We’re one full week into spring training games and some interesting position battles are starting to take shape. The middle infield and center field are the two positions of interest this spring for the Minnesota Twins, as well as the composition of the starting rotation. However, that does not mean that some other interesting characters cannot emerge to give the Twins some more decisions to make.
So, how is the spring training stock chart shaping up one full week into spring training? Let’s take a look:
Rising:
Last week’s risers: (D. Santana, E. Rosario, K. Gibson, L. Hendriks)
Chris Colabello: (1B/DH)
One of the surprises this spring has been the emergence of Chris Colabello. Colabello is a 29 year old journeyman who logged 6 years in the independent leagues before the Twins signed him to a minor league contract in 2012. Colabello spent 2012 in AA New Britain, but is making a case for a big league bench spot with his play in early 2013. So far this spring Colabello is hitting .333/.412/.467 with 3 RBI and 2 doubles through 7 games and 17 plate appearances. The Twins are reportedly looking to add a big bat to their bench, rather than holding their traditional bench full of speedy utility guys. If Colabello can continue to hit as well as he has, he looks to have an upper hand to make the roster as a bench bat. At worst, he’s earned himself a spot in AAA at first base. 25 Man Projection: It all comes down to Jim Thome, if the Twins sign the free agent slugger, Colabello has no shot at making the team. If they don’t I like Colabello to be the ‘big bat’ off the bench.
Brian Dozier: (2B)
Dozier started last week off by looking out of place at 2B. He misplayed a hit and run, looked overmatched in his at bats and seemed like a longshot to make the team out of camp. Funny thing about spring training, you have time to recover. By Tuesday, Dozier was making solid defensive plays at 2B, on Thursday; he was showing great plate discipline at drawing walks. He’s earned 3 walks over 11 plate appearances and has pushed his OBP to a respectable .455. Tom Kelly, former Twins manager turned spring training instructor, has even come around on Dozier. Last spring, he (correctly) predicted that Dozier wasn’t ready for the show, this spring he’s been quoted as saying he thinks Dozier could make a good 2B for the Twins in 2013. 25 Man Projection: He’s the Twins’ starting 2B unless he absolutely falls apart this spring.
Danny Santana: (SS)
Santana’s stock is continuing to rise. He’s flashing great skills at shortstop, making plays that the Twins’ middle infielders of 2011 & 2012 would not routinely make. His downside is his inexperience, he still makes youthful errors and still struggles at the plate. His defense is making a name for himself, however. I’ve scaled back down to reality from my ‘high ceiling’ projection of last week. There’s no chance Danny makes the team out of spring, but he will likely see AA New Britain this year and could potentially catch a glimpse of AAA Rochester with an improvement in his batting. 25 Man Projection: With no bat to speak of, Santana is not making the team out of camp.
Liam Hendriks: (SP)
Liam’s first start of the season was a not great but good start in which he only gave up 1 run over two innings. His second start was much better. Liam lasted 3 innings, holding the Orioles scoreless while keeping the ball in and around the zone. He’s reduced his walks this spring, only allowing 1 over 5 innings. Liam is going to let the ball be put in play, he’s not a strikeout pitcher by any stretch of the imagination, but if he can keep runners off the bases, especially via the free pass, he’ll thrive as the Twins’ #4 or #5 starter. 25 Man Projection: He’s the #5 starter right now.
Cole DeVries: (SP)
Devries has always been left out of the argument when it came to starters for 2013 – that may have been a mistake. DeVries has yielded only 1 hit over 2 inning of work, walking none and striking out two. He’s displayed great control so far this spring and is making the start this afternoon against St. Louis, which should give him a chance to log 3 more innings of work. A starting rotation spot is not out of the question, but even if he doesn’t crack the rotation, a role as a long reliever wouldn’t be unexpected for DeVries out of camp. 25 Man Projection: He makes the team as a long man out of the pen, filling Swarzak’s role.
Falling:
Last week’s falling: (B. Duensing, A. Slama)
Tim Wood: (RP)
Wood has been slow to the plate this spring, he’s averaging 1.8 seconds from windup to delivery, about .5 seconds longer than most Major League pitchers. What’s the big deal over .5 of a second? Ask a Major league catcher, who now has .5 seconds less to nail a speedy runner trying to swipe 2nd base. He’s pitched well, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk over 5 innings of work, but he’s got a deck stacked against him to make the team. He’s a right handed reliever on a team that has several options for that role. Wood needs to show the Twins something that no other reliever has in order to make the 25 man roster, and having a large mechanical flaw like a slow delivery is a major impairment. With a few mechanical fixes, Wood could find himself on the other side of this chart come next week. 25 Man Projection: Wood is one of the last cuts at this point. ALMOST on the 25 man, but needs to show more before he earns a spot.
Deolis Guerra: (RP)
Guerra had some buzz around him this spring as many thought the last remaining piece of the Johan Santana trade might finally amount to something. No such luck so far for Guerra. He’s been absolutely shelled this spring, yielding 4 earned runs, 4 hits and 2 walks over 3.1 innings pitched. He hasn’t shown the strikeout potential the Twins want to see and he doesn’t seem to have an out pitch to get out of jams. 25 Man Projection: It’s off to AAA for Guerra, no shot at the 25 man at this point.
Anthony Slama: (RP)
We can almost call the time of death for Slama’s big league chances. The fan favorite reliever has shown that his minor league stuff doesn’t (or hasn’t) translated to big league opponents. In 1.3 innings of work, Slama has yielded 3 hits, 3 runs (1 earned) and 3 walks while only striking out 2 batters. His shot at making the team was to be a strikeout machine; instead he’s been a walk machine. With a plethora of other right handed options, Slama needs to improve fast to have a shot. 25 Man Projection: Back to AAA for Anthony, a call-up is possible later in the year, but unlikely.
Clete Thomas: (CF)
Thomas has an opportunity this spring to crack the big league roster as the utility outfielder. The team will likely award the starting job to Darin Mastroianni and send Aaron Hicks to AAA until mid May, when they can call him up without losing a year of service time. That means a bench spot is available for a 4th outfielder. That spot, however, will likely not go to Thomas, who has not shown any improvement in plate discipline since his call-up in early 2012. Thomas has a horrendous .250 OBP, with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks over 12 plate appearances. With stronger showings from Brandon Boggs, Joe Benson and even Chris Herrmann, Thomas doesn’t have a role to fill for this team. 25 Man Projection: Back to AAA for Clete. With the plethora of other OF options in the Twins’ system, there’s no opportunity for him to crack the big league club.
I’ll be adjusting this lineup projection each week as players jockey for position on the depth chart. As of now, my 25 man projection for the Twins is:
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Brian Dozier
SS: Pedro Florimon
3B: Trevor Plouffe
LF: Josh Willingham
CF: Darin Mastroianni
RF: Chris Parmelee
DH: Ryan Doumit
Bench: Jamey Carroll, Eduardo Escobar, Jim Thome, Chris Herrmann
Chris Herman’s utility as an OF and backup catcher mean that Drew Butera starts 2013 in AAA (and likely remains there). Eduardo Escobar is also able to play catcher in a pinch. His ‘any position in the infield’ utility along with the possibility to step in as a backstop if needed likely means he’ll have a spot on the bench all year.
Rotation:
SP: Vance Worley
SP: Scott Diamond (Predicting to be on the DL to start year)
SP: Kyle Gibson
SP: Mike Pelfrey
SP: Kevin Correia
SP: Liam Hendriks
RP: Cole DeVries
RP: Alex Burnett
RP: Brian Duensing
RP: Caleb Thielbar
RP: Casey Fien
RP: Jarod Burton
RP: Glen Perkins
Tim Wood, Anthony Swarzak, Josh Roenicke and Tyler Robertson all are cut from the pen as of right now. Thielbar makes the rotation as a needed lefty and DeVries is essentially the 6th starter, stepping in if any one starter has a bad outing. Scott Diamond or Mike Pelfrey are likely to start the season on the DL and gain extended spring training to recover from their injuries.
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