind them. Nick Romero is another guy fully capable of playing
around the infield. He has some real pop in his bat as well.
The Outfielders
Evan Bigley, Michael
Harrington, Ramon Santana.
Three games into
the season and there are already rumblings that Aaron Hicks or Angel Morales
could move up to Ft. Myers in an attempt to give them an actual center fielder.
Evan Bigley is a very good player, a very good
hitter. Harrington can play all three positions and last year had a lot of
extra base hits. Ramon Santana is an infielder that has now moved to the
outfield, probably because of how good of an infielder he was. Chris Cates and
Chris Herrmann have already played centerfield this year.
SUMMARY
To be completely
honest, this is a team that has the ability to lose a lot of games early in the
season. However, there are a few guys that are clearly have a chance to
advance, but this could be a team built for a second half playoff run when some
guys from Beloit are added to the roster.
If you have any
questions or comments on this preview of the roster, please feel free to ask… Leave
your questions or comments.