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Minor Leagues
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On Tuesday, Twins minor leaguers need to report to spring training camp. Tomorrow, they will get going with their first official workout. With 66 players currently in big league camp (40 roster, 26 non-roster minor leaguers), another 120 or more players will report for minor league camp. This includes players in the rookie leagues on up.
There are going to be a lot of stories from minor league camp that we’ll be following here throughout camp. You will hear plenty about Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Aaron Hicks, Alex Wimmers, David Bromberg, Anthony Slama and other top prospects, but we will also make a point to talk about players that you may not otherwise hear about.
Today, I wanted to start by writing about several players who missed time in 2011 due to injury. Some of these guys missed the whole year. Others were shut down early. Each of them will be worth following through minor league camp to see how they are progressing and where they wind up. Here they are in no particular order: ...
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Well everyone, spring training is finally upon us!
With only a few days to go, I sit back and critique myself. Did I prepare to my fullest ability? Did I out-work everyone else when there was nobody looking? Could I have done more?
These are all questions that run through anybody that did prepare. There may be a sense of panic for the guys that didn’t. Overall, there is a great excitement to get the ball rolling this year.
With report date tomorrow, I’m looking forward to seeing all my past teammates, along with future ones. All will check in to the team hotel. (A side note to those who do not know, yes, they actually put the entire minor league group in the same “Team Hotel” which always makes for some great late night card games!) ...
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According to Baseball America, the Twins have signed outfielder Ryde Rodriguez to a minor league contract. The 24-year-old is from Havana, Cuba. He signed with the Cardinals in 2008 as a free agent and stayed with the organization until last season. After 13 games in the Florida State League, he was released. He signed with Rockland of the CanAm League. In 56 games, he hit .267/.325/.385 with 10 doubles and four home runs.
Looks like a little organizational depth. If he sticks, he could play in Ft. Myers in 2012. It might depends upon whether Aaron Hicks and/or Angel Morales begin the season with the Miracle. ...
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I have been a resident of Minnesota my entire life, which probably makes me crazy for deciding to be a baseball player. Typically, November to March are off limits for outdoor baseball, making the offseason frustrating. In college this wasn’t a problem, as we had an indoor facility on campus and the Metrodome. As this offseason and the winter months approached, I realized how I took these facilities for granted. How would I workout now?
Minnetonka
I knew I would be living in Minnetonka about three days a week and in Rochester about four days a week for most of the offseason and would have to find places to workout in both locations. The high school football field in Minnetonka is domed for the winter and is usually accessible during school hours. Beyond that, my parents have a workout room in their basement that is perfect. I could do everything I needed. Now I had to tackle the other four days of the week. ...
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First off, I would like to give a thank you to Seth Stohs and the rest of the Twins Daily writers for giving me the opportunity to post here about my life as a Minor League player in the Twins organization.
My name is Ryan O'Rourke. I was born, grew up and still live in Worcester, Massachusetts. I also attended Merrimack College which is about 45 minutes away from my hometown. I graduated Merrimack College and was fortunate enough to be selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round which has been my biggest accomplishment to date.
I would describe my travels through the minors so far as being adventurous. I have met some great players, coaches, staff etc. and I have no complaints so far with anything. When Seth asked me to write my first post I was at a bit of a stand still on what should be my first topic. Do I talk about myself before the Twins (that may be a little boring for you readers), some of the best places I have played, or do I keep the timeline accurate and speak on my off-season? After some deliberation with some fellow teammates, I decided to talk a little about the life of a minor leaguer in the off-season months. ...
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Hey everybody, Seth Stohs turned me on to this site. I am going to try my hardest to make sure to get on and blog about the daily life of a Minor Leaguer playing in the Twins organization. I will write as much as possible, hopefully once a week.
I’d like to start off my introducing myself and giving you all a little background on me. I’m Dakota Watts. I was born and raised in Oroville, California, the son of Buddy and Brenda Watts, and I'm currently 24 years old.
First, a little baseball background. As a child, I was extremely blessed. Starting at age 5, I was introduced to the game by my father. I was also fortunate enough to grow up in a 2-3 year time frame when there was about a dozen other families as passionate about the game as we were in our community. This made playing baseball super competitive. ...
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There is breaking Twins-related minor league news this afternoon in Central Connecticut, where it has been announced that the New Britain Rock Cats, which had done very well in the community and in terms of attendance, under owners Bill Dowling (former attorney for George Steinbrenner) and Coleman Levy (local attorney), is being sold to an investment group.
[Originally posted at my blog, http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com]
DSF Group, the purchaser, is a real estate and sports investment firm, and also owns the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (same division as the Rock Cats and AA affiliate of the Blue Jays), and the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Class A affiliate of Tampa Bay Rays). Interestingly, John Willi, who left the helm as the Rock Cats' general manager in 2010 to take a position at DSF, will be returning to that post. ...
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Well, I have exactly a week left before spring training, and I’m sure just like many of my teammates, there are plenty of things on my mind.
The Emotions
At one end of the spectrum, spring training brings about feelings of excitement and readiness that I cant really put into words. We’ve all quietly prepared ourselves. We know what we need to do. We can’t get moved up levels while we're at home in the off-season. This is what it's all about. It’s go time. ...by
If you're at all looking forward to the June Rule IV baseball draft as a Twins fans, there is no doubt that you're already familiar with a handful of names: Appel, Giolito, Buxton, Zunino, and most recently, Zimmer.
If you're a fan of following the Twins draft at all, there are some terms you're probably familiar with: "strike-thrower", "long and lean", "wiry/athletic" or (my personal favorite Gardyism) "a grinder".
You're always going to find draft picks that are breaks from the normal "that's-what-I'd-expect-from-the-Twins"-type draft picks. But there is always going to be a lot of draft picks where you read a scouting report and think, "Wow, he sounds like someone the Twins would draft."
Or the one I think the most, "Isn't there enough 'toolsy outfielders' in the system?" The Twins are also bound to draft that guy that "profiles similar to Glen Perkins." Why? Because these are "Twins-type guys". ...
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Over the next several months, Twins fans are going to hear a lot about the June MLB draft, and for good reason. The Twins have the #2 overall pick and five picks in the Top 100. Coming off of a 99 loss season, and having a middle-of-the-pack minor league system, it is important to take advantage of the draft. In coming months, you’ll read names like Mark Appel, Lucas Giolito, Devin Marrero, Byron Buxton and Mike Zunino frequently. Today I wanted to look at the draft a little differently.
It is said that it usually takes five or six years to start judging a team’s draft. I would contend that it really takes ten years. Consider that some high school players who are drafted don’t get to the big leagues for eight or nine seasons. Consider there are players that don’t sign and go to college for three years before getting drafted again. It takes them several years sometimes. ...
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I want to first start off my thanking Seth for writing me about posting some blog entries on this new Twins Daily site. I enjoy writing and think I can offer up some cool stories throughout the year. I think I’m a pretty positive guy so if your looking for any kind of dirt on any of my teammates, you wont find it in this section! I’ll try and write about once a week or so, and keep things interesting for you all.
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Our good friends over at Twinkie Town have spent the past couple of months working on their community Top 50 Twins Prospect list. Each day, those who went to their site were able to cast their vote for a player. The player with the most votes gets the spot, and the next day they would vote for the next spot. They started at #1 and worked all the way to #50 and the best part was community discussion each round.
I thought it would be fun to compare and contrast my Top 50 Twins Prospect list to the Twinkie Town list. The top five on each list are the exact same, but after that, there are some significant differences, and by the time it reaches the end of the list, there are several names that don’t appear on both lists. So, as pitchers and catchers are set to report to Ft. Myers on Saturday and SethSpeaks.net is winding down, discuss these lists and feel free to post your own rankings.
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The annual baseball Rule IV baseball draft is less than four months away. And while both the college and high school seasons still have to be played, it’s never too early to start looking ahead at the draft.
This draft takes on an added interest if you’re a Twins fan. The team has not drafted higher than 14th overall since taking some guy named Mauer with the top overall pick in 2001. The 2012 draft brings not only the #2 overall pick, but also six total picks in the Top 100. For a franchise that has done a great job developing home-growing talent, it couldn’t come at a better time as the farm system has arguably the least amount of available talent in recent memory.
There are a handful of players who are consistently considered to ...
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The Twins claimed speedy outfielder off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays (who made room on their 40 man roster for Francisco Cordero). The Twins previous were at 40 on their roster, so someone will need to be DFAd to make room for Mastroianni. There are certainly several options.
The 26 year old went 0-2 with a sacrifice bunt in his one game with the Blue Jays in 2011. He was a 16th round pick of the Jays in 2007 out of the University of Southern Indiana, a Division II school. He had spent the 2005 season at Winthrop where he was a teammate of former Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey.
Because he has options, Mastroianni likely will play in Rochester in 2012.
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Berardino: Mastroianni Out Awhile + My Twins Med Staff Rant
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