Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle (12-7)

Starting Pitchers
Kevin Slowey made a rehab start with the Miracle this week, going 3.0 innings and giving up an earned run on a hit and a walk while striking out five. If I'm not mistaken, he's scheduled to make one more start with the Miracle before moving up for a start in Rochester. Alex Burnett also had a reasonable, albeit short, start -- he went 4.2 innings, allowing just an unearned run on 3 hits and 2 walks while picking up 2 K's. Burnett's season ERA now sits at 3.60.

The other three starts this week were all very similar. Cole Devries, Jeff Manship, and Tyler Robertson all gave up 2 runs and lasted between 5.0 and 5.2 innings, and each of them gave up 6 hits. Robertson has the best ERA of the bunch at 2.79, but he also has a surprisingly high WHIP of 1.60. Manship (4.12/1.53) and Devries (6.00/1.56) are struggling a bit in both categories.

Relief Pitchers
Regular starter Deolis Guerra pitched in relief of Kevin Slowey this week, picking up the win after going 4.0 innings and giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks with 3 K's. His season ERA of 1.42 and WHIP of 1.21 are solid enough to put him at the top of the line of usual starters. Anthony Slama and Robert Delaney retained their membership in the 0.00 ERA club, with an 0.80 and 0.71 WHIP respectively. Meanwhile, Tim Lahey rejoined the team after his journey as a Rule 5 draft pick and went 3.0 scoreless innings in two games, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out 2 batters.

Elsewhere, Danny Vais got into two ballgames and won both of them, going 3.1 innings and giving up a run on 1 hit while striking out three. His season ERA now sits at 0.69, with a remarkable 0.46 WHIP. Matthew Fox, meanwhile, went 2.0 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3, bringing his season ERA to 4.76 and his WHIP to 1.50. Julio Lugo pitched 1.2 innings in 2 games, giving up a run on 2 hits with a K. Unfortunately, his season ERA still sits at 7.88, with a WHIP of 1.50. Finally, Danny Graves got into a couple of games before his promotion, pitching 2.0 innings and giving up just a hit while striking out two.

Catchers
Wilson Ramos continued to struggle this week, going 3-for-17 to drop his average to .189 on the season. He struck out 6 times in those 17 AB's, while doubling and driving in 4 runs. Of course, backup Allan de San Miguel continues to make Ramos look like Babe Ruth, as he went 0-for-6 in his two starts to drop his batting average all the way down to .105 on the year. Why is it that so many catchers in the organization, including some very good ones, can't hit this season? On the plus side, third stringer Rodolfo Palacios started a couple games as the DH, getting his first hits of the season after going 3-for-9 to bring his season average to .214.

Infielders
I'm starting to think that I'll have to apologize to Johnny Woodard for all the bad things I've said about him over the years (alright, I haven't said anything all that bad). Woodard went 7-for-16 on the week to bring his average to .317. He also doubled twice, knocked a ball out of the park, and drove in 5 runs (all in one game).

At second, Brian Dinkelman continued an impressive run by going 7-for-18 on the week to bring his season average to .338. All of his hits this week were singles, but scored 6 runs and drew five walks against just 2 K's in his five starts at second.

Third base was split between Whit Robbins (who also got a start at 1B) and Danny Valencia (who also started a game as the DH). Robbins went 3-for-10, raising his average slightly to .235. Valencia, meanwhile, went 6-for-18 with a homerun and a double, bringing his season average to .273.

Finally, Toby Gardenhire and Yancarlos Ortiz split time at short. As expected, Gardenhire's average continued to plunge after he went 1-for-8 on the week (he's now hitting .250). Yancarlos Ortiz has been worse so far this year -- his 2-for-8 performance this week brought him to .179 on the season.

Outfielders
Juan Portes started 4 games in left field and put together a great week, going 8-for-16 with a double and a dinger. He also didn't strike out a single time while drawing 2 walks. His season average now sits at .302.

In center, Danny Santiesteban and Edward Ovalle each got a start, with Santiesteban also starting a game in right and Ovalle starting a game in left. Santiesteban went 5-for-10 on the week to raise his average to .298 on the season. His hits included a couple of doubles and a homer, and he also both scored and drove in 4 runs. Ovalle, meanwhile, went 4-for-13 on the season, bringing his average to .239.

Rene Tosoni started 3 games in right and one in center, going 6-for-16 on the week to bring his average to .352 on the season. All of his hits were singles and he struck out 6 times, but he did score 4 runs on the week.

Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle (8-6)

Starting Pitchers
The two best starts of the week were both turned in by former Santana-acquisition Deolis Guerra, who went 10.0 innings in his two starts without allowing a run. Guerra picked up the win in one of those games, allowing 8 hits and 6 walks with 6 K's between the two starts. On the season, Guerra has an extremely solid 0.60 ERA. Lefty Tyler Robertson was so-so in his two starts, neither of which led to a decision. In his first start, Robertson lasted just 4.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 -- with that many K's and hits allowed, I imagine his pitch count was awfully elevated. His second outing was a bit better as he lasted 5.0 innings and allowed just an unearned run on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out five. Robertson has a 2.57 ERA on the season.

Elsewhere, the results were mixed. Bigtime prospect Jeff Manship picked up a win in the first of his two starts this week, going 5.0 innings and allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and a walk while striking out four. Unfortunately, in his second outing Manship went just 4.0 innings and allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Manship has a season ERA of 4.50, so needless to say he hasn't been dominating to this point. Alex Burnett turned in a solid performance in his sole start of the week, going 5.1 innings and allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk with 4 K's -- his season ERA now rests at 5.23. Finally, things haven't gone so well for former Gopher Cole Devries, whose ERA is at 6.92 for the season after he allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 5.2 innings of work in his sole start of the week.

Relief Pitchers
The most pleasant surprise of the early season in the Miracle bullpen to this point has been Anthony Slama, who has yet to allow an earned run in eight innings of work. This week, Slama appeared in 4 games, picking up 2 saves and a win over that span. He is joined in the 0.00 ERA club by regular closer Robert Delaney (who did suffer an unfortunate loss after giving up an unearned run in the second of his two appearances this week), and Danny Vais (who got the win in both of his relief appearances this week, striking out 3 batters in each case and allowing just a hit and a walk in his 7.0 innings of work.

Elsewhere in the 'pen, Matthew Fox went 6.1 innings over three games, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in that stretch while striking out 7 batters and picking up a win. His season ERA is at 3.76, so to this point he's been a reasonable option for the Miracle. Julio Lugo, whose season ERA is sitting at 8.53, started to drop it a bit this week as he went 4.2 innings while allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk with 5 K's. This week also saw the season debut of former Reds closer Danny Graves, who was . . . not that good. Graves pitched 4.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk in his first two appearances in the organization. Finally, the Twins released Aaron Craig, who made a couple of appearances for the organization without recording an out this season.

Catchers
Highly touted prospect Wilson Ramos has struggled so far this year, posting a .194 batting average 36 AB's. This week's 2-for-17 performance certainly didn't help matters. Backup Allan de San Miguel has also struggled offensively, thus living up to his "great defense, horrid bat" reputation. To this point, de San Miguel has a .154 batting average on the season after going 0-for-7 this week. Third stringer Rodolfo Palacios, meanwhile, actually got a chance to crouch behind the plate this week (albeit as a defensive replacement late in a game), going 0-for-3 in extremely limited playing time. Palacios is the last Miracle player without a hit this year.

Infielders
Johnny Woodard held down the fort at 1B again this week for Ft. Myers, getting 7 starts there along with a start as the DH. It was a pretty solid week for Woodard, who belted three home runs on the way to going 12-for-33 on the week and raising his season batting average to .273.

At second base, Brian Dinkelman picked up seven starts and went 9-for-28 with a homer, four doubles and a triple. Dinkelman is now hitting .319 on the season, and seems to be making a pretty solid impression so far.

Third base belonged primarily to Danny Valencia, who started 6 games there and 2 games as the DH. Valencia struggled at the plate this week, going 5-for-29 as his average fell to .250 on the year. He did pick up a homerun, but his other four hits this week were all singles. ON the plus side, Valencia drew 6 walks and struck out just 3 times, which is a pretty solid ratio. Whit Robbins also got some playing time at third this week, starting two games there and getting two more starts as the DH. Robbins went 4-for-16 on the week, which raised his season batting average to a rather anemic .208.

Speaking of anemic offense, Miracle shortstop Yancarlos Ortiz did his part by going 3-for-18 on the week to bring his season average to .172. Week one success story Toby Gardenhire, meanwhile, fell back to earth in a big way this week by going 1-for-12 in his 3 starts at short and 1 start at second. Gardenhire's season average is still sitting at .300 thanks to a strong first week, but if these four games were any indication Gardenhire is once again in for a year of offensive struggles.

Outfielders
Juan Portes once again got the bulk of the playing time in left field, starting four games there along with a start as the DH. Portes went 7-for-21 on the week and is now hitting .216 on the season. All seven of Portes hits this week were singles, which surely isn't doing much for his slugging percentage. He also struck out 5 times, including three K's in an 0-for-3 performance in his second start of the week.

Center belonged exclusively to Danny Santiesteban this week, as he started all 8 games there. He went 9-for-30 on the week to raise his season average to .243, and he did it with some pizazz, picking up 2 doubles, a triple and a longball. He also picked up 8 RBI's, so he was all over the run production for the Miracle.

In right field Rene Tosoni got the start 6 times to go along with 2 starts in left. Tosoni has been the best offensive performer for the Miracle this season, with a season average sitting at .342. This week's performance (8-for-26) was therefore actually a bit of a drop for Tosoni, but he remained extremely consistent, getting a hit in all but one of his starts. Edward Ovalle picked up the remaining three starts in right along with 2 starts in left, going 5-for-17 on the week to raise his average up to .212 on the season. In his best game, Ovalle went 3-for-4 with a run, an RBI, a walk, and a couple of steals.

Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle (2-4)

Starting Pitching
The Miracle played six games in the first week of action, and six different starters took the mound in those games. The most recognizable starter was, of course, Francisco Liriano, who made a one-start stop with the Miracle before moving to Rochester on what amounts to a rehab assignment (technically, he was optioned to the minors, so it isn't a "real" rehab assignment). While he struck out eight batters in that start, he allowed 4 earned runs and 6 hits in 5.1 innings. As for the guys who are actually part of the regular Miracle roster, the two best starts were from Deolis Guerra (5.0 innings, 1 earned run on 2 hits and a walk, 6 K's) and Cole Devries (6.0 innings, 1 earned run on 4 hits, and 3 K's). It was especially nice to see Devries pitch well in his start, since he got action in relief of Liriano and gave up 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in that outing.

The worst start of the week undoubtedly was put up by Alex Burnett, who gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on a whopping 12 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings of work in his lone start of the week. Yipes! Finally, I should mention that Jeff Manship and Tyler Robertson also got starts this week, with Manship getting a win in a game where he went 5.0 innings and gave up 3 earned, and Robertson taking a tough loss after going 5.0 innings and giving up 2 earned on 4 hits.

Relief Pitching
Closer Rob Delaney started off his season solidly, picking up 2 saves in 2 chances after allowing just 2 hits and picking up 2 K's in 4 innings of work (two 2-inning saves). Meanwhile, Danny Vais got into three games this week, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 2 hits and a walk while striking out two. A positive shout-out should also go to Anthony Slama, who went 2.0 innings and allowed just a hit and a walk with 2 K's in his Miracle debut. On the down side, Jose Lugo took the loss in his second game of the year after going just 0.1 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 3 hits and a walk. That followed a much more successful season debut for Lugo, who went 1.1 innings and allowed just a hit in the Miracle opener. Incidentally, I would be remiss to not mention that Aaron Craig was added to the Miracle roster sometime this week, and had a rather rough debut -- he allowed an earned run on two hits without getting any outs, leaving him with the always entertaining "infinite ERA" for the season.

Catchers
Wilson Ramos, one of the Twins top organizational catching prospects, was given a chance to play in every game the Miracle played this week making three starts behind the plate and three as the DH. After a great 3-5 start in which he belted a home run and picked up a couple of RBI's, Ramos had three straight 0-for's before getting a hit in each of his last two games of the week. He finished off with a 5-19 week. Spring Training invitee Allan de San Miguel, meanwhile, picked up two starts this week and went 2-6 with a double and a couple of RBI's. Don't expect him to maintain that .333 batting average for long. Finally, Rodolfo Palacios went 0-2 in his lone start of the week.

Infielders
First base this week belonged to Johnny Woodard, who started three games at the position along with getting a start as the DH. You have to wonder how long he'll remain the usual starter, however, after he kicked off his season with an 0-11 slump in which he struck out 6 times. Backup Daniel Berg, meanwhile, went 2-6 with a dinger and three runs scored in two starts. One week does not a season make, but maybe Berg can put some pressure on Woodard for playing time. Whit Robbins picked up the other start at 1B, along with 2 starts as the DH. He went 1-8 with a couple of walks and a steal over the course of the week.

At second, Brian Dinkelman started the first five games of the week before finally getting a day off. His 6-19 performance provided a nice start to the season for Dinkelman, who doubled three times, scored four times, and picked up a couple of RBI's. The other start at second went to the most surprising player of the week -- the much maligned Toby Gardenhire, who also started two games at shortstop. Gardenhire put together a 5-8 week with a run scored and a couple of RBI's. I don't expect him to hit anywhere even approaching .250 over the course of the season, but I won't deny that this is a great start for Gardenhire and I would be delighted to see him finally put things together offensively.

The third baseman in each of the six games played by the Miracle this year was Danny Valencia, who had the weeks best offensive performance (other than Gardenhire) by going 7-19 with a homer and 7 RBI's and a stolen base. Considering how hot he was at the plate, it's not really a surprise that he was left in the lineup all week -- expect Toby Gardenhire to get a start here at some point to spell Valencia for a game.

Finally, the regular shortstop this week was Yancarlos Ortiz, who started four games at the position (the other two went to Gardenhire, as mentioned above). Ortiz went 2-8 with a couple of walks, three K's and a caught stealing on the week.

Outfielders
Juan Portes was the busiest outfielder on the team this week, starting five games in left and one in center while putting up a wretched 1-16 performance with 4 K's and an error. Undoubtedly not the way that he would have preferred to get his season underway. Edward Ovalle was also busy this week, getting 2 starts in center, 2 in right, and 1 in left while compiling a 1-12 week in which he struck out 5 times. Regular center fielder Danny Santiesteban also contributed to the offensive struggles that dogged the outfielders this week, going 0-7 in his three starts in center (he did walk three times and pick up a stolen base, so not all was bad). In fact, the only good week offensively for an outfielder was put up by Rene Tosoni, who started four games in right field and put up a 5-12 week.

Miracle Roster

UPDATE: This post was originally based on a roster available on the minor league baseball website. A slightly different roster has now been posted on the Miracle website which seems more accurate. I will be updating this post later this afternoon when I have the opportunity to do so, and will note when I'm done with another update. Until then, view this roster as nothing more than tentative.

UPDATE II: The post has now been updated to reflect the roster on the Miracle website. Hopefully, this is correct -- if not, I'll update the post again.

This is the third in a series of posts covering the Twins minor league affiliate rosters for the start of the 2008 season. I've already covered the Rochester roster and the New Britain roster, so be sure to check those out if you're interested. Now, here's the roster for the High-A Ft. Myers Miracle:

Starting Pitchers:

Francisco Liriano, Jeff Manship, Deolis Guerra, Tyler Robertson, Alex Burnett

Liriano will only be with the Miracle for one start before moving to Rochester for a start, and then on to the Twins. Cole Devries will replace Liriano in the rotation when The Franchise moves on. This is, perhaps, the most interesting starting five in the organization top to bottom. Jeff Manship was one of the top players to watch in the lower levels of the system last year, and after starting the season in Beloit he was promoted to the Miracle. He has an excellent shot of moving up during this season as well if a spot opens up ahead of him. Guerra, of course, was the youngest prospect who came over in the Johan Santana trade. Robertson is one of the Twins prospect-watchers favorites, and with his eye-popping numbers last season there's good reason for that. Meanwhile, Burnett is now slouch either, as his 3.02 ERA with Beloit last season proved. When Devries joins the rotation, he'll be the slouch of the bunch -- and when the slouch had a 3.41 ERA last season, you know you're in pretty good shape. This bunch will be a lot of fun to watch this year.


Relief Pitchers:

Robert Delaney, Cole Devries, Matthew Fox, Jose Lugo, Frank Mata, Anthony Slama, Danny Vais, Kyle Waldrop (DL)

As already mentioned, Devries will move into the rotation almost immediately, so it's fairly likely that he won't make so much as a single appearing out of the bullpen. Of the players in the Miracle bullpen, I'm particularly interested in seeing how Anthony Slama performs. Slama was selected in the 2006 draft, and got his first action in the organization last year. In 21 games with Beloit, he had a 1.48 ERA to earn his promotion -- but that was in just 24.1 innings, so who knows how meaningful it is. Robert Delaney is another hot prospect -- he had a scathing hot 0.77 ERA in 46.2 innings with the Snappers, and a 1.54 ERA in 23.1 innings with the Miracle after being promoted. He'll probably get the opportunity to close out games for the Miracle this year.

In the original version of this roster, Adam Hawes and Winston Marquez were listed as being on the roster, and Frank Mata was not -- the changes reflect the differences between the roster released on minorleaguebaseball.com and the one that can now be found at miraclebaseball.com (and linked to above).


Catchers:

Allan de San Miguel, Rodolfo Palacios, Wilson Ramos

Allan de San Miguel was originally the only catcher listed on the roster, but Palacios and Ramos have since been added. Both of the new names are interesting -- Ramos had a solid year in Beloit last season and deserved a promotion, and Palacios is a guy who has spent three partial seasons at the rookie league level without ever getting enough at-bats to really make an impact. His assignment directly to Ft. Myers, bypassing Beloit entirely, is particularly interesting. Expect Ramos to get the most playing time, with the defensive-minded de San Miguel being #2 on the depth chart and Palacios getting whatever is left.


Infielders:

Daniel Berg, Brian Dinkelman, Toby Gardenhire, Yancarlos Ortiz, Whit Robbins, Daniel Valencia, Johnny Woodard

There are a few interesting names here, notably second baseman Brian Dinkelman and third baseman Daniel Valencia. However, there are also players like Daniel Berg, Toby Gardenhire, and Johnny Woodard who are basically just filling space on the roster. Robbins and Woodard will probably split time at 1B, Dinkelman will be at 2B, Valencia at 3B, and Ortiz at SS. I expect the averages to be pretty low and the runs to be rather scarce.


Outfielders:

Edward Ovalle, Juan Portes, Danny Santiesteban, Rene Tosoni

Tosoni turned some heads last year with a really solid season in Elizabethton (.301/835 in 236 AB's), but the 36th round draft pick from 2005 will need to back it up to prove it wasn't a fluke (or just limited to rookie league). With bigger name prospects like Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson returning to Beloit for another season, Tosoni was given a pass on Beloit -- but that could be sticking him in over his head. The rest of the crew backing him up isn't particularly compelling -- Ovalle hit .222 in Ft. Myers, Santiesteban hit .219 in Beloit, and Portes hit .269 in Ft. Myers. I don't know that I expect any of them to improve this year, and if they don't, Parmelee Benson may find themselves changing uniforms mid-sason. Incidentally, the originally released roster had Dwayne White on it, but he is now in purgatory and has perhaps been let go.

Ft. Myers Miracle Roster

I would have preferred to wait until the Miracle website posted a roster, but they're a bit behind the curve. Instead, I'm going with the roster that can be found at minorleaguebaseball.com, which looks pretty accurate to me. Without further ado, then, here's the opening day Miracle roster:

Name / Position / Age / Organization Rank

Starting Pitchers
1.) Kyle Aselton - LHP - 24 - #16 SP
2.) Kyle Waldrop - RHP - 21 - #17 SP
3.) Eduardo Morlan - RHP - 21 - #11 SP
4.) Oswaldo Sosa - RHP - 21 - #12 SP
5.) Zach Ward - RHP - 23 - #25 SP

The Miracle actually have about 8 guys who could be called upon to start, but these are the five who I think are most likely to get the majority of the starts for the team. Sosa was originally optioned to New Britain, but a numbers crunch has pushed him back to Ft. Myers, where he probably belongs -- he has just 6 starts at the High A level. Eduardo Morlan was fantastic last season with Beloit, and it will be interesting to watch him continue to develop. Waldrop and Aselton were both drafted in the 2004 draft, and will continue to develop together. Aselton had a good enough season last year converting to a starter that I thought he'd get promoted to New Britain this season, but instead he's making a return trip to Ft. Myers. Ward, meanwhile, was acquired last season in the trade that sent Kyle Lohse to Cincinnati. He was phenomenal for the Reds A-ball Dayton affiliate before the trade, but struggled once going to Beloit. His inclusion on the Ft. Myers roster is a bit of a surprise because of his struggles with Beloit to end the season. Obviously, the Twins feel that was a fluke, and gave him the promotion on the strength of what he showed in Dayton.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Jay Rainville - RHP - 21 - #24 SP
2.) Ryan Mullins - LHP - 23 - #20 SP
3.) Josh Hill - RHP - 24 - #31 RP
4.) Angel Garcia - RHP - 23 - #28 RP
5.) Alexander Smit - LHP - 21 - #13 RP
6.) Frank Mata - RHP - 23 - #34 RP
7.) Yohan Pino - RHP - 23 - #9 RP
8.) David Shinskie - RHP - 22 - #36 RP

Jay Rainville, Ryan Mullins, and Alexander Smit could all find themselves getting starts this season, but for now I'm putting them in the bullpen. Smit is on the 40-man roster, so the Twins obviously feel he has a bright future ahead of him. Yohan Pino is the most interesting name on the least -- he's an outstanding prospect, and if he starts off strong he could find himself in New Britain by the end of the year. He could also become a starter this season, but again finding places for him to start would be difficult, and he's been so good out of the bullpen that there seems to be little reason to mess with success.

Catchers
1.) Caleb Moore - C - 23 - #4 C
2.) Javier Sanchez - C - 25 - NR
3.) Jeff Christy - C - 22 - #5 C

I thought that Christy would be starting off down in Beloit, because he was just drafted last season and spent most of 2006 in Elizabethton. The fact that the Twins are skipping a level indicates that he's already impressed the talent evaluators. Moore, meanwhile, is one of the few prospects the Twins have behind the plate who has done well at the plate, hitting .309 in 2005 with the E-Twins and .286 last season with Beloit. Javi Sanchez adds an interesting mix to the team, as he missed all of last season due to injury. How the Miracle find playing time for three catchers will be one of the interesting things to watch with this team.

Infielders
1.) Erik Lis - 1B - 23 - #2 1B
2.) Steven Tolleson - 2B - 23 - #7 2B
3.) Juan Portes - IF - 21 - #8 2B
4.) Toby Gardenhire - SS - 24 - #9 2B
5.) Whitney Robbins - 3B - 22 - #5 3B
6.) Matthew Betsill - 3B - 22 - #10 3B

Alright, I confess -- Erik Lis is quite possibly my favorite Twins minor leaguer. He put up a very solid 2005 season with Elizabethton (.315/933), and then proceeded to do even better last year in Beloit (.326/949). He should continue to put up great numbers, and a mid-season promotion to New Britain isn't out of the question. Whitney Robbins is the other guy to focus on this season, as along with Matt Moses and David Winfree he's one of the top third basemen in the system. The really interesting name on this list is Toby Gardenhire, who hit just .198 in Beloit last season. This is probably a make-it or break-it season for Gardenhire, who to this point has not demonstrated that he can hit well enough to retain a spot on the roster for long.

Outfielders
1.) Edward Ovalle - OF - 21 - #16 OF
2.) Eli Tintor - OF - 22 - #11 OF
3.) Dwayne White - OF - 23 - #19 OF

With so few outfielders on the roster, it seems likely that guys like Erik Lis and Whit Robbins could get a little time in the outfield this season for the Miracle. Of the actual outfielders on the Miracle roster, Eli Tintor of Hibbing, MN is the most interesting -- he hit .285 for Beloit last season in his first year of full-season ball. Ovalle, meanwhile, had a little bit of a down year offensively last season for Beloit, hitting just .261. With Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson needing roster spots with Beloit, however, that was more than adequate to earn Ovalle a promotion to Ft. Myers. Dwayne White, meanwhile, finally gets a promotion out of Beloit (for the same reasons as Ovalle) after two seasons when he posted .261 and .258 batting averages.