Thursday,
April 8, 2010
2010 Rochester Red
Wing Preview
The 2010 Twins
minor league roster previews are brought to you by the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect
Handbook. Get your
copy here!
And, by the way,
if you’re able to, be sure to join me and the rest of TwinsCentric
at Majors Sports Café in Blaine on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until the end of
the Twins/White Sox game. Drink and appetizer specials.
Lots of prizes to give away. Lots of
talk with Twins fans. It’d be fun to meet you!
On Thursday
night, Anthony Swarzak will take the mound for the Rochester
Red Wings against Boof Bonser
and Pawtucket. Tom Nieto will be the Red Wings manager in 2010 after leading
the New Britain Rockcats a year ago. Floyd Rayford will be the hitting coach while Bobby Cuellar is
the pitching coach. Let’s take a look at players on the Red Wings 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
Anthony Swarzak, Jeff Manship (16), Glen Perkins, Mike Maroth,
Yoslan Herrera.
As far as
upside, I think most would agree that Glen Perkins could be the most talented
pitcher in this group. Does that mean he’s the best pitcher? Probably
not. Manship and Swarzak
both profile as back of the rotation starters. Both showed in 2009, in short stints
with the Twins, that they are capable big league pitchers, but they also both
showed that they have more to learn. Having talked with Manship
several times, I know that he’ll take a lot from what he learned at the big
league level and incorporate it into his game. I like to assume the same for Swarzak. Mike Maroth is a
veteran. He was the last 20 game loser in the big
leagues. I had so much respect for him during his Tigers days for being strong
enough mentally to keep pitching, and he wasn’t as bad as that win-loss record
indicated. Of course, a couple of years later, he was that bad and out of
baseball. This spring, he was given a chance by the Twins and had a solid camp,
so he can be a veteran in the AAA rotation. Herrera signed a four year contract
with the Pittsburgh Pirates after defecting from Cuba. Those four years are up.
He became a free agent and signed with the Twins. At 28, he’s not a prospect,
but he has been solid enough in the minor leagues that this is a worthy risk to
take. I also believe that Matt Fox and Ryan Mullins will each get an
opportunity to start at some point during the season.
The Bullpen Arms
Anthony Slama (23), Rob
Delaney, Jose Lugo, Kyle Waldrop, Tim Lahey, Matt
Fox, Ryan Mullins, Ron Mahay.
The back-end of
the Twins bullpen is incredibly talented and should be a
strength of this roster. Anthony Slama has
done nothing but dominate since signing in early 2007. Rob Delaney has been
just about as good, although he struggled more in his time in AAA than did Slama. Jose Lugo is pretty similar to Jose Mijares. Occasional lapses and loss of control, but has
tremendous stuff, especially against lefties. Kyle Waldrop was a pleasant
surprise in camp this spring. The non-roster invitee was one of the Twins
first-round picks in 2004 out of his Tennessee high school. He missed all of
2008 with surgery in his shoulder. He stayed healthy in 2009 and should be
strong in 2010. Fellow 2004 first round pick Matt Fox and 2005 3rd
round pick will be the righty and lefty (respectively) to pitch out of the
bullpen, and as I said earlier, both could get opportunities to start. Tim Lahey was drafted as a catcher, and soon the Twins made him
a reliever. He quickly worked through the system and last year he really
struggled. But he lost nearly 30 pounds in the offseason and looked strong in
camp, so it will be a very big year for the right-hander. And remember, in all
likelihood, Alex Burnett will be optioned to Rochester, a place he has not yet
played. But he could be the best relief pitching prospect in the Twins system
too. Ron Mahay will start the season in Rochester,
but he is expected to be up with the Twins relatively soon. Big league veteran,
Brad Hennessey, who had a couple of very good years with the San Francisco
Giants, missed last year and will spend the first couple of months this year.
But this was a nice
The Catchers
Wilson Ramos (2), Allan de San Miguel.
When it came to
on-field, baseball decisions, Wilson Ramos was probably the story of spring
training. Ramos did not lose the battle to Drew Butera,
but Butera was – rightfully – given the Twins backup
catcher duties until the return of Jose Morales. Ramos is an incredible
prospect. I ranked him the team’s #2 prospect this
winter. He has displayed an ability to hit for both average and power, and play
a very solid catcher defensively. The incredible thing is that he isn’t even
the top prospect in the International League this year. Both Jesus Montero of
the Yankees and Carlos Santana of the Indians will also be playing in the
league.
De San Miguel
has been in the Twins farm system for a long time and yet he is still just 23
years old. He knows and understands that his future with the Twins is as a
backup catcher, and he has embraced the role. Offensively, he hasn’t hit for
average or power, but he has really improved his ability to get on base. But
again, that’s all secondary to what he provides for the pitching staff. Jose
Morales would likely rehab in Rochester at some point, and when he returns to
the Twins, Drew Butera would likely come back to
Rochester to back up Ramos.
The Infielders
Brock Peterson, Luke Hughes (27), Trevor Plouffe (21), Danny Valencia (7), Erik Lis,
Matt Tolbert, (Matt Macri)
Peterson became
a free agent this past offseason, but the Twins were happily able to bring him
back. He was the Red Wings top hitter in the second half of 2009. Plus, it’s
fun to cheer for a former 49th round draft pick! Erik Lis likely will not play much first base and will get
plenty of at bats as the team’s designated hitter. This is a big year for
Trevor Plouffe. He’s still just 23, but now in his
third year at Rochester. With the acquisition of JJ Hardy, Plouffe
may need to play other positions as well. Danny Valencia is immensely talented,
and there are questions at 3B with the Twins. There could be a scenario in
which he is up with the Twins by June, but most of that depends as much on the
performances of Nick Punto and Brendan Harris, along
with his own performance. Matt Tolbert, simply, is not very good, but he can
play all around the infield and on opening night, he will actually be the Red
Wings leadoff hitter and center fielder. Ron Gardenhire
loves him, so he likely remains in the plans. Matt Macri
begins the season on the Disabled List.
The Outfielders
Brian Dinkelman, Jason Repko, Jacque Jones, Dustin Martin, (Brandon Roberts)
Jacque Jones was
one of the great Twins stories of spring training. Brought back for camp,
almost as a courtesy for all he did at the beginning of last decade for the team, Jones was not going to make the big league roster. But
he almost did, and now he will head to Rochester. If a need arises in the
outfield for the Twins, Jones might be the first promoted. On Monday, the Twins
signed Jason Repko, a centerfielder who had spent
time with the Los Angeles Dodgers four of the past five seasons. Not a great
hitter, he is right-handed and probably the best option to play center field.
Dustin Martin had a very good 2008, a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League,
and a nice showing in spring training 2009. And then the season started, and
Martin didn’t even get an invite to big league training camp this year. Brian Dinkelman was a second baseman throughout his career, until
Steve Singleton was promoted to New Britain last year. Then Dinkelman
started playing in the outfield, and he performed fairly well. A good contact
hitter who finds ways to get on base, I think he will be hitting near the top
of the Red Wings order throughout the year. Finally, Brandon Roberts spent most
of the past two years in New Britain, on their Disabled List, and that’s where
he will begin the 2010 season with the Red Wings.
SUMMARY
Overall, I think
this is a very solid roster. For AAA, it is a good mix of veteran players, with
decent AAAA types of players and a good number of prospects who will likely
contribute to some degree, some significantly, in the next couple of seasons.
On Opening Night, Danny Valencia will be batting 8th with Brian Dinkelman betting 9th. I’m not saying agree with
that, but if that is the case, this should be a very strong lineup. As I
mentioned before, the back end of the bullpen should be very strong, so the
starters can hopefully provide at least six good innings each night. The fans
in Rochester should get to see some quality baseball this season. Hopefully
they can not only develop players for the Twins to use as necessary, but also
compete for a playoff spot in the International League.
If you have any
questions or comments on this preview of the roster, please feel free to ask… Leave
your questions or comments.