A year ago, Ben Rortvedt was getting his first taste of full-season minor league baseball after having been drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins.
Things did not go well for the young catcher from Verona, Wisconsin. Through April, he was hitting only .096 with an OPS of just .229.
This spring, it was obviously important for the young catcher to get off on the right foot in 2018 and put that 2017 start well behind him.
Just 19 years old when he opened his first year of full-season minor league ball last season, Rortvedt admits he wasn’t used to dealing with the sorts of struggles he encountered a year ago.
“Yeah, last year did not go my way at all and I truly wasn’t used to that,” he recalled. “Since I started slow, I didn’t really know how to handle that. It was kind of rough for the first month or so. I tried to dig out of it and it was really kind of hard for me. I tried to change a lot of things.”
While he recovered over the second half of the season to hit right at .280 over the course of June, July and August, he decided this past offseason to go back to what he was familiar with, an approach he described as, “just simplifying everything and seeing the ball. That’s what I did going into spring training.”
Whatever he did, it seems to be working.
Ben Rortvedt (Photo : SD Buhr)
Despite a 1 for 11 stretch at the plate in his last three games going into Tuesday night, Rortvedt is still hitting .321 with an OPS of .773.
He can feel the difference, too.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I’m really comfortable with the league. I know what it’s about. I’ve been seeing the ball well and finding the barrel. “
His manager, Toby Gardenhire, can see the difference, too.
“There’s a reason they put guys in the minor leagues and they have them develop and they work them up through the system,” Gardnehire said. “It’s amazing what a year in a place like this will do. He comes back and he’s a totally different guy. He’s more confident now. He knows what to expect. He knows how to go about his day-to-day business a lot better than he did last year. He’s putting in the work and he’s having results.”
Gardenhire has noticed more than just greater experience, though. He’s seeing a level of self-confidence in Rortvedt that wasn’t there a year ago.
“It’s a confidence thing. If you go up to the plate and you don’t know what to expect from yourself and you’re just trying to make contact and you’re hoping that you do well, that doesn’t usually go very well,” the manager pointed out. “But when you’re going up there and you have a plan because you’ve been there and done it a little bit, then it changes your whole mentality and that’s what Ben’s doing right now.
“He’s got kind of a chip on his shoulder where he wants to go up there and be the guy. Last year, he kind of questioned himself a little bit, but this year I don’t see a whole lot of questioning himself in him.”
Ben Rortvedt (Photo: SD Buhr)
Hitting is a good thing, of course, especially for a guy drafted as high as what Rortvedt was. But, as a catcher, what he does behind the plate is equally important, if not more so.
That’s an area where he’s making some adjustments to his game, as well.
For the first time since he joined the organization, the Twins have hired a Catching Coordinator to work with their minor league backstops. Tanner Swanson joined the organization in that capacity and Rortvedt couldn’t be happier about it.
“It was kind of frustrating not having someone to talk to about catching,” Rortvedt said, adding that Swanson’s arrival has changed that. “He’s very hands on, a very approachable guy.”
It has meant, however, that Rortvedt is working on changing the way he goes about his business behind the plate.
“The new big thing is receiving metrics, working a lot on receiving the ball the right way. It’s different from how I grew up catching.
Ben Rortvedt (Photo: SD Buhr)
“I grew up with more of an old style of catching, which was catch the ball where it is, try to make it look the best you can, be strong with the baseball. We’re moving more towards moving the baseball, trying to create strikes. So I’m kind of redefining myself behind the plate, trying to find a balance where I can still have my own flavor, but I can also move the baseball a little bit and create more strikes.”
It hasn’t necessarily been an easy adjustment to make all the time for Rortvedt.
“I grew up catching in 7th or 8th grade and I got really good at being strong with the baseball, so I’ve been fine tuning my game,” he explained. “It was almost frustrating in the beginning, but I think I’m starting to get more the hang of it. It’s a work in progress, just something to add to my game.”
Rortvedt’s workmanlike approach to the game is reflected in a simple goal for this year.
“I’m just out here to improve myself and win games,” he said. “If you win games, you’re probably doing well and contributing to the team.”
The Cedar Rapids Kernels hit the frozen ground running this season, jumping off to a 6-0 record before finally suffering their first loss of the year on Friday night against Clinton.
Bryan Sammons delivers a pitch Friday, April 13, against Clinton (Photo: SD Buhr)
Don’t say the start surprised their manager, Toby Gardenhire, though. With a lineup as full of highly regarded prospects as this Kernels roster is, he’s not going to be too surprised with short term success.
“I don’t know if I’d call it surprised,” Gardenhire said on Friday before that night’s frigid game. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are doing some really good things right now. Any time you can run off a stretch like we’ve done here, it means there are a lot of people doing their job and doing a really good job of it.
“That’s the nice thing about our lineup,” he continued. “We have a whole bunch of guys that are really exciting. Whether they’re going to do it on a given night, that’s the question, but we’ve had a lot of guys step up and do some pretty impressive things, so it’s been fun.”
Still, even if the early success isn’t surprising, this is not exactly how the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ season was supposed to start out.
You simply don’t expect four of your first 11 games (including three of your first five home dates) to be postponed due to cold and snow.
Cold or not, you can’t argue with success.
Cedar Rapids opened the 2018 campaign April 5 with a 2-0 shutout of the Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, then had the next night’s game postponed.
They topped Quad Cities again, 4-3, in Cedar Rapids’ home opener on April 7. Then had another postponement the next day.
They did get an entire four-game series played in Peoria during the middle of the week and it’s a good thing they did, too! The Kernels swept all four games from the Chiefs.
They won the first game of the series 3-1, which means they had outscored their opponents 9-4 through the first three games they played. It wasn’t exactly a demonstration of the kind of offensive fire power that fans were expecting to see from a lineup that included two first round draft choices and often saw “slot picks” (players drafted in the first 10 rounds of the amateur draft) at all nine spots in the batting order.
That all changed as the weather crawled up to more normal levels over the final three games of the series in Peoria. The Kernels scored 8, 12 and 9 runs, respectively, in those games while posting their perfect 6-0 record through Thursday.
In three of those four games against the Chiefs, Cedar Rapids had to mount comebacks after falling behind Peoria. That fact wasn’t lost on their manager, either.
“That’s our lineup,” the manager said. “You don’t expect that, but I would say, at this point, right now, we don’t really ever feel like we’re out of it with the group of guys that we’ve got going.
“Now that changes, it fluctuates throughout the season. There’s days when you’re going to be down and think, ‘uh oh, we’re never going to come back in this one,’ but with the way the guys are playing right now and swinging, their confidence level is very high right now and that helps out a ton, too. With these guys’ confidence level right now, being down doesn’t scare them.”
Alex Kirilloff, the first round pick of the Twins in 2016, had a two-home run game in the series and 2017 first overall pick Royce Lewis notched his first home run of the season during the Peoria series, as well.
Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire (Photo: SD Buhr)
For our purposes, we’ll just try to pretend Friday night’s 2-0 loss to Clinton didn’t happen. I’m sure the Kernels hitters would like to, anyway, after managing just a pair of singles and one walk against the Lumberkings on a frigid night in Cedar Rapids. (Games 2 and 3 of the scheduled weekend series were postponed due to cold and snow).
That one forgettable game aside, it’s been a pretty impressive opening act for this group of Minnesota Twins prospects.
On a team with a pair of first round picks, it might come as a surprise that outfielder Mark Contreras has led the team’s offense, so far. The Twins’ 9th round pick out of UC-Riverside is off to a hot start in the five games he’s played, with a .444 batting average and a 1.029 OPS. And that’s after an 0-3 night against Clinton on Friday.
Catcher (and 2016 2nd round pick) Ben Rortvedt also went 0-3 against the Lumberkings, but Rortvedt is still hitting .400 and has a healthy .979 OPS.
Obviously, this early in the season, these are all small sample sizes and it would be unwise to put much (or any, really) stock in stat lines that accumulate over just a handful of games, most of which took place in very unpleasant weather conditions.
Still, that 6-1 record is looking pretty good, so far.
As encouraging as the way his young lineup is playing under challenging conditions, Gardenhire is just as happy with what he’s seeing from his pitching corps.
“Our starting pitching has been good,” Gardehire observed. “They’ve been able to get us into the fourth or fifth inning just about every game.”
That may not seem like much and, later in the season when temperatures warm up and arms are healthy and loose, the bar will be set at a much different level. But this is April and many of these games have had game time temperatures around 40 degrees. Maybe lower.
“In the beginning of the season,” the manager explained, “(getting 4-5 innings) is all you’re hoping for. Get us 75 to 80 pitches and get us into the fifth. Past the fifth is great. And they’ve been doing that just about every game and keeping it close while they do it.”
Bryan Sammons, the only Kernels starting pitcher to take the mound for two starts so far, has a 0.96 ERA in those two starts, spanning 9 1/3 innings, and a WHIP of just 1.07.
But four or five innings is only half the game and the Kernels have been holding opponents in check after that, as well, as Gardenhire pointed out about his relief arms.
“Our bullpen has been great. They’ve just done a really good job. Guys are starting to get comfortable. This early in the season, you expect a lot more of the yips and guys being pretty nervous going out there. And we haven’t had a ton of that. We’ve had some guys go out there and be a little bit nervous, but for the most part, guys have stepped up and done really well.”
Kernels pitcher Derek Molina (Photo: SD Buhr)
Three members of the bullpen, Jared Finkel, Calvin Faucher and Derek Molina, have yet to surrender an earned run. Finkel has made three appearances and Faucher a pair of them. Molina threw two scoreless innings of relief Friday night after joining the team as a replacement for Ryan Mason, who had been so effective in his three appearances that he earned a promotion to Class High-A Fort Myers.
All told, ten of the fourteen pitchers who have made at least one appearance for the Kernels so far have early-season ERAs of 2.25 or lower.
Of course, it’s early and nobody will claim ERA means everything (or even much) when it comes to judging a pitcher’s effectiveness, but up and down the stat list, several Kernels are striking out a batter or more per inning and walking less than half of the number of batters they are striking out.
It’s an encouraging start.
The Kernels have a scheduled off day on Monday, following the two unscheduled days off on the weekend. Then they head to Beloit for a three-game series against the Snappers, where temperatures are projected to run anywhere from a low of 25 to a high of 45 over those three days. Oh, and there’s a fair chance of snow on Wednesday. Of course there is.
All of these postponements are going to wreak havoc on an already hectic schedule for the Kernels in May, too.
They start out the month of May with series against Eastern Division clubs and will go on the road to Dayton and then Bowling Green. Their only scheduled day off in the entire month is Sunday, May 13. But since that’s the day after their series finale in Bowling Green the night of the 12th, how do you think that day is going to be spent?
If you guessed a very long bus ride throughout the night and into the morning, you’d be correct.
Then from May 14 through June 3, the Kernels will play 24 games in 21 days.
Their make up game with Quad Cities will be on May 16. This will be a “split double header,” with the first game being the regularly scheduled noon game and the nightcap starting at 6:35. Both games will be 7-inning games, just as traditional double header games are in the Midwest League.
Memorial Day weekend could be the real gauntlet for the ballclub, though.
That’s the next time that Clinton is scheduled to return to Cedar Rapids and both of this weekend’s games will be made up as part of traditional double headers over the Holiday weekend. One on Saturday, May 26, starting at 5:05, and the other on Sunday, May 27, beginning at 2:05.
I know it’s probably not going to be necessary, but I’m thinking I’m going to loosen up the throwing arm earlier that week. You just have to figure Gardenhire and his pitching coaches are going to be looking around for anyone who can throw the ball 60 feet by the time that Sunday evening rolls around.
That’s next month’s concern, of course, so we’ll worry about that when the time comes.
The next home series in Cedar Rapids kicks off this coming Friday night, April 20, and it’s a special one.
Royce Lewis is the first “number one overall” draft pick to suit up for the club and the Kernels are celebrating with a “Royce Lewis Bobblehead” promotion.
While the Kernels have done bobblehead promotions honoring past players with some level of frequency, this is the first time they’ve honored a current Kernels player in that manner.
Only the first 1.000 fans through the gates will get a bobblehead, though, so if you want one, you probably should plan to get in line early.
Royce Lewis poses with his bobblehead (Photo lifted from Kernels Twitter feed, but if you don’t tell them, I won’t tell them, ok?)
The tarp covering the infield in Cedar Rapids was wet from a mix of rain and snow flurries over the past couple of days, but fortunately the only “work” that this year’s Cedar Rapids Kernels had to do on Tuesday was do a meet and greet with fans on the concourse and, for a select few, survive a brief media inquisition.
L to R: pitching coach Cibney Bello, manager Toby Gardenhire, hitting coach Brian Dinkelman, pitching coach Justin Willard (Photo: SD Buhr)
As has almost become a tradition in Cedar Rapids, the weather for “Meet the Kernels Night” at the ballpark was cold and damp. The forecast for their Opening Day in Davenport on Thursday is for a mix of rain and snow with a high during the day around 50 degrees.
The good news is that it’s supposed to be sunny in Cedar Rapids for the home opener on Saturday. The less-good news is that the high temperature that day is projected to be 37 degrees.
Welcome to Midwest League baseball in April.
But let’s worry about the weather later. For now, how about some snippets from the Kernels’ introductory press conference?
To start things off, manager Toby Gardenhire and coaches Brian Dinkelman, Cibney Bello and Justin Willard fielded questions from local media.
One of those questions pertained to the evident shift in philosophies being ingrained by the Twins front office with regard to greater collection and use of analytical data at all levels of the organization.
“We have definitely dug into the analytical part of baseball now,” said Dinkelman.. “We’re definitely taking the next step trying to keep up with the game of baseball. Any information we can receive is good information. We try to just filter out what’s good and what’s bad and provide it to the players as necessary.”
Gardenhire concurred with his hitting coach.
“I would say we’re definitely diving into the more analytical way of doing things. the less old-school way of doing things, than we ever have before, with the new front office. They hired a lot of new people this year and a lot of those people are analytical-type people.
“What happens with the analytical side of it is you get a whole bunch of information. All of these things that Dink was just saying, they give you a lot of information and how you deal with that information is going to be different with every organization. We have all that information now, so we’re on the cutting edge.”
A lot has justifiably been made of the fact that the Kernels will have not just one first round draft choice, but a pair of them, in their everyday lineup. Royce Lewis was the first overall selection of 2017’s draft class and Alex Kirilloff was the Twins’ first round selection the year before.
Dinkelman was asked about his impressions of the highly touted pair during spring training.
“Royce got stronger since last year. One of the first things that I thought of when he came back hitting BP is that the ball is coming off his bat harder than it was last year. Alex, it was the first time I got to really look at him in spring training, but he looks good. He’s a hitter first. He plays defense well. So it will be exciting to have both those guys on the team.”
One thing that’s new within the Twins minor league system this year is that two pitching coaches have been assigned to minor league affiliates. In Cedar Rapids, Bello and Willard will fill those roles.
“Two sets of eyes are always better than one,” Willard explained. “And the theory is that the manager is usually a hitting guy and then you’ve got the hitting coach. You’ve got half the team that’s pitchers, why not have another set of eyes on those guys? I’m excited to work with Cibney, for sure.”
While the lineup in Cedar Rapids is going to be full of high draft picks and highly regarded international prospects, Bello expressed confidence that his pitching staff would hold up their end of things, as well, despite perhaps being less heralded than their position-player team mates.
“We have a few guys that are maybe not mentioned a lot, but it’s going to be fun to see them pitching in the games,” Bello said. “They’re not afraid. They have good stuff, too. Maybe they were not drafted as a higher pick, but we’re going to be fine. We’re going to battle. We’re going to compete and we’re going to make people have fun.”
Next up, it was catcher Ben Rortvedt and pitcher Blayne Enlow at the table. Rortvedt is returning to Cedar Rapids for the second season while Enlow will be seeing his first “full season” in professional ball and is scheduled to pitch the home opener on Saturday.
Catcher Ben Rortvedt and pitcher Blayne Enlow (Photo: SD Buhr)
After pitching only for the Gulf Coast League Twins after being drafted in the third round last June, Enlow didn’t enter spring training with any assurance that he’d be skipping the higher rookie league level in Elizabethton to open the year with the Kernels. Of course, that also means opening the season in temperatures that are likely to be well below anything he dealt with while playing high school ball in his native Louisiana.
“I think spring went really good,” Enlow said, “but still it’s like you’re unsure where you’re going to go. When they finally told us, of course I was excited. And then they’re like, ‘it’s cold.’ I was like, ‘it can’t be that bad.’ Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. But you’ve just got to get through it. It’s just a new challenge. Just got to try to keep on pitching, keep on filling up with strikes, get people out and just win games.”
Rortvedt will be largely splitting the Kernels catching duties with David Banuelos. Ben Rodriguez, who has been a catcher by trade in previous seasons, is being converted to first base, though he likely will continue to get a few opportunities behind the plate.
“I think me and David are going to split time pretty much the whole way this season,” Rortvedt explained, while also mentioning that Rodriguez has been a successful catcher and will be filling the role of the team’s third catcher. “(Banuelos) was very good back there in college at Long Beach State. So, yeah, I’ve been looking forward to it, just learning from each other and talking baseball, talking catching. So yeah it’ll be fun.”
Rortvedt also spoke glowingly of some of the changes in the Twins’ minor league operation.
“There’s a lot of new management with the Twins. We’ve got a new farm director and a lot of new people. There’s a lot of younger faces now and a lot of people are very approachable, which I really enjoy. We’ve got a new catching rover, which we never had in the past, which is just amazing for the catchers, working one-on-one with us.”
Shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff (Photo: SD Buhr)
Finally, the Minnesota Twins’ first-round draft picks from 2016 and 2017, Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis, took their turns addressing media questions.
Lewis was asked how he felt he was different now than what he was as a player at the end of last season in Cedar Rapids.
“To start, I’ve already gained 15-20 pounds, so that’s a big step in my power,” he answered. “And just the mental side of it, more relaxed and kind of know how to play the game of baseball a bit more. Knowing the surroundings in Cedar Rapids around here just makes me feel calm and relaxed.”
Kirilloff talked about the challenges he had to face as he sat out all of the 2017 season after elbow surgery.
“Definitely never the news you want to hear,” he conceded. “I got it around spring training (last year) where my arm wasn’t feeling the way it should and the best option was to get surgery, so to get that news was tough.
“For me, there’s two ways you can look at it. You can harp on it and get down on yourself or you can take it as a challenge and try to make yourself better from it. I tried to do that. I got a lot stronger. Tried to pick up on things that maybe I wouldn’t have if I was playing throughout the year. I think you’ve just got to try to make the best of it and come back better.”
Both players acknowledged that the roster they’re a part of to start the season in Cedar Rapids includes an exceptional number of highly regarded hitting prospects, while also noting that the group can’t just show up and expect to be successful on the field.
“Yeah, it’s like we’re the Yankees on paper. That’s what I’d say, for sure,” said Lewis. “I mean, they’ve got the Bronx bombers, you’ve got a lot of home run hitters in this lineup.
“A couple of people were joking back in spring training, there’s a lot of money you’ve got involved with this team. Which is kind of funny, but it’s kind of true. But as for being prospects, we’re just going to have fun and we’re a good young team. I’m excited and we’re going to work as hard as we can to win all those games.”
“There’s a lot of exciting players with the group and good people, as well,” Kirilloff concurred. “I’m happy to be a part of the group. It’s one thing to look at the paper and be impressed by it, but we’ve still got to go out and do our job and play hard every day.”
Weather permitting, the Kernels will open their season Thursday evening in Davenport against the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros affiliate).
The home opener is scheduled for Saturday in Cedar Rapids.
Byron Buxton as a Cedar Rapids Kernel in 2013 (Photo: SD Buhr)
The Minnesota Twins and Cedar Rapids Kernels were entering the very first year of their brand new affiliation agreement in the spring of 2013 and there was plenty to be excited about with the baseball talent the Twins were planning to send through Cedar Rapids that season.
Three of that year’s Kernels had been handed signing bonuses of over $1 million and 11 more from their opening day roster that season had received six-figure bonuses. In short, it was as loaded as any Cedar Rapids roster had been in several years.
Optimism was high and not only for the Kernels. That Cedar Rapids class of 2013 represented, to many, the future of the Minnesota Twins franchise – a franchise that had fallen on tough times after nearly a decade of postseason participation.
As with any roster of Class A ballplayers, you don’t have to look too hard to find players that, despite being early round draft picks or well-regarded international free agents, would ultimately fall short of their goals of having successful Major League careers.
But you also don’t have to look far down that 2013 roster to find names that have since become part of the core group of players that led the Twins to a wild card berth in 2017, with even greater expectations for the next several seasons.
Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco were on that opening day roster in Cedar Rapids in 2013, as were pitchers Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers. Then there were two more mid-season additions to the Kernels that are also now playing major roles in Minnesota, Max Kepler and Jose Berrios.
But that was five years ago.
Several additional Cedar Rapids alumni are poised to contribute to whatever success the Twins have in the near future, as well, but that class of 2013 will long be remembered by Kernels fans.
But is it possible that the class of 2018 could end up being even better? It’s certainly not impossible.
The class of 2013 had Buxton, the Twins’ 2012 first round pick in the amateur draft (second selection overall), but the 2018 Kernels roster will include a pair of first rounders.
Shortstop Royce Lewis, the first overall selection in 2017, will start the season in Cedar Rapids after suiting up for the Kernels for the final month of the 2017 season. He will be joined by the Twins’ first round pick in 2016, as well. Outfielder Alex Kirilloff missed last season after elbow surgery, but will wear a Kernels uniform on Opening Day this year.
Royce Lewis with the play at shortstop (Photo: SD Buhr)Alex Kirilloff (Photo: SD Buhr)
That’s not bad for a start, but when you look over the Kernels’ roster, It’s easy to find plenty of other players who were highly touted draft picks and international signings.
That group includes two Compensation round picks, outfielder Akil Baddoo and infielder Jose Miranda, and a second rounder, catcher Ben Rortvedt (who spent 2017 in Cedar Rapids).
Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire and Akil Baddoo (Photo: SD Buhr)Jose Miranda (Photo: SD Buhr)Ben Rortvedt (Photo: SD Buhr)
Right handed pitcher Blayne Enlow was selected by the Twins in the third round of 2017’s draft and will open 2018 in Cedar Rapids’ rotation.
Blayne Enlow (Photo: SD Buhr)
Trey Cabbage, who is slated to be part of the Kernels’ outfield, but could also play the corner infield spots, is also returning to Cedar Rapids, where he finished the 2017 season. Cabbage was the Twins’ fourth round pick in 2015.
Trey Cabbage
The Kernels will have 2017 fifth round pick Andrew Bechtold at third base and David Banuelos, who was Seattle’s fifth round pick in 2017, will share time with Rortvedt behind the plate. Banuelos was obtained by the Twins from the Mariners over the off-season in return for a million dollars worth if international bonus cap space.
Andrew BechtoldDavid Banuelos
Lewis, Rortvedt and Cabbage aren’t the only Kernels alums who are returning to open the 2018 campaign.
Randy Dobnak, Bryan Sammons and Tyler Watson are all slated to open the season in Cedar Rapids’ starting rotation after seeing time with the Kernels last year.
Infielder Jordan Gore and ouitfielder Shane Carrier also returning to Cedar Rapids to open the season.
Jordan Gore (Photo:SD Buhr)Shane Carrier (Photo: SD Buhr)
Other players slated to suit up for the Kernels for the first time to start the season include pitchers Nick Brown, Edwar Colina, Calvin Faucher, Jared Finkel, Kevin Marnon, Jose Martinez and Jovani Moran.
They’ll be joined by first-time Kernels position players Ben Rodriguez (1B) and Mark Contreras (OF).
New Cedar Rapids manager Toby Gardenhire is optimistic about his Kernels and knows he’s being entrusted with a number of the Twins’ most prized young prospects.
“It should be a lot of fun. We’ve got a really good group of kids,” Gardenhire said as spring training was winding down. “They’ve been playing really hard and they’re ready to get (to Cedar Rapids), I know that.
“We’re definitely young, but there’s a lot of guys that have a lot of ability – a lot of talent, that the Twins think very highly of. It makes them fun to watch. I’ve been watching them all spring and we’ve got some exciting guys, so it should be pretty entertaining.”
Today’s Twins fans are hoping that Buxton, Kepler, Berrios and other Kernels alumni of the past five years will lead the parent club through a period of postseason success. Five years from now, will the Cedar Rapids class of 2018 be preparing to step in and join – or perhaps take over for – their predecessors?
Only time will tell.
But Kernels fans in Cedar Rapids will soon be getting a good opportunity to see just how good this next wave of young Twins prospects can look.
The big leaguers at Twins’ spring training had the day off on Thursday, but the minor leaguers were hard at work on the back fields this morning. It gave me an excuse to bring out the camera as I watched past, present and future Cedar Rapids Kernels get in their workouts.
Kernels hitting coach Brian Dinkelman chats with Royce Lewis, Also pictured: Christian Broussard. (Photo: SD Buhr)Trey Cabbage (45) and Alex Kirilloff (27) await their turns in the batting cage. (Photo: SD Buhr)Infielders Royce Lewis (8), Wander Javier (19 with ball), Carson Crites (33) and Jose Miranda (24)Kohl Stewart (Photo: SD Buhr)
Wednesday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and their Major League partner, the Minnesota Twins, combined to put on a terrific program for eastern Iowa baseball fans as the Twins once again included a stop in Cedar Rapids for their annual Winter Caravan in conjunction with the Kernels’ annual Hot Stove Banquet.
Kris Atteberry (far left) tosses questions to Winter Caravan panelists (seated L to R) Brian Dinkelman, Toby Gardenhire, Jeremy Zoll, Zack Granite and Mitch Garver. (photo: SD Buhr)
The Eastbank Venue & Lounge, along the banks of the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids, was a new venue for the event and was a great choice (despite the predominantly purplish lighting, which resulted in a heavy blue hue in virtually every photograph I took at the event, with or without a flash).
There was no shortage of both familiar and less familiar faces among the Winter Caravan panel the Twins sent to town for the evening.
The program was emceed by Twins radio broadcaster Kris Atteberry, who distributed questions to the panel.
Two new faces shared the stage with three that were more familiar to local fans.
Twins farm director Jeremy Zoll (photo: SD Buhr)
New Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire (son of Ron Gardenhire, the longtime manager of the Twins who will be taking the reins in the Detroit Tigers dugout this season) was in attendance, as was his new boss, Jeremy Zoll. The 27-year-old Zoll enters his first season as the Twins’ Director of Minor League Operations.
Atteberry may have had the best line of the night, telling the crowd that his first question for Zoll was going to be the same question the bartender had asked Zoll, “Can I see your ID?”
Kernels hitting coach Brian Dinkelman, who returns to the Kernels again in 2018, was joined by two other familiar faces: former Kernels Mitch Garver and Zack Granite. Both players have now made their big league debuts, finishing the 2017 season with the Twins, and will be going to spring training intent on earning spots on the Twins’ opening day roster.
The featured guests were made available to the media for interviews for a few minutes before the event kicked off and I had the opportunity to speak to Garver and Granite about the paths their careers had taken since their days with the Kernels.
Garver played in 120 games for the 2014 version of the Kernels and hit for a .298 average. His career has steadily progressed each year since.
Granite’s time in Cedar Rapids was cut short by injury in 2014, but he returned in 2015 and immediately hit so well that he earned a quick promotion to Class A Advanced Fort Myers.
Wanting to make the most of what time I had with each player, I asked them both the same question to kick off the interviews.
If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, and give the Cedar Rapids Kernels version of yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
“I would say relax,” answered Garver.
“Because when I was at this level, I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. Being a senior sign, kind of having that rope get a little bit shorter as my age goes up. It’s like, man, I need to get promoted. I need to prove well at every level. I need to do this and that and I need to do it quickly. And I think that kind of took a toll on me.
“I did have a really good learning process while I was (in Cedar Rapids), but if I could have just told myself, ‘just trust the process, you’re going to get there. Believe in yourself.’ It would have gone a lot smoother.”
But would he have been concerned that might have caused his younger self to relax too much?
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve always been pedal to the metal. I want to do the best I can at everything I do.
“So if I’d have known all that back then, I’d have had the same thought process, going about my work and improving, but I could have gotten (to the Major Leagues) with a little more sleep maybe.”
Zack Granite and Mitch Garver (photo: SD Buhr)
And what would today’s Zack Granite tell his younger self to do?
“Probably to grow up,” he said.
“I was probably a little immature, took too many at-bats too seriously.
“It’s a long season. I kind of didn’t really know that yet. I’d never played a full season (of professional baseball) yet. There’s so many at-bats in a season and if you get out or make a mistake, it’s on to the next one. That’s how you’ve got to be.
“I feel like that’s the only way to be successful, to clear your mind. Every at-bat is different and don’t take one at-bat into the next. I did that when I was younger. I’ve kind of grown out of that and that’s helped me along the way.”
Was that a tough adjustment for Granite to make, after years where you get so many fewer opportunities to bat in a season?
“It took some time for me to get used to that. Even when I was at Elizabethton, it’s a short season. I never really played a full season until I got to here.
“My first season (in Cedar Rapids) I got hurt, so I didn’t play too much. Then I came back and did pretty well and went to Fort Myers. But even in that short time I was here, I was kind of taking at-bats into the next one.
“I think if I would have done that at an earlier age, took every at-bat separately, I think I would have been more successful.”
The Twins and Kernels will enter their sixth season as affiliates this spring. Seeing young players like Mitch Garver and Zack Granite realize the big league dream they were working so hard to achieve when they were busing around the Midwest League, then come back to town as Major Leaguers, has been one of the best aspects of the Kernels/Twins relationship.
-Steve
P.S. Once again, apologies for the “blue-tinted” photos. I suppose I could have spent a bunch of time editing the color out, but frankly, I just didn’t feel like devoting the time necessary to do that. So let’s just pretend I did it all on purpose, as an homage to the Vikings’ playoff run. 🙂
It’s too early to be looking at which of the hundreds of minor leaguers currently a part of the Minnesota Twins organization might take the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids this summer.
Tommy Watkins is moving up to AA Chattanooga to manage in 2018, but Royce Lewis could be back in Cedar Rapids to start the new season (Photo: SD Buhr)
It’s definitely too early to get excited about the possibility of seeing the most promising group of prospects in Cedar Rapids since, perhaps, the class of 2013 (which included Buxton, Kepler, Polanco, Berrios and more) in the first year of the Kernels/Twins affiliation era.
Still, since it’s been minus-10 degrees or so all day and I’ve had nothing else to do but watch a bunch of bowl games I generally don’t care about at all, I’m going to share my excitement here anyway.
Even as the 2017 was winding down, I found myself taking mental inventory of which members of the playoff-bound Kernels might be starting 2018 in Cedar Rapids, as well. Then I started looking at the talent that was on the field for Elizabethton’s Appalachian League champion club and projecting a few that were likely to get their first exposure to full-season minor league ball with the Kernels in 2018
All of that informal mental note-making left me feeling pretty optimistic that the Twins would send a pretty competitive group to Cedar Rapids this spring.
The Kernels have qualified for the Midwest League postseason in each of the five seasons that Cedar Rapids has been affiliated with the Twins and it was fine to feel pretty good about that streak continuing in 2018.
But then it happened.
A box arrived in the mail over this past weekend and inside was the 2018 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook.(Click here to get your copy.)
I should have just glanced through it to make sure my name was spelled correctly everywhere I was given a photo credit, then set it aside for a few weeks until we were at least getting closer to the date when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Florida (which is the date I unofficially consider the baseball season to begin each year).
But knowing how much work the authors – Seth Stohs, Cody Christie and Tom Froemming – put into writing the Handbook and how packed with great content about every Twins minor league affiliate and literally every minor league player currently under contract to the Twins, well, just giving the book a glance through was something I couldn’t limit myself to.
So I started reading. The authors have some great articles in there, reflecting not only their knowledge of the Twins organization, but their writing skills, as well. I probably should have just read those feature articles and, perhaps, about their selections for Twins Minor League Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards. (All three are Kernels alums, by the way.)
But that wasn’t enough. Not when we’re in the middle of a several-day stretch of sub-zero temperatures.
I give myself some credit, though. I didn’t read EVERY one of the player features in their entirety. It’s far too early in the year to do that.
No, I only read the features of those players that the authors suggested have some chance of playing ball for the Kernels in 2018.
I think there were about 60 of them. That may seem like a lot, given teams are limited to a 25-man roster, but it’s really only a little bit more than the 50 or so that you might typically see come through any MWL roster in any given season.
Still, not all of them will wear Kernels uniforms this season. They mentioned 28, I think, that have played for the Kernels already that may return. That would be unusual. Some of those will start the season with a promotion to Ft. Myers, some could be injured or traded during spring training and some, unfortunately, could be released by the Twins before the season starts. That’s just the harsh reality of professional baseball.
But many of the players who WILL be coming to Cedar Rapids, either to start the season or as replacements during the course of the summer, have some very impressive backgrounds and credentials.
The Kernels could feature not one, but two first-round draft choices.
Shortstop Royce Lewis, who was the first overall pick of the 2017 MLB amateur draft, spent most of the last month of the 2017 season with the Kernels and likely will start the 2018 season in Cedar Rapids as well. He could well be joined by the Twins’ 2016 first round pick, outfielder Alex Kirilloff, who had been expected to spend time with the Kernels last year, but missed the entire 2017 season following elbow surgery.
Of course, both Lewis and Kirilloff got big signing bonuses as top draft picks, but they aren’t likely to be the only million+ dollar bonus babies to put on Kernels uniforms in 2018.
While Lewis is likely to see a mid-season promotion if his play develops as we’d expect it to, the Twins have another millionaire shortstop ready to step into his shoes – and position – with the Kernels. Wander Javier got $4 million to sign as an International Free Agent in 2015.
A couple of teenaged pitchers could eventually find their ways to Cedar Rapids, though are perhaps less likely to start the season there. The Twins’ 2017 second and third round draft picks, Blayne Enlow and Landon Leach, each got bonuses in excess of a million dollars to sign with the Twins, rather than play college ball.
While he didn’t get it from the Twins, catcher David Banuelos also got a million dollars to sign with the Mariners as their 2017 third round pick. He was acquired by the Twins in December.
If Banuelos is assigned to Cedar Rapids, the Kernels could potentially have quite an impressive 1-2 punch behind the plate, since it would not be surprising to see Ben Rortvedt (who signed for $900,000 as the Twins’ 2nd round pick in 2016) also return to start the season.
In addition to Rortvedt, seven additional likely (or at least potential) 2018 Kernels pulled down signing bonuses of between $400,000 and $900,000, Those include some pretty heralded prospects such as outfielder Akil Baddoo and infielder Jose Miranda, both of which were “Compensation B” round (between 2nd and 3rd rounds) selections by the Twins in 2016.
Twins 2nd round draft pick in 2016 Ben Rortvedt could well begin 2018 behind the plate for Cedar Rapids. (Photo: SD Buhr)
Of course, signing bonuses aren’t what matter the most once these guys get on the field. No matter what you got paid, what matters is what you do between the lines when you get a chance. Still, when you’re looking at young players with limited professional experience to base judgements on, bonus money and draft position are simple means of projecting the level of talent any particular roster might consist of.
In addition to those already listed, the 2018 Kernels roster could include, at some point:
Two 4th round picks (pitcher Charlie Barnes – 2017, and third baseman/outfielder Trey Cabbage – 2015, both of whom spent time with the Kernels in 2017) and a 5th rounder (third baseman Andrew Bechtold).
Six-figure International Free Agent signees like pitcher Jose Martinez ($340K in 2013) and catcher Robert Molina ($300K in 2013)
Nine additional players drafted by the Twins in the top 10 rounds of drafts between 2014 and 2017,
That is a lot of potential. And it doesn’t even include Edwar Colina, who was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year last season.
Are you beginning to see why I’m getting excited for the season to start already? I mean, if you’re Toby Gardenhire, the recently announced new manager for the Kernels, you have to feel pretty good about the talent level that you’re going to have to work with in your first year as a manager in professional baseball, don’t you?
Of course, the fun thing is that, even with all of these “prospects” on their way to Cedar Rapids, we know that there will be several guys not found on anyone’s “prospect lists” that will grab hold of their opportunity to play baseball for a few dollars and show everyone they can play the game every bit as well as the guys getting all the attention… and money.
It happens every season and it will happen this year, too.
Cedar Rapids hasn’t won a Midwest League title since Bengie Molina caught 45 games for the 1994 Kernels. No, that’s not as long as the drought the Twins have endured since their 1991 World Series championship, but it’s long enough.
So pardon me if I get spend a few of these cold January days daring to get excited about Kernels baseball in 2018.
If that’s wrong, just blame Seth, Cody and Tom. That’s what I usually do.
Congratulations to Twins Manager Paul Molitor for being honored as the American League Manager of the Year for 2017!
In his honor, I thought this might be a fun time to take a an encore look at this post from June of 2013 when Molitor, who was then a roving minor league instructor for the Twins organization, visited Cedar Rapids and was generous enough to sit with me for an interview.
As a reminder, 2013 was the season when current Twins Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco were wearing Kernels uniforms.
Hope you enjoy this look back. – JC
Hall of Famer Paul Molitor was in Cedar Rapids over the course of most of the past homestand in his capacity with the Twins organization.
Molitor was gracious enough to answer some questions last Thursday, the first day of his stay in Cedar Rapids, as well as a few follow-up questions Monday afternoon after the final game of the Kernels’ homestand.
I used several excerpts from the Thursday interview in an article posted at MetroSportsReport.com last week, but there was so much good material that I couldn’t fit in to that article. So, I’m sharing all of Molitor’s comments here.
First off, I asked Molitor to describe his formal role these days with the Twins organization.
Molitor: Titles are overrated a little bit. Technically, part of the player development team. I’m the Minor League Coordinator for Baserunning and Infield Play. It’s an opportunity for me to travel around the system and help try to teach, along with the staff on each club and I do focus on those two areas but invariably get involved with some of the hitting aspects.
Our hitting coordinator for minor leagues does an incredible job, considering you have to try to put a hit plan together for about 200 guys.
One of the things I enjoy, in addition to the teaching is that a lot of these guys are transitioning from wherever their roots have brought them from and it’s a process of evolving from sometimes teenagers in to men and so there’s mentoring involved, too. Just how to help these guys develop an understanding of the professional life style. We try to do what we can to try to help them progress in those areas, too.
Paul Molitor (4) observing Kernels C Jhonatan Arias (23) take batting practice
I mentioned that a lot is made about players having to transition to using wood bats and asked Molitor if he thought that was toughest thing about transitioning to the professional game for young players.
Molitor: Some of the collegiate kids have had a chance to play in wood bat leagues in the summer time.
A lot of times it’s a big transition just from maybe never having left home, particularly maybe never left your country and you have to try to claw your way in to professional ball and learn a system that a particular organization teaches.
We don’t try to overwhelm them. We let them play a little bit in the beginning til we kind of get a feel for who they are and what they do, what they do well and what we need to improve on. But the transition can be tough, depending on the guy’s experience.
The college guys are usually better at understanding how to carry themselves and how to go about their business day to day.
Another change is that very few of these kids have played in seasons where there’s 140 games so it’s understanding how to maintain and prepare yourself to withstand the rigors of a professional season.
I asked if playing baseball in the upper midwest in April was difficult for players entering their first season of “full season” professional baseball.
Molitor: The guys from warm climates, whether its Florida, California, Texas or the Dominican or Puerto Rico, you throw them up here in April and it’s not only a culture shock, but the weather is something they really never had to play in those type of conditions.
So that’s a process. We see a lot of guys that haven’t had that experience start a little bit slower, just adapting to the weather itself.
I jokingly pointed out that Byron Buxton is a southern guy that didn’t seem to take long to adjust.
Molitor: He’s just a rare individual with a skill set that’s off the charts.
I saw him last year in instructional ball for a little bit and you could see the rawness of a high school kid, but somehow this winter I think he put a lot of time in to conditioning and preparation. He was much more advanced this spring than I expected him to be and he’s been able to carry it undoubtedly in to the first 9-10 weeks of the season.
You know, he’s got things to work on I’m sure. I’m looking forward to seeing him now compared to even two months ago. Over the next five days. I’ll be watching particularly how he handles himself on the basepaths.
On a professional grading scale of 2-8, he’s an 8 runner and I haven’t for the past three decades seen many players that can compete with him in terms of just raw speed. Now how he can translate that in to base stealing is going to be the key.
Obviously, this year he’s had over 30 attempts. He’s been caught some, but he’s been fairly successful for a young guy and probably in some ways, in this league, he’s been outrunning the ball.
There’s two parts of base stealing: The mechanical, finding the best way to get your body to accelerate from a standstill position; and then there’s the mental side of understanding how they’re trying to slow you down and picking good pitches, good counts, reading pitchers pick-off moves, all those type of things.
A lot of times, when you get caught is when you should learn the most. Whether you didn’t get a good jump or you ran on a pitch out or you didn’t anticipate the guy going home or you were tentative. There’s a lot of ways to learn to get better. So it’s a process. The more you do it, the better you get at it.
We’re glad to see he’s out running. At least not having fear in athat area to this point.
Paul Molitor hitting ground balls to Kernels 3B Travis Harrison
I asked Molitor for his thoughts on Kernels third baseman Travis Harrison, who is still somewhat learning the position.
Molitor: Ive been around him some, mostly spring traning and instructional ball. I’m sure there’s some adaption for him going on.
He has relatively good hands. I think his footwork is something that needs to be improved. Being so close in proximity to home plate, you don’t have a lot of time to react to get your body in position to catch the ball. The better he can get control of his feet and be in the right spot, his hands are going to be OK.
Throwing, he’s had some issues at times with consistency. He’s a little bit mechanical, but I think he’s learning that if he doesn’t try to guide the ball and throws it, he’s better off.
So those are areas where we expect young kids to make errors and just like the baserunning, when you make mistakes, you figure out why and hopefully you can make adjustments.
I asked for Molitor’s thoughts concerning the defensive progress at third base of Harrison, as compared to Miguel Sano (this was a couple of days prior to Sano’s promotion to AA).
Molitor: I think that’s a fair question.
We’re all hoping that Sano, who’s a little farther along in the organization and in growth, in terms of getting close to the Major Leagues. Not unexpectedly, he made a ton of errors last year, his first year of being a third baseman in a full season and it was a plethora of mistakes.
It was misreading balls, it was rushing balls, it was throwing balls he shouldn’t have thrown. Trying to force an out when it wasn’t there.
But having seen him twice already this year, he’s made maybe a dozen errors so far and a lot of them are similar things.
But he’s been very diligent and asking for extra work and trying to correct mistakes.
I’m hoping his future is as a third baseman.
Travis, it’s a little bit early to see how it pans out. A lot of times, you can play three or four years in the minor leagues and then you get to the Big Leagues and there’s no room in that position and all of a sudden you’ve got to maybe transition. So you kind of hope that you get these guys a little bit more well-rounded. As far as their strength position, you want to try to see them develop that the most.
After the game on Monday, a Kernels win that was broadcast back to the Twin Cities on Fox Sports North, I asked Molitor about his impressions after having spent five days with the Kernels in Cedar Rapids.
Molitor: Well it was good to see them bounce back after three tough losses.
I feel like we got some things accomplished with some of the infielders defensively.
It was good to see (Candido) Pimentel back out there today. He had a better day. He still had one play where he got a little anxious about turning his back to the runner and he didn’t keep his eye on the ball and that’s kind of one of the things he’s got to work on is just catching the ball and understanding the speed of the baserunners on the play.
And then with baserunning, we had some guys out working on their jumps today and they’ve been aggressive trying to steal, so I’m pleased with that.
But yeah, I had a lot of fun seeing these guys and kind of seeing where they’re at at this point in the season and hopefully I’ll get a chance to get back and see them again.
Since Molitor had indicated he would be working with Byron Buxton on his base stealing, I asked if we should blame him for Buxton being picked off first base during Monday’s game (yes, I was kidding).
Molitor: You can blame me for that if you want. The (pitcher) did a nice job of holding the ball. I think he kind of built a little tension. The longer the guy holds it, you really have to concentrate on staying relaxed and he might have given him a little bit of a balk move, but that’s, again, learning time.
A hitter can help your baserunner out when he’s holding the ball. Call a time out, things like that. But that’s how you learn.
I asked for Molitor’s impression of Jorge Polanco, specifically whether he thinks Polanco can stick at shortstop.
Molitor: You know, I’ve seen him a fair amount and his arm’s probably competent at short but I still think he probably profiles a little better at second base in the long run.
Working on his footwork a little bit. He can get a little false step on his breaks to the ball and it seems like balls you think he might have a chance to get he comes up a little bit short. So we’ll try to improve his range a little bit and give him a chance.
At 19, it’s certainly too early to close the book on any one position.
Offensively, he’s just getting a little bit stronger and he’s got nice loose hands at the plate and being a switch hitter is generally to his advantage.
But I keep trying to keep them versatile in the middle of the field and hopefully one of the positions will pan out. But I have a feeling probably second base in the long run.
Since we had discussed third baseman Travis Harrison earlier, I asked if he had any final impressions of Harrison.
Molitor: He’s got a great attitude about work ethic and he wants to get better.
I think the main thing for him is going to continue to work on his footwork so his range is competent to stay over there, too. But his throwing’s improved. He’s a lot more accurate. I think he’s comfortable over there.
He’s still feeling for positioning a little bit. Sometimes I catch him maybe not quite in the right spot. There’s a reason you are where you are on every pitch and I think he’s learning that and trying to take some pride in it.
It was a pleasure to talk a little baseball with Paul Molitor and I appreciate him taking the time to answer questions. I think the thought he put in to his comments clearly demonstrates just how seriously he takes his work with the Twins’ young players and how much he enjoys doing what he’s doing. – JC
I’m not sure why I couldn’t bring myself to write over the past couple of months. Certainly, it wasn’t for a lack of Twins-related stuff to hash over, right? Since my last post, the Twins and Kernels BOTH qualified for their respective leagues’ postseasons. Not bad, right?
Byron Buxton launched this home run in spring training and went on to lead the Twins to a postseason appearance.
Neither of them lasted as long as we would have liked, with the Kernels winning their first round series over Kane County, but dropping two games out of three to Quad Cities in the Midwest League’s Western Division championship series and the Twins falling to the Evil Empire in the American League Wild Card game, but still, they capped off successful seasons.
Now we’re into baseball’s offseason. You remember the offseason? I know, if you’re a Twins fan, it’s understandable if you have no idea what that is. After all, the Twins haven’t historically done much but go into hibernation from November until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in February.
Already, this offseason, though, the Twins front office has: let go of Fort Myers Miracle manager (and fan-favorite former Twins first baseman) Doug Mientkiewicz, announced a three year extension for manager Paul Molitor, released their major league pitching coach and minor league pitching coordinator and hired John Manuel, the editor of Baseball America, into their pro scouting organization.
Of interest to Kernels fans (at least it should be), the Twins also promoted farm director Brad Steil to the director of professional scouting and hired a new director of minor league operations, Jeremy Zoll, out of the Dodgers organization.
That may not sound like a lot to some people, but for the Twins, that’s a lot of decisions coming down the pipeline before the World Series even gets started!
It seemed to me, though, that it was the Mientkiewicz news that got the biggest reaction out of Twinsville. He had been, after all, reported to have been a candidate for the Twins’ managerial job before Molitor was eventually given the gig. And it’s pretty hard, I think, to find a player that spent any time on one of his teams in Fort Myers or Chattanooga who didn’t speak highly of him.
But, from everything I’ve heard from former players and media, Dougie Baseball was a bit of a dinosaur, when it comes to his approach to managing a baseball team. He also had a history of, arguably, stretching pitch counts for some of his young pitchers.
If any of that is true, then his chances of ever landing a coaching spot (much less the manager’s seat) at the MLB level in a Twins organization run by Thad Levine and Derek Falvey were virtually nil. He’s better off looking for a better philosophical fit. His problem is going to be trying to find a front office that still values his way of thinking above more modern analytical approaches.
Modern analytics are no longer just theory. In fact, they are no longer just being applied to the Major League levels. Minor league managers and coaches, all the way down through the lower levels, are being provided the tools necessary to record and mine advanced data on their own players, as well as their opponents’. And this Twins front office is not going to accept any coach or manager who doesn’t embrace and utilize those tools.
From where I sat in Cedar Rapids this summer, manager Tommy Watkins and his coaches (Brian Dinkelman and JP Martinez) did embrace this new world. They and their players spent more time with video, they applied the data at their fingertips related to everything from lineup construction to defensive shifts and were very careful not to overwork the young arms they were responsible for developing.
And they did all that while also winning baseball games!
I have no first-hand knowledge of whether other managing/coaching staff members in the organization were as on board as the Kernels’ staff with those obvious changes from past practices, but if any of them dragged their feet, they really can’t be too surprised if the front office decides to find replacements who would be more enthusiastic about implementing their bosses’ philosophies.
Apparently, Molitor demonstrated well enough that he was capable of implementing the front office’s system to warrant being kept around.
Then again, we all know that Molitor is a favorite not only with a significant segment of the fan base but, more importantly, with owner Jim Pohlad.
Pohlad made retaining his manager for at least a year a prerequisite for anyone applying to replace former General Manager Terry Ryan, so his feelings about Molitor are obvious.
Reports indicated that Pohlad did not order his front office to offer an extension to the manager after this past season, but that, if they decided they wanted to go another way, he wanted to be involved in a conversation before any announcement was made. That conversation was never necessary, of course, but one can imagine how it might have gone if the brass had decided they wanted to move in another direction.
Pohlad: Let me get this straight. Molitor led our team to the most dramatic turnaround, record-wise, in our history. He did this after you guys gave up on the season and got rid of his closer and the starting pitcher you traded FOR just a week earlier. Now, you want to fire him? Why?
“Falvine”: We just want our own guy in that position.
Pohlad, after a long pause to consider whether he would rather keep Molitor or these two new guys he still hasn’t learned to tell apart: OK. You lived up to your end of the deal. You kept Paul for one year. But gentlemen, you’d better be right or a year from now, your choice for a manager will be back on the street… and he’ll have company.
No, they weren’t going to let Molitor go. The only question in my mind was whether, after a year of spreadsheets and exit velocities, he felt comfortable continuing to manage in the new baseball world.
It’s not like he needed the gig, right? But I suspect that the promise of what this team could become over the next three years was enough to make him want to be around for that ride and I think he has some genuine affinity for and with this group of players which refused to roll over even after their front office gave up on them.
Now Falvine can focus on getting some pitching.
If there’s one thing that watching the teams that are still alive in the postseason drives home to you, it’s the difference between the quality of the pitching staffs, in particular the starting rotations, between these teams and the Twins.
I will say that the Twins’ rotation has improved. Whenever Santana, Berrios and even Gibson took the mound to start a game in August and September, I felt like the Twins had a chance to win.
But teams like the Astros, Indians, Dodgers, Cubs and even the Yankees don’t just feel they have a chance to win when their top three (and sometimes more) starters are on the mound, they EXPECT to win those games.
That is a huge difference and the task of the Twins’ front office is to make that kind of thing happen in Minnesota and do it fast.
Jorge Polanco has the shortstop job now. But Nick Gordon is on his way. Could one of them bring a top starting pitcher in a trade?
The window for winning with this current group of position players is now opening and those windows only last so long.
The Twins can’t afford to wait two or three or four years to develop a postseason-worth rotation. It has to happen sooner than that and it has to start in the next two months.
It has been a while since I felt inclined to support potentially trading top prospects for immediate help at the big league level, but I’m there now.
If it takes a couple of the organization’s top position player prospects to get legitimate starting pitching help (and not just #3 or #4 level arms), then get it done. Face it, there’s not a lot of room in this lineup right now for the guys coming up anyway and those guys might be better served to go somewhere that they aren’t blocked by guys like Buxton, Sano, Kepler and maybe even Polanco.
And the Twins can’t wait around to get pitching. Yes, let’s find out how good the top starting pitching prospects can be, but don’t let that stop you from getting pitchers that you can honestly EXPECT to win behind, not just have a chance to do so.
This should be the most interesting Twins offseason in the past couple of decades. If it’s not, then Levine and Falvey aren’t doing their jobs.
Manager Tommy Watkins and Royce Lewis (photo by SD Buhr)
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc.
What, you didn’t take Latin in school? That’s no excuse for not knowing the English translation of that phrase. After all, it played a pivotal role in an episode of the Aaron Sorkin political drama, “The West Wing,” only a couple of decades ago.
Fine, since most of you still probably have no clue, I’ll provide the translation. Loosely, it means, “After this, therefore because of this.”
The phrase refers to the generally inaccurate fallacy that just because a particular event occurred just prior to another event, the first event must have caused the second. Of course, that’s not always true. In fact, it seldom is.
So why am I telling you all of this here on a baseball blog?
Because I want to talk to you about Royce Lewis and the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
The Kernels qualified for the Midwest League Playoffs by finishing second in the league’s Western Division standings during the first half of the season, which concluded in mid-June.
Lewin Diaz (photo by SD Buhr)
About that time, the parent Minnesota Twins started promoting many of the players that played key roles in the first half.
Tom Hackimer, Andrew Vasquez, Jermaine Palacios, Jaylin Davis, Mitchell Kranson, Brandon Lopez, Sean Poppen and Alex Robinson all earned promotions between the end of May and early July.
While Cedar Rapids still had a pretty talented core of position players and several effective pitchers, the promotions took a toll and the results on the field reflected that toll.
The Kernels went 4-5 during second half games played in June and 13-15 in July games.
They followed that up by winning just four of their first ten August games, averaging just three runs per game in those contests. They scored two or fewer runs in eight of those ten games, getting shutout in three of them.
That left the Kernels with a 21-26 second-half record as they prepared to host Quad Cities for the third game in a four game home series on August 12.
On that morning, the Twins announced that 2017’s first-overall draft pick, Royce Lewis, was being promoted to Cedar Rapids from Elizabethton. Lewis made his Kernels debut that evening.
Since then, the Kernels have won 13 games and lost just five, as they prepare to head into the final few regular season games and get ready to host Kane County in game one of the first round of the playoffs on September 6.
Bullpen arms Max Cordy, Patrick McGuff, Logan Lombana (photo by SD Buhr)
In the first ten games of August, the Kernels averaged just three runs per game. Since August 12, they’ve averaged over five per game.
In those first ten games this month, Kernels pitching and defense were combining to surrender 4.8 runs per game. Since then, they’ve been giving up just over three.
So the Kernels’ have clearly turned things around since Royce Lewis donned jersey number 30 for Cedar Rapids, but could he really be THE reason his team appears primed for the playoffs?
Lewis has hit .339 since taking over the leadoff spot in the order on August 12 and he’s made several impressive plays at shortstop, as well, so he’s clearly ONE reason for the Kernels’ recent success.
But to assume he’s the only reason would be inaccurate – and more than a little insulting to several of his teammates who have also dialed things up a few notches down the stretch, not to mention manager Tommy Watkins and his coaches.
In fact, as well as Lewis has played, Lewin Diaz has arguably outperformed the newbie during the same stretch of games. Diaz, who has been strong all season, has hit .351 with an OPS north of .900 since Lewis’ arrival.
Shane Carrier (photo by SD Buhr)
Travis Blankenhorn struggled at the plate in July, but he’s popped a .947 OPS in August. He’s hit .319 since August 12 and has hit five home runs in that same stretch.
Shane Carrier was on the Kernels’ roster out of spring training, but struggled and was ultimately sent back to extended spring training. Since rejoining Cedar Rapids a week before Lewis’ arrival, he’s hit .280, clubbed five home runs and racked up an .885 OPS.
Shane Kennedy joined the Kernels on August 22 and has been getting on base at a .452 clip while putting up a .910 OPS.
Jimmy Kerrigan has been about a .270 hitter with the Kernels, but he’s hit .312 since August 12.
Trey Cabbage and Ben Rortvedt each sport batting averages around .225. But since August 12, they’ve each been hitting about 45 points higher at .270 or so.
The Kernels’ rotation has been in a state of near-constant flux this month and has been hit particularly hard by promotions.
Eduardo Del Rosario (photo by SD Buhr)
Still, virtually every arm that manager Tommy Watkins and pitching coach J.P. Martinez have sent to the mound to start a game has at least given the team five solid innings before turning things over to what has been a consistently effective bullpen.
Reliever Hector Lujan hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his eight appearances beginning August 8.
Eduardo Del Rosario, who pitched well enough as a starter for the Kernels to earn a late-July promotion to Fort Myers, returned to Cedar Rapids August 15 as a bullpen arm and hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his five outings since.
Maybe it’s all a coincidence.
Maybe, as they approached the final three weeks of a long season, these guys were all poised to ratchet their games up a notch or two as they headed toward the postseason.
All we can say for certain is that Royce Lewis showed up on August 12 with his smile and his infectious energy… and he stroked base hits in each of his first four plate appearances that night.
And since then, this has been a very different Kernels team on the field than what we were seeing up to that point during the season’s second half.
Ben Rortvedt and Logan Lombana (Photo by SD Buhr)
This team is clearly having fun and they are definitely winning a lot of baseball games.
The first two rounds of the Midwest League playoffs are best two of three games, so advancing through those rounds is pretty much a crapshoot, but three weeks ago, not many people watching the Kernels on a regular basis would have given this team much of a chance to get through the initial round of the postseason.
Whatever the reasons, that has changed. This is a team that now looks like a legitimate postseason contender and likely everyone in that clubhouse deserves a share of the credit.
