The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Part II

This is the second in a series of posts looking at what's gone right and what's gone wrong at the various minor league levels of the Twins organization. A couple of days ago, I covered the AAA Rochester Red Wings, and today I'll be looking at the AA New Britain Rock Cats. Hope you enjoy!

New Britain Rock Cats (22-21)

The Good

Pitchers

Last season, righty Zach Ward was a mediocre starter for the Ft. Myers Miracle. This season, he's been converted to the bullpen, and the results so far have been extremely good. In 28.0 innings over 17 appearances, Ward has allowed just one Earned Run (and just 2 runs total) for a 0.32 ERA. His WHIP is sitting at 1.07, which is very good (if not quite as unbelievable as his ERA), and his 24-12 K-BB ratio is also quite good. The Twins bullpen has also been bolstered by solid efforts from Armando Gabino (2.96 ERA/1.17 WHIP/27.1 innings/18-11 K-BB) and, to a lesser extent, Jason Miller (3.94 ERA/1.25 WHIP/29.2 innings/26-10 K-BB). If you just look at the ERA stat, Kyle Aselton (2.22) and Ben Julianel (2.91) also are doing quite well, but the other stats suggest trouble ahead -- especially for Aselton, who has a really high 1.60 WHIP and a terrible 15-18 K-BB ratio for a guy with such a low ERA. I would suggest that unless he stops giving up so many base runners, his ERA will skyrocket.

In the rotation, lefty Ryan Mullins has been solid, posting a 3.04 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 50.1 innings while striking out 30 and walking 20. Those numbers aren't eye-popping, but they're not bad in the least. Yohan Pino has been even better -- his 3.25 ERA is a bit higher, but he has a very low 1.08 WHIP and a great 23-6 K-BB ratio in 36.0 innings of work. Anthony Swarzak has also been OK, posting a 4.06 ERA and 1.40 WHIP along with a very good 40-14 K-BB ratio in 44.1 innings.

Position Players

The name "Luke Hughes" jumps immediately to mind -- Hughes, who has a .356 batting average, 1.068 OPS, .417 On-Base Percentage, 10 homers, and a reasonable 30-16 K-BB ratio in 146 AB's has been covered so much already this season that, despite never having played above AA, he's been discussed as a possible big league callup. He's sort of this year's Matt Tolbert, just a level lower in the organization. Without question, the Australian righty deserves the attention for now -- but the question is whether he can sustain it. If I were the Twins, I'd wait another couple of weeks to ensure that he doesn't cool off, and if he keeps playing well I'd promote him to Rochester. We'll see what they end up deciding.

Middle infielders Steven Tolleson (2B) and Trevor Plouffe (SS) have also been playing very well this year. Tolleson, a 5th round pick from 2005, has always hit reasonably well, but this season he's putting up a .328/.938 in 134 AB's. Meanwhile, 2004 first round pick Trevor Plouffe, written off by many as a bust after a couple of underwhelming seasons in 2005 and 2006, is continuing the comeback from oblivion that he started in 2007 -- he's hitting .294/.779 in 153 AB's this season. Honorable mentions in this category also go to outfielder Dustin Martin (.314/.813/140 AB's) and one of my favorite Twins minor leaguers, Erik Lis (.290/.809/145 AB's). I should also mention that after a somewhat unexpected promotion, Toby Gardenhire is hitting .300/.714 in 40 AB's.

The Bad

Pitchers

There are plenty of pitchers to talk about in the "ugly" category, but no one here -- apparently, things either are going really right or really wrong for Rock Cats pitchers.

Position Players

Matt Moses and David Winfree are both being converted from infield positions to the outfield this year, so maybe some offensive problems are excusable. Nonetheless, 2003 first rounder Moses hasn't hit well since 2005 with Ft. Myers, and just isn't going anywhere right now in the organization. He's starting to look like a lost cause, thanks in part to his .245/.678 in 155 AB's this season. Those aren't terrible numbers, but if that's the best he can do after 6 years in the minors, it's never going to be enough. Winfree is another 2003 draft pick (a 13th rounder) who just hasn't hit to his potential. His .227 average is tempered a bit by his .781 OPS (thanks to 10 homers), but I'm still putting him in the bad category because the average has got to be better than that. It's arguable that I just shouldn't have put him on either list, since you could make the case that he's been somewhere between "bad" and "good" this season. Finally, the Twins brought Felix Molina back into the fold this off-season (he could have left as a minor league free agent), and he's picked up 105 AB's for the Rock Cats. Unfortunately, he's hitting just .238 with a .613 OPS. I have to think there'd be someone better to give this roster spot to at this point.

The Ugly

Pitchers

Ready for your eyes to bleed? The most eye-popping numbers come from reliever Jay Sawatski, who has an 8.72 ERA and horrid 2.03 WHIP in 21.2 innings to go along with a 23-13 K-BB ratio (which isn't bad -- too bad the other numbers are so horrible). A reliever is one thing, but two starters have been equally bad -- worse, if you consider the number of innings they've pitched. Top prospect Oswaldo Sosa, who is on the 40-man roster -- has been really, really bad -- he has a 7.20 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP along with an outlandish 23-25 K-BB ratio in 35.0 innings of work. What on earth happened here? I have to think that Sosa can turn it around, but these numbers are so bad that I really do wonder a bit. Also horrid has been Jay Rainville, who has a 7.53 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP along with a 25-12 K-BB ratio in 43.0 innings. This is a pretty sorry bunch right now!

Position Players

There are only three guys who qualify for this spot by my criteria (I pretty much limit this to guys who are hitting under .200), and none of them have over 100 AB's just yet. In fact, center fielder Brandon Roberts has just 32 AB's, having battled an injury problem. He's currently rehabbing in extended spring training, and hopefully will hit better than his current .188/.423 upon his return. The other two guys on the list are the team's two catchers, Drew Butera (.194/.530 in 93 AB's) and Jeff Christy (.196/.535 in 51 AB's).

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (8-8)

Starting Pitchers
Thanks to my delay in getting posts up last week, this post covers just five games -- meaning each starter got one trip to the mound between the last post and this one. Unfortunately, none of the starters picked up a win, and for the most part everybody gave up a bunch of hits or a bunch of runs. The best start went to Yohan Pino, who went 5.0 innings in allowing a run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 batters. Pino now has a very strong ERA of 0.69 on the season. On the other end of the scale, Oswaldo Sosa had the worst start of the week, taking the loss in a 4.0 inning start in which he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2, leaving him with a season ERA of 5.84.

In between were the other three starters -- Anthony Swarzak (4.0 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 K's), Ryan Mullins (6.0 innings, 3 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 K's), and Jay Rainville (5.0 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, a walk, and 2 K's). Swarzak's season ERA sits at 1.35, while Mullins is at 1.57 and Rainville at 5.40.

Relief Pitchers
Armando Gabino put together the best week out of the 'pen, making three appearances and going 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing 6 hits and striking out 5 batters and picking up a win. His season ERA sits at 1.80. Zach Ward, meanwhile, retained his 0.00 ERA for the season by going 5.0 innings in two appearances and allowing just 1 unearned run off of 5 hits and a walk while striking out 6. It was also a pretty good week for Ben Julianel, who pitched 5.2 innings in three games, allowing 2 unearned runs off of 3 hits and 6 walks (he had a 4 walk game in which he took the loss). Julianel's season ERA sits at 2.53. The last guy in the "solid" category for the week was Kyle Aselton, who went 3.0 innings in 2 games and allowed an earned run (although he allowed 3 total runs). He did pick up a win in his second game, however, and his season ERA sits at 1.13, so no complaints.

On the downside of the list, Jay Sawatski got into two games and allowed 5 earned runs in 4.0 innings of work off of 8 hits and a walk (he struck out 4). Sawatski's 8.64 ERA is easily the worst on the staff at this point, so hopefully he can get it together as he moves forward. Jason Miller also struggled a bit in his lone outing of the week, going 2.1 innings and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 2 K's to bring his season ERA to 5.79. Meanwhile, David Shinskie did not pitch this week after being placed on the 7-Day DL, and reliever Danny Graves joined the team on Monday to replace him on the roster.

Catchers
When last I wrote about the Rock Cats, Drew Butera was looking strong offensively -- and I suggested that his average would start falling pretty soon. The last week bore out my prediction, as Butera went just 1-for-12 on the week in his 3 games, dropping his batting average to .231; that's the Butera I expected to see! I'm not making fun of Butera -- he's supposedly a very good defensive player who is an asset to the organization. There was really nothing in his background to suggest he was going to start hitting near .300, so this drop was not unexpected. Jeff Christy got two starts behind the plate, and he also struggled at the plate, going 1-for-7 to take his season average to .222.

Infielders
Brock Peterson picked up 4 starts at 1B this week and 1 at DH, going 7-for-20 with a home run and a couple of doubles. It's nice to see Peterson start to pick up offensively (his season average now sits at .242), because I think he's an interesting player who I don't want to see stall out in AA. Erik Lis also got a start at 1B this week, along with a start in right field and three as the DH. Lis went 6-for-21 on the week, which was also an improvement (he's now hitting .179 on the season), and he also showed some power by knocking a couple of balls out of the park and (somewhat surprisingly) tripling. Unfortunately, the strikeouts were still fairly high this week (he had 6 of them), but overall it was a much better week than what he had been doing.

At 2B, Felix Molina picked up a couple of starts (along with a start at SS), going 3-for-10 to bring his season average to .259. He was joined at 2B by Steven Tolleson, who got two starts there as well and went 1-for-10. Tolleson really isn't seeing the ball -- he struck out 4 times, and his season average is .146. Hopefully he can snap out of it quickly, otherwise his playing time is going to stay pretty low, and that could make matters worse.

Third base belonged to Luke Hughes again this week, as he started four games there along with a start at second. Hughes continues to surprise me with his great offensive performances -- he went 10-for-23 on the week and is hitting .344 on the season. Amongst the highlights this week, Hughes hit a couple of homers, doubled twice, and and drove in three runs. On the downside, he made three errors (one each in three straight games). I'll take a few errors if he keeps hitting .344, though!

Trevor Plouffe started 4 games at SS and one at 3B, going 6-for-28 to bring his season average to .246. Amongst Plouffe's hit this week were a couple of doubles and a triple. He picked up hits in four of his five games, but he was really bad in his third game of the week, when he went 0-for-5 with 3 K's.

Outfielders
Matt Moses started all five games in left field, going 4-for-19 on the week to bring his season average to .220. He hit three doubles in that span and picked up 3 RBI's. Unfortunately, .220 (or even 4-for-19) isn't going to cut it for the once top prospect.

Dustin Martin, meanwhile, started all five games in center. After starting strong, Martin started to come back to Earth this week, going 4-for-21 on the week to drop his season average to .339. He did hit another homerun, but he also struck out 7 times, which is not a good sign. Regular center fielder Brandon Roberts (who is hitting just .182 on the year) didn't play this week, but last I checked he hadn't gone on the DL. I expect he's nursing a minor injury, and hopefully will return this week.

Right field belonged to David Winfree, who started four games at the position and started once at DH. Winfree continued to really struggle, going 2-for-16 to drop his batting average to .192. He only struck out twice, which is good -- and it's made better by the fact that he walked 6 times, which with the low number of K's suggests he's seeing the ball well. Something, however, isn't working particularly well, but I'm hopeful because of how he seems to be seeing the ball that Winfree will be able to turn things around. Of course, I'm not physically seeing his AB's, so the box score numbers may be deceiving. I hope for Winfree's sake that I'm right, though, and that he'll start to turn things around soon.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (6-5)

Starting Pitchers
The Rock Cats got two starts each this week (well, week-plus since I'm two days behind) from Oswaldo Sosa, Ryan Mullins, and Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak was the best of the bunch, picking up two wins in two great performances -- 6.0 innings in each, no runs and 3 hits allowed in each, and 14 strikeouts without any walks total between the two (including a 10 K performance yesterday). Mullins was also consistently good, although his record was 1-1; he went 6.0 innings in each, allowing 2 runs, 6 hits, and 1 walk in each game (one of the runs was unearned in his first start), while striking out 7 hitters between the two starts. Even though he took the loss in that second game, those were both really solid performances. Oswaldo Sosa wasn't so good -- in his first start he was fine, taking a no decision after going 5.0 scoreless innings and allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out five. Unfortunately, his second start saw him take the loss after lasting just 3.1 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits and 6 walks.

The other two starters this week were Jay Rainville, who got the win after going 5.0 innings and giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits while striking out 2 batters, and Yohan Pino, who went 4.0 scoreless innings allowing 3 hits and a walk while striking out 3 batters. Pino's start was more than likely short because he's building up arm strength -- up to this point he had been used only in relief this season.

Relief Pitchers
Zach Ward was the bullpen MVP for the Rock Cats this week, picking up a win in three appearances and going 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing just 2 hits and a walk and striking out 3 batters. Also with an impressive week was Kyle Aselton, who pitched twice for 3.0 innings allowing 2 hits and striking out three. Armando Gabino allowed one run in three appearances totaling three innings of work on two hits while striking out two batters.

Jason Miller also had an interesting week -- also listed by the team as a possible starter this season, Miller has so far been used exclusively in the bullpen. However, the second of his two appearances this week came in the game that Pino started, and like Pino he also went 4.0 innings in that game, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and a walk while picking up the win. In an earlier appearance, Miller gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in an inning of work.

Also getting into games this week were closer David Shinskie (3 games, 6.0 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 5 K's); Jay Sawatski (2 games, 3.1 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 K's); and Ben Julianel (3 games, 3.0 innings, 3 runs [1 earned], 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 K's).

Catchers
Once again, Drew Butera got the bulk of the catching duties this week, starting six games behind the plate and going 6-for-21 (including a 3-for-5 game in which he scored three runs) and settling in with a .296 batting average on the season. Backup Jeff Christy went 3-for-7 in his two starts and is hitting .273 on the season. It's still early, but so far I've been pleasantly surprised by Butera's offensive prowess -- expect that average to fall steadily from here, though.

Infielders
First base belonged almost exclusively to Brock Peterson this week, as he started all but one game there (seven total) while also getting a start as the DH. He also started to turn things around at the plate -- after starting off his season 0-for-11, Peterson went 8-for-31 this week to raise his average to the thunderous heights of .190 (hey, it takes awhile to dig out of an 0-for-11 hole!).

Second base was the province of Steven Tolleson, who picked up six starts at the position to go along with a start at shortstop. After starting off reasonably hot offensively this week, Tolleson finished off with an 0-for-10 stretch that saw his average fall to .161 on the season. He did pick up a homerun and a couple of doubles this week, though. Now he just needs to get out of his current skid so he can dig himself out of that sub-Mendoza line territory. Two starts late this week also went to Felix Molina, who went 2-for-7 to bring his season average to .235 -- had I written this column on time, however, Molina would have been totally MIA from it since he didn't start at all from Tuesday the 8th to Monday the 14th.

Luke Hughes continued to hold down third base for the Rock Cats, and he put together a reasonably solid week at the plate, going 9-for-29 to bring his season average to .289. Hughes also walked a ton this week, jogging to first eight times (including a three walk game), while also picking up a homerun and three doubles. In other words, Hughes is off to a pretty impressive start, keeping his strikeout rate relatively low, and driving the ball reasonably well. He also stole a couple of bases. Not much to complain about from him so far.

Trevor Plouffe started 7 games at short for the Rock cats this week, going 7-for-29 and taking his season average to .235. Plouffe did put together a great game midweek, going 4-for-6 with a homerun and a double, driving in 4 runs and scoring 3 himself. Unfortunately, Plouffe made three errors this week and is still striking out way more than he's walking. I still hold out hope for Plouffe, but he needs to get that average up and stop making so many errors or else he's going to end up as a bust.

Outfielders
Left field was a haven for a couple of guys, with Matt Moses and Erik Lis both getting four starts there. Moses also started four games as the DH, and went 7-for-32 on the week with a couple of doubles and three RBI's. So far this season, Moses is hitting .225, and he's made a couple of errors -- I'd say to this point, the experiment of moving him to the outfield to take the pressure off hasn't worked (but it's early!). Just a question, by the way -- how is moving Moses from his natural position supposed to make him feel better at the plate? I'm not sure I follow the logic. Erik Lis, meanwhile, continued to really struggle this week in his 4 left field and 2 DH starts. Lis went just 3-for-27 on the week with three singles and a walk (at least he only struck out twice!). He's now hitting just .114 on the season. Lis is one of my favorite prospects, but even I'm sitting here going "yikes!".

Center field was primarily the domain of Dustin Martin this week, an interesting development since Brandon Roberts was the primary center fielder at the very beginning of the season. Martin has been fantastic so far, though, so it makes sense -- he went 12-for-29 on the week and is hitting .429 so far on the year. He also stole 5 bases this week. So far, what's not to like? Well, unless you're a big Brandon Roberts fan. Roberts was only able to get into three games this week, which included only two starts. He ended up going 3-for-10 and is hitting .182 on the year.

Finally, right field belonged primarily to David Winfree, who started 7 games. He went 7-for-27 on the week and is now hitting .222 on the season. The best part of the week was that Winfree went yard twice and picked up 5 RBI's in the games when he homered. He also kept his K's in check (he had 5 in those 27 AB's), although walking just once wasn't all that impressive. Like Moses, Winfree is transitioning to the outfield full time, and as with Moses I don't know that we can view that transition as a success so far. It's still very early, though (how many times have I said that in those post?) so I'm willing to give it some time.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (0-3)

Starting Pitching
The Rock Cats got very solid first starts out of Ryan Mullins (5 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 K's) and Anthony Swarzak (5 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, a walk, and 4 K's) to start out the season, with the bullpen blowing the lead and taking the loss both times. Five innings isn't bad to start off a minor league season, and I would expect both to start extending a bit as the season progresses. Unfortunately, the third start of the season wasn't as good -- Jay Rainville took the loss in game three, going 3.1 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 5 walks. Ouch. Yohan Pino and Jason Miller were both mentioned as possible starters going into the season, but so far both have been used in relief -- Miller twice and Pino once. It remains to be seen which of them will get time in the rotation moving forward. Finally, Oswaldo Sosa also will be in the rotation, but through yesterday he had not yet pitched.

Relief Pitching
As is usually the case, there is good news and bad news out of the bullpen. Zach Ward has made two appearances and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 2. The aforementioned Pino was also solid in his sole relief outing, going 2 innings and allowing just a hit. David Shinskie's one inning, one hit performance also deserves an honorable mention. On the not as good side are Ben Julianel, who through two appearances has gone 2 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 2. The two bullpen losses, meanwhile, have gone to Armando Gabino and Jay Sawatski, who both gave up a run in an inning of work.

Catchers
Drew Butera started two of the three games for the Rock Cats so far, going 2-6 with a walk. The defensive whiz also had a passed ball in the first game of the season -- I wouldn't expect to see all that many of those this season. Jeff Christy picked up one start in the first three games, going 0-4 in a pretty unremarkable performance.

Infielders
Brock Peterson started at first in all three games and struggled mightily at the plate, going 0-11 with 3 K's. At second, the week belonged largely to Steven Tolleson, who started two games and went 0-7 with a walk and a K. The other start went to veteran minor leaguer Felix Molina, who also picked up two starts at shortstop this week. Overall, Molina went 2-10 with a RBI and a walk -- and he was also caught stealing once. Trevor Plouffe, who I fully expected to be the regular starter at SS this season for New Britain, started only the first game and went 1-5 with a K -- I would guess that he suffered some sort of minor injury in that game, because there doesn't seem to be any other reason for him not to be starting (although I haven't read anything about an injury -- that's why I assume that it was minor if it happened at all). Finally, third base belonged exclusively to Luke Hughes in Week 1, and he went 2-9 with a couple of walks, a strikeout, and a run scored (something of a rarity for the Rock Cats this week).

Outfielders
The only constant in the outfield this week was in center, where Brandon Roberts started all three games and went 1-12 with 4 K's, 2 BB's, and a stolen base. David Winfree started two games in right and also got a start as the DH, going 1-9 with 4 BB's and 4 K's while scoring a couple of runs. Former top prospect Matt Moses started his second career as an outfielder by getting the call in left on opening night; he also DH'd for a game. Moses ended up week 1 by going 2-8 with a double and a steal. Former Met Dustin Martin picked up a start in left and one in right, going 3-6 with a 2 doubles, 2 RBI's, a run scored, a walk, and a couple of K's. Without question, he was the offensive performer of the week for New Britain -- but that's not saying much. Finally, Erik Lis started a game in left and one as the DH, and went 1-8 with a horrendous 5 K's. Lis has always struck out a lot, but that's a horrid stretch even by his standards. I'm hoping his bat will pick up speed quickly (although if he's missing breaking balls, that probably won't help!).

New Britain Roster

Since I'm posting this so soon after another post, just a reminder that if you want to see my comments on tonight's season opener, you can scroll down below this post for a Nightly Notes post.

Last night, I commented on the Rochester Red Wings roster for the start of the 2008 season, and I'm continuing that series tonight with a look at the New Britain season opening roster.


Starting Pitchers:

Ryan Mullins, Anthony Swarzak, Yohan Pino, Oswaldo Sosa, Jay Rainville

No major surprises in the names on this list -- I predicted that each of them would end up in New Britain based largely on last year's performance and the fact that they slot into New Britain pretty effectively. Each of these guys are reasonable prospects in their own right, but Pino is particularly interesting to me and will be the guy who I follow the most closely this year. Sosa is the only one of the bunch who is currently on the Twins 40-man roster. I expect this to be a pretty strong crew, and while space is limited in Rochester there may be at least some opportunities for promotion -- after all, I have Heath Totten in the Red Wings rotation right now, and I could see any of these guys moving up and replacing him at some point. However, space will likely be more limited once Francisco Liriano winds up back with the Twins and Nick Blackburn fills out the Red Wings rotation.

UPDATE: LaVelle Neal said in his blog today that Jason Miller will be in the rotation rather than Yohan Pino. I was basing my rotation off of what the Rock Cats website said, and LaVelle should be more connected to the actual goings-on with the team than the website guy for New Britain. In other words, expect Miller, not Pino, to start.


Relief Pitcher:

Kyle Aselton, Armando Gabino, Jay Sawatski, Jason Miller, David Shinskie, Ben Julianel, Zachary Ward, Errol Simonitsch (DL), Jose Mijares (DL)

Zachary Ward was primarily a starter last year, and may get a chance to do some starting this year if someone currently in the rotation struggles or gets hurt. He was pretty good last year despite his horrendous 5-17 record. I'm most surprised to see Jason Miller on this list -- Miller had moved up to Rochester for the last couple of years, and if you remember, he made his big league debut last year, so being busted back down to AA has to hurt a little bit. I'm not sure what else he can prove in AA, but I suspect that he'll either pitch well enough to earn a promotion or he won't be around for long. I'm particularly interested in seeing how Aselton and Shinskie perform this year in the Rock Cats bullpen, and it will also be interesting to see if Jay Sawatski can recover from a bit of an off year last year in which he was only so-so in Rochester and (mostly) New Britain.


Catchers:

Drew Butera, Jeff Christy

With Korey Feiner and Kyle Geiger having been released from the organization, Butera and Christy were pretty much shoe-ins for a place with the Rock Cats this season. Butera was acquired in the Luis Castillo trade last year, and settles in for his first full year in the organization with a reputation as an offensive liability but with great defensive ability. Christy, meanwhile, is entering his third year in the organization after being drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 draft by the Twins. He actually hasn't played all that much -- he had just 246 at-bats between Ft. Myers and New Britain last year -- but his quick rise to AA indicates that someone in the system believes he, too, is a pretty solid catcher (or that there was no one else left in the system who was advanced enough to fill a spot in AA).


Infielders:

Brock Peterson, Felix Molina, Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes, Steven Tolleson

When the Twins brought 2B Felix Molina back into the organization as a minor league free agent, I'm not sure if they expected to assign him to AA for yet another season. Molina first made his way to New Britain in 2005, and has been there ever since -- and you have to wonder what a third full season (and fourth overall) will do for him. When he was re-signed, I expected him to at least be used in Rochester -- but I guess the Twins felt they needed someone to fill this role. Expect Molina to get plenty of playing time again this year, and just maybe he'll get promoted to end this extremely long tenure with the Rock Cats. Brock Peterson returns for a second season as the primary Rock Cat first baseman. Trevor Plouffe is the most compelling name on this list, and will serve as the starting SS for the team -- once a top prospect, Plouffe lost his luster and a lot of fan support after struggling early on as a professional. Last year marked something of a renaissance for him, and hopefully he can keep up the good work and fully bloom as a prospect again this year. Hughes will be the primary starter at 3B, and Tolleson will be a bit of a utility infielder.


Outfielders:

Brandon Roberts, David Winfree, Matt Moses, Erik Lis, Dustin Martin

See some interesting names on this list? Winfree, Moses, and Lis are all former infielders who are expected to be used primarily as outfielders this year. Lis is particularly compelling as a big name power prospect, and he should get a chance to play at 1B and DH in addition to the outfield. For Matt Moses, this may be his last chance to prove himself in the organization before the Twins finally decide to just classify him as a bust. Meanwhile, Brandon Roberts will try to prove that he remains a solid centerfield prospect after a year in which he hit .293 in 369 AB's. That might have been enough to get him a promotion to Rochester if the Twins centerfield situation at that level weren't quite so crowded. As it is, he'll stay in New Britain and anchor the middle of the outfield as Winfree, Moses, and Lis continue making their transition at the corner spots.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (1-1)
T-3rd Place -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Nick Blackburn - 1 start
2.) Brian Duensing - 1 start
3.) Anthony Swarzak - 1 game relief
4.) Jesse Floyd - 1 game relief
5.) Brad Baker - 1 game relief
DL - Errol Simonitsch

Who's Hot: With the weather not cooperating, the Rock Cats have so far played only two games. As a result, expected starters Anthony Swarzak and Jesse Floyd have so far been used only in relief. That should change over the course of this week. Nobody on this list has been particularly "hot," but Brian Duensing's start Monday (2.2 innings, no runs, 4 hits, a walk, and 3 K's) is the closest to qualifying. With Errol Simonitsch starting the season on the DL, I've placed Brad Baker in the rotation because most of the rest of the bullpen clearly won't be starting any games -- although I can't say with any confidence that Baker will either.

Who's Not: Nick Blackburn went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs in the first Rock Cats game of the season. He was replaced by Anthony Swarzak, who went just 2.2 innings and allowed 4 runs, taking the loss. And, while Jesse Floyd was credited with the win in Monday's game, he nonetheless gave up 3 runs in 3 innings of work. By next week, the rotation will hopefully have settled down, and pitchers should be getting 5 innings of work in.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Jose Mijares - 1 game relief
2.) Jay Sawatski - 1 game relief
3.) Danny Powers - 1 game relief
4.) Tim Lahey - 1 game relief
5.) J.P. Martinez
6.) Brian Forystek

Who's Hot: Jose Mijares went 1.1 innings and struck out a batter during the Rock Cats opening game. Meanwhile, Tim Lahey pitched a perfect 1.1 innings and picked up the Rock Cats first save of the year on Monday.

Who's Not: Danny Powers allowed 2 runs in 1.1 innings of work, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks in that short span. Jay Sawatski, meanwhile, allowed a run on a hit and a walk in 0.2 innings of work.

Catchers
1.) Kyle Geiger - C (1)
2.) Korey Feiner - C (1)

Who's Hot: So I go and make fun of the Rock Cats contingent of catchers, and they combine to go 5-for-7 through the first two games. Feiner got the first start of the year and went 3-for-4 out of the 9 hole while picking up a couple of RBI's. Geiger, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with a double and also drove in 2 runs during the game on Monday. Not a bad way to start the season as these two fella's try to prove the haters wrong and show they can hit.

Who's Not: Not a soul.

Infielders
1.) Brock Peterson - 1B (1), DH (1)
2.) David Winfree - 1B (1), DH (1)
3.) Felix Molina - 2B (1)
4.) Luke Hughes - 2B (1)
5.) Trevor Plouffe - SS (2)
6.) Brian Buscher - 3B (2)
7.) Gil Velazquez

Who's Hot: Luke Hughes went 2-for-3 in Monday's game, driving in 2 runs and scoring 2 runs himself. Hughes is likely to spend most of the season playing behind Felix Molina, but if he carries over his stats from his first game and shows he can hit, his playing time will increase. Sadly, no one else really belongs in this spot, but I'll give Brian Buscher a shout-out for going 2-5 today -- unfortunately, that followed up an 0-5 day in the opener.

Who's Not: Felix Molina (0-for-4), Trevor Plouffe (1-for-8), and Brock Peterson (1-for-6) have all struggled to do much with the ball through the first couple games of the season. Also not so hot -- Peterson has an error in his only game at 1B so far this year. I have high hopes for Trevor Plouffe this year (for which I've been mocked a bit by some), so hopefully he can turn it on a little bit this week.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF (2)
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF (2)
3.) Matt Allegra - RF (2)
4.) Rashad Eldridge

Who's Hot: Garrett Guzman is 4-for-10 with 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored in his first 2 games of the season in left. That included a big homerun on Saturday and a double on Monday. Matt Allegra, meanwhile, has debuted with the Rock Cats by going 2-for-8 and walking twice.

Who's Not: Brandon Roberts has opened his season with a 1-for-9 start to the season, including a rough 0-for-5 performance on Monday that included two strikeouts.

New Britain Rock Cats Roster

Yesterday, I posted the opening day roster for the Low A Beloit Snappers. Today, the New Britain Rock Cats have made their opening day roster available as well. Here's the roster and my thoughts on it.

Name / Position / Age / Organizational Rank

Starting Pitchers
1.) Errol Simonitsch - LHP - 24 - #22 SP
2.) Nick Blackburn - RHP - 25 - #23 SP
3.) Jesse Floyd - RHP - 26 - #28 SP
4.) Brian Duensing - LHP - 24 - #18 SP
5.) Anthony Swarzak - RHP - 21 - #15 SP

This is not a bad rotation by any means. Simonitsch is a bit of a surprise because when the Twins cut him from spring training, they announced that he was being optioned to AAA. That didn't make any sense at the time to me, because there are so many very good pitchers who are going to be on the Rochester roster and there didn't seem to be any room -- now, it turns out that was a mistake originally, and Simonitsch will indeed be back in New Britain. Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak should also be watched closely. Blackburn is a middle of the road kind of guy, and Floyd is a minor-league Rule 5 acquisition. Incidentally, Simonitsch is currently being listed as "inactive" on the Rock Cats roster, but I don't know whether he's actually hurt or whether the roster needs to still be adjusted to get to the max roster limit. UPDATE: Simonitsch is actually hurt (info courtesy of Seth from Seth Speaks), and will in fact be starting the season on the DL with shoulder tendinitis.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Jose Mijares - LHP - 22 - #15 RP
2.) J.P. Martinez - RHP - 24 - #11 RP
3.) Danny Powers - RHP - 24 - #18 RP
4.) Tim Lahey - RHP - 25 - #32 RP
5.) Brad Baker - RHP - 26 - #24 RP
6.) Brian Forystek - LHP - 28 - #23 RP
7.) Jay Sawatski - LHP - 24 - #12 RP

Sawatski is the only guy in the bullpen who was with the Rock Cats last year. Mijares, Martinez, Powers, and Lahey all arrived from Ft. Myers, while Baker and Forystek were minor league free agent additions. Sawatski is the only real surprise for me -- he pitched well enough last year that he deserved a promotion to Rochester. Unfortunately, there just wasn't room for him in the AAA bullpen, so he'll start off back with the Rock Cats.

Catchers
1.) Kyle Geiger - C - 24 - #8 C
2.) Korey Feiner - C - 25 - #10 C

Neither of these guys is going to hit particularly well (Geiger hit .213 last year, and Feiner hit .219), but both are supposedly solid defensively. Not much else to say, really.

Infielders
1.) Brock Peterson - 1B - 23 - #6 1B
2.) Felix Molina - 2B - 23 - #2 2B
3.) Trevor Plouffe - SS - 20 - #3 SS
4.) David Winfree - 3B - 21 - #3 3B
5.) Gil Velazquez - IF - 27 - #9 SS
6.) Luke Hughes - IF - 22 - #13 3B
7.) Brain Buscher - 3B - 25 - #11 3B

The starting infield for the Rock Cats this year is going to be very interesting to watch, especially former first-round pick Trevor Plouffe, who has struggled offensively since being drafted in 2004. Plouffe seems to be putting things together, however, and this could be a breakthrough season for him. David Winfree will also try to establish himself as a legitimate challenger to Matt Moses for the mantle of "Twins Third Baseman of the Future." He certainly has the talent to do so.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - OF - 24 - #12 OF
2.) Brandon Roberts - OF - 22 - #8 OF
3.) Matt Allegra - OF - 26 - #17 OF
4.) Rashad Eldridge - OF - 25 - NR

Eldridge is a new name to me -- I hadn't seem anything about his acquisition. He's a veteran minor leaguer, having played in 7 seasons with teams in the Indians, Rangers, and Mets systems. He struggled for much of last year, but hit .294 in 303 AB's for AAA Oklahoma in 2005. He's slated to primarily backup for the Cats. Garrett Guzman and Brandon Roberts are the most interesting members of the outfield corps -- Guzman because he's likely close to being promoted (and could find himself in Rochester by the end of the year), and Roberts (who is a bit of a Denard Span-like player). The Twins acquired him in the middle of last season from the Reds in exchange for Juan Castro -- pretty good trade if you ask me.