Down on the Farm: Low A Report

Beloit Snappers (6-9)

Starting Pitchers
Michael McCardell didn't pick up any decisions this week, but his two starts were pretty solid. In his opening performance, McCardell went 5.1 innings and allowed just 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out six. In his second outing, McCardell lasted 7.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 dingers while striking out nine. His season ERA sits at 2.76. Most of the other Snappers starters struggled a bit this week. David Bromberg went 5.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 7 in his sole start of the week. Daniel Berlind made it just 3.0 innings in his lone start, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks with 3 K's. Brian Kirwan picked up two starts, winning his first (a 5.0 innings, 1 run performance in which he allowed just 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5) and taking a no decision in his second (a 4.2 inning, 3 run outing in which he allowed 8 hits). Despite that last rough start, Kirwan leads the Snappers starters with a very solid 1.76 ERA so far this season.

Then, there's Michael Tarsi. His week was so bad he easily deserves a paragraph of his own. Unfortunately, Tarsi was knocked around about as bad as I've seen anybody ever knocked around in back-to-back starts -- and I imagine that he's going to need to deliver in his next start or be relegated to the bullpen (or, even worse, to extended spring training). In Tarsi's first start of the week, he lasted just 2.0 innings, allowing 9 runs (all earned) on 8 hits and a walk. His second start was better relative to the first, but was still pretty horrid -- he went 4.1 innings and allowed 8 earned runs on 11 hits and 2 walks. I don't know what's going on with Tarsi, but his 16.68 ERA so far this season strongly suggests that all is not right. Hopefully it's just a mechanical issue or some such that his pitching coach can work with him on.

Relief Pitchers
Charles Nolte and Steven Hirschfeld are the final two members of the Snappers pitching staff to hold onto a pristine 0.00 ERA this season. Nolte made it into three games this week, going 6.0 innings. Two of Nolte's starts were solid, as he allowed just a 2 hits and a walk while striking out 8 batters in them. Unfortunately, Nolte's middle appearance this week saw him take the loss after allowing 5 unearned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 innings of work. Steven Hirschfeld also allowed a couple of unearned runs in one of his performances, but unlike Nolte he didn't get stuck with a loss. Talk about lucky, though -- Hirschfeld got a win for 0.1 innings of work in the second of his two appearances this week.

Elsewhere in the 'pen, Spencer Steedley got into just one game this week, picking up a win in a 3.0 innings performance in which he gave up a run on a hit and 2 walks while striking out 5. The workhorse of the week was Matthew Williams, who made it into 4 games and pitched 8.1 innings while allowing just 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 and picking up a win. Blair Erickson also made it into four games, but one of those involved a 0.1 inning performance in which Erickson allowed 4 earned runs on 2 hits and a walk. Erickson's season ERA sits at 6.35 on the year. Dominique Rodgers (3 games, 4.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 K's) and Loek Van Mil (1.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 hits, 2 K's) also got some action this week.

Catchers
Gregory Yersich continued to get the bulk of time behind the plate this week, starting 4 games as the catcher and 2 as the DH. Unfortunately, he struggled at the plate, going 3-for-18 to bring his season average to .172. He did hit two homeruns, but that seems to be more of an anomaly than some sign that he's suddenly developing serious power. Unfortunately for Yersich, the guys behind him have generally hit pretty well this season. Daniel Lehmann started 2 games behind the plate and came in as a defensive replacement in a third, going 2-for-8 on the week -- but his season average still sits at .350. Meanwhile, recent acquisition Jair Fernandez started 2 games behind the plate, going 3-for-6 on the week with a double to bring his season average to .444.

Infielders
Garrett Olson plays all over the place, but his four starts at 1B made him the primary 1B for the Snappers this week (Olson also started three games at SS and one at 3B). Olson went 9-for-29 on the week with a double and a triple, and is now hitting .283 on the year. Chris Parmelee, meanwhile, got three starts at 1B and three in right field. Parmelee's excellent week (he went 8-for-17 at the plate) was capped by a 3-for-5 game in which he doubled, homered, and drove in seven runs. Now that's a solid line in the box score. Of Parmelee's eight hits this week, three were doubles, one was a triple, and then there was that previously mentioned homer. Pretty solid evidence that Parmelee has been seeing the ball well of late. His season average sits at .317.

Steven Singleton was the team's primary second sacker, getting five starts there and two as the DH. Singleton went 11-for-27 to raise his season average all the way up to .400, and he scored 10 runs while knocking a ball out of the yard to boot. How's that for a week? Ramon Santana was the backup, starting 3 games at 2B, 2 at SS, and 1 as the DH. Santana went 5-for-20 to take his season average to .237, but the most notable thing about his week is the fact that he made 4 errors this week. Yikes!

Speaking of errors, Deibinson Romero had a couple of bad days at 3B (he started 7 games there this week), making four errors in his first two games of the week. He seems to have calmed down after that, but it's pretty clear that Romero at this point isn't destined to win a big league Gold Glove anytime soon. Romero went 4-for-26 on the week and is hitting just .208 this season.

Finally, Chris Cates started three games at SS, going 3-for-13 to bring his season average to a rather paltry .174. He did steal a couple of bases and also picked up a couple of RBI's, so the week wasn't all bad.

Outfielders
Ozzie Lewis picked up 5 starts in left, going 2-for-17 with an RBI and 6 K's (including 4 in one game). Lewis has so far been the least effective offensive player on the Snappers roster, posting a batting average that could best be described as sub-sub-Mendoza line (.098). Fortunately for him, his competition in left (Ben Petsch) is also struggling at the plate. Petsch, who started 3 games in left and one as the DH, went 3-for-14 and is hitting just .161.

Joe Benson remained the primary center fielder for the Snappers, starting 7 games there this week. Benson went 6-for-22 (after a 1-for-12 start), picking up a homer in his last game. He also stole a couple of bases, but was caught stealing in his last two attempts of the week. Benson is hitting .265 on the season.

With Chris Parmelee splitting his time between right and 1B, Mark Dolenc got the chance to start five games in RF and one as the DH. He went 7-for-25 on the week, including a 3-for-3, two run performance in which he doubled and stole a base. Dolenc is hitting .237 so far this season.

Down on the Farm: Low A Report

Beloit Snappers (2-5)

Starting Pitching
The starter has recorded a decision in every game the Snappers have played so far this season, which is too bad since there have been a lot more losses than wins to go around. Two excellent starts were turned in earlier this week by Brian Kirwan (5.2 innings, a hit and a walk, and 4 K's) and spot-starter Steven Hirschfeld (5.0 innings, 3 hits and 2 walks, and 3 K's), who started one half of a double-header. Unfortunately, the other four regular starters were pretty poor. David Bromberg, who was the only guy to get two starts this week, gave up a combined total of 9 earned runs off of 7 hits and 4 walks in 8 total innings of work while striking out 8 batters. Michael Tarsi went 5.0 innings in his start, but gave up 6 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits and a walk while striking out five. Mike McCardell and Dan Berlind also both had short starts this week. This is an interesting rotation, but they didn't play up to their potential in the first week -- I'm pretty confident there are better things to come.

Relief Pitching
Without question, the most exciting pitcher of the first week out of the Snappers' bullpen was Loek Van Mil, who pitched 4 perfect innings in two appearances while striking out 5 batters. Honestly, I didn't expect him to start so strong, and I'll be watching his future performances very closely to see whether he can continue being effective. Dominique Rodgers (3.0 innings, one hit, 4 K's) and Blair Erickson (2.1 innings, one hit, one K) also had really effective weeks. Honestly, no one performed all that badly -- none of the relievers allowed an earned run in any of their appearances (although Steven Hirschfeld pitched in the season opener and allowed 4 unearned runs to score off of two hits and two walks in his lone inning of work). The workhorse of the bullpen so far has been Spencer Steedley, who has pitched 6.1 innings in three appearances, allowing 3 hits and a walk in that span. Most remarkable, though, was Steedley's performance on Wednesday night: in 2.2 innings, he struck out 7 batters while allowing just a hit and a walk. Now that's a nice line in the box score.

Catchers
Gregory Yersich was the busiest of the Snappers' three catchers this week, getting three starts behind the plate and one as the DH. In that span, he went 2-11 with a couple of walks, a rare triple, a couple of runs scored, and four strikeouts. His primary backup was Daniel Lehmann, who started three games behind the plate. Lehmann went 2-9 with a couple of doubles and three runs scored. The remaining start went to recently-acquired Jair Fernandez, who went 1-3 with a double and a strikeout in his lone game of the week.

Infielders
The Snappers split the playing time around most of the infield this week, with only third base having a true regular starter. At first base, Ben Petsch got the most starts with three. Petsch also got a start as the DH in one game, and all told he went 2-13 on the week while striking out four times and making two errors in one of his starts. Chris Parmelee and Garrett Olson each got two starts at first this week, but Parmelee was primarily an outfielder and Olson primarily a shortstop, so I'll cover them when I get to those positions.

At second, Steven Singleton and Chris Cates both started three games, with Singleton also starting twice as the DH. Singleton had a very solid week at the plate, going 7-19 with 3 RBI's. Unfortunately, he also got caught stealing in the two attempts that he made. Cates, meanwhile, went 1-8 with a strikeout and an error -- there's really not much more to say about that line. Backup infielder Ramon Santana started the remaining game at 2B, and also picked up three starts at shortstop and one at 3B. In the process, he hit 4-17 with a double, three walks, and a steal.

As mentioned above, Deibinson Romero held down third base, getting six starts at the position and DH'ing on the day he wasn't at third. Romero went 7-23 on the week, hitting two doubles and drawing two walks while picking pu a couple of RBI's and striking out five times. He also made a couple of errors this week, so hopefully he can get a grip on that.

Finally, shortstop primarily belonged to Garrett Olson this week, who also started twice at 1B. Olson went 4-20 on the week with a couple of solo homeruns and a double.

Outfielders
Joe Benson was the only player to start every game at the same position for the Snappers this week, hanging out in center field. He went 5-24 at the plate, with three of those hits being doubles. His worst stat of the week was unquestionably his 9 strikeouts, especially considering that he hit leadoff in every game and drew only one walk. Not prototypical leadoff numbers, that's for sure! Then again, this is Low A ball, so things are bound to be a little strange from time to time.

In left field, Ozzie Lewis picked up 5 starts this week along with a start as the DH. Lewis really struggled, going 2-21. On the plus side, he only struck out three times, and he walloped a homer in the season opener.

Chris Parmelee, meanwhile, started four games in RF and two at 1B. His season got off to a weak start, as he went 0-5 in the opener with five strikeouts -- yep, you read that right. After going 0-3 the next night, Parmelee settled into a rhythm, hitting three solo homers in three consecutive games. He ended up with a 5-20 week, and after that five strikeout opener, he struck out just two more times in fifteen at-bats.

Backup outfielder Mark Dolenc picked up quite a bit of playing time, starting three games in RF and two in LF. He went 2-13 at the plate with a stolen base and a couple of runs scored while striking out three times.

Snappers Roster

The minor league season starts for the Twins full-season affiliates tomorrow, making this a perfect time to finish up my series of roster previews. Tonight, I present to you the roster of the Low-A Beloit Snappers. And, just in case you haven't had a chance to check out my previews of the Rochester, New Britain, or Ft. Myers rosters, I've linked them for you here. Also, if you're stopping by for my thoughts on tonight's loss to the Angels, it's directly beneath this post. On to the roster!

Starting Pitchers:

Mike McCardell, David Bromberg, Dan Berlind, Michael Tarsi, Brian Kirwan

Mike McCardell, a 6th round draft pick for the Twins last year, is easily my favorite name on this last after his debut performance a year ago. Starting in the GCL, McCardell gave up 5 runs in 18 innings and struck out 25 while walking just 3, earning an easy promotion to Elizabethton. While there, he allowed just 10 earned runs in 45 innings, while striking out an amazing 70 against just 5 walks. That's a remarkable 14.00 strikeouts per nine innings. The Twins drafted Berlind the round after McCardell, and in 56 innings with the GCL Twins he compiled a 1.93 ERA and a 52-20 K-BB ratio, earning himself a spot alongside McCardell with Beloit.

Those two aren't the only pitchers from the 2007 draft in the Beloit rotation -- Michael Tarsi was drafted in the 12th round and assigned to Elizabethton, where he put up a 2.22 ERA in 52.2 innings with a 59-13 K-BB ratio. If these guys can take the next step, this could be a very, very fun rotation to watch. Incidentally, David Bromberg is no slouch either -- the 32nd round pick from 2005 has put up solid numbers in the GCL and Elizabethton over the past two years (including an 81-32 K-BB ratio and a 2.78 ERA in 58.1 innings with E-Town last year). As for Brian Kirwan, the 11th round pick from 2005 has struggled in Elizabethton and Beloit the past two years, so he may need to show something this year to keep his roster spot.


Relief Pitchers:

Blair Erickson, Danny Hernandez (DL), Steven Hirschfeld, Charles Nolte, Henry Reyes (DL), Dominique Rodgers, Spencer Steedley, Loek Van Mil, Matthew Williams

The bulk of this bullpen, like the majority of the rotation, comes out of the 2007 draft. Blair Erickson, Steven Hirschfeld, Charles Nolte, Dominique Rodgers, and Spencer Steedley all got their start with short season teams last season after being drafted, with Erickson and Steedley having the most successful debuts. However, it is Loek (a.k.a. Ludovicus) Van Mil who will draw most of my attention this season -- he's the 7'1" righty out of the Netherlands who the Twins are basically experimenting with. In 2006 with the GCL Twins, he was primarily a starter, but last season the Twins moved him up to Elizabethton and into the bullpen, where he put up a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings (with a disappointingly mediocre 23-17 K-BB ratio). Getting a chance to see Van Mil pitch for a full season with Beloit should be entertaining, if nothing else.


Catchers:

Jair Fernandez, Jose Leger (DL), Daniel Lehmann, Gregory Yersich

Without question, the Snappers will have plenty of catchers this season -- the question is whether any of them will provide much offensively. Greg Yersich makes a return to Beloit after starting the season there last year and putting up a woeful .180/442 in 122 AB's and getting busted down to Elizabethton (where he hit a really solid .312/782 in 186 AB's -- go figure). More than likely, Yersich is going to be given a chance to be the #1 catcher with this squad, but everyone will get playing time. Fernandez was just acquired from the Mariners in exchange for the rights to R.A. Dickey, and I'm not sure what to make of him just yet. Then there's Daniel Lehmann, the Twins 8th round pick from a season ago. Lehmann, who hit very well in his time at Rice University, struggled a bit in Elizabethton last year (.221/697 in 77 AB's), but in such limited action and with making the transition to professional baseball, he deserves to be cut some slack for now.


Infielders:

Chris Cates, Paul Kelly (DL), Ben Petsch, Deibinson Romero, Ramon Santana, Steven Singleton, Andrew Thompson (DL)

Third baseman Deibinson Romero is the most interesting name on this list. The 21-year-old out of the Dominican Republic hit .316/912 in 247 AB's for Elizabethton a year ago, backing up the .313/825 he put together in 176 AB's for the GCL Twins in 2006. Now that he's moving to a full-season league, we could get a chance to see him put together some really compelling numbers. Meanwhile, 2007 19th round selection Ben Petsch is listed as an infielder on the roster, probably indicating that he'll be the team's primary first baseman this year. Petsch hit .311/936 in 74 AB's for Elizabethton a year ago playing primarily in the outfield (he also played 4 games at 1B and caught one game), and so makes for an interesting case coming into this season as he tries to show he can put up solid numbers in more than just 74 AB's. Steven Singleton should get most of the starts at 2B, while Chris Cates and Ramon Santana split time at SS. Hopefully Kelly and Thompson can work themselves into the mix at some point as well -- especially Thompson, who has just been riddled with injuries since being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft.


Outfielders:

Joe Benson, Mark Dolenc, Ozzie Lewis, Garrett Olson, Chris Parmelee, Eli Tintor (restricted list)

This outfield could be really compelling. Parmelee and Benson both played in Beloit a season ago, but the organization clearly felt they could continue to benefit from playing in Low-A ball, and they're young enough that that decision makes sense. Parmelee showed plenty of power last year, hitting 15 dingers in 447 AB's (which is a good number for an A-ball player), but he struck out a ton (137 times in those 447 AB's) and his .239 batting average was a bit disappointing. Benson, meanwhile, hit a bit better average-wise (.255 in 432 AB's), but he also struck out far too much (124 times) and certainly could benefit from some more development time. Meanwhile, former third baseman Garrett Olson, a fourth round pick in 2006, was great with Elizabethton in 2006 but really struggled in Beloit a year ago (.219/591 in 416 AB's), earning him his return trip. They'll be joined by newcomers Dolenc (a 15th rounder in 2006 out of Minnesota State Mankato who hit .287 in 230 AB's for Elizabethton a year ago) and Lewis (a 21st rounder in 2007 out of Fresno State University who had a very strong first season in Elizabethton, hitting .323/898 in 235 AB's), who should compete for playing time.

Beloit Snappers Roster

I will be beginning to post Down on the Farm minor league updates on the site next week, but minor league rosters will be officially coming out over the next couple of days, and so I'm going to have a separate post for each of the four full-season teams whose seasons will be starting this week as soon as the rosters come out. The Snappers roster was the first to officially be released (the Rock Cats roster is close to complete, and the Red Wings have something that looks awfully close to accurate up as well, but I don't trust them quite yet). Here's a quick look at the 2007 Beloit Snappers:

Name / Position / Age / Organizational Rank

Starting Pitchers
Adam Hawes - RHP - 23 years old - #30 SP
Alex Burnett - RHP - 19 years old - #29 SP
Cole DeVries - RHP - 22 years old - #40 SP
Sean Land - LHP - 22 years old - #34 SP
Jeff Manship - RHP - 22 years old - #21 SP

There are two relative surprises in this mix, but neither of them is that shocking. The first is Cole DeVries, who was picked up by the Twins out of the University of Minnesota. Because he's 22 and had a very solid 2006 season for the Gophers, however, it isn't exactly a "whoa, nelly" kind of surprise -- it was just possible that DeVries could have been asked to start in Elizabethton if the Twins didn't quite think he was ready. The other surprise is Adam Hawes, who had a 4.02 ERA in 87.1 innings for the Snappers last season. I expected him to get a promotion to Ft. Myers to start this season. DeVries and Manship are the two to watch from this bunch -- DeVries is only ranked 40th because he was a late addition to the list and I didn't have enough information on him to rank him higher.

Relief Pitchers
Jose Lugo - LHP - 22 - #33 RP
Danny Vais - RHP - 22 - #19 RP
Armando Gabino - RHP - 23 -#30 RP
Dan Leatherman - RHP - 21 - #14 RP
Danny Hernandez - RHP - 21 - #39 RP
Robert Delaney - RHP - 22 - #44 RP
Adam Revelette - LHP - 22 - #47 RP

Obviously, the two most interesting members of the Beloit bullpen are Dan Leatherman and Danny Vais. Leatherman pitched with the GCL Twins, Elizabethton, and Beloit last year, and was successful at every level. There's no reason to think that he won't continue to pitch well this season. I'm a little surprised that Vais is starting the season in Beloit -- he had a 2.12 ERA in 80.2 innings last season, and seemed like a natural candidate to move up to Ft. Myers. If he has a solid first 6 weeks, I expect him to be moved up quickly.

Catchers
Allan de San Miguel - C - 19 - #16 C
Jose Leger - C - 24 - #14 C
Gregory Yerisch - C - 20 - #7 C

The Twins catching depth is weak organizationally, and that's particularly evident in Beloit. None of these guys are going to do much offensively, but if they continue to work on defense and game-calling skills, the Twins will be pleased. I had both de San Miguel and Yersich starting in Beloit, but I had Leger in either Ft. Myers or New Britain. He's on the old side for a low A player, and I suspect that if he doesn't have a good start to his season, he may not last particularly long.

Infielders
Johnny Woodard - 1B - 22 - #10 1B
Brian Dinkelman - 2B - 23 - #4 2B
Andrew Thompson - SS - 20 - #3 2B
Paul Kelly - SS - 20 - #4 SS
Yancarlos Ortiz - SS - 22 - #7 SS
William Luque - SS - 22 - #12 3B
Daniel Berg - 3B - 22 - #8 1B
Garrett Olson - 3B - 22 - #7 3B
Daniel Valencia - 3B - 22 - #6 3B

There are some fairly talented players scattered throughout the Snapper infield. Andrew Thompson should be fully recovered from the numerous injuries he suffered from last year, and the battle between him and Kelly for playing time at short should be interesting. Thompson may also get some playing time at 2B when Brian Dinkelman isn't in action there. Without question, those three players are the ones to watch in the infield this season for Beloit.

Outfielders
Mark Robinson - OF - 20 - #26 OF
Joe Benson - OF - 19 - #15 OF
Chris Parmelee - 19 - #9 OF
Danny Santiesteban - 22 - #14 OF

Far and away the biggest star on the team this season will be last year's first round draft pick Chris Parmelee. He can play in the outfield or at 1B, and should get playing time at both this year. Joe Benson followed Parmelee by being drafted in the 2nd round last year, and also bears watching. Santiesteban should be the Snappers starting center fielder this year, and it will be interesting to see how the 22-year-old fares in his first full season action.